Can I Write A Balanced Piece About Tonight’s Game?
Liverpool (4) - (2) Arsenal
Diaby (13′), Adebayor (83′)
Anfield, Liverpool
So close, yet so far - which sums up our season really.
Arsenal started the game brightly, and dominated the first 30 minutes of the match. With their sharp passing and attacking possession Liverpool were chasing the game. It was a surprise that Benitez started with both Crouch and Torres up front, but it meant Arsenal’s midfield could get at the Liverpool defence and on 13 minutes we got what we deserved.
After some good attacking play, Hleb fed the ball into Diaby who ran from deep and smashed a shot in at the near post.
Advantage Arsenal.
But after that we seemed to take our foot off the pedal and Liverpool were spraying long balls over the top which were causing us problems and from a corner Liverpool equalised.
And it was a gift.
Steven Gerrard always plays in a good ball and to give Sami Hyypia the time and space in the box was criminal. The header bounced in off the post and Fabregas was just too short to get it away.
Unfortunately it was our defensive frailties which would cost us dear later on in the game.
The second half ended 1-1 and it was up for grabs. The second period started at a decent pace but for about 20 minutes both teams seemed to drop the tempo ready for a grandstand finish.
Another defensive error resulted in another Liverpool goal. A long ball wasn’t dealt with and Torres was given time to get the ball onto his right foot. He didn’t need a second invitation and he smashed the ball into the top corner.
The game was finely poised and Arsene went for broke. Walcott and Van Persie came on for Eboue and Diaby, in the pursuit of that vital goal that would put Arsenal into the next round.
And on 83 minutes it came. Liverpool had a corner which bounced to Theo, who waltzed past 5 players in a simply sensational run. He managed to get himself wide on the right where 4 Arsenal players were waiting in the middle for a cut back. Walcott didn’t disappoint and his pass was converted by Emmanuel Adebayor.
The question now was could Arsenal hold on for the remaining 7 minutes?
Unfortunately bad refereeing decisions have cost Arsenal against Liverpool, and the home side were gifted a penalty. Replays showed that there was minimal contact on Babel but it was enough for the referee to blow the whistle.
It’s hard to not feel aggrieved at the decision, especially after Hleb was robbed of a perfectly good penalty at the Emirates. You wonder where Liverpool get this luck from? They get the decisions at the right time. It’s unbelievable and when the penalty was awarded I was stunned.
There was no reason for Kolo to tug down Babel because there were about 6 players back in the Arsenal penalty area and Babel had a hell of a lot to do from the position he was in.
Dutchman and penalties eh?
Once the kick was given all prayers were with Almunia and whether he could pull off a miraculous save to keep Arsenal in the Champions League. He dived the right way but in front of the Kop Gerrard was never going to miss. And with Arsenal playing desperate football in the remaining minutes the very man who won the penalty Ryan Babel scored on the break.
What a rollercoaster.
So why did Arsenal lose over the two games?
Fatigue & Tiredness
Liverpool just looked like the fresher team. Arsenal played well and tried to pass the ball and performed excellently for the first half an hour, but as the game wore on Arsenal looked jaded. Adebayor and Hleb in particular couldn’t get into the game, whether it was down to form or fatigue. The team was over-reliant on Fabregas to make things happen and this kid is burnt out. To his credit, Diaby put in a good performance but Eboue and Hleb’s influence was sporadic at best.
And Adebayor missed a sitter before we finally got the equaliser.
Fans wanted Theo to start tonight and he probably should have looking at his fantastic run to create Arsenal’s equaliser. You really have to feel for Theo Walcott. He puts in a brilliant display against Birmingham and scores 2 goals but that is overshadowed by the horrendous injury to Eduardo. Then he destroyed the Liverpool team with a quite phenomenal run but ends up on the losing side.
Instead of getting the plaudits his magic moments will be forgotten.
And the absence of Bacary Sagna is such a massive loss. Apart from his solid defensive performances he adds something to our attacking game. Maybe it was Sagna not playing which was the reason why Walcott didn’t start the games over Eboue.
Defensive Frailties
Arsenal probably deserved to progress in Champions League over the two legs if you looked at their attacking play, but you could say that about many games this season. The fact is that for all our possession and incisive passing we lost 4-2 tonight. Yes, the penalty call was so difficult to take, especially after working so hard to equalise, but you can’t expect to win football matches if you concede 4 goals.
The fact is you can put all of Liverpool’s goals down to poor defending.
I still can’t get over the first goal. The defending was a complete shambles and if you’re going to give a top side a free header only 6 yards out then you’re going to be punished.
The second goal was no better, after we failed to deal with a long ball. The situation was still retrievable but we stood off Torres and let him shot with his right foot which was criminal. He is a top quality striker and to do that was asking for trouble.
Then the penalty and goal from the break are self-explanatory really.
Just Plain Bad Luck
It really does seem everything has been going against Arsenal since the injury to Eduardo, and the Liverpool ties followed the same vain.
People will say that you can’t change what’s happened and that we should get over it but there’s no about that element of luck has vanished over the two games. There was the Hleb penalty fiasco in the first leg and Ryan Babel was fortunate to get his in the second. It probably would have been fairer if we had a penalty each over the two legs but it didn’t pan out like that.
Final Thoughts?
Well it was a fantastic game of football tonight and give credit to Liverpool, they played more expansively that I thought they would. We all know how dangerous Liverpool are in Europe and now they have beaten us they will feel like they can win it. It’s a shame how the draw panned out really as well. Chelsea and United got favourable draws and we got the team no-one else wanted.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t still hurting over the 2 major penalty incidents in each of the ties because I think it would have made a difference to the outcome of the games. Such games are won and lost on the little things and even the most dedicated Liverpool supporter couldn’t say that certain things didn’t go in their favour.
But Liverpool have qualified and all you can say is congratulations to them and good luck in the next round.
The game in a way summed up our season. We were strong early on but in the end we were hanging on.
I suppose now our focus will be on how we can add that extra strength we need for next season. The game on Sunday will be even tougher now after tonight so let’s see what the boys are made of.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Defensively we were shambles but still played a half decent game…………..simple we were robbed big time.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Mate you’ve been a lot more balanced than I was on 6-0-6…..
we DID stop playing after half an hour but to lose to a decision like that, especially after last week’s, and the one at the weekend, and the Middlesboro offside goal, AND the Brum penalty that never was…it’s hard to take.
We’ve been screwed out of 6 points in the league and tonight’s game as well…. Yes Arsene should have strengthened the squad, yes we are a bit thin but seriously, this is a multi-million £££££ sport at the whim of a referee.
Debases the whole thing.
Great article mate. Gooners!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
very fair summary. The penalty decisions were poor but not the only reason we are out. Shocking defending by Senderos and despite all our attacking play we don’t create enough. Despite Wengers assertions we are actually mentally weak- extremely so. We didn’t recover from conceding the Hypia goal (a shocking goal) at all- a mentally strong team would be able to pick themselves up. Yes we came back to make it 2-2 but don’t seem to be able to make the right decisions under pressure.
Big decisions need to be made. Wenger gets an easy ride from the fans and the press due to his football and lack of spending but these two factors will now be turned against him. FAncy football but 3 years without a trophy? Why move to a new stadium to compete financially and then not spend the money? Time to spend not only on the right footballers but the right characters to add a winning and strong mentality.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
totally agree with the above comments,but a couple of quick points
the problem with arsenal is quite simple ,our main players are constantly playing,game after game without rest.
as much as wenger is a genius in the transfer market he seems to be terrified to be seen to spend money,if anything the revenue from the emirates has now given us the clout to now be as proficient as any club in the transfer market.
the january transfer market was an ideal marker to put down not just for this year but for next season.ideally a centre half and centre forward of expierience maybe short term but to at least give allow some players to get a deserved rest.
secondly it appears that some of the gunners players are just not equipped for this level,ie eboue,senderos,bendtner……we have not won anything in the last 3 years and unfortunately with players like these in your 1st 11 or 15 you never will
April 8th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
A side like Arsenal shouldn’t even think about conceding a goal like the one Hyypia scored. It was shocking. Do you think Chelsea or United would have defended like that? Actually I find it hard to think of a top European side who would have done what we did.
You forgot to mention the injury to Flamini in the first half. Another case of bad luck! Flamini adds energy and urgency to the team and he had to come off after a kick from Gerrard. Why couldn’t he have done that to Eboue instead?
Have to say that the referee was pretty keen to blow his whistle for the penalty! Not sure if it was a shite decision or poor defending from Toure. Toure and Clichy are prone to bad challenges in the box.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
2 or 3 seasons ago arse vs spurs…..arse win 3-1…second goal was clearly off side an third goal was a penalty that arse players dived……so dont give us this shit now about oh the refree
April 8th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Robbed? what a load of rubbish. Lets face it, reds were better on the night & we simply ran out of steam. Good luck to them.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Excellent summary - good luck to Liverpool who played a good part in a great tie, I have no doubt in my mind that the two penalty decisions over the two legs were as significant a factor in deciding the outcome as our shambolic defefending.
Let’s also look at the run of ill fortune that deprived Arsenal of Sagna, Eduardo, Rosicky, and RvP (as well as Mattie for much of tonight’s game) - however that also brings up the very real complaint that Arsene chose not to go into the transfer market in January, chose to play central midfielders in wide positions, a centre back at right back and therefore bears some of the responsibility for this horrible spell we’re going through. Oh, that and shit referee decisions that started at Birmingham and just keep on rolling.
Now with only the 5 games remaining the boys must strain every sinew and muscle to close the gap and hope that a 2nd place and an automatic place for next year’s ECL.
This is going to be a very important summer IMHO….. spend well, and sell well, and we’ll have the staying power for next year and for some time to come regardless of injuries and suspensions. Don’t, and, the mantra of “Arsene Knows” might well change into something less charitable.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
agree. sums up our season
April 8th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
WE’RE GETTING THERE BOYS, KEEP THE FAITH
WE’VE ESTABLISHED THAT WE ARE SERIOUS CHALLENGERS FOR HONOURS WHICH WE WEREN’T LAST SEASON, AND THAT’S MASSIVE.
IN THE END THE TIREDNESS AND THINNESS OF OUR SQUAD HAVE HURT US THIS SEASON, BUT WENGER WILL DO SOME GOOD BUSINESS IN THE SUMMER AND WE’LL BE STRONGER NEXT YEAR.
NO ONE WILL BE HUNGRIER FOR HONOURS THAN US NEXT YEAR, NO ONE.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I am not actually in the players must go camp, but I am in the some should come in one. Theres no point in getting three players in and letting 3 out, that leaves you with the same numerical problems if you get the sort of injuries we have suffered this year. Decisions have to be made about whether we go with Toure or Gallas as our number 1 centre back and we have to bring in another one to play alongside whoever. Also up front Adebayor was offside 6 times in the first 8 minutes tonight, he has to learn or else a better option must be procured. Eboue squad player at best. We need Song especially if Flamini goes and Bendtner needs the sort of service given to Adebayor then we can make our minds up. We need to give our best shot at Old Trafford and dependent on that result we should spend the rest of the season starting Walcott and looking to the future. If Flamini is going :play Song and get him used to the position. And to the fasns if we do start to look to next season give the newer boys encouragment and don’t get straight on their backs.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I just wonder if Arsene will now reconsider his methods of buying 12 yr old boys instead of paying the millions that utd, lucky scouse shite and chelski pay as we really need to…I dont wanna slag off eboue, senderos as we know how shocking they are and Id pay a decent sum to see them go.actually I couldnt resist just one thing how did eboue make it as a footballer…can someone explain this please ???? I played in the conference a couple of years ago and could cross a ball and play short passes but why cant a premiership player do that ???
Lady Luck is not opening her legs enough for us this season full stop , I personally feel physically sick right now, I really do hope im wrong but our season is over !
Please spend Arsene, and dont you dare start eboue or senderos again this season !!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
if anybody sees a moment when we have something going for us can you email/text me please as it could be one of those jfk/princess of hearts/911 moments and i want to be there, which would be nice. cant wait for chelsea-liverpoolx2.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
A nice article but I’ve just seen the penalty ’shout’ decision and it was a f*cking ridiculous decision.
Kolo doesn’t tug or pull at him at all and even the ITV pundits agreed it wasn’t a penalty. I doubt there was contact at all and from the replay angle it looked like an utter gift.
And why doesn’t Hleb get a penalty in the first game? The referee was in the perfect position to give it!
What the fuck is up with these bloody officials in big games?!
The scousers are one lucky team, and I hope Chelea turn them over.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
I’m ashamed to say it but I hope Chelsea beat them through dodgy decisions and then Chelsea capitulate to Barca in the final.
All this talk of things balancing themselves out over a season it utter bullshit. 2 shocking decisions in one tie and we’re out. People saying that you should be good enough not to rely on decisions like these are talking out of their arses. We should have had a penalty 1st leg and they shouldn’t have got theirs, its as simple as that.
And we’ll never stop hearing about so sodding great Anfield is on a European night when the ref rather than the crowd was the fabled ‘12th man’
April 9th, 2008 at 12:00 am
The fact is that until we win the CL and also with such a dearth of percieved Englishness for domestic competitions, we will be viewed as a smaller team than Liverpool and Man U and will continue to suffer from poor refereeing decisions accordingly. Our squad has indeed been illustrated to be not strong enough (in contrast with 01/02 particularly), but over the last 2 years we have had injuries to key players and always multtiple injuries in key positions. this year injuries to reserves have meant we can’t even rest people. flamini going off was a big blow tonight, but its hard for a manager to legislate for being unable to pick his frist 11 at all during an entire season. if ti wasn’t for Van P, Eduardo and Rosicky all picking up fresh injuries after the transfer window we’d still be top and would have beaten liverpool
Having said this, Wenger has to accept that Rosicky and Van Persie are both too injury prone to be expected toplay a whole season, and needs to plan accordingly. Oh and Eboue wil never be a right winger
April 9th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Spot on abra. Where’s the balance in these decisions really? It really is a f*cking disgrace.
I just don’t think Arsenal have the power Chelsea, United and even Liverpool have with referees. I mean look at Liverpool against Inter Milan. Inter got 2 guys sent off for nothing challenges in both games!!
Here’s what’s gone for Liverpool in the CL:
Inter Milan
- Red card against Materazzi
- Red card against some other bloke in the 2nd leg
- Huge deflection for Kuyt’s goal
Arsenal
- Hleb not getting a penalty
- Dive from Babel for their penalty
What’s gone against them:
Er… nothing!
April 9th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Will we learn to play to Theo? He was on for 10 minutes before he got the ball!! In fact he had to go and get it himself. I was watching to see how many passes he got when he came on, and in truth he may as well have not been there. The play always went on the other side of the pitch!!
April 9th, 2008 at 12:18 am
I went to the game tonight as I live just 30 mins from Anfield. I too feel sick and my legs feel numb. I can’t believe the highs and lows in such a short space of time. I was asking myself if this was worse than the chelsea defeat an Highbury in champ league a few years back, I’m afraid it was.
I’m putting a £100 on Chelsea to beat the scum (scum to me!) next round, just about everyone I know around here is a LFC fan, phone hasn’t stopped ringing and I can’t handle it.
I’m not going to point fingers at anyone in particular for tonights performance, but the squad is far too thin.
I think if we can hang on to our injury prone players next season and just keep them as squad players then I’d prefer that than just selling them on. Only ones I’d like to see leave are Bert and Hoyte. I’d even keep Eboue as squad player. I think there is another 4 additions from the reserves to 1st team for next season, such as Barazite and the export Vela of course.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:28 am
Think we played a cracking match, afterall how much CL experience is in this team compared with LVP. but the lads looked tired at the end of the first half. Don’t know about Anfield being the 12 man - think ref was
more the 12th man. Should take eyetest before they start matches.
The sides still done well - all the pundits wrote them off when Henry left
But a few old heads on young legs are needed. Get the cheque book out
for experience and leave some of the younger talent out there with their
Mammies. Although I hate Chelski - good luck to them and bring LVP’s
extrordinary luck to an end. What do Liverpool tread in before they play
a game??
April 9th, 2008 at 12:30 am
ive said before eboue should be automatic back up 4 sagna, not toure. and tonite we see the results, YET AGAIN. stubborn old man. good job young guns, try again next season, break the curse of the fascists, sell outs, rats. the referees should be tortured for dishonesty. mourinho is wanted at these times. walcott is a dynamite. every football game i’ve played showed walcott and vela dominate the charts. so watch out u mother fathers, u wont catch up let alone break legs.
April 9th, 2008 at 12:44 am
This felt almost as bad as as the the 5-1 humiliation by Spurs.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:01 am
Yes, we’re all aggrieved after that. I’ve seen the replay of the peno decision a good few times now, and I don’t see this “tug” everyone seems to be talking about. We realy were robbed and I can’t believe how lucky Liverpool are repeatedly.
However, the main point I’d like to discuss is regarding Wengers spending (or lack of)
This summer Arsenal purchased the following:
1. Bacary Sagna - he, as far as I’m concerned, is the best right back in the league.
2. Eduardo - At least as useful as Tevez has been this season. Sadly it was brutally cut short.
3. Lassanna Diarra - The story doesn’t need to be told, but basically instead of staying to fight for a place he ran to Portsmouth because he was afraid of losing his place in the France side for the euros.
As far as I can see, the only complaint one could have is that he didn’t replace Diarra,
But who would he have bought? Someone give me a realistic suggestion. Remember, it was mid-season.
For the sake of the psychology of his own players, Wenger had to show faith in his players. Nobody could possibly doubt the potential of this team, but it was up to the players to determine how soon, or whether or not they would win trophies.
If you ignore the fact that we have been extremely unlucky of late with both bad decisions and injuries (to 1st team players), then you could argue that the team is lacking a little. But that’s not to say that Wenger is in the wrong because he didn’t buy more players. The fact is that we’ve had a huge amount go against us recently which has been out of our control. Otherwise, we’ve been fucking brilliant this season.
Finally, since we have fallen short, I think that we will see quite a few changes in the summer. Gilberto and Lehmann needless to say will go. Along with a one or two more; Hoyte? Djourou? Senderos?
In terms of players coming in; Carlos Vela is on the way (another kid is maybe the last thing we need), Wenger has alluded to defensive frailties a lot recently so we might see the purchase of a centre-back. Also I think it’s quite likely that we’ll see one of the following in an Arsenal jersey next season.
Robinho (wenger is a big fan, and he’s not been playing a lot for Madrid of late)
Diego (Werder Bremen look like they wont qualify for Europe so he’s gone)
Van Der Vaart (he apparently wants to leave Hamburg)
Ben Arfa (there’s been a lot of rumours recently)
Anyway, its been a disappointing month or two but a lot of it has been out of our control.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Look lady luck didn’t smile on us in both legs but this has been coming. The lack of squad depth has cost us big time! too many players have been giving away individual goals that you can’t legislate for since the birmingham game.lets be honest….think? birmingham, villa, BORO, chelsea, LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL, LIVERPOOL, there were individual errors in each and every one of those games. Too many of the same players have been able to play in the arsenal line up, in and out form for example adebayor, …on fire for most of the season but then hits a wall…..where’s the player of SERIOUS quality to come in and relieve him of that pressure? fabragas and hleb have had way too many games for their own good, constantly creating creating creating….it can’t be healthy. Everybody wants to lynch eboue, yes eboue’s shit! but if we had a SHIT hot squad he’d only be having 5-10 games a season MAX, not 40+. KOLO’s form in general has been shocking since he went to africa and yet he came straight back into the arsenal side because there was no1 else? let alone playing out of position? Sagna gets injured and it exposed the weaknesses because there was no1 else? the penalty against us tonight and a few weeks back against birmingham weren’t because of the contact, it was the lack positioning & panic leading upto the event that fooled the ref into giving it. Gallas didn’t put a foot wrong tonight playing torres but that didn’t stop him from being on the losing side, but what can you do when both players either side of you are time bombs waiting to go off! and they did tonight! and some of you guys actually ridiculed him for his strop at birmingham “sir alex wouldn’t stand for that” i heard alot of you say, but truth is in roy keane sir alex had the biggest winner/enforcer/cry baby out there and keane went as far as to name individuals, but the truth is…..sir alex would’ve holted the rot from the begining by….BUYING PLAYERS! even when he got them wrong eg taiby, chadwick, veron, kleberson, djemba djemba, he didn’t waste time in washing his hands of them come the off seasons. we aint even buying big let alone getting rid. WE AS ARSENAL FANS NEED TO SHOW MORE CONCERN IN THE MATTER OF PLAYERS WE WANT TO SEE AT THIS CLUB. IT’S LIKE POLITICS….NOTHING SAID….NOTHING GIVEN. We find it hard to critisize wenger because of everything he has done for us over the years, but the truth is he’s too comfortable and doesn’t give himself any selection headaches or dilemas? how do u test your tactical knowledge or stop yourself from going stale (just like players) without overcoming dilemas. IN 2008-09 i will be calling for the managers head if our season fails because of a lack of squad and experience to see it through. And if he does buy i’ll be calling for the heads of certain players. If this was our business or major company….WHICH IT IS! then failure isn’t an option…PERIOD! i’ll leave you lot to stew on that
April 9th, 2008 at 1:20 am
Why is everyone immedietely blame the size of our squad? C
April 9th, 2008 at 1:38 am
Now that the truth has sunk it will be intersting to see what AW will do in the summer.The defence is poor in terms of mobility and slow in reacting.
Gallas,kolo and Senderos were ball watching and none of them attempted to close him down.To give a top striker time and space on the ball is criminal.
As for the attack,Ade missed a sitter.If AW/Arsenal want to fight for prizes and not based it on mental strength,etc which AW is fond of saying,the needy needs to be done.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:39 am
Dane?
What do you think is to blame for the lack of success for the past few seasons then?
April 9th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Another defeat and more excuses! Why is it every time you lose a match it’s someone elses fault? You can never admit you aint good enough.
When will you learn that you are out of your depth?
Liverpool showed you how to win a match its that simple. Your so called great manager showed he is not as astute as Rafa, he got his tactics wrong and must be on a bonus for not spending the millions they earn from the £15 hamburgers you mugs eat.
It was predicted that you wouldn’t do anything this season and they were all right.Cos’ you aint winning nothing again.
Watch the mighty United show you how its done, then watch us smash you on the weekend yet again.
I reckon Gallas your captain will cry again on the weekend, what do you reckon?
Auvoir my French friends
April 9th, 2008 at 1:55 am
I reckon we have been robbed but hey, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Don’t throw your toys out the pram Gooners - and don’t get too big for your boots Jon coz you ain’t won nuffink yet. geddit?
April 9th, 2008 at 2:14 am
this is fucking ridiculous pen decision. we need video replay for refereeing like other major sports. this is ridiculous when multi million on the lines and robbed by this rubbish decision
UNACCEPTABLE
April 9th, 2008 at 3:02 am
this is gotta be an eye-opener for arse..the length & intensiveness of the season has caught to us. Frankly, arse should have made some bold decisions in the transfer window and bought some players. Name me one recognizable striker who has performed internationally & domestically in the squad (no offense to ade..he was awesome) but look at the other teams you compete with they got atleast one great striker….we got none….I know arse like to buy young boys but we have maintain a balance between experience & youth….What is done is done…..Now i dont see any reason y arse shouldnt buy in summer…..Please buy some quality players & stock some dependable players in the squad….
April 9th, 2008 at 3:12 am
5-1 at spurs, 4-0 at utd and 4-2 at pool. 14 goals against in three games. No defence and out the cups we go. Notice the pattern.
April 9th, 2008 at 3:20 am
Now that the dodgy penalty has cost Arsenal dearly I hope Platini will introduce video technology.These are high profile games with millions at stake and on the decision of a whistle blower hinge the fate of teams and big names.
I have always believed that ARsenal are playing agaginst 12 men and my worst fears were realised. Sufiice to say UEFA shd as some fans suggest hold refs accountable for thier decision and to hit them in the pocket for glaring blunders.
ALL football fans want the game to be decided by the skills of the footballers and not the whistle blower.There have been a number of obvious errors by the refs in a number of high profile games prior to this encounter with Pool.
I wonder what’s UEFA’s stand on refs who have made a costly blunder. Do they officiate again?
April 9th, 2008 at 3:21 am
Mr Jon you sound like your Manure team very ….arrogant.
Who said Liverpool fans have a reputation of being fair and sporting after all that booing and whistling whenever we had possesion………reminded me of IItalian fans who use that straegy.
This will be the summer for buying in some world class players, after all the main hurdle of building a new stadium is over and there is money to play with now. We will come back stronger and next year will be a different story.
April 9th, 2008 at 3:53 am
Another Senderos’ big mistakes in a big match , as we have predicted. He can’t stop Hypia and Torres. It’s also Wenger’s big mistake in trusting him.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:31 am
lets put it simply this way.
we’re not unlucky nor are we robbed.we shouldve bury this game at emirates.why should ars depend on a penalty when they should’ve won it in open play.they didnt!
anfield is a fortress no matter what team comes there.they may have confuse us when playing peter crouch just to get him to deliver the second ball to torres.
our defending whether in cup competitions 5-1,4-0,4-2, has been worse ever in our history.looking at how gallas defended and toure who i think is a shambles.these players are just not good enough.
walcott came in did amazingly well,past thru 5 pool players,and assisted ade in the goal,but his teammates dissapointed him again.just like in the b’ham game ,scored 2 goals,yet his teammates let him down.
ade is just not an independant striker,when henry was playing ,u could give him the ball and he’ll do wonders with it.with ade he doesnt stay onside as often,instead being in between defenders,his on one.
eboue?well i think u guys have say enough of him.im sick and tired with him.full of shit!!
simple,we lost all the cup comps cause we just not good enough,not professional and commited enough.and we just need to improve next year starting by strengthening our defence,then we’ll think about our attack.
most of the interviews with wenger,all he can say is they have the believe and hope,that they could wonders,well let me tell this AW,man u chelski lpool dont do that,because they’ve got more quality than us.simple as that
so i guess theres gonna be another trashing for arsenal at old trafford,flamini out,sagna out,…..hmmm my predictions 4-0
so the rebuilding process continues……as always
April 9th, 2008 at 5:41 am
Malaysian PG
Agree with you. Another 4-0 at Old Trafford. Mr Wenger, don’t you think it’s a shame ?
April 9th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
FLASHBACK……..2 or 3 seasons ago arse vs spurs…..arse win 3-1…second goal was clearly off side an third goal was a penalty that arse players dived……so dont give us this shit now about oh the refree
April 9th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
good summary!
Why do fans bring up decisions of years gone by to say arsenal fans should not complain? that is stupid as u urself must have felt the same way. Look the fact is that they were two shady calls/non call regarding a competition in which once u r out u r out - no chance for redemption. its not right in a competition of this magnitude and i do believe there is some sort of conspiracy against the gunners as stupid as it may seem, im tired of this unlucky crap as far as the refs are concerned (somethings wrong).
The defending is garbage and why do have to concede so close to scoring?
As far as being tired, this never seemed to bother us up until we lost Eduardo and that fake penalty was given!
Malaysian PG, we were not unlucky but were robbed. i am confused by ur comments because penalties are part of the game and games can and have been won or lost by them. If penalty calls should not be considered then lets get them out of the game. If we would have won by a penalty would you complain and say we should have won it in open play? please!
Please Arsene, play Walcott - what else does he have to do? why wait until we are down to play him when we would most probably be up with him in and then u could make a defensive change instead of trying to win or tie it in the last 15 minutes? stop this please.
Many assessments are true, ade should have scored also but given all the wrong we did WE WERE ROBBED! DAMN IT!!
Anyway i look towards Sunday ans the Horizon of next year, something special is in store. i say lets get the defense straightened out still!
God Bless!
April 9th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
all im sayin is makin a point if will go aginast u one game an with ye again in another ok
April 11th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Not sure about wishing Liverpool good luck mate, I’ll be cheering on Chelsea in the semi-finals! The luck Liverpool have had over the two legs was a f*cking joke.
You wonder if UEFA are corrupt because it wouldn’t surprise me.