Do you think Kos touched the ball then? I've been out this afternoon so heard no opinion yet, just found a vid highlight to watch myself for the first time, and its difficult to be so sure of Kos's touch, a feint one doesn't make it 'no pen' though imo. The ball changes direction with GA's touch though, Szesney signals for a goalkick which doesn't help the Goons cause, indicating Kos didn't touch the ball. No doubt the pundits will thrash it to death, see what they say later. This is the vid I used, http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1395tp_a1-3a-www-fasthighlights-com_sport and i just put the cursor on the slide bar at 2mins I think it is and just keep replaying it. Once at speed is nigh on impossible, so you can see why its given.
[video=dailymotion;x1393zb]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1393zb_21454_school[/video] Seems like he gets contact to me, Notso. 24 seconds or so in. Very naive to dive in like that, though and the ref was probably miles behind play, as Villa really can break with speed.
This is what I have thought too - I do think Kos got the ball but the referee is behind the play and his position means it's very difficult to see (especially at speed). Until they video review penalties this'll keep happening. It happened to Arsenal today - it could easily be us tomorrow.
From the refs view, he sees kos left leg lunge in so he was 100% right to give the penalty, even if there was contact with the ball, as he still caught the villa player. Benteke saw to the rest
SNF is terrible. I just had to get up and do something else then watch that crap! Good job wife is around.
I will say the finish for the 3rd is quite exceptional, he shapes to shoot across Chesney, probably gives him the eyes too and calmly stokes it in the near post. What makes it exceptional for me is the distance the Villa player does this...approaching the 18yd line!
Why were the entire Arsenal team out of their own half, though? They were only a goal behind and they still had 5 minutes til injury time, which was another 5 minutes. Fenerbahce will be loving this.
I wouldn't disagree a feint brush of the ball PNP, if you let my vid run from the side angle and look from the behind view (the refs), the ball clearly changes direction with GA's touch and the lunge as you say brings the player down. As has been debated many times, touching the ball first does not excuse it from being a pen.
It was a very difficult call. In real time I thought it wasn't a pen, as did the announcers, and the replay they showed seemed to confirm Arsenal's difficult to spell defender aka Kos did just scrape the ball with his cleats before tackling Villa's difficult to pronounce forward. Even this angle shows I think he does manage to touch, though not redirect the ball. Your angle opens another can of worms for me, anyway, who does not know the rule, because it looks as if Kos's knee gets into Abgo...calf before his foot gets the ball. On the other hand, there were a couple of mystifying fouls called on Villa when they had gotten, rather than given, the foul. Finally, the coveted First Dive I Saw in the Prem This Season Award goes to.... Jack ! Wilshire! with an absolutely stellar down-on-his-knees-faster-than-a-Juarez-hooker-without-a-breath-of-contact effort. Complete with a chavilly furious why-no-card look at the referee. Well, done, Jack. All sixes from the judges.
Mad isn't it, a team can be undone purely by the position the ref is in for an incident. Just can't legislate for it....as we've found out more than once!
Man Utd, proof that you don't need creativity in midfield to win the league - you just need referees with a creative interpretation of the rules.
Sagna's rather gruesome fall: [NSFW] please log in to view this image [/NSFW] Looked a bit dodgy by Benteke, there. Seemed to be leaning into him when he was already in the air. Dangerous stuff, as Dawson found out in the season before last.
Here we go again,another Sunday game.I hate Sunday games! Does anyone out there know our record of Sunday games.I have a feeling we've lost more than we've won.
Hey, I'd rather watch that than put up with NBC's crap coverage or Fox Soccer with Warren Barton giving his two cents. At least Jamie & Gary talk a bit more sense!
Arsenal board is ****ing hilarious. They have gone from talking themselves in to finishing above us to all turning on one another. Its comedy genius.
