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Arsenal v Villa; First regular season match thread on the new forum
Topic Started: Aug 17 2013, 01:26 AM (2,079 Views)
JustOneDennisBergkamp
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JODB
Back from a productive and profitable Saturday, it's time for the Post Match Report from The Sports Desk:

Let's start with the ref. Yes, he blew that PK call which led directly to the go ahead goal and indirectly to Koscielny's sending off. Yes, he did somewhat allow Villa to play on the physical edge (though Arsenal players were flying around with some dicey challenges as well). But no, he didn't cost Arsenal the match. A little bad luck and a lot of poor decisions doomed the Gunners to defeat today.

The loss of Gibbs was hugely unfortunate. He is by far the best attacking FB in the side, and try as he may, there was no way that Sagna could replicate his teammate's performances on the left. The injury made Villa's task much easier from then on.

We can chalk the first goal up to Arteta's absence if we wish, but no matter who is out there, there is no excuse for Agbonlahor being able to exploit the middle that easily. All three midfielders were caught napping and were unable to recover, and Kos went for ball when he should have gone for position instead as the Villa man was still far enough away from goal that the keeper could have easily covered a shot. The Gunners were mostly in control before that, and after, they seemed more intent on making points to the ref than regaining control of the match.

The Ox had helped to provide the first goal and would have continued to pin Villa back had he not made an absolutely silly challenge for a ball well in front of him. Had he stayed healthy and in the match, Arsenal's chances would have improved immensely.

When Wilshere dribbled into trouble and lost possession at the top of the Arsenal defensive third, he set into motion a chain of events for Koscielny that could easily have been avoided. The other Smurf (Santi) was equally guilty with an abysmal touch that led to a great chance for Delph, and only the post saved him from costing his team a goal as well.

Sure, a rash of injuries and a young ref didn't help the Gunners today, but the match was well within their grasp with just a little more intelligence in their play. As for individual performances, there was no shining star for Arsenal today. I thought Mert looked poor, and so did Jack, though his emotions and his constant chirping at the ref didn't help him any.

Let's go shopping!!!
Edited by JustOneDennisBergkamp, Aug 17 2013, 09:38 PM.
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JustOneDennisBergkamp
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JustOneDennisBergkamp
Aug 17 2013, 09:35 PM
Back from a productive and profitable Saturday, it's time for the Post Match Report from The Sports Desk:

Let's start with the ref. Yes, he blew that PK call which led directly to the go ahead goal and indirectly to Koscielny's sending off. Yes, he did somewhat allow Villa to play on the physical edge (though Arsenal players were flying around with some dicey challenges as well). But no, he didn't cost Arsenal the match. A little bad luck and a lot of poor decisions doomed the Gunners to defeat today.

The loss of Gibbs was hugely unfortunate. He is by far the best attacking FB in the side, and try as he may, there was no way that Sagna could replicate his teammate's performances on the left. The injury made Villa's task much easier from then on.

We can chalk the first goal up to Arteta's absence if we wish, but no matter who is out there, there is no excuse for Agbonlahor being able to exploit the middle that easily. All three midfielders were caught napping and were unable to recover, and Kos went for ball when he should have gone for position instead as the Villa man was still far enough away from goal that the keeper could have easily covered a shot. The Gunners were mostly in control before that, and after, they seemed more intent on making points to the ref than regaining control of the match.

The Ox had helped to provide the first goal and would have continued to pin Villa back had he not made an absolutely silly challenge for a ball well in front of him. Had he stayed healthy and in the match, Arsenal's chances would have improved immensely.

When Wilshere dribbled into trouble and lost possession at the top of the Arsenal defensive third, he set into motion a chain of events for Koscielny that could easily have been avoided. The other Smurf (Santi) was equally guilty with an abysmal touch that led to a great chance for Delph, and only the post saved him from costing his team a goal as well.

Sure, a rash of injuries and a young ref didn't help the Gunners today, but the match was well within their grasp with just a little more intelligence in their play. As for individual performances, there was no shining star for Arsenal today. I thought Mert looked poor, and so did Jack, though his emotions and his constant chirping at the ref didn't help him any.

Let's go shopping!!!
Just carefully watched the highlights of the match with the help of my trusty DVR, and I saw a few items of importance:

My memory let me down right after the match this morning, and I attributed Santi's gaffe to Jack and vice versa. I won't apologize to either because their screw-ups were equally bad, and they are essentially almost interchangeable little Smurfs.

Jack had not one, but two opportunities to stop Agbonlahor on his run that led to the first goal. He missed on the first. I can forgive that. But after the Villa man then beat Kos, he had a second chance - had he not quit on the play.

Mert had a bad day reading the game today. Since that is his major strength, that was problematic, particularly on that first Villa goal. He slid to the right to cover for Sagna when the priority was the middle, where Kos needs the cover of a sweeper occasionally as he goes to the ball. Even if wrong, at least the players mentioned above did something. Rosicky watched and did nothing at all.

The JODB elite video review unit had several looks at the Koscielny tackle in the box from the angle behind the play and the ref. He didn't point straight to the spot initially. He turned his head slightly towards his assistant instead. Now I can see from that angle why he might have thought Kos went through the attacker's leg to nick the ball, but why did he look to the AR first and then give the PK despite seeing no flag raised? It was not only a shit decision, but one has to wonder about his thought process there.
Edited by JustOneDennisBergkamp, Aug 18 2013, 12:04 AM.
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santry_gooner
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Unusual as it may seem for me I thought the referee got most of his decisions right.

The first penalty kick was correct. The second penalty was marginal, but it was in fact the right knee of Koscielny pushing aside the left shin of the attacker before contact with the ball. We see these not given, but that is not the problem of the referee. This is like the supposed Eduardo "dive" where you know there was contact if you review the video enough times.

Where the referee did bottle it was when Vlaar slid across and floored Rosicky who was bearing down on goal. That should have been the most obvious yellow card in the whole match, and he was beside it. The decision effectively ruled out that we might steal back an equaliser.

The bigger thing that determined the result was that we played badly, especially in midfield. All the more for "out the door" Rosicky to be a one-man show and create chances that a man 10 years younger would be proud of.
Edited by santry_gooner, Aug 18 2013, 03:54 AM.
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billabog5
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santry_gooner
Aug 18 2013, 03:53 AM
Unusual as it may seem for me I thought the referee got most of his decisions right.

The first penalty kick was correct. The second penalty was marginal, but it was in fact the right knee of Koscielny pushing aside the left shin of the attacker before contact with the ball. We see these not given, but that is not the problem of the referee. This is like the supposed Eduardo "dive" where you know there was contact if you review the video enough times.

Where the referee did bottle it was when Vlaar slid across and floored Rosicky who was bearing down on goal. That should have been the most obvious yellow card in the whole match, and he was beside it. The decision effectively ruled out that we might steal back an equaliser.

The bigger thing that determined the result was that we played badly, especially in midfield. All the more for "out the door" Rosicky to be a one-man show and create chances that a man 10 years younger would be proud of.
I actually thought both PK's were a bit soft, not absolute shockers from the ref, but to use the old adage " I have seen them not given"


Jack really has to watch himself, I 1st pointed this out around 3 years ago, he has that nasty streak in him & he really is turning into one of the biggest whiners in the prem . It was only a few short months ago when I pointed out what a whiner he had become in a thread about Rooney. He seems to spend as much energy & concentration chipping at the ref & throwing his arms in the air as he does reading the game around him
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JustOneDennisBergkamp
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santry_gooner
Aug 18 2013, 03:53 AM
Unusual as it may seem for me I thought the referee got most of his decisions right.

The first penalty kick was correct. The second penalty was marginal, but it was in fact the right knee of Koscielny pushing aside the left shin of the attacker before contact with the ball. We see these not given, but that is not the problem of the referee. This is like the supposed Eduardo "dive" where you know there was contact if you review the video enough times.

Where the referee did bottle it was when Vlaar slid across and floored Rosicky who was bearing down on goal. That should have been the most obvious yellow card in the whole match, and he was beside it. The decision effectively ruled out that we might steal back an equaliser.

The bigger thing that determined the result was that we played badly, especially in midfield. All the more for "out the door" Rosicky to be a one-man show and create chances that a man 10 years younger would be proud of.
I'm always flattered when I'm quoted, particularly by a forum heavyweight like yourself.

That Rosicky finally got off the training table and started helping the club is commendable. He had likely seen my remarks and was inspired to prove me wrong. He still is nowhere near starter material for a club like Arsenal, and by next year, hopefully there will be enough real midfield quality brought in to actually send him "out the door."
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