Shambolic refereeing at the Emirates. City will no doubt end up winning a game because of the referee
May be that Arsenal, who played really well in the first half, lost the game because of indiscipline Ryan. Really impressed with them up until the point that they lost the plot. Two of them churned the penalty spot up. That’s Sunday league stuff. Gabriel needs a good talking to. He let his team down. AFC players at the referee trying to get players sent off. By the way, the referee didn’t give the penalty, VAR did. City have played poorly over the last two games but got the six points. That’s tenacity and what we do. Arsenal looking good and on an upward trajectory. Arteta doing a good job. Good to see that and glad they gave him some time.
I'm not blaming City as unlike Liverpool they didn't dive and they and con the ref. Buy I can't understand why VAR was involved for the Silva pen and not the more blatant one that should have gone to Arsenal.
Walton is explaining on BT at the minute. The pulling of the shirt was the obvious evidence and once that was seen it was a penalty. The other one was not clear and therefore not a clear and obvious error on the part of the referee. VAR was involved in both. Frustrating for the Arsenal fans but makes sense in that context. I can’t believe that I have just indicated that something that Walton said makes any kind of sense. I need to lay down for a bit….
As an aside, BT coverage of football is appalling. I actually think these clowns are doing more to damage the game by hyping every decision up into a contentious argument. Humphries is particularly poor. Does anyone have a clue what McManaman brings to the table??
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Spot on…
Absolutely spot on- it's garbage.
As an arsenal fan I'm really encouraged by the performance, but it's hard to take a loss in that manner. It seems a long time since our fans were able to complain at referees and decisions rather than our own manager/ players! We pushed city all the way, and should be proud of that considering where we were just a few months ago.
City were lucky to come away with three points. As for the penalty Xhaka was stupid in grabbing Silva’s shirt. Silva was losing balance and, even with his skill, would probably have fallen. What I don’t get is how wrestling players to the ground in the box from free kicks or corners result in so few penalties yet Silva’s was given. I’ve seen far worse offences this season.
I thought Arsenal were outstanding today, really played City at their own game. It was probably just the youth and lack of experience that contributed to the loss. Just glad we don’t have to play them in the league again this season.
Interesting close up makes it even less clear who got the first touch!
https://twitter.com/kevdavis736/stat...140903426?s=21
Well Arsenal were hard done by today but swings and roundabouts - Arsenal got lucky vs West Ham with the Soucek red card so it evens out.
I just hope City fans recognise their luck today and remember that when the inevitable penalty for a Salah dive and red card for a City defender is given arbitrarily against them when they play Liverpool next. It all evens out.
Was a good match but we did not deserve to loose, as the close up shows above Ederson hits his boot before the ball so it should be a pen. The xhaka one was so soft it not even funny.
Frustrating second half, but a good performance overall.
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The law is about denial of a clear goal scoring opportunity not necessarily last man. The laws regarding it were relaxed some time ago to avoid triple punishment ie penalty + red card + suspension.
I don’t think the City player was denied a clear opportunity.
i support Arsenal, they were architects of their own downfall today- penalty, stupid yellow, missed open goal, second yellow/red. It was a painful goal to concede but I am enjoying much of their play at the moment, there seems to be a bit more steel in them. Gabriel owes his team mates a big apology and needs to be taken to task over the penalty spot incident which put him on a tightrope for the second half which he fell off pretty quickly.
I was being facetious ,I didn’t want or expect a red card.
I’m the first one to lambast VAR and incompetent referees and I can see why Arsenal fans are aggrieved.
The fact of the matter on those decisions is that VAR actually got it right . I don’t agree with it and I won’t rejoice that we got a positive out of it for once. It’s a shambles . It needs to be taken away from PGMOL and given to an independent body.
I said after the Brentford win that Citywere looking leggy and it was no surprise that Arsenal were at it early on . Equal amount of chances went begging in the first half . Good performances from Arsenal, particularly Partey and Saka .
KDB and Sterling were anonymous for the blues who will now benefit from a decent rest before Chelsea.
Mane should have seen red another EPL let of apart from that great game your welcome Citeh.
Last edited by mart broad; 3rd January 2022 at 14:17.
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
I'll be interested to see how some clubs get on when their players leave for the African cup of nations.
Liverpool without Salah and Mane - wow!
We'll be losing Benrahma, however he can be replaced but other teams may not be so lucky?
Cheers,
Neil.
Never a penalty in a million years. All that gaff about inconsistency coming out of the Arsenal camp was simply nonsense, because there was no apparent error on this one to justify the ref going to the monitor. The penalty at the other end was clear as anything, though, and typical of the thug Xhaka.
It’s quite clear that Mane is being targeted by the opposition.
First, Ederson used his face to assault Mane s studs and lately, Azpilucueta launching a vicious headbutton Manes elbow.
Action needs to be taken to defend the poor lamb who hasn’t got a bad bone in his body .
If Carlsberg made Christmas football periods 😄. That has just topped it off. Just the 22 points behind us now. Having said that, they have got a game in hand. Well done Wolves, stayed strong towards the end there.
Well done Wolves, great result at Old Trafford 🍺🍺🍺
Rag out!
Just heard the Arsenal vs Liverpool semi final has been delayed by 2 weeks! was looking forward to maybe beating them without salah and mane but they could be back for the second leg now
Doubtful Klopp would play those 2 anyway as he doesn't value the Carabao.
Understand the reason for postponement but unless I'm having a crisis of memory didn't Villa have to play their youth team in a FA cup tie against Liverpool last season for exactly the same reasons?
To be fair the ref did Arsenal a favour sending off Xhaka before he could give away a penalty again.
Liverpool toothless without Mane and Salah - hopefully we can get Sunday's game vs Spurs postponed through injuries/Covid and then a strong Arsenal line up will have too much for that Liverpool side at the Emirates
Liverpool looked mediocre last night, partly their own doing and a solid performance by Arsenal.
They need some decent depth up front, Taki should have scored that all day long at this level.
I would have put Ox on earlier too
It’s all rumours but the suggestion is they are miles apart on the wages. He allegedly wants £400k pw and FSG baulking at that because of (a) the wage structure gets blown away and (b) he’s 30 so does his performance start to tail off? 3 year deal at £400k pw is £62m. But if they let him go, have they got any replacement lined up?? And what would that cost? I think even Liverpool supporters recognise they have become over reliant on Salah’s goals and assists.
If he were to run down his contract then a new club could give him an enormous payment up front that would likely mean they get him for a lot less than his market value and he still nets the money he wants.
It would make more sense for Liverpool to sell now, but for his potential suitors it would be better to wait and only deal with the player. That way there'll be a bidding war with Salah having his pick. So I can't see him being sold (famous last words!)
That’s probably the “cold light of day” option but the fans won’t be happy and they’d need to find a replacement at a similar level (and how difficult/expensive will that be) or risk falling out of top 4 contention which is financially huge. And that’s before they address the number of other players who are into their 30s ….
Problem is he has raised the bar so that FSG and the support expect Champions League football and a title challenge as the minimum requirement. Salah’s form has possibly masked shortcomings elsewhere on the pitch. Did they miss the opportunity to refresh on the back of the league win. It’s a typical criticism where clubs fail to improve when they’ve had success. Ferguson was always building ahead however successful Manchester United were.
A good perspective with Ferguson and United but I’d also argue he let a few players go early.
Either way, I think the owners have to back Klopp over a contract renewal. I just struggle to see where they go without Salah as that front three are so intertwined, it feels like there’s no ready replacement.