Honours even, it’s Boleyn over and out
A gripping, fast-paced and compelling derby ended in frustrating stalemate for both teams and their fans, with possibly the visitors feeling the dropped two points more keenly than the home side. Having been 0-2 up on the brink of half-time, Arsenal found themselves three-two down within minutes of the break. That their principal nemesis was a lump of a player taking full advantage of superb, almost militarily precise service and the determination of a referee to ‘manage’ the game as opposed to applying the rules of it, was typically galling. But as on so many other occasions, imagined or otherwise by this writer, Arsenal were again undone by a player having his best game-of-the-season/career.
The ‘Ammers were fortunate not to be hammered for Carroll’s use of the studs, the elbow and a haircut too horrific to describe in decent company. With the quality of service and the desire of the player himself in all too rare alignment for the East-enders, whilst the score line ended in parity, the disparity of a (relatively) height-challenged Arsenal side was exposed in all its limitations with the continued side-lining of both Mertesacker and Cech leaving them seemingly exposed to aerial attack at the back.
How we missed a player of the stature of Adams or Campbell opined the purists. Given the sunset creeping around Per’s career, this could well be an ‘item’ already down on Arsene’s summer shopping list, suggested others.
However, despite the disparity, it feels something of a revelation that Andrew Carroll only won 5 of his 12 aerial battles against the cultured midgets and, given his height advantage, that he scored from 3 of those 5 is indicative of our defensive endeavour. Sadly, an endeavour that proved not effective enough as it turned out, and the tactics of Bilic were as clear as daylight from pretty much the opening minutes of the game. Without more height in defence, it’s unlikely this will be the last time we will find ourselves targeted in this fashion, this season or the next.
The other worrying stat brought into ever-sharper focus as a result of this weekend’s draw is the scarcity of points taken off our London rivals this season – just 6 points out of 21. Yet there was evidently no lack of desire on the part of our players today and there was a point when we almost made it 0-3, just prior to Carroll’s towering contributions, where you might have thought West Ham would have been dead and buried with the concession of one more goal.
But this stat has also to be taken in the context of a superb home record with the Happy ones now unbeaten in 14 games. Without meaning to sound bitter, it is very evident that the teams relying on a more ‘robust’ variant of the beautiful game benefit the most from the abject failure of referees to apply the rules as opposed to ‘managing the game’. Players like Carroll know with absolute certainty they can get away with sporting murder and the fact he was booked in minute four did little to deter his muscular interpretation of the rules of the beautiful (but managed) game.
So we are left third on 59 points. Recent games have seen evidence of teams cottoning on to Leicester’s tactics as a spate of 1-0’s would appear to testify. Interestingly, the possession stats in Saturday’s game – 39%-61% – mirror the tactics of the Plucky Ones: concede possession but hit hard on the counter. Spuds seemed suddenly less confident in their last (drawn) game. But despite this it’s hard to imagine both teams now collapsing to the point where we can realistically hope to take the championship this term. My gut feeling is 2nd place IS realistic and very much up for grabs and would represent progress, on paper, at least. In our heart of hearts, this season will most likely go down as the championship that got away and it’s safe to assume the banner industry will enjoy a mini-boom thanks to the disillusion on the part of some and the willingness of others to show themselves up as spoilt brats, giddy on publicity, oblivious to context and circumstance.
All I’d personally wish for is one season – just the one – where injuries don’t come to the rescue of our rivals. I do think Leicester have played some scintillating football this season and whilst the refs have hardly treated them harshly (and no matter the size of the glut, penalties don’t score themselves you know), they have played with great spirit and largely deserve to be where they are today. Leicester aside, I genuinely do not believe there are any better sides than a fully fit Arsenal team. That we beat the Midlanders, home and away, tells some sort of story though their superior consistency remains undeniable regardless of the background detail. Congratulations to Leicester on an outstanding effort; their (initially) impudent victories against Chelsea, Tottenham, Stoke, Liverpool, and M City in particular will live long in the memory.
* * *
Back in December, the Premier League table did not make pretty reading for the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, and United in particular. It was close to the half-way stage of the season when I wrote a piece for PA which was based on observations of what appeared to be happening. It was not intended as a prediction but in many ways, I’m delighted, for the sake of football in this country, that the following words still appear to hold some truth as we hurtle towards season’s end:
“… despite Man U having the highest revenue at £433 million, with City on £348m, and Chelsea on £324m, the (relatively) smaller English sides are now earning enough to buy – and pay – players of a sufficient quality to cause real problems for all the ‘big’ clubs.
Yes, something rather wonderful is happening to English football.
The old guard is no longer having things entirely their own way and there will be many nervous eyes cast in the direction of the explosive impact all this [new TV] cash will have on the cosy cartel that once dominated English football.
Now everybody in the League have got their hands on the loot.
As the prospects for the biggest clubs hang in the balance, everybody has a chance to win again and, happily, things may never be quite the same again.”
The siren voices presently shrieking for the head of Arsene Wenger all fail to take account of the relative – yet colossal – failures of just three clubs who have joint annual revenues north of £1 billion. Banner owners everywhere wilfully ignore the debilitating impact of our own club’s injuries on an otherwise superb squad. And they naively assume Arsene won’t strengthen in the summer despite the imminent retirement of numerous players once considered a key part of the squad. The latest revolution within the game continues apace and yet still Wenger keeps Arsenal ahead of most of the pack, a club that is always there, always competing.
Yes, it’s possible that their activities today may drive him out in 2017.
But by then, we may all be begging him to stay.
ArsenalAndrew is on Twitter @arsenalandrew.
Positively Arsenal 
Wonderful, wonderful writing. Thank you Andrew.
We went out immediately after the game so didn’t join the post mortem but I see many people think we were at fault for all of the goals. Just have to say that the two lucky deflections which were responsible for one of them were nobody’s fault. The others came because Carrol took up a good position where he was jumping against a full back both times. He was found by great crosses and did his job.
But it was a fantastic game, great entertainment right to the last and I loved watching in such superb company.
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Nicely done Andrew.
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West Ham are no pushovers, especially at their ground. Anyone moaning about the Hammers being easy to beat needs a slap.
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Nice one Andrew. As you say…..just to have one year,without multiple injuries to key players. But it never happens. Unfortunately, a certain way of playing is tolerated ….or encouraged by referees, the media and opponents in this country, a type of play Wenger these days will not embrace……nor always be in a position to counter if his team are not at their best. The physical teams are doing well in the league, and well with the refs, who,seem to be letting more and more go…..just how did Andy Carroll remain on the pitch? We have more red cards than some pretty thuggish teams this year.
Unfortunately, the way we are set up, the type of players we have , and the way some of them play makes them especially vulnerable to certain permitted tactics, which must surely account for a significant amount of the injuries. The other issue, we have some extremely injury prone players, though it is reported some great servants of the club, but who succumb regularly to injury will leave in the summer.
Wenger is a bit of a maverick in this league, but his lofty principles mean that if he is going to win this league, he is going to have to do it the hard way , and suffer over the top reactions if he does not.
But that said, thought it was an excellent game, two teams, who, in their different ways, really went for it.
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i enjoyed that all in all. well written andy
we would have taken this draw on a good day.. the disappointment as with some of the past loses, Chelsea man u and Southampton, is in the manner… just seem so avoidable… even the last gasp equalizer conceded to Liverpool, and Ramsey’s wrongly disallowed goals in the reverse… so many points that would have been a good cushion for this draw at this time.
i still keep my hopes up until mathematically over.. so, we are still in it1
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Arsenal have played 47 games this season,
P47, W24, D9, L14, F75, A56 – we have basically won half our games, and failed to win half our games,
we have kept 19 clean sheets,
and conceded in 28 games,
of those 28 games we have conceded only 1 goal in 11 of them,
and in 17 games we have conceded more than 1 goal,
9 times we have conceded 2 goals,
6 times we have conceded 3 goals,
once we have conceded 4 goals
and once we have conceded 5 goals
In the 17 games we have conceded more than one goal, we have won just one of them, the 5-2 win at LCFC.
and in those 17 games we have 3 draws ,
and in those 17 games we have had 13 defeats,
we scored in 8 of those 13 defeats,
failing to score in 5 of those 13 defeats,
just to highlight those 17 games we have conceded more than one goal in
P17, W1, D3, L13, F23, A45
the 11 games we have conceded just 1 goal in
P11, W8, D2, L1, F17, A11
so when you combine our record in games we have kept a clean sheet (P19, W15 D4) to the games we have conceded only 1 goal in its
P30, W23, D6, L1, F52, A11
I know many all season long have pointed the finger at our strikers/attack for missed chances and this being the big cause for dropped points and cup exits, we have failed to score in 6 defeats, and failing to score in a total of 10 games of our 47, but I think those stats above clearly shows we have a major problem at the back. In almost one third of our games (17/47) we have conceded 2 or more goals, we are almost as likely to let in more than one goal (17), as we are to keep a clean sheet (19). When we do let in more than 1 goal we almost never win (1/17 and we scored 5 in that game), in fact we are very likely to lose (13/17). In contrast to that, when we concede one or less in a game we almost never lose (1/30), and we won two thirds of those games (23/30)
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Interesting stats Ed, agree, looks like sometimes we have problems at the back. Stand to be corrected, but the Coqless pre Elneny era may not have helped…..Liverpool, Southampton. And injuries in general. We do seem to have let in a lot of goals this season, and at times, do not seem to,defend as a team.
I hope the manager addresses this through whatever means , be it signings, development or training drills. Being a devout Cruyffian, Wenger is never going to set up a team like Jose or even Poch, but there must be ways they can still be an attacking team, but a bit more consistent and reliable at the back.
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well mandy the biggest thing that the stats show is the problems we have when we concede more than one goal in a game, one win out of those 17 games, and if we look at the 9 games we have let in 2 goals, we have failed to win 8 of them. so any opponent looking at it will know that if they score twice, its almost certain they will get at least a draw. Also if we look deeper at the games we have let in more than one goal, in a lot of cases we concede two of the goals in quick succession. It has to be a big source of encouragement for our opponents.
The Big contrast
When you look at it, we have done very well when we concede no more than one goal, in fact, we have only lost 1 in those 30 games.
While, when we concede more than one goal, we have only won 1 in those 17 games.
We have had one 1-0 defeat
We have had 13 defeats where we conceded more than one goal.
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AA is definitely doing a Bellerin keeping A5 out of his regular spot with a second excellent showing. I wonder if the manager is as ruthless as our fans want Wenger to be. Ha, Ha, Ha.
Anyways, I will simply repost my earlier comment on Steww’s blog:
Our lot on twitter have no bottle for a fight. If our players were as weak as our supporters we would have lost this with ease. West Ham is a damn good team who haven’t lost at home since August. As Wenger alluded in his post game presser we weren’t expecting an aerial assault from West Ham and it showed in the first half.
Now I learn from Steww that Carroll only won 5 out of 12 aerial duels and we all know he was assisted by deflections in two of his goals. and by the time he scored he should have been off if referee Pawson had the balls to to do the job he is paid to carry out. They were always a counter-attacking threat especially with Payett on the ball and runners ahead of him waiting for the chance to hang up a cross to the big fella. I thought our midfielders and defenders were overly focussed on Payett and were not alive to denying crosses into the box. It was a hell of an exciting game and as Andrew suggests is giving other teams a blueprint to hurt us. These challenges are part of the whole excitement of the Premier League and was fully on show today.
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Guess there is a lesson in there.
Plenty to play for still, but think that ultimately, this season will go down as a food for thought….injury kind of season…..
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if we did not expect an aerial assault with them selecting Andy Carroll, then we are as thick as pigs shit. Its nearly all he has got, and if you select him in your team you are going to try and use his strengths.
i would also suggest that WHU today did not give others a blueprint on how to hurt us, the stats I put up earlier suggests that the blueprint has been in full use all season, get two goals and you are almost certain not to lose v Arsenal, and when you get a goal, push hard to get a quick second as Arsenal wobble badly after letting in a goal. Also one of the best times to go at Arsenal is near the end of a half.
Koscielny basically said after the game today that the midfield and attacking players let down the defense today, shirked their defensive duties, by not doing enough to deny WHU space out wide, to put in their crosses to Carroll.
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I do hope Wenger gets to see those stats; he’ll be kicking himself he didn’t set the side up to score more goals than they concede.
It’s all perfectly simple – score first and never let your possession stats drop below 100%.
Love stats, me.
#stateofthatstat
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I couldn’t agree with you more on the gist of yesterday’s game Andrew A. Despite what many think of West Ham, they are a team with quality players and a good coach, who’s not scared to use less conventional methods to get his team getting the best results. Granted there was that period just before HT where we simultaneously had one eye on the HT oranges and West Ham made their arrival. I doubt any of us were quite prepared for that 2 minute outer worldy blitz from them.
There’s no more an elite group of top 4 teams in the PL, the likes of West Ham, Leicester, Stoke, Saints and even Liverpool can get results any given day. With Crystal Palace and Chelsea out of their funks next season expecting unpredictability being the order of the day.
As fans we are not doing ourselves any favours CSI-ing over ‘missed’ past results. This is the new order of life in the PL, Arsenal shouldn’t be exempt from things Mancity, Manutd and Chelsea are not immune to. Let’s get use it, and take it on the chin.
PS: how awesome was it for Coquelin getting 2 pre-assists yesterday, almost as good as Iwobi’s 2 assists. Well, just as good. Roll on Crystal Palace.
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The old fart’s thoughts.
Was it Oscar Wilde reminiscing on one of his conquests that “It was a pain where it should have been a pleasure”? Well today, for an Arsenal supporter, there was more pain than pleasure. For once though, an official erred on our side and we weren’t one down early on. And he gave Carroll a yellow card. That was a rare moment in our season. And we took advantage when Alex Iwobi laid on the Wizard from Oz who put us one up. Whilst Wham claimed offside, obviously it couldn’t have been….we don’t get two decisions in our favour in a season, let alone in one game. Do we??
Yet more pleasure when the dynamic Alex fed the dynamic Alexis and 2-0 up. Happiness is. We were playing well and in total control. But there’s always that worrying thought around when the Arse has a 2-0 lead. Even when beating Everton and Watford recently, it’s there…. Could it go pear shaped? This pessimistic thought arises from when Gordon M on a rare trip to THOF, sent me a half time sms some 6 years ago. “It’s 2-0 up, the sun is shining and life is bliss.” We were playing the spuds. And lost 3-2.
Of course, we’ve managed better than that…4-0 at Newcastle and a 3-0 CL lead spring to mind….but to get to within 2 minutes of half time with that lead and then go in level, really is a downer.
Worse was to follow as Gabriel managed to add another deflection to Carroll’s header and we went 3-2 down. It was doubly galling as Carroll by then, should have received his marching orders. His elbow on Gabriel was imho totally deliberate but he got away with it. Maybe the ref was making up for the disallowed Wham goal in the first half.
But some justice was done when Kos equalized and the game really went into end to end mode. It was not a time for either set of supporters to run short of breath.
Probably a good game for the neutrals but for Gooners very disappointing given the solidity of our defence in recent games. Keep the faith…it’s not time for the fat lady to sing just yet.
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Good piece, Andrew. It’s hard for me to get too upset with the boys when a player who should have been off the pitch scores a hat trick against them. Also, I do think we ought to give them as much credit for fighting back as we give them grief for going behind.
“I do hope Wenger gets to see those stats; he’ll be kicking himself he didn’t set the side up to score more goals than they concede.” That made me laugh out loud, Andrew. He’ll also be kicking himself for not saying to the boys “hey, don’t forget, that Carroll guy is tall.”
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many of the teams we lose against are not bad, but very rarely are the teams we put out not capable f doing the biznis… they usually are.. i just dont get it…
happily i can continue my musings and mutterings here as am not paid to sort it out… AW WILL and TRUTH BE TOLD AS A SIDE SETTLES ALA RAMSEY, CARZOLA, OZIL COQ… injuries dont help, by disrupting….
not really lashing out at the lads, just wishing so very much they do not drop these types of points… its the earlier ones dropped that actually make days like yesterday sad cos usually, i can take 3 -3 versus west ham… it is a derby after all.
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Great stuff Andrew.
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Morning Andrew and a very fair review. Like Leicester the appy ammers were marked in August as prime relegation candidates, having dispensed with the services of Fat Sam. A very early exit against a Maltese side in the Europa competition seemed to justify the gloom.
Once the real football started they have been very good. 2-0 down yesterday and on their backs yet they showed great spirit to get back in the game. Most unlike our East London cousins for as long as I can remember.
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Arsenal scored 2 at the Lane, 2 at Old Trafford, 3 at Anfield, 3 at Upton Park; we just didn’t get as many points as we deserved for those endeavours.
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6 games left, 18 points are on offer.
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Well Andrew i’m sure wenger has those stats, and a hell of a lot more besides, but maybe he is like you and things its ok, and that everything is rosy in the garden. Cleary the conceding of goals has nothing to do with Arsenal, its only our job to score goals, lets glibly pass it off as the quality of our opponents, that way we can dismiss anything unpalatable, la la la, I’m not listening, la la la,
Odd thing is, Wenger and a whole host of our players admit that there has been a season long problem defending, that players are not doing all they can to prevent goals, and that even performance level drops off when we take the lead.
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DC, yes we scored 2 at the Lane, 2 at Old Trafford, 3 at Anfield, 3 at Upton Park; but we let in 2 at the Lane, 3 at Old Trafford, 3 at Anfield, 3 at Upton Park
time we conceded the goals in those games
Anfield, 10, 19, 90
Old Trafford, 29, 32, 65
White Hart Lane, 60, 62
Upton Park, 44, 45, 52
in 3 of the four games we conceded 2 goals within 2 or 3 minutes of other,
in 2 of the games we conceded a goal in stoppage time of the half/game
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It’s fairly obvious what AFC would’ve done to counter Carroll.
A) Apply for an official to adjudicate the game who would apply the laws and rules of Ass. Football? (Carroll won’t be in Hodsgson’s squad. He ain’t no fool.). Just kidding! Kind of.
B) Chucked on the BFG at 75 minutes to make a back three. It’s not like we haven’t seen that typo of manoeuvre before. “Arsenal can’t control games”, so I’ll ignore the recent history of this squad building 2-0 leads and then chucking on a third CB for the closing phase of a match on many occasions. That pattern became 2-1 of late when ‘controlling’ matches. During the 3-3 at Anfield Arteta came on instead, and that was a rational call even if you hadn’t agreed (captain, experienced, CM, good at fouling and getting away with etc….).
Unfortunately yesterday they couldn’t hold onto their lead till the last phase of the game, at which point they were chasing the match and we saw a forward come on instead of a CB (or CM). This coaching malarky is easy!
Even after a match like yesterday’s the groans bear little relation to actual events on the field of play.
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Eddy how can you compile such a list whilst ignoring things like having ten men in some of those instances? That would inaccurate. And misleading.
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“but maybe he is like you and things its ok, and that everything is rosy in the garden”
Don’t be shy now. Spit it out.
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“10, 19 90”?
Those goals are too far apart to match up with anything apart from the disappointment you still feel at that late equaliser. Add in the 10 men from WHL. And we are entering the realm of Gibberish.
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maybe fins, to counter Carroll we could have done what Koscielny highlighted after the game as the way to stop him, namely do more as a team to stop the crosses coming in, or at the very least not give WHU as much room to cross, and in so doing heighten the chance of a good cross. Maybe Monreal could have been tighter on him for the first goal, maybe Gabriel could have challenged for the high ball in that Carroll got taking down on his chest, maybe he could have got closer for the block too,
also on the red cards affecting the stats I put up, well we have had sending offs in 3 games we let in more than one goal, losing 2 and drawing 1, that still leaves 14 games with no sending off that we let in more than 1 goal, and of the 13 defeats we had full team for all the game in 11 of them
and we have had 1 sending off in a game we let in 1 goal, in fact the only game we lost when letting in only 1 goal. Again this shows that in 29 games with 11 men we did not lose when conceding no more than 1 goal,
I don’t think we have had anyone sent off in any of the 8 games we have conceded more than 2 goals in.
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Yes. They got their crosses in. In the 44th minute.
Maybe this, maybe that: How can anyone ignore Payet in your assessment of the Football? And how the Arsenal dealt with him for the better part of the football match?
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14 pts dropped from winning positions in the league this season, while we have had one comeback win, LCFC.
we’ve had one comeback win in the cups too.
we’ve had 3 comeback draws – spurs, 1-1 and 2-2, and WHU 3-3.
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oh we dealt with Payet, that makes everything alright so, it equals it all out, silly me, i thought we once again let in 3 goals, we dealt with Payet, so we mustn’t have after all.
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Elneney and Coquelin very good in first hald, Ozil had some good moments, including a well taken goal, Alexis took his goal very well, as did Koscielny, Iwobi was our man of the match, very good out wide, and also when moved to CM, Ramsey made his welcome comeback. Welbeck worked very hard. Bellerin and Monreal joined the attack well, Ospina had a couple of good saves.
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The data you’re presented was not very clear, your efforts to dig up more even less so.
This all reminds me of the time you spent half a match groaning about Bellerin’s passing and he he got two assists.
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The response above on Payet, avoiding the consideration that for 44 minutes they’d done ok with Carroll is self explanatory
The managers own words on what followed are more telling then any of ours but again it is most strange that in order to summarise the football match you have been ignoring fourty four minutes of the football in your presentations.
We all saw the Football match. There’s no need to attempt to re-edit it.
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I appreciated the way the Arsenal fought back in this contest.
Away from home, last Derby game in East London, raucous crowd, opposition on top.
They fought back well.
Ignoring Carroll no stand out stinking calls from this official such as ignoring a hand ball and Rd card on the goal line.
I enjoyed the shrug and shake between the two managers. They showed each other respect, for a reason.
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A strange scene this afternoon on the touchline in my front room.
First I shall have my fingers crossed and my clipboard clutched as LvG’s lads take on the mighty Spuds at the Lane. Any clubs with wheels that consistently fall off as frequently as our neighbours in the final straight, and usually with the chequered flag in sight, must surely be good for a bit of drama.
Then, strangest of all, I shall be popping in the chewing gum and gurning furiously for 90 minutes as Sunlun take on the Champions elect at the Stadium of Light. The home side are utter dross but with Norwich slipping to defeat yesterday a glimmer of footballing hope sparked for Sam’s boys and their future is, yet again, in their hands.
I predict an afternoon of footballing fun.
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I’ve expressed some vague respect for Biggus Sammus on these pages before, the manager who bought Okocha to the PL, and who is perhaps is indirectly responsible for Iwobi at the Arsenal haha!
Good luck to Big Sam today, he certainly knows more about the football them me, even if the West Ham fans were smart and correct to want him out and a top top manager who plays more advanced and or variable footy like Bilic in – how sad was it to hear the Arsenal manager praise the West Ham fans for their support for their club, it’s identity and traditions, and indirectly highlight the lack of class we’ve witnessed in N5.
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From what I could see in social media yesterday Fins most ‘Ammers fans were well pleased with their point against us. They did great to come back from 0-2 but the problem was they had been carved open time and time again in the first half.
No disrespect to Bilic but traditionally managers who have a good first season sometimes find it hard to reproduce that second time round. A brand new ground will take them a little while to settle into, same as it did us.
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fins its not my fault you do not to understand the data, I would have thought it was simple enough. I like how you try to discredit it, with the red cards angle, but when the data with red cards taken into account is put forward, you ignore it and try to change angle again
there is defensive issues, clearly shown by the stat that we are almost as likely to let in 2 or more goals(17), as we are to keep a clean sheet(19).
When we concede we are more likely to concede 2 or more goals(17) than we are just the 1 goal(11)
yes we have six game left, and clean sheets in all of them will massively improve the % of the stats, but even if we do keep clean sheets in all our six remaining games, we will still end up with having conceded in more games than we have kept clean sheets in, as we are already at 28 games conceded in, and we will play a total of 53 games.
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It’s not really feasible to describe the re-edited numbers you are playing with as data is it? I wouldn’t be that presumptuous.
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Black Cats had the edge in that first half – interesting
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During the year of the Great Groan (2014) it became apparent that the Groaners were so committed to their narrative that what happened on the football pitch no longer mattered.
So, they were incapable of understanding let alone acknowledging the value and i,pact on the club of the signing of the three amigos: Areta, the BFG and Saint Cazorla. I think the normal football fan got it, it’s why they were singing Santi’s song from the off. The how and why The Arsenal avoided what has been witnessed at the petro clubs this season and at Utd etc.
Losing Cazorla from the dressing room alongside Arteta means that they have to be replaced. However if you are committed to the insane narrative that airbrushed their arrival impact and indeed medals and achievements since they arrived at the club, then I suppose that you will continue as you began. Those who we’re watching the football and appreciated the rebuild under difficult circumstances and with relatively little money will have understood how and why the team struggled for consistency at times this season. And if they felt that mistakes have been made they’d manage to keep a hold of their gr*t out of respect for the work that has been done at the club these past three seasons alone.
Unfortunately some have been constantly exhibiting a complete lack of class. We didnt expect them to change tune, they won’t, and that’s why we came here.
Any Groaners can fuck off. Pardon my French.
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No joy for Sunderland, Kaboul wrong footed, I don’t think Mannone could’ve come out as he hoped. Leicester take the lead. Borini can’t take the half chance.
So, a race with Tottenham?
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Sunlun have made 15+ chances but barely troubled Schmeichel- Defoe hits the corner flag (again) as I type
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Comfortable win in the end for Leicester – once Sunlun fell behind it was over
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This time Mannone comes out, should’ve stayed in his box? Kaboul’s previous advice to his keeper was not helpful, you can’t trust Tottenham.
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ah finsbury more trying to discredit it, nice deflection,
by the way the definition of data is
“facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.”
so in what way is what i’ve posted not adhere to the definition, or how is it not feasible for it to be described as data,
is it not feasible cos you don’t like the data
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LCFC could be champions by as early as tomorrow week.
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I’m sure we’re all disappointed not to have the 3 points on offer yesterday, but this over analysis seems pointless to me. A million words and stats will not change history, which the game is now. I’ll leave the analysis to the man whose job it is to learn from and correct mistakes through training and tactical tweaks, while I enjoy the good and try to forget the bad.
Someone made the point earlier that we need to get used to there not being an elite pack anymore. Clearly all the money and talent swilling around in the PL has levelled the playing field and anybody can beat anybody on their day. Teams will not just roll over when the big boys come to town.
Anyone who wants guarantees should consider switching allegiance to PSG, Barca or Bayern in their 1/2 team leagues.
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the point of the analysis passenal is that yesterday is not a one off, if it were, or if it was even a very rare event, it could be dismissed as just one of those days, but we just have far too many games where we concede more than one goal. And even if we keep clean sheets in all of our last six games, we will average more than one goal conceded per game this season.
It will be interesting to see if LCFC rise to the top and this season where everyone can beat everyone else, turns out to be the norm in the BPL or if its that one season in 20 or 30 or 40, years, and that next season we are back to the top six being Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Spurs and Liverpool, and in fact this season might yet see the top six have five of those teams in it, with LCFC in there and CFC missing out. It might not be such a changeover as some seem to think has happened.
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Mesut Özil has been directly involved in 24 PL goals this season, (6 goals, 18 assists) 43.6% of Arsenal’s total goals. [@Squawka]
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