Arsene Wenger says that Hector Bellerin was so concussed by the flying elbow to the head he got from Marcos Alonso that he didn’t even realise the goal had been scored.
The 21 year old landed flat on his back after his compatriot smashed him in the face before heading the ball into the net, and was taken off after some minutes of treatment.
The Arsenal manager was unhappy a foul wasn’t awarded to Arsenal, and when asked if he’d been knocked out said, “Yes. Was he completely knocked out? He didn’t know the result of the game.
“At the time he didn’t see the goal. Of course it was a foul. But he [referee] allowed the goal and after that I think it was much more difficult for us.”
If there’s one small thing Arsenal can derive credit for from today, it’s that they took Bellerin off quickly, unlike many teams who allow players to stay on after head injuries.
“Yeah, the decision was very quick but you have to respect that,” said Wenger. “It’s the head and I think one of the conclusions from the game today is that referees are much more severe with tackles on the ground and let much more go with elbows in the face.
“It’s not only today but in many, many games I see that. It’s more dangerous to hit the head than the legs.”
Watch the clear foul on Hector here. The media reaction to this has been pitiful, and almost as pathetic as our second performance.
It was dangerous, but even without the arm he was beating Bellerin to ball.
in football, if you hit someone’s face with your arm, its called a foul, nevertheless it interferes with the game or not
Stonewall foul. Genuinely blew my mind at the time it wasn’t given. Alonso’ elbow connects flush with Bellerins jaw before the ball is even there. I’m no insinuating that Alonso meant to hurt Hector. it was clearly and honest attempt to win the ball, but it was still a foul.
The goal shouldn’t of stood.
What about Hazards goal… should that have stood?
Yes. Because he didn’t forearm smash his opponent first.
Do drop by again if you need further instruction on the rules of the game.
The point with my tongue in cheek comment was to show that despite the first goal, we were still getting killed at the back.
We beat Chelsea 3 – 0 a few months ago without elbowing them in any part of their bodies.
Erm.. Dan, are you really insinuating that the first goal in a mega clash like that has no bearing? that it doesnt change the dynamic of the match completely? The first goal is fucking huge, it swings the pendulum massively in your favour if you score it. Especially for a team as well drilled as Chelsea. The first goal is huge. It allows them to pick us off on the break. We are literally playing into their primary tactics by chasing the game one nil. Im not defending the fact we played like utter cunts for practically the whole match,… Read more »
Without getting into the argument if Alonso had a right to go for the ball or not.. there has to be a consideration for opponent’s safety.
Who thinks about health and safety when you go for the ball?
Typical of us against Chelsea, always a hard luck story and an abject defeat.
Do you also think that the high boot Koscielny took in his face against Burnley was perfectly legal?
No, and that’s why it was a penalty.
I think a lot of the commentary, both here and in the media (including, for example, Lee Dixon, on the American commentary) are confusing two questions: (1) Was it a deliberate forearm in the face, and so deserving a red card? (2) Was it a foul? The answer to number two is obviously yes, and the goal should have been disallowed. I do not understand how anyone can get this wrong; it is no different than a tackle that, although a genuine attempt at the ball, trips an opponent. The answer to number one has to do with whether Alonso… Read more »
I totally agree with your view that he would’ve scored without the elbow. But he did elbow Hector and the goal shouldn’t have stood
Bellerin got off lightly. Alonso has a history…was it manslaughter or murder? Twice over legal limit!!
It’s disturbing, but your bang on, being twice over the limit and driving has to be intentional then using the anxiety card to try to avoid the second breath test. like that forarm smash to belerins head….. Intentional… Don’t get me wrong if belerins had not been k’o’ed then maybe we would of had a chance. I blame the ref for incompetence and Chelsea for being owned by satanism and using the dark died. But I ask so blam us for being clueless and shit and not having a secondary available right back…
Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
What do you mean he got of lightly he was on ground for how long ,he coud just bout see where he was and couldnt play for rest of game
He is still alive!
Chuffy been on the puffy
Elbow hits head before ball is headed, obstruction, foul.
Appreciate the impact was maximised by the travelling in opposite directions but alonso lead with his elbow…dangerous play…foul
Worst thing about arsenal defeats is lazy pundits think they are clever..listening to Danny mills was pergatory.
Should have heard Gary Neville and the rest of the Chav ball-lickers at Sky… made me sick the amount of superlatives
Mmm I doubt anything could’ve been worse than Danny “Up the Blues” Mills.
What an utter turd that man is.
I agree with u there boy
Jumps. Elbows Bellerin in the face, then makes the header. No-foul against Chelsea.
Second half, koscielny I think, trying to win the ball off a Chelsea player in a fifty fifty. Elbow in the face. Foul against Arsenal.
Decisions like that get me more and more angry at the refereeing association and wonder why it is that the same teams get the same decisions time and again.
Not being a troll but I’m not sure how you’d jump without putting your arms in that position?
Hector was able to jump easily with his arms down on that play. It is possible, my friend.
Nope, Bellerin’s arms were up as well just were already on the way down because he mistimed the jump.
Go on try running 20 yards at full pelt and jump as high as you can with your arms by your side.
No one ever jumps with their arms down unless they’re retarded.
It’s also physically impossible to stop your momentum when you’re in the air with two feet in on an opponent. Still a foul. All day long.
Or when youve taken loads of acid and you think your a salmon and you can see the rainbow up the river. Your trying so hard to get there jumping and flopping around. …. but your actually laying on a junction, gazing at the traffic lights in a pool of your own chunks…….oh to be a gooner.
If you are correct, then Alonso did not deserve a card. But it is still a foul.
Out in front in order to ensure the opponent doesn’t get the ball first?
No, neither do I.
Genius.
You can lead with your palm, with the elbow bent.
I get where you’re coming from, but that’s missing the point. You can only effect a sliding tackle with your legs out too – but in one instance you get the ball cleanly and not the man and in another you plough through the man and get the ball. And, as I already mentioned (somewhere), that’s 100% a foul on a ‘keeper regardless of whether it was intentional or not. As I see it, leading with a forearm/elbow runs the risk of being a foul.
Strange. I knew the result even before the game was played.
its not strange!! its obvious with our midfield issue.
Strange that Hector didn’t know the result.
It’s like that in every big game we play! Team of bottle jobs with a manager who just doesn’t have it anymore.
Yeah it’s definitely the manager’s fault that Cech passed the ball to a Chelsea player, that Alonso fouled Bellerin (removing a key Arsenal player from the rest of the game in the process) and that Coq couldn’t manage to tackle a 4ft Belgian.
All clearly tactical errors by Wenger.
Criticise him for team selection, substitution strategy and so on …but I don’t blame today’s loss entirely on AW. Today showed a lot of flaws in the whole team but Watford was much worse for me.
Losing to the champions elect away, not that terrible. Losing to Watford at home: pathetic.
Losing to Watford is a fuckup.
Losing to Chelsea is completely totally and utterly unacceptable
Champions elect? Because we are too useless
Up The Arsenal!
Yet we smashed Chelski, United and even bear Buyern quite recently. Think before you spread your crap.
Weak refereeing.
It was a foul but I don’t think it really changed the trajectory of the match. Glad they whisked Hector off, he was clearly out of it. Hopefully, this won’t have lasting repercussions for him.
How didn’t it? We looked good before. Hector is a big miss, and we should’ve played 80 minutes against 10 men. I’d say it was extremely influential on the match.
Really, you think if that goal had been disallowed we would have won the match? Massive case of wishful thinking if you ask me (not too mention the assumption that, if given, it would have been a red card).
Face it: we never looked like winning that match; before or after the foul.
Really? First goal is always massive in these games. I admit we were not at our best but shit like this doesn’t help. Face it; we may have got a lot more by being not a goal down, and without Hector.
Yes, the first goal counts but we didn’t actually manage to score until stoppage time (after Chelsea had scored another two). As for Bellerin, yes, he’s very important, but he would have gone off regardless of whether a pen was awarded or not – so that’s just a red herring here.
In my opinion clinging to a narrative discounting the loss based on referee incompetence is just denying the very real problems evident in the squad. That game wasn’t remotely close and it wasn’t lost because a penalty was not awarded.
Mate, nobody’s saying we played well. We clearly sucked.
But in every game there’s luck – you’d have to say Chelsea had the luck today. You’d have to say they would’ve won anyway as they looked much hungrier over the course of the game.
Arsenal started very well. Then an illegal event doesn’t get spotted (why not?) and we are unfairly a goal down and without our best right back.
Not excusing anything but it doesn’t stop me wondering how the game might have played out – we might have nicked a draw
What penalty are you on about mate? I don’t think we were watching the same game.
Bellerins pace is so important, his last ditch tackles have saved us before and when opposition is trying to counter with pace, he is a player you would like to have in your team. That goal was Theos fault I’m afraid. Defending is the whole teams job in situations like those especially.
Theo was tragic for that goal. I’ve watched it on replay about 8 or 9 times and each time I get angrier!!!!
Theo is pretty tragic in general. A hat full of decent performances and an ocean full of poor ones. Hes just west ham quality ya know? Id have prefered gnabry over theo, at least there is scope for actual improvement. Not Theo – actually ive decided I will be a winger again and im not actually as shit at it as ive been pretending to be all these years when I pull my finger out of my arse and put some effort in….providing someone is offering out coffee machines- Walcott. Not saying buy players. Just dont play theo. He will… Read more »
Loosing Hector was a real blow but he had to go off – regardless of whether Alonso was penalized or not we were loosing Bellerin (rightly) to concussion protocol. So, that wasn’t down to a bad judgement call. Maybe, if the goal had been disallowed, we might have built some momentum but, on the evidence of the performance during the rest of the game, that doesn’t seem very likely. We were comprehensively outplayed; trying to lay the blame for the loss on the ref just makes us look like poor losers. That’s just my opinion.
It wasn’t a red, maybe a yellow. There wasn’t an intention to hurt, it was a coming together. 100% a foul though, and the goal shouldn’t have stood.
It changed the game, no doubt. Our right wing is so much more dynamic and fluid with hector playing.
Intention doesn’t enter into it, because then the referee would have to read minds. Fouls can be careless, reckless, or excessive. Careless is when a player shows a lack of attention or consideration when making a challenge or acts without precaution. No disciplinary sanction is needed. Reckless is when a player acts with disregard to the danger to, or consequences for, an opponent and must be cautioned. Using excessive force is when a player exceeds the necessary use of force and endangers the safety of an opponent and must be sent off. Alonso’s challenge on Bellerin was both reckless and… Read more »
We were getting exposed at the back time and again
Never a truer word said.
I can only say, I’m saddened, I have no better words, for this horrendous foul of Alonso, which deserved a red card. But we live in a world of no courage (includes the referees).
I seriously doubt it comes solely down to a lack of courage… The referees consistently favor our opponents in big games. When have Chelski ever beaten us fair and square? Amazingly, Diego Costa for example has gotten away with plenty an elbow (intentional) in the past. Meanwhile Xhaka gets sent off for a professional foul which is known to be a clear as daylight yellow. The wider issue: Corruption in football happens all over Europe still to this day. There is no reason not to think it happens in England. It happens in Turkey, Cyprus, happened in Italy etc. etc.… Read more »
Alonso didn’t even stop to see the damage he did before wheeling away
It’s almost like he didn’t give a fuck.
Who da thunk it?
And it’s his fucking countryman too. Soulless.
When other teams do it to us, they say that Arsenal are soft and get bullied off the ball too easily but when Xhaka does it, he is the dirtiest player ever! Media logic!
Sad sad sad. He is talking about a foul and a goal. What about the other two? Arsenal’s problem on the pitch is simple. If the opposition roll over and just play shit, the teams eyes light up and start playing their hearts out. However if the opposition show a small amount of skill and fight, they retreat into their shells and just capitulate. Today wasn’the as bad as the other times as they didn’t just go into self destruct after Chelsea goal. Chelsea were basically as good as we were at the emirates when we went 1-0 up. We… Read more »
I’m sick n tired of hoping that arsenal will do better than the last….. Same old story…. Wenger must go
We are a bit rubbish, that’s it.
Danny mills on five live seemed to think hector was at fault for being soft. What a bellend
I think it only right that Danny Mills be asked to stand there while someone forearm smashes him into unconsciousness whereupon we ask him if he’s a bit soft.
I volunteer!
It fits the tired Brass Eye media narrative to ignore the dangerous and entirely illegal play to say instead that brave Chelsea warrior swatted aside small tricksy Arsenal waif to win the ball- coz e wanted it more innit.
Fucking weak. Barely a journalist out there any more who reports the facts.
-Dangerous play
-Goal should not have stood
-End of story
That’s the world we live in right now. Filled with agenda, narratives and alternative facts…
Even TH felt it was a good goal because they both had eyes on the ball…
Fifa law 12. Fouls and Miscondut. Direct Free Kicks: “careless means that the player has shown a lack of attention or consideration when making his challenge or that he acted without precaution” Personally, I would certainly consider leading with an arm/elbow careless. And so would every referee that has every blown for a foul in the past for it. I get the referee and linesman might have missed it, but for the media to say it was a fair challenge is a joke. I hope Hector is ok, and recovers for the next game. While he might not have changed… Read more »
He did not ‘lead with his elbow’. It was just in a natural position as he leaped to attack the ball, probably quite oblivious to where Bellerin was.
Weren’t you supposed to have given up on this site?
I don’t understand G. Neville and M. Tyler – were they paid to turn an utter blind-eye to this incident? If that’s on a goalkeeper it’s an automatic foul, maybe even a yellow. Neville, the snivelling rat, couldn’t stop going on about how Hector was mainly winded from the fall. Yeah, the fall that came after being knocked out cold with an elbow to the head.
Don’t think Bellerin could have made much of a difference on the result. I’m no football expert but how do we get closed down so quickly and when we don’t have the ball we always seem let them come to our third..
Can’t wait to see how scully media “Arsenal fabs” like Lawrence and Cross manage to square this one, the talentless deceitful low lives that they are.
Scully? Supposed
Fabs? Fans.
The rest is correct though.
Amy is sound.
Anyone else hear that cheeky Wenger chant Chelsea support was singing at 3-0?
He’ll leave when he wants, He’ll leave when he wants, Oh Arsenal F.C Your’e stuck with that Cunt.
Imo Chelsea success is more than just the manager though, They also have a owner who cares and wants to win trophies which I think is probably more important than anything.
At Arsenal Wenger is the only one who really care, the rest of the suits knows fuck all and only care about money.
We can complain about the 1st goal all we can thats not why we lost…if we want to moan how about poor Burnley who really shouldn’t have lost both games against us..
It was a foul but its part of the game…but what is not acceptable is the way we crumbled after the goal went in…we have to find out why if we concede against the top teams ..it almost feels like it’s game over
he was out cold before he hit even the ground, you could see his eyes do that “vacant” look people get when their concussed or knocked out, never a pleasant sight to see on a football pitch. Still for the life of me cannot understand how that’s not been given a foul.
I’m proud that we took Bellerin off quickly. Some things are more important than football.
Yeah….money. Ask Arsenal FC….Ltd.
Sounds like his condition really gave them no option.
Even referees know we’re weak and pathetic. They expect us to get bullied…to be treated like little bitches by ‘bigger’ teams.
It was a foul, yes…..but Wenger’s Arsenal will be treated with the respect they deserve. None.
Aaaaaand the excuses start.
If I’d just kicked the player through the back of the leg and scored with my head or foot in the same movement then I would not have got the goal. I don’t think Alonso meant to do it, but how does th at make it less of a foul. If Alonso heads the ball before the elbow connects, then it’s a fair, but unfortunate goal. If Alonso connects with Bellerin’s face and sends him unconscious to the floor prior to his header? Well then that’s a foul, no goal,and no punishment actually needed in this case as it was… Read more »
You raised a good point. Trying to remember if it was Eduardo’s or Ramsey’s leg break, but I remember the team collapsing after that incident.
Hector not knowing the score? Well I wish I didn’t!!! Wenger HAS to retire at the end of this season for the good of Arsenal FC!!!! I predicted, before the match, a 4-1 victory – that is how predictably bad we are at the moment!!!
Compare the foul on Bellerin vs the foul late in 2nd half from Gabriel on Hazard. Different positions on field.. both make contact with head… one results in 1st and influential goal of game.. the other is foul awarded to guy hit in face. Same incidents….. completely different outcomes. This doesnt suggest for one minute the goal cost Arsenal the game… the team was terrible in large patches…. but its fair to suggest the goal rattled Arsenal for a short while before they rallied and had a good strong finish to the half… shoulda went into break at 1-1 if… Read more »
With the benefit of a replay, and it took about 4 angles by Sky for us to see it looked like a foul, I can totally understand why the ref and linesman didn’t see it as a foul in real time. I don’t think Alonso went into that trying to hurt Hector – it looked like a natural position to take whilst throwing himself at a ball – he just wanted it more. A perfect summary of the game overall. Did it cost us, and did Bellerin going off impact on our game – of course it did. But let’s… Read more »
I’m not sure what logic there is in saying because we wouldn’t have complained if an Arsenal player had scored that that it’s alright. At best the logic is tortured. At worst it’s just plain nuts.
Unfortunately I saw only the first half – in our country the game is broadcast during the middle of the night – and I saw the difference between zonal marking and man marking. Chelsea players given time and space on the ball while Arsenal players had defenders literally on their backs and nibbling at their ankles. It’s a style of play that sometimes works but often frustrates. If we make allowances for the different styles, the stats show that Arsenal had a good half with corners, possession and shots on goal. If the Chelsea goal had been disallowed, I would… Read more »
Did any of arsenal players appeal to the referee immediately after the bellerin-alonso clash claiming it was a foul?
I Didnt see any
By the looks of it they didn’t see it happen – they didn’t even see he was out for a few moments after the goal- so a moot question.
They were all tracking players and, well, then there’s Cech on holiday.
It was a totally obvious foul, and it obviously changed the game in a huge way. We were also shit. The two are not mutually exclusive. I don’t see how anyone can say “well you could only tell from the replay” – it was totally obvious. You could see it in real time, both from the impact and from the way Bellerin fell. That is not something the ref should be missing. Would we probably have lost the game anyway? Yeah, probably. But so what? The ref has to make that call. If Chelsea was going to beat us, we… Read more »
I strongly believe Hector was fouled but that didn’t change our game plan. We Still allowed Chelsea to boss our midfield and enially caused stupid goals like that one of Cech. Chelsea played 343 why couldn’t we face them in their own formation that’s my question. We still carried on with our 433 formation. To be honest we lost the gane after that foul on Hector. By the way, what’s new with this ref, first it was Webb, then it was Mike Dean and now its Martin Atkinson notno giving us justice in the field of play.
I believe that, however nice the English are, it is a big part of English football culture to batter each other so hard as oppossed to expressing one’s skill and technique. It’s so ingrained in most involved with local football’s minds (refs included) at whatever level of football in this country to let players nearly kill each other on the pitch, all in the name of “its a man’s game”. The only problem comes when English teams play in international tournaments and everyone complains when foreign refs give free kicks for supposedly soft fouls. Nani’s high kick in the champions… Read more »
A lot of us Arsenal fans fool ourselves too much, would Lauren or Kolo playing at right back be knocked over like that? Would Ivanovic that just left Chelsea or Aspilequta be knocked off like that? the thing is our pathetic manager now prefers boys in stature instead of men! Until he pulls his effing finger out this will keep happening, the team needs a mixture of skill and physicality or else we are just fooling ourselves, if Giroud did that to Fabregas and scored will any of you moan? Let’s face FACTS, reverse the role when we won 3-0… Read more »
if you are a man, or a boy, or a woman, or a girl, and you are elbowed in the head with considerable force, you will be considerably impeded and quite possibly concussed. Don’t be dense.
I’ve defended him for years but it’s just groundhog day again. Same old same old.
Amazing how sky sports had a whole highlight reel of Giroid jumping with his arms high for aerial challenges and debated about him being a dirty player for a good 10/15 minutes on one show in the last year.
Love how the media destroys an Arsenal player but glosses over the fact when an opposition player does it much worse knocking out a player. Just saying he had every right to go for the ball. And stupid lines about being committed.
It’s a clear foul based on a reading of the sport’s own rules. The fact that the situation has been judged so equivocally suggests there is a problem, not merely with the referees themselves (whose side i tend to take, although it was lamentably timid refereeing in this case – the ref didn’t call the goal immediately because presumably he understood something wasn’t right, but he just seems to have shrugged his shoulders when he saw everyone was celebrating and let the goal stand), but with the rules of the sport themselves, snd hiw they are communicated and interpreted.
Chelsea deserved to win, without a doubt but when you get numb skulls like shearer say he was only being aggressive, about the dangerous foul, has he a son, would he say that, I wonder
Kathleen hales
Shearer said I quote that Alonso was just being aggressive, I wonder if he had a son or has a son and it was him he would say that,
I’d imagine he probably would, as he’s that kind of bone-headed macho idiot that predominates British football culture. Elbowing someone in the face before you get to the ball is a foul, not ‘being aggressive’.
Most of the neutral expert views I have read are of the view that it was not a foul. Thierry Henry did not consider it a foul. Do people here think he’s an idiot? Get real! I do not consider it a foul. Both were going to the ball in a 50/50 manner. Alonso does not project out his elbow, it’s just a collision from a 50/50, where his arm just happens to accidentally hit Bellerin. I’ve been in tonnes of those clashes. Lots of these things are not black and white. I’d rather the refs give the benefit of… Read more »
Going for a 5/50 is fine, but if you catch the player before winning the ball, it’s a foul. Every time.
When anyone goes in with 2 feet, it’s said to be out-of-control and dangerous and a straight red… yet here we have someone taking a running jump and forearm smashing their opponent in the face, and it’s not even given as a foul. Whether it was deliberate or not, it was undeniably dangerous.
When Ben Thatcher did very similar a few years back, he got a 10 game ban, and rightly so.
It’s just typical of us nowadays to make excuses. We were poor again. Accidental collision pure and simple. It happens. We have too much faith in players that simply don’t cut it. Fact is we are not a patch on Chelsea right now and there is only one man to blame for that
Stoke were given a Pk when Xhaka elbowed Joe Allen in the face, if that was a foul, then shouldn’t a flying elbow capable of causing a full concussion be considered one?
You.
U people, all fans of the game and I assume all arsenal fans; a foul is a foul and should be spotted and dealt with by the man in charge. Referees are NOT doing well in any games. Not one of them. With the kind of monies at stake this is a shame. Justifying fouls like that doesn’t help them realise that they need help soonest. Otherwise with the current trend, we all might find ourselves preferring rugby or tennis or some other games that have fair referees.
We were shit but I can’t believe no pundit has made mention of this blatant foul.
In fact it was so aggressive, so nasty that if I’d have been on that pitch then Alonso would be leaving on a stretcher. Eye for an eye I’d have paralysed the cunt.
Get well Hector, we’ve been missing you on the pitch and I wish you the best.
I’m going to put myself out there on this and say that I think this is one of those decisions where our Arsenal blinkers are fully on. We can all have our tins hats on and say the whole of the media is against us but I genuinely think our bias is affecting our view on this one and that’s why no one is calling it as a foul. I think it was marginal and I understand completely why the ref gave the goal. Yes, Alonso’s arm was up but you will see that in 99.9% of headers. Yes, he… Read more »
And Tony Adams scored about 50 identical goals!
Nonsense. Both feet off the ground at high speed unable to change direction to pull out of the challenge is absolutely not 100% in control of his body.
And in 99% of headers where the arm blunts the opponents face before getting the ball it is or is supposed to be a foul. Arms to the face / head are not allowed.
Both feet are off the ground with most headers of this sort, it’s very common and you can remain in control of what you’re doing. His arms were also in a perfectly natural position. To follow your argument there could be no header where a player has any legs off the ground because you can’t change the direction of travel in any such scenario. It’s simply that the combination of Alonso’s height and Bellerin’s lack of height meant that his arms were at head level at the point of them coming together. It’s utter bull to suggest that Alonso deliberately… Read more »