Arsenal can feel hard done by as they lost 2-1 to Wolves at Molineux this evening.
After an excellent start which saw Bukayo Saka hit the post, force the keeper into a good save, and have a goal disallowed, the Gunners dominance was brought onto the scoreboard when Nicolas Pepe scored a superb goal to put Mikel Arteta’s side ahead.
Just before the break David Luiz was issued a red card for commiting no foul, and Wolves given a penalty. A Moutinho belter early in the second half put the home side ahead, and Arsenal were reduced to 9 men after a moment of madness from Bernd Leno saw him handle outside the box.
It was too much to ask to come back from that, and the unbeaten run came to an end in banteriffic circumstances.
Read the Wolves 2-1 Arsenal match report and see the goals/cards here.
Wolves 2-1 Arsenal – Player Ratings
The ratings are hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above Bernd Leno. Also, please give the ratings a few seconds to load.
Bad referee call, but man, this game was some severe deja vu. The way we self-destructed.
Dejavu to? Last capitulation I can recall is Laurent and Vieira getting sent off against PSV I think. All those years ago.
And another one where Lord Bendtner had a go with Adebayor. Funny how we all had Adebayor’s back at the time.
Hey, Adebayor did score us THAT winner at Old Trafford haha
I just want to forget today, let’s hope we beat Villa. What would I not give to see Jack Grealish’s thug-like face look unhappy.
I think our best bet for Europe this year is to WIN Europa League otherwise I don’t see us making top 6 let alone top 4. I think Arteta Gambled and threw away the FA CUP which is a real BIG shame I’m still not over that FA CUP loss. Honestly under different circumstances I feel that’s a sackable offense. I knew the league is tough and clawing back to top 4 or top 6 would be very difficult not impossible but VERY difficult Arteta thinks he can make top 4 with that terrible start to the season we had… Read more »
I agree with you about the FA Cup but I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was a sackable offense.
I said under different circumstances it’s a sackable offense read what I wrote. I didnt say it’s a straight sackable offense because I understand what the circumstances were with regards to the team and rotation etc.
I don’t think it was a gamble. Look at the players we had out directly after the game. There’s a definite need of rotation.
Last capitulation you can recall featured Vieira? Oh have you been in a coma?
No, dont try to blame the team for this. The ref fucked us and even you should be able to understand that.
I get it but referee really fu**ed it. I was fuming but when I saw Xhaka at the end, anger turned to sadness. End of the day they all are human and gave their best but due to some fu*** decision, they lost.
I am in minority but I still have lot of hope from this team. Especially after first half performance. This will give more reasons for our players to perform better
Agreed.
I have a friend who’s a support of Man Utd. He messaged me 30 minutes into the game 1st half & said that this team reminds him of the Arsenal of the old. Also that Pepe is quite the find. Maybe he has a point.
That was the best half hour of football we’ve played in a long long tmie. Complete and total dominance. Bullshit call changed the complexion of the game,how VAR didn’t overturn that is a mystery. I bet Mike Dean was in the VAR booth wasn’t he.
The VAR part I will never understand….it was a clear and obvious error. Luis pretty much stopped and the dude’s heels clipped his knee….makes no sense to me but then again what can we do now other than hope those above us with games in hand drop a few and we beat the lights out of Villa.
Is it a 1 or 3 game suspension for Leno and Luis?-
Yes but Luiz is a chutiya being in that position. I called this after his last game. It’s one of this “la vida” moments after a good performance.
Didn’t deserve to be sent off, but he’s a gandu.
Bt said it was John moss. Say no more.
It was actually Jon Moss and I bet he was laughing really hard as we thought he is checking all the situations, when in fact he was watching old videos on the other telly
The fat bastard was too busy dribbling ketchup on the keyboard.
Mike Dean was too busy being an absolute cunt up in Manchester. That Man Utd vs. Southampton match had its own share of dodgy refereeing.
I saw that offside call…shameful stuff. Moss and Dean should both go back to referee school. Or maybe the Helen Keller school of blind and deaf?
I know Auba was invisible for the most part, but ignoring him in the ratings…well, that’s something
Terrible substitution bringing off Pepe for Auba who jogged around Willian style, I really feel that deep down Arteta is a bad manager, some of his decisions and opinions on players are baffling
I think Arteta is a good coach, we’ve been playing good lately, however I agree he still has a lot to learn about to be a manager.
I see no sense in substituting Pepe for Auba. Martinelli would have given us more speed, energy and aggressiveness compared to Auba. Auba is a good player…but when you are one man down, I am not sure it is a good choice.
You can argue Pepe should have stayed on or Martinelli should have come on, but regardless of recent struggles I see a lot of logic in bringing on one of the best goal scorers the league has seen in recent years when your only hope for the game is to get a cheeky goal against the run of play…
Technically speaking it’s correct, but it’s still definitely a bad call, because there is no way the rule is intended to result in a red card for an accidental, non-dangerous foul.
That’s when you want a ref to show some backbone and common sense, and unfortunately, he instead decided to be a weasel and hide behind the letter of the law even though it obviously makes no sense.
I’m not sure it is even technically correct, could be wrong. I think you have to make no attempt to play the ball, ie, play the man. The thing is, Luiz didn’t attempt any sort of tackle and it’s absolutely evident from the replays.
Maybe this is some sort of grey area but I genuinely don’t think, as you say, the law is designed for a situation where you don’t play either the ball or the man. But then, I’d say that’s never a foul anyway so it’s sort of moot.
I couldn’t help think that this rule has started to lose its meaning? ‘No attempt to play the ball’ used to mean when someone commits a cynical foul where they never had any intention of going for the ball, now it seems to be used to punish players for accidental contact?
Spot on mate – see my post above. Refereeing pettyness and/or arrogance has usurped the original intent of this law to the point where, rather than fostering the spirit of the game, it is smothering it.
I know there’s a lot of criticism of various rules at the moment, but to your point I wonder how much it’s an issue with the rules versus an issue with being referees being wedded to the exact wording rather than seeing common sense prevail.
Not just that. I feel like it played apart in the Southampton 2nd sending off too. Mike Dean looked like he was not going to send the player off till VAR said something in his earpiece.
That would be quite an influence!
But it DID influence our second red. Gameplay would have been completely different and Leno would not likely have been in a situation like that if we had 11, and Luiz, on, just because the whole dynamic of the match changed.
How can it be technically correct, you can’t give a penalty for deliberately avoiding an opponent. If that’s the case we are going to have 200 free kicks a game. Really refs and linesmen need to re-read the rules of the game.
The ‘letter of the law’ does offer Pawson any shelter either: law states ‘pushing, holding, otherwise interfering or a tackle with no clear attempt to play the ball’… If we recall when this law was intro’d/amended – it’s purpose was to support the spirit of the game by punishing ‘cynical’ fouls that were purely intended to denying scoring chances, with no realisitc intention to contest for the ball. This actually supports Luis’ case as he was not even trying to tackle at all… he certainly did not push/pull, hold or interfere, and there was NO attempt at the ball because… Read more »
‘does NOT offer Pawson’… talk about a key typo!!!!
And so what of the ‘spirit of the game’ which this law was introduced specifically to protect? Was it well-served by last night’s debacle? A team which was clearly dominant and patently playing the better football were instantly shoved onto the back-foot (with a ball ‘n chain attached!) and football was robbed of what was shaping up to be a highly entertaining game and a great advertisement for the EPL. Instead we were once again given abundant reasons why the best league in the world consistently fails to have any of its referees taking their places at the top table.… Read more »
Chances of finishing in the top 7 are truly over now and there is no way we’re going to beat Villa without Leno.
After our recent winning streak it surely looked like there is still some hope left but it’s vanished after this clusterfuck.
Maybe we win the EL…..who am I kidding.
If ryan is fit we still stand a chance, we looked really menacing in the first half.
We’re in 10th, with 16 games left, and our chances of finishing among the top 7 are truly over because of a freak loss ? I get it that it’s easy to feel pessimistic, but in my book we still have a (very long) shot at top 4, and we really ought to climb past West Ham, Sp*rs, and Villa before the season is done.
I’d fancy our chances against Everton and Chelsea as well. Leicester would be very hard to get past, the top three are definitely out of reach.
That’s the spirit mate. Well done.
Let’s not turn this in to all doom and gloom. We played really well in first half and dominated game then referee thought, ” oh this is one sided, let’s make it equal”
and awarded not only penalty but RC as well.
Leno will be out for only one game and Gabriel can definitely be better replacement for Luiz. If we play with same passion as today, we can finish in top 6.
Why is it over….lots of games left and teams have all been dropping points…this is a different season….we were flirting with relegation a month or so ago
we have to be honest this team isnt good enough to get top 6. We have improved but the weak links are still there. Some players just have these brain farts too often to play for a top side. weve improved but had quite a favourable run of fixtures since new year. Things looks more promising with the young players and some of the dead wood cleared, this sesaon is a write off really. If we make a few good signings in the summer we could be back in the mix for the top 4 next season. sadly that is… Read more »
Disagree completely. This team is absolutely top 6 by end of the season. Before this game was stolen from us we were flying. And we’ve been flying for the last 6 weeks. Getting rid of the dead wood will only make us stronger for the run in.
I fully disagree. Not because I believe we’re supremely good or anything, but because we are as good as several clubs ahead of us given how results are all over the place in the league.
This was a one-off where shit luck and shit refereeing took us down.
STFU
Get over yerself mate! We are steadily settling into playing some of our best football in seasons… We at last have some class players (both from within and without) who are consistently performing… Our defence looks like it has finally grown a pair (and large ones at that!)… Partey and Odegaard – game-breakers both – have yet to settle into their stride with much, much more to come… Our young-guns have exploded with mesmering effect… Our costliest signing has finally thrown that 72m millstone of his shoulders and looks increasingly dangerous with every outing… We got shafted by a moment… Read more »
The sooner we forget this game the better
Agreed, except for the first 45 minutes, which were — significantly — arguably the best “half” we’ve played this season. The negatives that followed were so bizarre I actually feel strangely positive after this game.
Craig Pawson – Spawn of Mike Dean!
Disgraceful how he was laughing and fist bumping the Wolves players at the end.
I didn’t see that but I’m not surprised.
Fucking referee ruined the game for the Gunners. I hope the wolves are properly shot down next time, they deserve it.
David Luiz was way out of position, late to recover and made things worse as he always does when trying to fix a mistake.
Maybe he clipped him by accident or maybe he knew exactly what he was doing. Considering his recent rep for fouling players clear on goal, the refs gave him no benefit of the doubt.
Everyone bar leno laca and auba gets a 8 for me.
I dont feel like we truely felt the man loss when laca went off minus the wonderstrike.
so Laca 6.5
auba wasnt up to pace and coming into the team trailing with less players and stuff on his mind recently gets a 6.5
leno did ok for the first 72 minutes so instead of a 0 I will give him a 0.72
I thought they were all decent right up to the point where the ball was slid through to the wolves forward who got the penalty. That’s some really basic defending to stop that pass. Holding was good in just about everything else he did and has been for a number of matches but his lack of understanding of how to prevent that pass is actually awful. The gap is to his left. The forward is to his left. IF he moves to the left only 3 yards he’s still inside the man and the pass can only go harmlessly between… Read more »
Completely disagree here. I’m not saying Holding is faultless, but five seconds before that pass is played, Luiz is sat deeper than the player who receives the ball – it’s a simple case of tracking the run. The red card is ridiculous, but it does come about from Luiz being slightly caught on his heels in the build-up, not from Holding failing to stop the pass.
What’s the point? When it doesn’t matter how good you play because referee and var are that incompetent (or intentionally biased) can destroy a game with no recourse. Nothing will improve. And our rivals will continue to be uneffected by it magically. Hopefully UEL refs have even half a brain so we have an actual sporting chance.
Positives – Pepe, Saka and Xhaka were brilliant today. Partey was good too. Thought ESR was always away from our attacks in the first half – average game. Lots of positives from the first half before the red card. Also just hears Arteta’s interview and he spoke very well on the game. One bad thing is he mentioned Tierney isn’t close at all for selection tonight – big worry.
Negatives: Arteta’s subs?
I would have moved Xhaka to CB or maybe ESR for Gabriel. Pepe and Laca were having good games and losing Laca meant there was no one to hold the ball up when we went down to 10.
Agree david
Arteta got the subs wrong but meh lets foeget it and watch manu win 4-0 ar halftime against 10 men after 2 min for a REAL foul
I thought Laca coming off was inevitable, going down to ten men meant we could only score on the counter. That would require the speed of Saka and Pepe, while maintaining the distribution of Xhaka, Partey and ESR. The second reduced our chances even further, but we still tried which was something. At that point I think it was save Partey, give Auba some game time after being away (big run of games coming up)while having the pace to work in a counter if the chance arrives.
I foot shooting considered a fetish as well? Surely seems that way at Arsenal!
*IS
Whatever you say luiz shouldn’t have been turned that easy and he’d know that any slight touch and the guy would go down.
That is just criminal. Blaming VAR and not seeing where all this calamity started is being partial.
See how far Luiz was up the pitch… I agree here, Luiz puts us in this position with less than a minute to go…wtf
I was going to write just this but reached your post first. I find the abuse of referee/var unacceptable when we caused these problems ourselves. We had to make performance pay in first half with goals. Laca was offside, no argument. We had to stay awake right up to half time whistle, but we let a simple ball open us up. Luiz knew why he ran across the back of attacker and what would happen (no reason for player to go down, he had simple chance to score) – he’s been there before. Leno had brainfart moment and card inevitable,… Read more »
I prefer mari over Luiz.He doesn’t seem to have that erratic knack about him, why in the first place has Luiz gone out into that space so far! Mertesacker was very limited but positionally was spot on , feel like Mari has more caution about his game than Luiz and therefore makes less howlers
This comment is the truth! No matter how unfair and wrong the decision was, Luiz put himself in this position. There was no need being that agressive on the last seconds of first half (hindsight). We have seen him do these kind of impulsive decisions before that is not in tune with his team-mates. Luiz is good at a lot, but ultimately, he costs us unneccesary points like Mustafi. That is the truth and that is why Chelskij got rid of him.
Aggressive? Running back to his goal is aggressive? Impulsive? Putting one foot in front of the other as fast as he could…That’s impulsive? Oi, next time luiz just stand still 30 yards up the pitch and just cross yeh fingers. We’ll just ask the question why you couldn’t be arsed to try
You’re spot on! We have to look inward and take it on the chin. Im so so tired of all this weakness, calling out Ref and Var, they did nothing wrong, simply aplied the rules, yet our fans cry and moan and sulk about rules and conspiracy when Luiz’s done this exact rutine countless times. The rule is straight forward, play the ball and you stay on if it’s not serious foul play, go for the man and your im the mud. Simple!!
You have to ask why – with less than a minute of added time left – and given that 9 times in 10, we play it out from the back, Leno decides to hoof into no-man’s land???
Pass it out, keep possession, run the few seconds down and going in with the lead intact ffs!! Not one, but TWO very poor moments of decision-making from our consistently excellent keeper….
Excellent point. I’ve been making one similar.
Luiz wasn’t robbed. He’s a fucking calamity.
The problem, is that MA keeps playing him.
Who else do we play today? Gabriel is rusty from his covid break, mari is just back from injury/wear and tear (like saka was the last couple games) and chambers hasn’t played since his ACL injury.
Luiz might be at fault for the goal, but that was an incredibly harsh red.
That’s BS. He was motm against utd 2 days ago! Yeah, he has his moments but he’s been playing well of lately and deserves his place. His distribution out of defense is by far superior to Mari and Holding. And if you think he was out of position on the bullshit penalty call then where the fck was xhaka or partey in front of him to deal with the ball thru the middle in the first place?
I agree with you .where were the middfielders??? Lately partey was not by himself.
Luiz is completely at fault for being caught out of position, but after that for me the criticism stops. He did nothing out of the ordinary – he’s just chasing to get back.
Except he was MOTM against Man Utd and got sent off for nothing against Wolves
It was our goal kick with literally seconds left before halftime. I agree that it shouldn’t have even gotten to a situation where Luiz was chasing a guy into our box.
Utter garbage. He presses the guy in the middle of the pitch as you’d expect your center back to do then immediately turns to get back when it’s laid off.
Positive performances again from most players, but despite efforts from both full backs they are not good enough with their final ball, Bellerin especially. Cedric can adequately fill in at left back, but we’re not going to pull up any trees playing him consistently there. Pepe and Saka were a threat in the first half and I think taking Pepe off for Auba actually made us blunt and slow.
Was strange to take Pepe off. However needing a goal (or two) without a striker is difficult, and who was the alternatives? ESR? Saka? Partey?
We needed dribblers in a desperate situation like that, auba for pepe was a bad choice in that case.
Auba did well with Saka as a front two when we were down to 10 in previous matches but yes, to sum it up, he was anonymous after he came on in this match. He did manage a shot at the end which was blocked but tbh I was piss off with him in quite many moments during the match. For me, Luiz was at fault for switching off and slow to read the developing situation BUT NOT MORE THAN that.. VAR does not work that well in the EPL because even with the VAR in place, most of the… Read more »
This is a stretch, but I was hoping he would take off Cedric (or Bellerin, moving Cedric to RB) for Auba, place Saka in the nominal “left back” role, then have him roam up the left wing with Xhaka slotting back in at RB during attacks. Tough to have a CM cover that much space when down a man, though.
Xhaka slotting back in at LB*
Where is Aubas rating.
I am tired of referee’s getting away with shit decision and are back officiating next match. Referee’s should be held accountable as well.This is as good as match-fixing. Surely there would be some bet odds on luiz red -card
The fact Leno is not available for the VIlla game already has me worried. How shit is our luck? Sign a decent backup goalkeeper, only to then have him injured in less than a week.
Going to have to comfort eat now all evening ffs
Never a red but Luiz was massively out of position. No way your CB should be chasing a striker from behind like that in the 4th minute of stoppage time. Shame as the team looked dominant 1st half.
Holding was the one that got done, leaving Luiz scrambling to recover for him. And it’s not the first time this has happened either – last time was recovering for a Mustafi mistake.
Finally someone who actually understands what he’s watching
Ive watched this multiple times more since seeing this comment and genuinely can’t understand where you’re coming from. Luiz is tight up around the centre circle, gets spun and can’t keep up with his man. Holding goes to shut down the passer but has a wolves striker running past him … the same guy Luiz couldn’t keep up with and who he goes on to trip up from behind for the penalty
Why not a red..if that happened to Laca or Saka or Pepe in the other box youd’ve been crying and screaming if no red is given
No, I’d want a penalty for sure as the backlift for the shot has been stopped by where Luiz is, but not a red.
Just becuase it did’nt look nasty or cyinical does not mean he get’s off the hook…if there is a denying of a clear goalscoring oportunity without playing the ball, then that can’t go unpunished, it’s a red card offense by defenition, severity or intent aren’t a factor since the effect of the incedent prompt an automatic red card.
Luiz knee was in expected position for chasing back wolves players foot actually went to his knee not the other way on ! So free kick to Arsenal as wolves lad kicked luiz with his studs up so technically a violent action which should have resulted in the wolves lad being sent off after giving away a foul ! Perspective cuts both ways Luiz or Xhaka does that then they’re off ! Only 2 on that pitch wherever gives a penalty and a sending off ? Pro game is a joke ditto bar ditto premier refs ditto pundits
Was it a clear opportunity? Leno was closing him down and was perfectly positioned… by your reasoning, every cynical shirt-pull, arm-tug, shoulder-wrestle in the 6 yard box, from a corner, fk or cross, would then – if that impeded player does make contact with the ball – be a red! Because they could argue the ‘cynical’ tug or shove or block (a) showed no attempt to play the ball and (b) prevented a goal-scoring opportunity. We would potentially have red cards at every corner kick! That’s why Pawson’s decision was a nonsense – completely misinterprets the intent and spirit of… Read more »
He was clear through on goal, the Keeper has nothing to do with it being a clear goalscoring oportunity, he’s not the last man. My reasoning for cynical foul resulting in triple punishment, counts only when in 1v1 in on goal scenario! The law in these situations protects the carrying through of the attack.
Because he didn’t touch Jose and therefore there was no foul.
No way your keeper (who 9 times in 10 plays it out short from the back) should be hoofing it into no-man’s land with seconds on the clock! KEEP POSSESSION and take the 1-0 into the dressing room at H/T
Didn’t get much luck but it just wasn’t good enough, was it. We are failing, even despite the run of good results that ended tonight, to close the gap on the teams above us or pull away from those just behind. Many continue to have a game or games in hand. All the talk about a top four finish is really fantasy land stuff. We’re going to have a real fight to get into an automatic EL place, let alone anything higher. Failure to get European football next season (OK, we’re still in the EL) will be a big blow… Read more »
Who isn’t failing this season? Hmm?
we can still make the uefa conferance league if we finish 7th
probably more our standard these days anyway
Can I fill that half-empty glass of yours?
A tot of Partey getting his groove on… a measure of Odegaard being our joker in the pack… a dash of Pepe finally coming good… and a double shot of young guns being utterly fearless and energetic.
Support man!! It’s what ‘supporters’ do…
Listened to some commentary from a former ref and it seems if Luiz had slid in and gone thro the striker in an attempt to get the ball it’s a yellow but as he didn’t it’s a red I’m confused
Nothing to be confused about. It’s a fix.
Professional foul/old n clumsy
Because everyone knows the Premier League favours Wolves. Stop it.
Basically if he had tried to play the ball and then missed it would have been a yellow
Yet he tried to play neither the man or the ball and got a red..
Because denial of a clear goal-scoring opportunity is a red card unless it is in the penalty area, in which case it is a penalty and a yellow–but only if it is the result of a genuine attempt to win the ball.
That’s it thank you! this is what is sooooo confusing for most…like come on you can’t make a cynical foul intentional or not, underneath your goal of all places!! It’s red all day every day!
Because if you attempt to play the ball, it’s a yellow. If you clearly don’t it’s a red. If you “went through” a player, you would probably get a red because a) there was no chance of you playing the ball or b) it’s serious foul play that endangers the safety of the opponent. If it’s a poor tackle but doesn’t fall under a) or b), just a yellow. That seems reasonable.
0/10 for pundits arguing Luiz didn’t make an attempt to win the ball. He wasn’t even making an attempt to tackle you blind cunts. The wolves man had a slight touch on his foot from a tangle of legs and went down. Shit referees once again. England sort yourself out. You can have the best league in the world being officiated by fucking clowns. Just imagine these English refs in Brazil with some of the calls they make
If the shoe on the other foot and that’s our striker in thier box and their CB does that, we’re all yelling foul/pen/red.
Ease up there. (English referees are a bloody embarrassment, but not for this. Luiz is fucking terrible.)
Pen yes but red not really. It wasn’t a cynical foul.
I agree with all of Luis’s previous red cards but this one seems like a lazy interpretation of the rules
Despite the best league we see less refree from England in international level. I agree.
Wish I could give this 2 thumbs up
I’m giving every comment that goes along the lines of “fuck the ref” a thumbs up.
No rating for Auba?
How to rate an invisible man?
Auba’s been fucking usless since the FA cup win.
well, he was fine against Fulham (Rel. fodder) on opening day.
He’s a been a waste of money.
Very bright stuff before the pen, best we’ve looked without Tierney, but what’s with Wolves against Arsenal?? Any time I watch them they’re avg/bad, when vs the Ars they turn into pre-curse Benfica!!!
I’ve been following arseblog for years and I think this is the first time I’ve 100% disagreed with Blog’s opinion on something. I thought Luiz was totally to blame.
Not sure whether to be sad about it, or relieved that I do have my own opinions. When you agree with someone so often it is a concern you’re just a mindless automaton suck up.
I can’t really fathom it either. It was a stonewall penalty, he clipped him – if he didn’t touch him why would both guys fall to the ground at the same time?! As for the red, perhaps slightly debatable as you could argue “intent”, but by the same reason, why the fuck was Luiz running behind the guy? That was intent. He intentionally ran across his back, he then clipped him, that part is probably an accident, but by then it’s too late. His intentional decision to run right into the danger area and then cause contact by making that… Read more »
It’s a pen any day, any ref, any league.
I honestly can’t understand the outcry. If Luiz runs straight towards goal he doesn’t get involved in the attackers legs. But instead he stupidly runs right in behind him. It doesn’t matter if its Nevez’s leg swing back that clips Luiz’s knee or Luiz’s leg swing forward that makes the contact. The contact was made by Luiz being in an area he never should have. All this complaining makes us look cheap and whinny.
watch it again, luiz pulled out of the challenge as he knew he’d lost the race and passed responsibility to leno.
did luiz think maybe this guy will trip up if he tries cutting across me? perhaps, but that is never a red card deserving offence.
No he doesn’t pull out of the challenge. He reacts to the contact on his knee.
However I would argue Luis wasn’t going across the guy just to trip him but he was heading towards the goal line just incase Leno gets rounded.
Hahahahah are we talking about Prime Maldini here or Mr sideshow? Luiz does this all the time compounding his errors, not saying he’s awfull but he lacks the serenity in key moments.
100%pen and red. Seems like Luiz has fooled everyone exept the one that mattered. Eaven if ‘IF’ there was no intent, makes 0 diference as it does’nt change the fact that he denies a clear one on one with gk. Allways a red, can’t be any other way as the doubble jeopardy rule does’nt apply here.
100% agree. The most ridiculous part is that if it happened the otherway and wasn’t a penalty and red then the outcry from the same people would be just as bad. I mean we sound like QANON right now with the conspiracy theories flying about. It’s a bad look.
Exactly, you nailed it, they would go absolutley out of their minds. It’s weak to blame officiating at any time, but today it’s just embarrassing!! Why the need to cover up so much? Is it blind bias or just pure ignorance/impotence? I don’t get it truely don’t!! Like if you’re IFAB or ref or part of var setup these days..you can’t win, no matter what you do you can only loose! It’s so weak to blame others for stuff that’s in you control, and we aint eaven talking about some inocent little fresh defeder nooo no it’s veteran, tried an… Read more »
I don’t disagree often either but I totally support your opinion. Emotionally as a fan you feel really hard done by that not only did we concede a penalty, but we lost a player due to a small touch. However, the rules are there in black and white. Committing an offence and denying a player a goalscoring opportunity without an attempt to play the ball = red card. Included in offences are “careless/reckless tripping’, it matters 0% whether Luiz meant it or how light the touch was. He was too close = he didn’t take care. Apparently refs also have… Read more »
But how often do we see pen shout replays dismissed with the ‘pundits’ comment – not enough contact? Dozens and dozens of times! I’ll take the pen as a 50/50 call that the ref is there to make, fair enough. But the red is utter bollocks and completely contrary to the spirit of why that law was introduced in the first place: to prevent cycnical denials of clear gs opportunities that are against the spirit of the game. That contact was 95% accidental – there was NO cynical attempt… so how on earth is the spirit of the game served… Read more »
Suppose Luiz was a stride further behind, stretched out a foot, and made the same contact with obvious intention. No argument then, right? So it’s the appearance of an accidental coming-together of limbs that makes this look innocent. That happens all the time in the box and doesn’t merit a foul or penalty; in those cases, the sense is that players choose to engage, are mutually responsible, aren’t gaining an unfair advantage, and are competing for the ball. They’re scrapping. In this case, none of those apply. One player was shooting and had his foot bumped by a defender who… Read more »
I was really suprised too!! During the game I was already thinking about the little meltdown that would be waiting in the ratings. If this is his position then sureley James is going to disagree with him on pod.
I hope exactly the same thing. I really hope James brings sanity to the issue. Because we’re Shaqtin’ the fools bleating on about rigged games, etc., when this was a clear penalty and red.
A question:
by that reasoning, why don’t the dozens of shirt-tugs, wrist-yanks and shoulder-grabs that we see every weekend at corners and in-box freekicks, end in red cards?
If the impeded player does manage to make contact with the ball but misses the target, the ‘cynical’, ‘no attempt at the ball’ foul surely then denied a goal-scoring opportunity?
There HAS to be some reasonable discretion applied by the officials otherwise it’s a very slippery slope… be careful what you wish for.
So this is why we have to get into champions league and stay in Europe, no premier league refs… Then again.. Van Persie vs Barcelona. How come we’re always a fkn victim of refereeing. Why is it so painful to be a gooner.. we play brilliant football finally and then the other thing strikes, whether it’s injuries or refereeing. I hate it. Being an Arsenal fan is a curse. Coyg.
I’ll never get over rvp versus barca. That was match fixing. Nobody can tell me otherwise. On this one, at least examine it on VAR. No way was it so clear and obvious that the review took 5 seconds. If the refs review it and decided it was a red or if Craig what’shisface looked at it on the pitch side monitor and said red then we can live with it.
I just read ‘whatshisface’ as ‘whatshitface’ – aah, Freud.
Aubameyang?
Both reds were justified.
Yes, the referee could’ve been lenient for the first red card, but how often do we get the benefit of the doubt in such situation?
We’ve got no grounds to challenge his decisions, which were by the letter of the law.
Fact is we lost the game, because our MOST EXPERIENCED player had a brain fart. First of all, he was caught off position and ball watching. Secondly, he found himself in a position to entice the referee into making a decision that penalised us twice (poor judgement). We just got rid of Mustafi, for exactly these sort of brain fart moments, and how we celebrated that. We’ll build nothing concrete by replying on such error prone players – 6 red cards in a period spanning no more than 2 years?? He should know better! I’m so gutted because we were… Read more »
I feel like we dodged a bullet when Luiz came in due to Gabriel Covid and Mari injury. Luiz was good in that time, but this is what he does. We know that. Gabriel is back and Arteta sticks with Luiz. You play with fire…
And yet only one red in TEN years at Chelsea.
On a similar note: how is it that Arsenal commit only 20% of the PL fouls-per-team average number, and yet have THREE TIMES the number of red cards?
Not a conspiracy-monger by any stretch… ever – but those numbers raise some real questions, no?
The worst thing about tonight was David Luiz not protesting his stupid red card. He just took it and walked off. For fks sake try to appeal, do something. Same with Leno he just walked right off. Total idiots!! Apart from that we played an amazing gsme the first half and should have been 3-0 up. What a joke of a game.
He clearly appealed, which was pointless, but like this comment.
The picture on the article literally shows Luiz protesting the stupid red card.
Starting to think blog is against Laca…. He draws the team together and when he came off we just became flat. As much as I would have wanted Auba to come in and bang in some goals we also loss pace when Pepe came off.
We were on such a strong streak I really hope this doesn’t ruin our confidence and we can start a new unbeaten streak.
agreed
Not down to Laca, rather a self-preservation move from the team.
Lesson to learn here for the boys is that we have to finish these kind of games off early when we are clearly on top. Refs and VAR love to give soft desions against us so let’s not make it easy for them. Draw a line under this game and go on another good winning run.
I find the Bellerin had a 96% pass rate stat very annoying. Even in the final minutes he kept passing it back instead of going forward. He always seems to make the safe choice. Give us the stat for how many forward passes as well otherwise its meaningless
Literally single handedly set up the only chance we had with 9 men
Pepe on the left for me.
Not sure how if the laws really work on this. A foul that denies a clear goal-scoring opportunity, in the penalty box, is a penalty *and* a red card, unless the foul was a genuine attempt to play the ball; then it’s a penalty and a yellow. I am pretty sure the attacker went over after contact on the back of his heel by Luiz–minimal contact, but enough at that speed. And, while I think it was unintentional, so are many fouls. So, I think it’s a foul and a penalty. (I know people will disagree about the contact, but… Read more »
Not rating for Aubameyang? For some reason he just looked disinterested when he came on (even before the Leno Red). If we have to go with Runarsson vs Villa going to be a long match.
Time to put all our eggs in UEL basket. At least the team played promising in the first half. I still don’t see the foul that was made.
It was pen, let it go and move on, nuff said.
Maybe a pen, definitely not a red
Lol if its a foul its a pen, stopping a direct goal scoring opportunity.
Unlucky . Head down and go on a good run again .
Games like this is why I really hope the Europa League tie with Benfica isn’t switched to a one-leg match.
Presumably 3 match ban for Luiz and Leno? Then they’ll miss Villa (a), Leeds (h), Man City (h).
1 match each. 3 match is for dangerous play.
Nice one. Don’t fancy Runarsson against Man City again!
Can say that again…he really looks like a outfield player in goal.
i thinks its only one match. unless its violent conduct eg xhaka v leeds
Craig Pawson deserves all the criticism he gets, but equally to blame is the shocking VAR.
I am quite puzzled at the people justifying that penalty (let alone the red card) from the commentators to the referees to the pundits and to the so called Arsenal supporters. It’s not even being blinded by bias as an Arsenal supporter, it’s just I do not think a stud scraping the defender players knee is a foul. My biggest worry is that our dreadful run of form at the start of the season started with Lacazette’s marginally disallowed goal against Leicester. We had another great goal from a disallowed tonight and the boys looked genuinely shell-shocked at the end… Read more »
How? So defenders are allowed to run into attackers legs if they are both running along and then it’s just an accident and it’s just bad luck to the attacker?
Sucks to lose and the team worked their socks off. That sucks, but it’s a penalty. Gotta dust ourselves off and beat Villa. Must win.
Why didn’t Pawson check the situation again on the screen? It should never be a red card!
Nothing to check mate(sorry the pun), the red is by default no interpreation is needed.
Well that was a shower of shit…..Arsenal went full retard tonight
I don’t see how they can give a red card for such slight, incidental contact. When I watched the replay, I was actually relieved, because I assumed they’d overturn it. That said, Luiz does collect some of the blame IMO. It is a foul to run up behind someone and make contact, even if it’s a trailing leg. Once he was behind him, what was Luiz going to do? They switched off and got punished, and he made things worse by giving Jose the opportunity to flail through the air like he just got shot by a sniper. I’d still… Read more »
While it was clear that Wolves bastard won the diving olympics, Luiz should have known better. How long will it be before Arteta cuts him out of the lineup? He has had some good moments, but has cost us way too many games since his arrival. The bloke needs to go and take that loser Willian with him. Horrible decisions they were to sign those two.
Self destruct button. no Mustafi still there. 1) Leno – Had a rush of blood, could not correct his position. Pity bc he is the biggest casualty of tonight. 2) Bellerin – Had his hands full. Did well first half. Even after going down to 9, carved out a great opportunity toward the end with good individual endeavor to get the ball across first to Auba to shoot and then Saka. wish both had a bit more nuance at that stage. Kept it tight on the right for us mostly. 3) Holding – Was solid then of course we went… Read more »
‘Poor positioning and concentration allowed their striker to get into the box with a minute to go before the half.’
Poor decision-making led Leno to hoof the ball into no-man’s land when 9/10 times he plays it out short from the back… what the hell was he thinking??
Yes – Luis is out of position but why the hell are we handing the ball to the opposition with 50 seconds on the clock! Keep it tight, bang in around the back and go in 1-0 up, surely!
Disagree on your David Luiz comments. The rule is a joke, but David Luiz has done this ‘drift across the legs of a player from behind’ foul multiple times now. I suspect he thinks its a clever ploy to agitate the shot, but just costs us endless points because players wait for contact more often than actually shooting these days. Either tackle the man, or get the hell out the way and let the keeper try and save it.
Positives: the first 45 minutes was some of our best football all season.
Negatives: should have wrapped this game up in those 45 minutes
Outrageous-tives: VAR. There was less than nanoseconds spent on analyzing a very questionable call on minimum contact. Why bother having VAR? It’s the ultimate corruptible force and kills the fun of watching and scoring.
Not had one of these in a while. It was a good performance other than those two moments..
Wolves had been shit for a while so there day of luck came today which seems to happen for alot of teams against us.
Not angry at this one. Quickly forgotten if we bounce back quickly.
We re 1 man down nd need a goal …
Nd then u take off our most dangerous attacker. .nd best player on the pitch?.
I think we underrate Pepe. Too much
Saka or Smith Rowe should ve come off…
Pepe gave us the physical presence too..nd didn’t let semedo go forward too much as he did after auba came on….
I wonder how Pepe feels … especially after putting in alot of effort..
Esr a 7, he wasn’t good at all and lacazette a 5.5 who technically got an assist, played a nice ball to Bellerin who played a pathetic cross which looked like a shot, Laca held up the ball well, got a few free kicks, why the hell was he taken off by the way, beyond me. How does Leno get anything other than a 1 is beyond me
As much as it sucks to have such a huge event go against you for so little contact, you can’t allow defenders to trail breakaway players like that and get away with planned “accidental” contact. There was no reason for Luiz to run across him like that except to try to trip him. There was also no reason for Luiz and many other players to be so badly caught out immediately after our own goal kick. This was the turning point of a Classico match like 5 years ago when Ramos tripped Neymar in exactly the same fashion, if I… Read more »