Mikel Arteta feels Arsenal should have beaten Chelsea at the Emirates last night but accepts that a 0-0 draw isn’t the end of the world.
The Spaniard played the full 90 minutes of a bruising encounter with Jose Mourinho’s Blues as the Gunners squandered late chances to nab the three points which would have seen them top the Premier League over Christmas.
Speaking to Arsenal Player after the game, Arteta noted: “We controlled them; they had Lampard’s [first half] chance in the whole game. I think we lost two points there. It is not a bad result but I think we had enough chances in the second half to win it.
“It is a shame because you could see that they only want to defend and the substitutions they made they were happy to sit back and defend. We threw everything up to try to score and it is a shame that we didn’t.”
Having seen his shinpad snapped in a challenge with Jon Obi Mikel that could easily have earned the Nigerian midfielder a red card, Arteta also revealed that his ankle was currently very swollen and that his opponent probably deserved a red card.
“On that moment I think that he caught me high – I’ve got a big swollen ankle.
“I think that he got late on the ball. You ask me if it is intentional or not – I believe that is why the referee didn’t give him a red card.
“I was not facing him and he points his studs towards me.I think it is a different challenge. We were both going for the ball and that is what I am saying, I think probably the referee thought it was not intentional.
“I cannot judge what Obi was trying to do, I think he challenged the ball but sometimes you are late and if you are late with your studs up you know what happens.”
Given Mathieu Flamini was kept on the bench last night it seems very likely that Arteta will be rested for the trip to Upton Park on Boxing Day.
That being said, with three further games after that in the space of a week – Newcastle, Cardiff and Spurs – we’ve got to hope his ankle problem isn’t serious; his metronomic ways are going to be much needed.
Nacho Monreal for Gibbs!! How Gibbs (although good) starts ahead of Monreal is interesting. I know he’s English and it helps…
Really? Gibbs is awesome. I’d rather play him. Having two quality left backs is a treat, though.
I would rotate both full backs each match tbh, it is the most physically demanding role, I know people get worried about cohension, but I would rather have everyone having a game every 6 days, than have 2 in 3 days and risk injury and fatigue.
Neither Gibbs or Monreal would get knackered from a game every 3 days, at least for a good run of games – cohesion is a bit more difficult to maintain
He’s english yes, glad you noticed. He’s also really good and that helps…
Yes. I’m sure a French manager is really worried about picking English players more than he’s worried about picking the best players.
Exactly. I kind of think both players are great, but you’re not going to see Monreal until Gibbs messes up or gets injured.
Both are admittedly good, but Gibbs is at present playing a little better then Nacho, who will get his chance anyway so it’s a moot point
Well, considering we were already missing one of our “core” back four from Kos being injured (and Vermaelen’s proclivity for going forward), it was only sensible for Gibbs to start against an opponent like Chelsea. As others have observed, Nacho’s very good, and with two games coming up in the next five days, we’ve got the luxury of comfortable rotation.
Gibbs is playing outstanding football this season and deserves his place. Nacho had a start in the citeh match and was targeted all match. Nacho gives a good attacking option but Gibbs is far more solid defensively!
Monreal showed what he can do against Man City. I’m not saying his bad but all this playing as a winger has somehow damaged his defensive qualities.
Not all Americans think this way.
Oh Mourinho, you big twat
i thought this was a game of football
instead your team came and sat.
Ivanovic? , sigh what a neanderthal!
oh Mourinho, you big twat….
Are you watching the same sport?!
Arsenal never deserved to win yesterday and to lament Chelsea for not wanting to attack is deflecting attention from the fact that the last two premiership games have shown exactly why Arsenal won’t win anything again for the ninth season. They just don’t have the mental strength or belief to want to win anything and this is down to Wenger. I have said before that the decision to award him a new contract in the middle of the season was a bit premature and the decision should have been made at the end of the season when the teams performance… Read more »
“They just don’t have the mental strength or belief to want to win anything and this is down to Wenger.”
Or, Stuart Robson, maybe they’re just slightly off form? I get that it’s fun for you to try and provoke a reaction from a group of Arsenal fans, but I would rather just wait and see what actually happens at the end of the season, rather than regurgitating inflammatory and unjustifiable drivel at the halfway point. Merry Christmas, here’s to you being completely fucking wrong.
YOU MUST BE A CHELSEA FAN IN DISGUISE!
All this Mikel on Mikel violence and the ref gets commended for not sending players off. Mourinho comes out and talks like a thick headed xenophope Englishman but it’s endearing because he’s Portuguese. The cunt. Mike Dean is a rotten little shit and we know refs are not above bias, and people need to look at why mourinhos tactics and the refereeing on the day were on the same page. Hell if Dean gave us a call too saying go kick the shit out of each other, we would have had Flamini on with a pair of scissors.
This kind of officiating is the reason we are going to need to be very clinical in front of goal to win the league. The Obi Mikel challenge was studs up and missed the ball – yellow card, at least. The other infuriating decision was the penalty shout from Walcott. Their player made clear contact with Walcott’s ankle/foot – penalty! Simple. Regardless of whether Walcott embellished the fall a little. I’m convinced Arsenal still do not get the same calls going their way as, say, Man Utd have over the past decade or so. How many times, in big games,… Read more »
Raise a finger, get two match ban. Break an ankle and walk free. Dumbarse ref.
Arteta was admittedly our best attacking threat from a DM position nonetheless which goes to show just Maureen went overboard with playing for a draw and packing the midfield with his bunch of distateful bone breaking cunts…
One thing that stood out for the Man U team over tha last few years is their belief they can win. They attacked directly and everyone took responsibility to score and defend. I watched us yesterday and we were so passive in our attack, one point Özil was in the area and rather than make something happen and shoot he slid the ball to Theo who was free but in a worse position to shoot. Why? Why don’t we shoot on sight and go and create situations and space using skill and also physicality. Very frustrating when we can beat… Read more »
It’s an established fact now that everything Chelsea-related is Shit.
I’m looking at you, Mike Dean.
Went to the game yesterday and I like a lot of supporters are getting fed up to the back teeth with this shit.
Why is the standard of refereeing so poor in general in this country?
And why aren’t referees subject to the same standards as the players are?
Because the FA know best.
Mike Dean thinks hes doing the game a favor by letting everything go, but he doesnt. The game turned feisty yesterday bcause nobody was getting booked and it took the technical side out of it. That is also why we have a poor record with Mike Dean. Besides the fact that hes an utter corrupt cod.
watching Spanish football can be annoying (they call too many fouls for the slightest touch) but you get to watch style over brawn there. Little wonder the best player award goes there almost every 8 out of 10 for the past decade. I know(rightly or wrongly) the english pride themselves in being hard men and this might be the culture underlining the thinking of officials but they have to realize what this promotes is anti football and boring boring stuff. playing hard/aggressive is one thing but thuggery needs to be stamped out of the game and the only way we… Read more »
by the way, does any of you know if the clockend was done? been checking for the podcast on the arsenal.com website and it seems the latest one is still last week.
Substandard refereeing is rife in the prem. Weve fallen foul to it at least 4 times this season now. It was easy to see the way this match was going to be refereed by the name on the programme and especially his demenour. The way he was talking to players and treating the game. Mike dean is one if the poorest refs in the league along with atkinsin and fergies rent boy and marrinner its no wonder we aleays end up not at the top.
Mourinho’s a prick!!!!!
Gibbs played very well last night.
He rather did, didn’t he.
Hope we can pick ourselves up for West Ham on Boxing day – the only thing consistent about the top six this year is the inconsistency of everyone. Lets get a wriggle on…
Geez, I suppose if the refs don’t know the laws of the game then the players can be forgiven for ignorance of them. No where does it state that a foul has to be intentional. The standard is careless, reckless, or excessive force. http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/footballdevelopment/technicalsupport/refereeing/laws-of-the-game/law/newsid=1290868.html Obi Mikel’s foul was certainly reckless and broke Arteta’s shin pad causing significant soft tissue injury. FIFA defines excessive force as being a level of force which can potentially cause injury. Why does anyone think that intent plays a part in determining if there is a foul, or whether said foul is a cautionable or sending… Read more »
Couldn’t agree more–I’m pretty sure hand ball is the only exception where intent is important.
This game is behind us, positives we didn’t cave in under crass physical approach, didn’t concede, we move on to tackle a slightly inform toon and then sad Sam analdice’s claret and blue strictly come dancing troupe of hoofers. Not easy but a chance to reestablish credentials.
Meantime we can see how Brenda ( wtf manager of the season, Suarez as good as Henry,Ronaldo) and his merry men do as bitey meets ivanovic again and citey
If petitions are taken seriously in the UK, can a prominent group, like Arseblog group, start a petition against the English FA and bad officiating? There are video evidences. If it can be used for Suarez on Evra and Wilshere’s middle finger. Why can it not be used on Leg breaking tackles and Terry mouthing refs to FUCK OFF!!?!
What is done is done. Im sure we all know where we were in the league table this time last season. We have smaller teams to play till March so I say we concentrate on that. Hopefully we smash them all! 30 points will surely go a long way while the so called ‘big teams’ cancell themselves out.
P.S Mike Dean is a CUNT
And we still got more yellow cards than Chelsea. How fucked up is that?
It’s no use complaining about the ref either, because nobody listens. They just call us whiney then.
Mike Dean shouldn’t be allowed to referee games anymore, but then again the FA is as corrupt as the whole Italian league combined..
It’s just so fucking annoying that when we have a referee who actually has an OK game, we fucking praise ourselves lucky over nothing controversial happening to us. That is not how it should be!
He has the right attitude — glad we don’t have chatter from our vice-captain about how the tie is a good result.
Respect to our foreign fans, but it was not a tie, it was a draw, Thank you.
Blah blah blah.
If you’re going to be pedantic, fix the spelling of “master” in your name.
I thought Arteta was the best player for us last night. Maybe its a good idea to put Flamini in for West Ham and keep Arteta fresh for Newcastle away which will be a really tough test.
So we aren’t we bringing the Mikel incident to the FA review board, since no action was taken at the time? Clearly a foul, clearly dangerous play, as evidenced by video replays and a broken shin pad. Straight red means 3 games suspended, and while I don’t think it’d have a significant effect on Chelsea’s results, it would nonetheless be some watered down semblance of justice.
Of the other top 5 excluding us we have 1 win 1 loss 2 draws. How is that terrible or something to worry about. I think we are doing pretty dam well. This is going to be Arsenal’s year. YA GOTTA BELIEVE!
Obi’s slide in was never aimed at the ball, only at where Arteta’s leg was going to be.
Dein saw that. Even Jamie Carragher saw it.
We have failed all 4 test thus far. However we are still in the hunt and with City to face Liverpool, there is every chance that we may yet regain top spot shortly. Agree with Arteta that it was an opportunity lost. With Mourinho withdrawing both Hazard and Willian (negating their flanks) Wenger should have gone for the jugular. Instead he did nothing and opted for caution which has been IMO the handbrake over last 3 matches (permutations) I don’t buy this whole affecting the defense thing when it comes to the talk about the lack of subs. Simply put,… Read more »
Other issue is a striker. Clearly, and I will say this cos Andrew would rather not (understandable), Giroud is not Henry. We have missed that elemnt of speed on the apex coupled with henry’s superb intelligence and control on the ball. Whilst Giroud gives 100% and is a decent striker, he is not wht we need to break out in numbers quickly. Podolski could be given a go in the middle but I would think we need someone-else who can carry the weight. The market at the moment looks tight. Wenger I am sure, will be sniffing around in January… Read more »
Merry Christmas u cunts.
You all dont just say here in comment. Go out and hit mike dean in the face literally. I am looking at you who live in england.
Feel as though we need a player of the ox’s irk. The ability to run at and beat the fullback is what we at times when teams play as Chelsea did
ilk, not irk, irk is annoyance ilk means type or kind
Fuck Mike Dean. Fuck the fake Mikel. Happy holidays everyone.
Merry Christmas, lads and ladettes.
The fans need to vent their displeasure at the pants referees – anyone know where dippy dean lives? Perhaps someone should go pay him a visit and have a polite word in his shell-like on how to ref a match or better still fail to turn up for duty when Arsenal play (the stand in would be preferable lol even if he were blind)
That’s what Chelsea do. Not what we do. Go stand in the corner.
Ask dean did he win his bet, mikel get well u did your attacking lets keep the form up afc could go back top, i see the leaders have 2 crucial matches & city look vital so merry christmas & see if gunners beat newcastle an away game coyg.
So Arteta chosen over Flamini, and Kos didn’t make it so our Captain leads us out.