Arsenals chances of a top 4 finish this season

Arsenal were much improved on their last few away performances but still were not robbed quite like some Arsenal fans are claiming, they had a bit of possession but didn't really do a great deal, how many saves did Friedel actualy make? We should have scored at least one of the one-on-ones.

Happy that we won that despite a poor performance and the extra pressure of being the favourites in this game for god knows how long.
 
esmufc11 said:
Except that's another myth.
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Draw vs Newcastle, Sunderland, WBA and Blackburn last season.

Season before that did alright but not so well in January and May.

And the season before that four 0-0 draws in a row.

They pretty much choose 2 months after December in which they lose a lot of points.
 
Arsenal controlled the match until Sandro came on. Spurs were outnumbered in midfield.

But Arsenal lacked any sort of vision or imagination to create anything with their possession. And the most damning thing was after they went behind they did not rally at all instead let their heads drop. Did they even produce a shot on goal after they went behind?

Just shows a lacking of fighting spirit that has become a core of that club.
 
Stoke have been terrible away from home, so they'll get the points against them, and Sunderland are also really poor. Maximum points from those fixtures leading into the clash against Chelsea, and things might look a bit different.
 
Not a surprise that Spurs looked much better when VDV was substituted off for Parker, despite all his talent he really is a liability sometimes. I don't know why Harry decided to play him at the right wing despite knowing his lack of defensive abililty.
 
esmufc11 said:
We're 7 games into the season. Arsenal will finish top 4, their so called 'decline' is being massively overplayed. Much like ours was circa 2005.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but have Arsenal not won just 3 in 18 league games since the Carling cup final? I'm not sure that its as passing a problem as you suggest and I think its pretty obvious that, whether they finish this season in the top 4 or not, there has been a pretty gigantic decline over the past 10 years or so.
 
peterstorey said:
That goal was a handball - how was that not daylight robbery?
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Because even after 3/4 replays, I'm still not 100% sure either way and the ref doesn't have the benefit of slow mos and seeing it from all the angles we have.

But more than that, despite all Arsenal's huff and puff and despite VDV taking up whatever positions he felt like, and Modric and Bale playing poorly in the first half and us not playing at our best, we still had more chances than you, quite a significant number of them clear cut.

As I said, how many saves did Friedel actually make?
 
Bacary Sagna has a broken fibula according to French television.
 
The funny thing is Pete, I actually do think it was handball but as I said, I'm not 100% on it and the ref doesn't have the benefit of what we've been saying.

Again though as I said, we missed three one-on-ones, had a few cleared by great last minute interceptions, your front three were almost non-existent when they actually approached the penalty area and Friedel dived for one Walcott shot and..well not much else as far as I can remember.

Daylight robbery? Not even close.
 
Of course VDV should never have gone off for that, to say so is retarded.

Handball though.
 
peterstorey said:
As you can imagine I didn't find it funny - no goal and VdV off. That's what I call daylight robbery.
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So you're saying he should have gotten a yellow for that handball? Surely not. Hand is out to keep balance. He tried to chest it, and he did, but the ball went off his chest onto his hand. That's not a deliberate handball and therefor not a card.
 
It may have been a handball, but it was so marginal that calling it deliberate would be beyond harsh. Best result out of that would have been a disallowed goal and a free kick to Arsenal; a red card would have been ludicrous.
 
alastair said:
It may have been a handball, but it was so marginal that calling it deliberate would be beyond harsh. Best result out of that would have been a disallowed goal and a free kick to Arsenal; a red card would have been ludicrous.
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Yeah, I'd agree with that. I think it was definitely a handball but booking a player for that wouldn't be ideal.
 
Sense from alastair, nonsense from pete.
 
alastair said:
It may have been a handball, but it was so marginal that calling it deliberate would be beyond harsh. Best result out of that would have been a disallowed goal and a free kick to Arsenal; a red card would have been ludicrous.
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Arsenal have been quite unlucky with some goals they've conceded this season. Decision not gone with them but some of them have been a very tough call for a ref.

It's part of the game and their time of incidents such as this will come as well.
 
Thing is, despite the VDV goal, Arsenal came back into it well. Attacked, got a goal, continued to attack, then died on the pitch. This is what they should be looking at, not the referee.
 
alastair said:
It may have been a handball, but it was so marginal that calling it deliberate would be beyond harsh. Best result out of that would have been a disallowed goal and a free kick to Arsenal; a red card would have been ludicrous.
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Nothing marginal about it. No way could he have controlled that ball with his chest - hence the handball and a classic sending-off. I'll refer you to the rules: ' ... a caution for unsporting behaviour is required when a player deliberately handles the ball, eg when a player:

- deliberately and blatently handles the ball to prevent an opponent gaining possession
- attempts to score a goal by deliberately handling the ball'

Doesn't get much clearer than that.
 
peterstorey said:
Nothing marginal about it. No way could he have controlled that ball with his chest - hence the handball and a classic sending-off. I'll refer you to the rules: ' ... a caution for unsporting behaviour is required when a player deliberately handles the ball, eg when a player:

- deliberately and blatently handles the ball to prevent an opponent gaining possession
- attempts to score a goal by deliberately handling the ball'

Doesn't get much clearer than that.
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The rules are clear on their own but put a theory to the test and the outcome isn't always the same. Ref wasn't very close by. He couldn't judge in that split second how VdV was facing when he took down the ball. To call a foul every time a foul happens a ref must be 100% sure.

It's also not like he only used his hand. Quite clear to me that he was trying to chest it. I for one have played football and that's how I would go about to do it. Humans don't have tails so we have to adjust our hands to remain balanced.
 
Not strictly regarding Arsenal's chances of finishing in the top 4 but their fans were today signing:

'It should have been you. It should have been you. Shot in Angola. It should have been you.'

Considering the fuss that was made about some of our fans singing a disgusting song aimed at Adebayor, I wonder if this will be repeated after this latest incidence of fans being pricks?
 
africanspur said:
Not strictly regarding Arsenal's chances of finishing in the top 4 but their fans were today signing:

'It should have been you. It should have been you. Shot in Angola. It should have been you.'

Considering the fuss that was made about some of our fans singing a disgusting song aimed at Adebayor, I wonder if this will be repeated after this latest incidence of fans being pricks?
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All fans are knobs in football stadia. Wenger got the 'paedo' chants aimed at him..taking it all literally is the problem.
 
I know mate, I've said that fans tend to be pricks and we were similarly so for the chants we aimed at Adebayor before.

I was just wondering whether, considering how villified our fans were by the media for singing a song like that, whether they would pick up on this to the same extent.
 
Oh that southern biased media eh? Literally one of the most bizarre conspiracy theories ever, especially given the BBC has now moved to Old Trafford full time.
 
alastair said:
Oh that southern biased media eh? Literally one of the most bizarre conspiracy theories ever, especially given the BBC has now moved to Old Trafford full time.
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Will we hear tomorrow about the Adebayor chants or the Wenger chants in the same way the Leeds game was reported? I won't hold my breath.

The Telegraph in particular couldn't wait to report the things that happened.

It's a fact southern clubs get an easier ride from Fleet St.
 
peterstorey said:
We've only played six games and we've had Gervinho denied a pen twice and sent off, Frimpong booked for feck all and sent off, Suarez offside goal, Yakubu offside goal, VdV handball goal. Quite enough to be going on with I'd say.
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Clocks going back a week later than usual, Dow Jones down 3%, Pisces up Scorpios arse, Tory Party Conference in Manchester, Hottest October day in 25 years, Robbie Savage makes a cnut of himself on come dancing .....


what chance of Arse got when it's all stacked against them?
 
To be honest, there's quite a few clubs that come to white hart lane and start hissing (gas chambers), including Stoke for example and yet there's not much coverage of that is there?
 
peterstorey said:
Anyone who's played football knows that you can't chest a ball to feet if it's travelling across your body - it's not even football it's fecking physics.
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Shoulder is not considered a part of your hand. You can shoulder a ball all you want.
Also, like I said before.
He couldn't judge in that split second how VdV was facing when he took down the ball.
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If he turned somewhat towards the angle in which the ball came from he could have chested it downwards. Specifically since he was airborne and therefor would land as the ball does instead of waiting for it a bit if he was stood on the ground and chested it.

Plenty of doubts to not make a ref or a linesman 100%.
 
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