Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
Divers are already retrospectively punished…
Yes, Santi dived. Yes, it was ugly. And no, I don’t want it happening again. That said, you won’t hear me lambasting him for it. There are two reasons: the first is that we’re so desperate for points at the moment that I’ll take them however we can get them. The second is that, unlike the majority of pundits, I don’t find diving to be the great corrupting evil of our game. In fact, I’d far sooner see a player dive than commit a dangerous two-footed tackle. It seems an odd quirk of our culture and its latent obsession with a neanderthal interpretation of masculinity that we’re more accepting of physical violence than a bit of cunning. Fundamentally, I believe players are entitled to leap out of the way of a tackle. There is no obligation to take the hit and get hurt.
That, I suspect, is exactly what Cazorla was attempting: to anticipate contact and exaggerate it to guarantee the decision. Rather embarrassingly for him, the contact never came, and his subsequent leap and tumble can only ever be called a dive. In an ideal world, the ref spots it and hands Cazorla a yellow card. Unfortunately, the referee in this case was having a ninety minutes littered with incompetence, and made a poor decision. You have to feel for West Brom, but few clubs are whiter-than-white here. The Baggies themselves tried to win a penalty after a laughable dive from Markus Rosenberg.
There is outcry about the lack of retrospective punishment for divers. I’m not sure I agree. One need only have watched the second half to see the FA’s unspoken judiciary system in place. Cazorla dribbled between four tackles, before being clearly fouled on the edge of the box: no free-kick. This punishment can last longer than just one game – simply ask Gareth Bale, who has been booked twice recently for ‘dives’ when any other player would have won a free-kick. In this age of television replays, the reputation earned becomes the punishment. Santi will be lucky to win another penalty this season.
This was a much better Arsenal display…
We ought to have scored at least four goals, and looked relatively comfortable at the back too. The midfield of Cazorla, Wilshere and Arteta looked so much better for a rest, and the latter showed just what a ballsy character he is with two no-nonsense penalties. The English pair of Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain had their best games of the season. I’m sure I’m not alone in hoping that Chamberlain can put together a run of form to allay some of the concerns about Theo Walcott’s inevitable departure.
I occasionally wonder just what the other players make of Gervinho…
The Ivorian had one of his better games on Saturday. He was energetic, hard-working and covered huge areas of the pitch. However, his decision-making, final ball and finishing will always leave a lot to be desired. In fact, the most reliable thing about Gervinho is that I will be complaining about him after the game. When he missed from six yards out, Lukas Podolski, who was warming up on the sidelines, held his face in his hands for a good five seconds. Little did he know he’d trump Gervinho with an even more outrageous miss after coming on as a substitute.
Olivier Giroud needs a goal again…
The Frenchman was desperate to take the second penalty, and not at all happy about Mikel Arteta asserting his authority and taking the kick himself. When Arteta scored, Giroud turned and trudged back to the centre-circle as the rest of the team celebrated. It was a little stroppy, and the mark of a player who is starting to feel the pressure again after failing to score in his last five appearances.
Arsenal are now just two points off fourth spot…
…whilst Chelsea’s mini blip means we’re only five points off third. We’re in the fortunate position of being in direct competition with teams which are as flawed as our own. If we can get it together, Champions League qualification is still very much within our grasp.
That said, it was painful seeing RVP clinch the Manchester derby…
That’s what football ought to be about. Those glorious moments when you pinch victory in a table-topping clash thanks to your star player. We had a player like that. We sold him. Still, look at that bank balance. Lovely.
“We had a player like that. We sold him. Still, look at that bank balance. Lovely.”
I watched the red cunts v blue cunts game with misty eyes. RVP is a class footballer. Shame about his lack of loyalty though. But I for one think we have a star player in Jack. He is getting better and better. Let’s hope he stays injury free for the rest of the season and that top-four trophy is ours!
Nothing has been said in the press about Rosenberg’s dive – which was 1000 times worse! It’s Arsenal bashing time. Look how many times Bale has dived this season yet this has received 10 times more coverage. All the shit from Steve Clarke after the game should’ve been challenged immediately by saying his own player Rosenberg did exactly the same thing.
Bradford Tuesday will the club a life. We will absolutely spank them and cruise to the semis. We won’t fuck it up this year. That cup is in the bag and will drive us on. Swansea will get a revenge beating too in the FA Cup – and we’ll have a couple of TOP signings I’m sure. Roll on 2013. It’s gonna be good!
i remember signing markus rosenberg for my juve team.on an old CM game. great striker, forned a good combo with del piero for a number of seasons. never dived.
It’s 3 pts in the bag! If diving can win us some trophies, I say bring in the whole damn Navy.
At first i thought he had dived, but when you look at the replay in slow motion, you can see that Cazorla’s leg shakes at contact by the other player’s foot. Watch carefully.
Although the opposition player did not make full contact(thank the stars) there was contact, just check it out all you video jockeys.
prove he dived..only the player knows
hahaha english media ..bunch of wankers trolls ..cazorla didnt dive..cazorla was kicked and since he was kicked inside the area he took advantage of it and got the penalty. the defender kicked him and not the ball.end of story. fuck the english media and every other english wanker hypocrite with their anti-arsenal agenda.
EDUARDO! YOU CUNTS …WE WONT FORGET !
P.S who is that neanderthal showing his finger to our player ? what has he achieved in his life ? lol effin cunt…
First, it was voices in your head. Then you started talking to yourself.
Now you’re hallucinating…
You never did seek that help did you?
hey stevie-0 do you like it when you see your neanderthal sub-cultured countrymen acting tough on our players ? giving their finger and all…talking dirty..kicking..acting hard…. hahaha ..bunch of wankers ..arsenal will fuck you all again whether you like it or not.
26.12.00 ..do not forget who tought this island how football really should be played. it was a bunch of foreigners with a foreign manager who ridiculed these kick and rush merchants as “der keizer” says..
now go put a black bin bag over your head and kick yourself in the trash can where you belong with the rest of mugs who are asking for trophies and expenditures when just 7 years ago we built the best stadium in europe…lol peasants…
everytime you walk in the grove you should get on your kness and cry you fucking peasant …instead of complaining.
tell me drunken cunt , how do you feel about …as you put it the best staduim in europe being located in shitty old england with a lot of neanderthal sub-cultured countrymen attending the games and supporting your club ?
i find it very educational….
especially for all you pissheads in the radio stations and media, considering you couldnt even lay the grass properly in your new wembley…ahahha mugs!
yet you want to tell ARSENE WENGER how to run his football club ?
go learn how to kick the ball properly first and then come and lecture wenger
as for the neanderthal subcultured countrymen of yours who join morgan and other cunts in bashing our greatest ever manager and making protests in the middle of world economic crisis about spending money like peasants …no youre not real supporters..you are just a bunch of wankers and as such you will be treated.
look …https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s480x480/30345_520930097931245_762832983_n.jpg
haha ..https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s480x480/30345_520930097931245_762832983_n.jpg
hunter i dont understand how you can write that and end with a smiley face. a bit at odds, to say the least.
why is it at odds? same way they think they can dismiss a manager who has proved to us that he can win titles, likewise i dismiss these muppets who are total failures in their lives in whatever they attempted.
Wenger must be real proud of this shower tonight.
Well in Cazorla. Now Chamakh hits post. 0-2 LOL
Fuck me, Szscesny saves us and Vermaelen repays him for his saves with hitting the post. We’re out, more happy days under Wenger. BRADFORD CITY WELL DONE. 3 leagues lower than the once mighty Arsenal.
What a set of weak, spineless, soft, feeble cunts. The one man that stood out from them cunts is Wilshere but he cant win it on his own.
Gervinho, fuck off away from this club back to the shitty French league where your meant to be some sort of superstar. Ball control, fucking hell, he’s shit and he’s getting worse, somehow i didn’t think it was possible but he is getting shitter. Please, get injured or better shit, get shot at ANC in January. I fucking hate you.
Ramsey, same as Gervinho, if you cant look okay against Bradford then fuck me, you might aswell give it up. Wenger is the one to blame for playing these cunts but Ramsey even tries to do fancy little flicks and touches when the piece of shit cant even pass 2 fucking yards.
Chamakh is just fucked, Podolski has been a fucking joke.
WENGER JUST FUCK OFF AND LEAVE THE MESS YOU’VE MADE, DONT TRY FIXING IT, ITS GETTING WORSE. JUST FUCK OFF OR HAVE A HEART ATTACK OF SOMETHING YOU FRENCH PRICK.
Just what do you want? You English peasants can’t lay grass and we have a new stadium!
And you want Wenger to spend money in the middle of a world economy crisis so we can beat 4th tier shit like Bradford?
Do not forget. Wenger showed you how to play football. Just ask kick and run Bradford!
You stupid English cretins. Arsene Wenger is building for the future. He doesn’t care about the Credit Card Cup. It’s not a trophy, It has no value. And besides Bradford are a very good team.
Sir Arsene Wenger as I shall now call him, revolutionised this club. He was the first one to introduce dodgy half time injections and he is about to pull off the scoop of the century by bringing back TH14 for a third time – which manager could pull this off?
You cry about RVP, Fabregas, Song – but who made them? – and he can make 100 more if he wants.
You should be grateful that he’s not splashing out like Chelsea, Man u and Man City – just wait til fair play comes into force and we’ll see who’s laughing then.
You English fools, if you don’t like it you should go and watch Spurs.
That is some funny sh!t “son. Of cockhunter” quality
hehe nice to know i havent got under your skin ….my son
and yes..them lot who won one world cup in 66 with a ball that never crossed the line and consider david bechkam worthy of a place next to zidanne, have nothing to say to arsene wenger about football.
go complain to the tw@ts who sold the players wenger was preparing all these years…..
go complain to the idiot who only secured 5m a year for sponsorship in replica and thus forced the manager to make money through transfers……
and last but not least have the balls to hold some players accountable for their shitty performances. once they step into the pitch it is up to the 11 players.
and yeah you are fools because youre comapring a team that has invested in its infrastructure and future with clubs that spend 100m per summer to win titles…..
when has arsenal spent anything close to them in the last 7 years to resemble any title chasing ambition you frustrated mugs?
But we did still spend more than Bradford. Do you agree?
yes we did spend more than bradford and the players we had last night are fully capable of beating division4 teams..therfore theblame lies with them.
the manager, arsene wenger, has proved to me, to you, to everyone that his methods actually do win titles. what has vermaellen and the rest ever proven? so why blame the manager when gervinho misses from 2 yards and when the captain cant score a penalty with the keeper already beaten ( chose wrong side).
if you want to blame wenger for these players then you should also blame the board/owner and directors who failled to keep the players wenger was developing for the club and not only that but didnt even release the funds for appropriate replacements.
I do blame the board. And I blame wenger for signing these muppets to arsenal. What I do not know is who I blame most……. Board and wenger I suppose.
Yes, I agree with my dad. Blame the players not the manager. Sir Arsene did not buy them or put them into the team. I have it on good authority that Ivan Gazidis picked the team last night. And Stan Kroenke personally bought Gervinho out of his own pocket then forced Sir Arsene to play them. Sir Arsene is a winner he proved it 8 years ago.
When we won titles Sir Arsene proved how good he is. But when we lose against Bradford and Birmingham it is the players who don’t show enough spirit.
I hope you English dogs understand now.
We are in worst recession for 80 years and you want to complain about the best ever manager in world football. We are lucky to have Sir Arsene – he could walk into any job he wanted. All you English wankers don’t appreciate how well he is doing. He has a degree in eCONOMICS AND YOU WANT TO TELL HIM HOW TO SPEND MONEY – GO BACK TO SCHOOL YOU eNGLISH PEASANTS.
jolly poor show, arsenal.
jolly poor show, what!
Perspective please wegs! We are after all in the middle of a double dip recession!
Did it not occur to you that while Arsenal fans pay a fortune in this recession, we would not be able to compete with the Bradfords, Norwich’s and Swansea’s. Wenger is securing the future of the club for the next 100 years.
When this recession ends, we will be in a position to dominate the world.
By the way wegs. Do you Aussies know how to lay grass?
That’s the kind of louche, little englander comment that Hunter13 has been decrying. So just because your little island rains constant and is infested with sheep, you think you are the only country which has nice green pastures and neatly trimmed grass?
I would like you to know that the Adelaide Oval is perhaps the finest cricketing oval in the world and if it wasn’t for the monstrous new stands, would still be considered the prettiest cricket ground ever. I would say it far outperforms anything English cricket has to offer.
Well said, Peter Hill-Wood! Wish you all the best for your recovery!
did anyone force you to pay anything stevie-zero?
Wenger is securing the future of the club for the next 100 years.
the only correct thing youve said the 3 months ive been visiting this shithole of plastic arsenal fans….
and dont sweat too much my son…in our previous century of existence we had a record of one champion title per decade in average….. big club my @ss … lol…
wenger got you 3 in one decade ..he upped the ante didnt he? hehe …and now youre complaining like a spoilt brat… some fans you are…
do you know this club has gone for much larger periods than 7 years without winning anything ? did the club have a stadium to build/repay back then? so what was holding the club back from entering the sallons of madrid barca ajax bayern etc etc? can you answer you silly little englader ? no you cant….hehe
Yes, My dad is right again. You stupid English dogs – did George Graham have to pay for the stadium when he was scraping 1 – 0 boring wins.
How dare you keep comparing George Graham with Sir Arsene. Just because George Graham won 6 trophies in 9 years and Sir Arsene has won 7 in 16 years – you think George Graham is better….you silly English fools. My dad and I have been the best armchair fans for 20 years.
In Arsene we trust
Arsene knows best
dear son,
how could you betray me like this? you prefer boring 1-0 victories and the tag of barbarians and alcoholics instead of the flair, quality, sophistication of pires, henry, the elegance of vieira and gilberto, the genius of bergkamp unfolding under the guidance of your dad who built you your fucking home ?
such an ungrateful little shit you are, mommy should have dropped the pill. you embarass me son….
My dad is right again, you English pigs.
How can you compare Adams, Wright, Keown, Merson to the flare of Ramsey, the killer instinct of Chamakh, the grace of Gervinho and the sublime Djourou.
You stupid Englanders Sir Arsene knows more about football than the whole of the Premier League managers put together.
Arsene Knows Best
Dear Cock hunter, what is the difference between AWFC and a tea bag?
Answer:- A tea bag stays in the cup longer
WENGEROUT
who in ?
lets see what you know about football……
get your votes in
wenger out
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4693451/Arsenal-lose-to-Bradford-Should-Arsene-Wenger-go.html
Ah, lol. Looking at the archives from 2006 when I called it. Everyone calling me a cunt. And Little Dutch famously saying “Thank God you’re not a United fan right now!” Haha. Everyone should go and look at the archive. Everything I said became true. I AM THE ORIGINAL DOOM-MONGER YOU FUCKERS!!!
Bona December 12, 2012 at 2:18 pm
I do blame the board. And I blame wenger for signing these muppets to arsenal. What I do not know is who I blame most……. Board and wenger I suppose.
well these muppets is what the manager could afford with the peanuts the board gave him…so again cant see how anyone can solely hold wenger as responsible. he doesnt draw out the clubs spending policy. others do that. he is not the one imposing limitations on himself and what he can spend. its the club owners/shareholders who make the policy.
Well, only last weekend you had a laugh about the final against zaragoza. But by your logic GG was a great man who won many trophies. They played a bit boring football maybe, but that was not GG`s fault, that was the players?
And GG would never ever have gone out to bradford I am sure og that and I have never seen a GG game as poor as the one we played yest`d. That said football outgrew GG and it is now outgrowing AW.
And only a few of todays players would get into that finale team against Zaragoza (maybe Cazorla and Jack) the rest wouldn`t stand a chance………
What a crock. The club is run by Wenger’s policy. NOT The Boards. Cuntfuck Wenger in 2005, after he sold Vieira:
“I ask the Arsenal supporters to trust me. I have a Masterplan.”
Lol. The Board offer Wenger money to spend, but he refuses to spend it. Resulting in The Board being happy with that, as they know it’s more money for themselves.
Like the way morons claim it’s solely down to money why Wenger hasn’t won a SINGLE trophy in EIGHT years. Lemme see..
2006 – FA Cup – Liverpool
2008 – FA Cup – Pompey
2008 – League Cup – Spurs
2011 – League Cup – Birmingham
2012 – League Cup – Liverpool
Not to mention the 2009 FA Cup Final semi-final. Arse losing to Chelsea, and Le Cunt having an inform Arshavin on the bench for the most of the match, in favour of his love-child Diaby.
So how did these clubs mentioned above, all do something with weaker teams who are not rich, and with managers getting a lot less than Wenger?? I rest my case your honour. I win. Again…
Gelbs; your name should be Gobshite
Oh. And if Wenger is such a wonderful manager, why on earth would he need money to win a trophy??
lol kid how old are you again?
ehhhhm because money gets you the players who go on the pitch and do what you asked them to do…i.e win…thats why they cost lots and lots of millions ..which arsenal dont have…
if its confusing for you we can break it down in parts…
if youre good enough i will even bring coloured pencils to draw it for you …
anything for my confused sons….
It’s karma too. Wenger showing utter contempt for domestic cup competitions down the years. And now he starts putting out a more fuller team in them now, desperate to try and win them, to answer his critics. It’s even more sweeter watching him foul when he does it.
Makes no difference if this overpaid cunt changes his policy or The Board force the change upon him to splash the cash. He still isn’t winning shit. If he gets lucky, he might eventually scrape a League Cup, lol. But the Cunt cannot even do that!
Either way, he’s totally finished. As I said all those years back in 2006/2007.
I win again fuckers.
Wenger must be so pissed off now he didn’t put the reserves out last night. The reserves getting beat would have been absorbed by the AKB’s as acceptable. But Wenger’s shot himself in the foot. It’s totally backfired on him. There’s no excuses for what we saw last night. This just emphasises how poor and gutless we are.
Like you say, Wenger saw this as an opportunity. He knows how brain dead the AKB’s are, and a tin pot trophy would buy him another 18-24 months.
And what makes me laugh is all this talk of how a trophy will help our players believe in themselves and kick on. Can’t the AKB’s see the last thing on anyone’s minds at the club is winning owt?
Because Verm hit the post with his penalty, Wenger should be sacked on the spot!!!
No, Wenger deserves the sack because he is a complete clown.
Almost 8 years making the same mistakes over and over again and expecting different results isn’t enough ?
Buying cheap shite players and overpaying them isn’t enough?
No accountability at all while trotting out the same excuses season after season is not enough?
Poor defending and lack of tactical nous is not enough?
An overpaid manager who slates the fans that voice their opinions is not enough?
A manager complicit with the greedy board, telling lies to the fans just to fulfill their selfish agenda is not enough?
Is Wenger bigger than Arsenal after all? In AKB’s mind the answer is ‘yes’.
My dad is a true Arsenal fan…..
He’s never seen Arsenal play but I can tell he’s had many dreams of watching them. He’s also had many dreams of watching Sir Arsene in the showers. Personally I don’t know which he prefers but he did say that nothing beats watching Sir Arsene with a bar of soap in his hands.
Now go and jerk off to George Graham you silly English beer swilling thugs.
this site has degenerated to a sandpit of name-calling, petty insults and gelbs.
One bad result and the Spurs trolls are out in force as usual. I didn’t see you English peasants on here when we thumped six past Coventry!
Just to let you know, we are the top scorers in the Capital One Cup. This is the 75th year on a trot Wenger has got us to the quarter finals. We’ll never win the thing, but hell of an achievement this year beating Coventry and Reading. Fergie would die for such a record.
It was just unfortunate we drew Bradford. Had we met them in the semis, I honestly believe we would have got past them over two legs. We’ll never know now though.
You English retards should abide by Sir Arsene’s 11th Commandment:
“Love Thy Manager”
You English fools all forget where we were before Sir Arsene Arrived. But he’s set high standards hasn’t he?; Champions League football every Year, new stadium….I could go on, but what’s the point…you English peasants know nothing about Football.
Sir Arsene should punish you by leaving for a year – and then you will all be crying for him to comeback….