Remember how all those Goons were trying to blame Mike Dean for losing days before the match took place? Something tells me they won't be bringing up the utter ****show from him and his assistants today that gave them two goals that were about as legitimate as the Duke of Monmouth. That being said, the spine of our team was utterly ****ed today: Kane clearly should have been rested while Dembele is once again demonstrating his Spurs career alternates between an awesome season and an injury ravaged one (and he's in the middle of the latter), and the lack of Alderweireld and Wanyama meant that we were rejigging the lineup on top of that, and that alone would be enough to make things difficult - but on top of that we had so many anonymous performances, leading to a performance as credible as a Chelsea fan calling other fans "pathetic" for suggesting we should exploit ill discipline in order to get back into the game.
Now 1 win in 17 games away to the recognised top six. That's not an idle stat. Winning a few of those key games does turn 3rd or 2nd place into a title or two. What's the reason? Today Arsenal were allowed to turn defence into attack far too easily. They carried the ball through midfield without any pressure.
Although I thought we were poor today, statistically it was quite an even game, though I thought the Goons probably shaded it, but the vital game changing moment came from the whistle of Mike Dean and that comedy free kick award. Mike Dean is developing a habit of making errors against Spurs, he cost us 2 points in the home game against Swansea by refusing to give a penalty for the most blatant trip on Aurier earlier in the season and then today. It`s almost as if Dean has heard the internet banter that he favours Spurs and is trying hard to prove otherwise, or maybe he is just a crap referee. Crap performance, crap officiating and a crap result, I`m off out to sink a few beers to cheer myself up.
So is a deflection...it was a legit goal. Going by your logic most goals are lucky due to mistimed tackles, poor passing, not covering runs etc.
I am still ****ed off with the way we lost or rather didn't compete but I'm more ****ed off with having a closet gooner in our ranks on here cos he sure isn't a spurs fan like the rest of us . I'm off for a few beers now
Watched the game as a neutral. There seemed to be a huge lack of desire within the Spurs team. Alli was especially poor. Arsenal's front 3 showed how good they can play together. Having said that, how Mike Dean continues to referee these big games week after week is beyond me, another poor performance from him. It seems every big game he's involved in, his performance is always being questioned afterwards.
I try not to get too positive when we win or too negative when we lose, we win more often than we lose these days and that’s a fact. Today we were poor but we do have people over reacting massively to this. Lets first offer Arsenal some praise, they turned up and gave us problems in the first half, but they were given a massive helping hand by rank bad officiating, that’s not to say that on the balance of the first half that they didn’t deserve to be ahead, but we all know that you don’t always get what you deserve in football. 2nd half was even, and if we had been awarded the penalty for the challenge on Kane it may have been different. Too many of players were off colour or unfit and it’s the unfit bit that really disappoints me. Harry was clearly not 100% and I am not sure that Dele or Jan were either and picking those players is in my opinion an error on the part of the manager and I don’t criticise him often, but today wasn’t his best day either. I thought Sanchez and Sissoko played well, Winks improved us when he came on but other than that we had too many players missing in action. Dortmund next and we need a reaction before Pulis parks his bus at Wembley next weekend.
Wenger: "The free-kick was a free-kick for me. Surprise, feckin' surprise - he saw that one, apparently!! Twat!!
Very well said. Now the dust has settled let’s move on. A top 4 finish and a good champions league and fa cup run and this will be a good season
Totally disagree. Perhaps this was the case during Fergie's era but these days a decent result away to the top 6 is good for one thing: confidence. Come the end of the season the results I'll be reflecting on will be the draws at home to Swansea, Burnley and the like. Those are the results that ultimately sink teams and are the reason why neither ourselves nor today's victors have won anything of any significance for donkey's years. Chelsea did it last season and City are doing it this - finding a way to turn those draws into wins is the key. Do that and you can lose all 5 away games to your immediate rivals and still win the league.
And that is why the man was, is and always will be considered a two faced hypocritical twat...cries like a 2 year old when it goes against him and lies like one when things go his way.
Confidence is a big factor I agree - and beating a rival away from home can dent their confidence too. Sometimes those away games come at a time when they become significant - real "six pointers". There are memorable examples of where the result has been the catalyst for the winner to go on and win the title; on occasions the result of the game itself has been decisive. If season after season top six away equates to 3 or 4 points maximum, then there's a lot of pressure on the other 33 games. 80+ points is hard enough from 38 games.
Sorry DGC but I just don't understand you. You can't have it both ways. A couple of weeks ago you were arguing what could have been had certain things happened differently ( do I need to find your posts?). Today ''could'' have been 0-0 had the ref and his assistant not been useless. We may not have deserved it but that's what could have been.
The lack of pace in the starting line-up was staggering. If there's one department Arsenal actually excel in, it is speed merchants. This, combined with numerous key players either injured or not fully fit, played directly into their hands. They were first to every loose ball and quicker to close down. Really poor squad management from Poch today but on the whole I feel his tactical acumen has improved this season. But today did remind me that he still has a lot to learn. Trippier's inconsistency baffles me. Magnificent against one of the deadliest left flanks in world football then useless today. For all of our bluster about not missing Walker, Trippier and Aurier between them have put in more abysmal performances already this season than Kyle amassed in the previous two. We miss him terribly and will do for the rest of the season unless one of our 2 RB's steps into the void. I admire the effort Sissoko is putting in this season but as I've said previously, he will always be the kid with no hands or feet trying desperately to ride a bike. Hard to criticise Dier after his superb performance against Palace but today makes me question those who see him as captain material. Miles off of that at the minute as far as I'm concerned. Lamela cannot return soon enough. I thought Dele had turned a corner v Real but apparently not. Unless he's still not fully fit. But then again he has looked lacklustre the entire season. On this form, taking £150m for him in the summer is beginning to look like a tempting prospect. With that money we could amply replace him and have enough left over to give the entire squad a pay rise, including the DOF. Dembele is a major concern at this stage. Seems to be stuck in a vicious cycle of 2 weeks injured then 4 weeks to get back to full sharpness then 1 good game then on to next injury, repeat ad nauseum. His style of play is so physical and close-quarters that when he isn't match fit it is painfully noticeable. Overall, a really, really bad day in the office. I think we can safely state the obvious: the league is totally beyond us this season. Play like that against City and we will be utterly humiliated. I still think top 4 plus a trophy is the best we can hope for this year, and I'd like us to go all out in the FA cup for a change.
