Injuries, Chelsea, And The Victims Of Our Referees Are Punished
Jan 2nd, 2018 by 'holic
Back in May we went into the small matter of an FA Cup Final against Chelsea with a defensive crisis. Per Mertesacker was picked for his one appearance of the season alongside Rob Holding and Nacho Monreal with Laurent Koscielny suspended and Skhodran Mustafi ruled out by illness. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got the nod to play at left wing-back as Kieran Gibbs was injured.
Fast forward nearly eight months and we face similar problems before playing Chelsea at the Grove in a very important Premier League fixture. The Gunners are set to start without Nacho Monreal, Sead Kolasinac, Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud, and of course Santi Cazorla. Laurent Koscielny and Mesut Ozil are both doubts but will have tests nearer kick-off.
Should the latter pair fail to make it we are looking at a likely trio of Calum Chambers, Per Mertesacker, and Skhodran Mustafi in front of Petr Cech. Hector Bellerin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles should flank Granit Xhaka and Jack Wilshere. In the possible absence of Ozil the temptation to play Alexis in the hole, Alex Lacazette up top, and bring in Danny Welbeck ahead of Alex Iwobi to work the flanks, might be strong.
We trail the visitors by seven points right now, and they are occupying the third automatic Champions League qualifying spot that should be a target for us. The consequences of dropping further points on Wednesday night are unthinkable. The champions arrive unbeaten in six Premier League and Carabao Cup matches in which they have scored thirteen goals and conceded just two. Easy this will not be.
This is the first of three new year encounters with Conte’s team, the other two will be in a semi-final of the Carabao Cup. With Manchester City seemingly sailing off into the distance with the Premier League title the current incarnation of the League Cup will provide both clubs with an opportunity to lift some silverware this season.
The ‘holic pound
The bookies have got the visitors as slight favourites but we showed in May at Wembley that we can respond to a challenge. Earlier this season we went to Stamford Bridge just three weeks after shipping four goals at Anfield and were unlucky not to leave with more than the one point a goal-less draw earned us. A similarly disciplined performance will be required and IF (that’s a big if!) we are to win then 1-0 would appear to be the likeliest scoreline. I have taken 12/1 against that.
Arsene Wenger Charged
I’m on record as saying he has overstayed his welcome, but I will not use the FA charge laid at his door as a stick to beat Arsene Wenger with. I don’t mind admitting I am still fuming about Mike Dean’s penalty award to West Brom on Sunday.
Contrary to popular belief I have not seen anyone argue against the perceived wisdom that we played badly on Sunday, but to say we should have won regardless of the spot-kick award is flying in the face of everything we have experienced at football.
We were leading what we had allowed to be a difficult away game 1-0. In popular speak we were doing what good sides do, grinding out a victory on a day when we didn’t play well. That we didn’t was down entirely to an appalling refereeing mistake that ultimately determined the result and denied us two points. I haven’t seen one ex-referee, player, or even opposing supporters argue that that was a penalty under the wording of law 12. That the same referee denied us a penalty against Leicester on similar grounds only adds to the injustice of it all.
Yes, perhaps I should let it go, but to be honest having seen Jack Wilshere booked for protesting the decision, having seen Petr Cech booked for having the nerve to respectfully request an explanation, and now to see the manager facing a touchline ban for telling the officials what most thought of them is just punishing the victims of the crime, not the perpetrator.
It’s time for those in charge of our game to make the referees, and the PGMOL officials, accountable for their performance. Mic them up so we can hear them explaining their decisions (and hopefully stop the worst of the abuse I don’t doubt they receive on the pitch). Make them available for post-match interviews to explain their contentious decisions. Stop protecting the guilty and do something about improving the appalling standard of refereeing in this country.
There is a reason we will not have any of our officials at the World Cup this summer. It’s because they are not up to standard and are exempt from appraisal. The whole thing stinks.
107 Responses to “Injuries, Chelsea, And The Victims Of Our Referees Are Punished”
First again !
Love the rant, Holic – very measured too – as usual.
Ans speaking of Chelsea, I’m still angry about Dean’s performance and the red card he gave us for Costa walking backwards into our centre back, who retaliated by trying to get his foot out of the way. My mind’s gone blank but who was sent off ?!
We were drawing with Chelsea at their place up to that point on that day, and then suffered the inevitable defeat – just as he cost us another two points on Sunday.
It’s a disgrace that he is totally unaccountable for that and his consistent, blatantly wrong decisions against us require investigation.
Our stats in matches where Dean referees us are shocking compared to all the other top sides, and that victory jig at the Emirates when the Spuds scored was a piss take too many.
Wenger said after the WBA game that he and David Dein had worked very hard to get professional referees but the standard has not gone up. You can say that again. Even the promising Michael Oliver has dropped into the mire.
I will now leave Cynic to apply the correct nouns to my opinion of him…
Uply – couple of replies in the previous bar.
There must be a way to stop referee errors on the ground itself. The concept of a second referee off the ground wired up to the ground referee is the best way to Ensure such bloomers don’t happen
Ground referee must be wired to a live off the ground referee at all times. This will prevent the Mike Dean kind of bloomers.
tennis, dog walking, swimming…
propah ‘ooligan
how d’ya find a time for a pint?
Once again, Guvnor, you’re bang on. Talk about how Arsenal didn’t play well enough against the league’s bottom team is a distraction. Yes, we were far from our best, but we had done enough to win it in the so-called “style of champions” and then Mike Dean decided to Mike Dean and cost us the victory. Without that appalling decision, we had the 3 points in the bag, and it is frankly the height of ludicrous insanity to read so many blogs insist that we were supposed to make the referee a non-factor. Such insistence flies before any objective reality and is a sad reflection of the fact that so many of our so-called fans would rather further their own agendas than fight their team’s corner in the face of yet another glaring and egregious injustice inflicted by one of the most comically inept and almost assuredly crooked referees in England
He should be comically inept – didn’t he used to be Jasper Carrott ?
@Trev, it was Gabriel who was sent off (wrongly) by Dean.
twenty four (24) points between us and the city
and it’s january
but hey….
If I knew what nouns were I’d apply them and they’d all rhyme with shunt, chucking and bleating.
Or something.
On to more pleasant matters and there’s a nice little interview with Sir Robert of the Willow in the new Gooner.
blunt clucking fleeting
Mucking sheeting punt.
Holic- another very measured preview and I think you may have the likely team spot on. I don’t think Kos will make it but Ozil might. I think Chelsea are big favourites given the injury situation but we have a good record recently against them although they will be less tired than us having had a stroll on Saturday.
While I agree about Dean, I can’t exonerate Wenger if he abused the referee in his dressing room. I can understand his frustration but having seen Cech booked as well as Wilshere he should be experienced enough to take out his frustration on the cat or the dressing room door. It’s hard to preach self- control to players when you are continually being fined for abusing refereees. We don’t know exactly what was said but he swore at Anthony Taylor last season . The macho bit of us all relish our manager calling out the ref but frankly if he went into his dressing room he is a bit naive. This won’t be a popular view on here but we are the Arsenal and we should have handled this by reporting the referee not calling him a cheat which is the normal Wenger vocabulary at such times.
I don’t think Dean is biased I think he’s an incompetent egotist . Maybe his subconscious dislike of a manager who abused him in the past didn’t help us here. But a deliberate vendetta against Arsenal? I really don’t think so.
I’d take a 1-1 draw tomorrow
Dorset Mick
Good to hear all well with you.
As for Chelsea,they have conceded just 4 goals in their past 12 league games,so imperative we keep it tight at the back and don’t give them the early advantage.
They have had 2 training sessions against Brighton and Stoke at the Bridge to prepare for this,with no injuries on their plate except Luiz,so should be as fresh as a daisy.
We are back to our usual queue to get in the sick bay.
I will be staggered if either Kos or Mesut start tomorrow,so our lineup is anyone’s guess.
My worry is with Jack and Granit both left footed,we have no balance on the right side to protect that defensive side of the pitch,which is Hazard’s natural side.
If we play like we did against our NL neighbors we are in with a good chance of 3 points,anything else,and we are in for a tough night.
Fingers crossed.
TTG, I’m not suggesting Dean is anything other than, as you say, an incompetent egotist.
He is not alone in the PGMOL, and organisation that needs disbanding and replacing. In any other business their continuing failures and lowering of standards would not be tolerated.
Understood Holic. If I might say so your sense of proportion makes this such a civilized blog and gives an example to all of us posters frustrated by the events at the Grove at present.
I also think you embody, as do many of the posters here a class that is missing in so many areas of Football nowadays. We are the Arsenal after all.
Nice preview H.
First of all, the Love child of Jasper Carrott. Again I agree with TTG. Incompetent egotist seems to hit the nail squarely on the head. But if AW has gone into his dressing room to call him a cheat and give him all sorts of abuse then regardless of the fact that he might be correct, he also knows that it won’t go unpunished. If he is going to get a ban/fine etc then I hope he gave him both barrels and made it worthwhile. I also think that regardless of any of that, the ineptitude should not go overlooked by the FA.
Onto the Chavs. Believe it or not but it’s a game I can actually make. I just hope that those picked to play appreciate the efforts that I will be making.
Same type of performance and result as the cup final please.
Quick scoop in the Tolly pre match if there’s anyone about?
Listening to Arsene’s press conference,it seems very much like a decision has been made that if Sanchez/Ozil don’t sign new contracts this month,the club have accepted they are leaving,and will buy top draw replacements in this transfer window.
AW seems to have accepted they are going judging by his response to questions on the subject.
Whether our new head of recruitment is already proving his worth behind the scenes or not,i guess we will find out soon enough.
It makes sense to recruit now,giving new signings half a season to bed in,given there is a World Cup in the summer which will disrupt potential transfer activity.
I might be completely wrong on this,but the tone from Arsene re our 2 Kings,seems to be that 2 other clubs might have come over the top with a pair of Aces.
Wish I was there Steve. Would love a catchup. Palace?
Very fair and (I’m sure) carefully measured words, ‘holic. I will add one more word about Dean: Travesty.
TTG @13. Whether Dean’s vendetta is deliberate or subconscious makes very little difference to me (or actually to you I imagine). The fact of his performance and his history in Arsenal games remains, and I believe your word describes his performance and his history as well as any other: “vendetta”
There are better targets for my ire than Mike Dean though, and I certainly don’t mean to criticize anything you said, TTG. Another poorly worded post of mine, and I apologize.
I also apologize for being too soft on Mike Dean in the previous post.
Excellent summation, ‘holic, although I wonder if Mr Dean wasn’t thinking it a bit unfair of us to score in what had been heading for an honourable, boring draw for 99% of the game and was looking for any excuse to get WBA back on equal terms. Very fair of him doncha know…
Nice to have you back in the bar, Trev, and congrats on First post. But the #1, #2, #3 trifecta is rubbing it in a bit, mate. 😀
Cheers Chris, and here’s to a healthy and earthquake free year ??
@25
Well, I’ll certainly second that
Trev ?
Thanks GH, very fair as rants go.
I can’t see why anyone would have
a problem with mics on refs.
For the Chav game, it’s quite
tricky to predict the line up if
Kos doesn’t make it.
If we play 3 at the back then
who plays on the left?
The Chavs main threats are Hazard
on the ground and Morata in the
air. Playing Per helps with one but
leaves us vulnerable with the other.
I’ve seen Rob play on the left for
a junior England team I think but
he’s right footed and also I saw Ash
M-N pre-season as a left CB.
I hope we don’t go with one of those
options. Back 4 of Hector, Per, Mus
and Ash M-N is an option – but then
don’t we get overloaded in MF? And
not defensively great on either
flank. I don’t fancy that option.
Should it be three? Should it be
four? Then again, should it be more?
Could it be Rob? Could it be Mert?
Could it be Mustafi’s a cert?
Would it best cos that’s what I feel
To hope very hard for Lolo’s heel.
Cheers H!
Fuck Mike Dean.
The cunt.
No year has ever been earthquake free in NZ, Trev, not in recorded history anyway. In fact very few days are earthquake free. 28,782 quakes in the past year to be exact, including 80 greater than 5 on the Richter scale. Not all are that threatening, or even in the Wellington region, but the constant reminder of awesome, and unpredictable forces beneath your feet can get a bit wearing.
You’ll get an idea from the following link … http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake … which shows the most recent quakes. Some interesting pages on the site too.
But thank you for the sentiments, they are much appreciated. Now, if you can give me the winning lottery numbers I’ll buy you a drink in the Tollie after buying that houseboat on the Thames I have my eye on!
Ditto Matt, thanks mate.
Wow, that was quite a rant Holic, sad to say Dean is just the pits of a very poor bunch of Refs in the league, we see them every week.
Could we see Mustafi flanked by Chambers and Holding tonight? If Ozil doesn’t make it, will we be as impotent in the final third as we were at the Hawthorns ?
I fear for your pound Holic, I can’t see anything better than a hard fought point but one can only hope.
Malcolm has found me a ticket for Sunday and has just told me the trains are disrupted from Cambridge, happy days.
COYR
Delia
I think the Liverpool Street line is OK, it’s the Kings Cross line that’s messed up between Royston and Cambridge.
1-1 sounds about right for this one as long as we don’t concede early.
Debuchy could be another option for cb – he’s always done quite well there.
Someone needs to clatter Hazard early – where’s Snouty when you need him?
UTA.
Thank you OsakaMatt for that poetic outbreak at the end of 27. Amid all the “could it be” questions and considering countryman100’s interjection @32 I sincerely hope Delia avoids getting shunted into a railway siding between Royston and Cambridge, and is able to witness the entirety of Arsenal’s heroic victory against the Chavs. Hope can be powerful they say. 🙂
Nice one H. Spot on.
The refs are shockingly bad. Mike Dean being the rancid cherry on that disgusting cake. I don’t think he consciously screws us over. But I do think he has an unconscious bias against us which has shown itself often enough across a variety of situations for him to stop being given our games to ‘ref’. Or whatever you call his brand of attention-stealing flouncing around.
Personally Delia I would go with Rob too, but the fact that Per was preferred on Sunday suggests the boss has a different pecking order to us. I hope the journey on Sunday goes well.
No English refs at the World Cup.? Incompetence apart I presume they also get overlooked for not being able to speak two or more languages.
I never thought I’d see us priced up @ 2/1 at home to the chavs. No one wanting to put a penny on us, obviously.
Except for this idiot!
@35
we will know soon 🙂
doggerel or not
anyway…..
the options we have all give me
the willies
so as per usual, i’m saying a prayer
for Laurents achilles
But then again I feel we can win.
Hit them early, play without fear
There’re only Chavs and belong in
the bin.
I’m all for a crushing and fancy a
win – 3-0 would be fine
Delia will be happy, Holding, Chambers, and Mustafi the back three.
Mesut starts too.
Me too!
Here we stand.
COYGs !!!!
At least Iwobi and Welbeck don’t start, but all it means is they will get dragged off the bench when we’ll probably need goals late in the game.
Which is the very definition of futility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7M7ZTKWifo
We’re 21/10 to win on Skybet but more interestingly, Alexis is 18/1 to score from outside the box. As he takes all our free kicks, that’s got to be worth a dip.
@38. Insularity only breeds success if you are from Iceland these days. Not sure how many languages they speak there but I hear they can communicate with wolves.
What is Chambers doing there? FFS
And then they stand there and let a cross roll into the six yard box. Fucking hell
Would it be cruel to suggest that AMN’s tackle on himself is the best bit of defensive work he will do all game? 🙂
Xhaka silly man
Ozil’s playing well. I’m surprised.
And then he gets caught and they nearly score. I’ll stick to slagging him off 😉
Cracking half of football… Couple of great saves by Courtois. One brain fart moment from Chambers which luckily went unpunished. The team have played well dominating more of the ball but have to be wary of the Chelsea counter attack. More of the same attack wise and hopefully no more brain farts from the defense. The Chavs are there for the taking…
Ozil is playing some really silky stuff tonight…
good half
unbelievable good
keep on
Very decent first half! More of the same please Arsenal and a winning goal or goals!
Wake up Arsena we have started the second half 5 minutes ago.
Come on Laca ffs
Holding well late need to be careful now
Should have had a dink there, Mesut.
Not that it matters now 😀
Gggggggooaaaalllll. Jack!!!!
Should have scored there as well.
Playing really well here.
Holic pound is on – for five minutes at least.
Spoke too quickly. That’s not five minutes is it?
No way is that a penalty.
No fucking way.
Another joke penalty.
Bellerin is really not the player he used to be! Awful decision!
Hazard is such a diving cunt.
You can’t hang your foot out like that though.
You’re sort of asking for it if you do that, but it’s a clear dive and I hope he gets banned.
Total bollocks defending and refereeing
Bellerin kicks him in the foot ffs wake up folks
Such an open game though, get Theo on. Yeah right… more chance of a eunuch getting a hard on than Walcott getting any meaningful time on the pitch.
Wenger as usual keeping his players fresh
Laca is shooting blanks bring on Theo or Danny
More likely to bring Coquelin on lol
Subs please Mr Wenger
Hazard an artist? Yeah of the con variety.
Laczatte “on the edge of being good”? Talk about damning with faint praise ffs.
Laca needs some bench time
One angle at least makes it perfect look like Bellerin catches him. I wouldn’t bunch this one with the Dean call against Chambers.
Shit defending.
Ffs
Standing still as usual
Go on, put Iwobi on… you know you want to.
We belong where we belong
If Theo’s coming on, who’s selling the scarves at Finsbury Park shop?
Far too late for this change.
If we loose I don’t want to hear we played well if we did we would have not lost!
Hahahhahaaaaaa
Mustafi long ball to off side Walcott wtf are they thinking
Comical!
GET THE FUCKING FUCK IN
Get iiiiiiinnnnnnn
Love it Cynic haha
Lovely side foot finish that. Lovely.
Jesus end to end stuff
We did play well and then the penalty came.
A point is not good enough really.
Don Hector you beauty….
Have to say Bellerin made up for his blunder hats off for not giving up! Shame it leaves a sour taste ever so slightly this could have been so much more. We need points though an this is not good enough with all due respect.
Onwards and upwards. Ref did feel slightly sideways towards the blues in my eyes. No complaints on the penalty Spock kick though.
Not an unfair result on the total balance of play – so why am I feeling that it’s another two points lost because of a crap penalty decision?
Back to read the super quick report later
Fuck Anthony Taylor and all of these PGMOL scumbags. >>>>>>>>>
Wouldn’t mind if we won or lost ..if we showed at least this amount of commitment till the end.
The two most unlikely scorers… Wilshere(channeling Poldi) and Bellerin(deserves more credit!) for that controlled half volley to beat Courtouis no less.
And we have a hex on the italian players… hahahaha!
😀
Opportunity calls
BTM
It was a legit pen nothing wrong with it if happened on the other end you would be furious if not given.
Just get Jack’s contract signed for f**ks sake…
And it is absolutely unbelievable that they were discussing a possible second yellow for Jack falling down after clear contact on his trailing leg from Christenson during live commentary and in the post match show. Fair play to Frank Lampard for speaking in favor of Jack in the post match show…
So much for disciplining a game official: Mike Dean is currently doing the SpudsWest Ham at Wembley. Will be interesting to see how he screws the Hammers.
Interesting article on Hleb. Like Overmars, Petit, Song, Fabregas, Silvinho, Vermaelen and even Henry who won the CL but was never the player he was with us , the move to the Nou Camp signalled a permanent dip in their career trajectory. Only GVB really benefited
http://news.arseblog.com/2018/01/hleb-wenger-text-had-me-crying-while-fishing/?utm_source=feedburner.com%2Farseblognews&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arseblognews+%28Arseblog+News+-+the+Arsenal+news+site%29