Good morning Positive Arsenal fans,
Let me get the grudging congratulations out of the way first to our opponents last night. Over two legs we encountered a team of the highest quality. If it was destined to be our largest ever defeat in the Champions League and at the Emirates we were ruthlessly despatched by a team likely to feature in the final of the competition, at least.
Of the game ? We were very good for 54 minutes. Not ‘good’ in a clinging-on, denying Bayern by the skin of our teeth kind of way but playing fast, creative football. Our first half performance was not down to one or two exceptional performances by Arsenal players, but a genuine team effort, front to back. A special word of praise however for young Hector. Not quite been in top form for a few weeks but best player on the pitch in the opening 45. We opened up the Germans on four occasions. Manuel Neuer, fine keeper that he is, seems oddly accident prone at the Emirates. Had more then one of those chances been put away then “what if …. ?”. Against a team of Bayern’s quality to fail to convert half chances into goals is surely the path to defeat. And so it proved.
Now we reach the 54th minute, and a gentleman who the mainstream media tell me goes by the name of Charalambos Kalogeropoulos. The official burst into the footballing limelight in a most unexpected fashion. Now I do not know about you but the goal line assistant, an invention of Sepp Blatter in his relentless battle against technology, has not much featured in my football watching. I do not understand what they do, or are supposed to do, and because we see and hear so very little of them I suspect they are a vague about it themselves. See no evil, speak no evil et cetera.
Nevertheless the man insisted that the referee convert a yellow card, to a red card. And if I live to be a very old person I will not understand why. Ruined the contest, sank any conceivable chance of recovery on our part, and caused me to drink far more red wine than I would normally do on a Tuesday night. At least my wounds are self inflicted.
At 1-1 in truth I’d say the game was just about done, and would have been done, even with 11v11. A man advantage and our balloon punctured the final 35 minutes saw our lads dismembered in a professional, relentless fashion.
Could we have put ten men behind the ball and battled for a more respectable 2-1, 3-1 or 4-1 ? Would my work this morning have been easier had the defeat been of smaller proportion ? I dunno. And to be honest I don’t care. We play as we play.
Right then, enough of this wallowing in self pity. I spy a FA Cup quarter final on Saturday against Lincoln, who I can never recall seeing before in the flesh. I shall be there, making a noise, enjoying the game. And then there is the little matter of 12 Premier League games, amongst which are some tasty contests.
It is not all bad – enjoy your Wednesdays.
Positively Arsenal 
Chelsea and West Ham had a bad reputation for racists and, despite what stories you hear now, I can remember ‘Ammers fans giving Clyde Best the monkey treatment back in the late 60s. From there in the 70s the National Front and the BNP in time tried to get into football, not with much success despite the fuss at the time.
We had our own little core of Alf Garnetts – every club did – but in the Nazi league we were well down the pecking order behind our east and west London neighbours.
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Irony alert; Warren Mitchell was a Spurs fan
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anicol I was at a reserve game at Highbury, Arsenal v West Ham, the day before the Littlewoods Cup final win over Liverpool in 87, and a group of West Ham fans done nothing all game long except racially abuse the black West Ham players. They had the good sense not to abuse the Arsenal players.
By the way, the Arsenal stewards were not interested in it as long as they did not abuse the Arsenal players.
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Arsène Wenger is directly involved in the recruitment process to replace Andries Jonker, for me is the biggest sign that he is not thinking of leaving anytime soon.
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20170309/boss-we-want-someone-with-our-values#w6cjodlhys3XTLrG.99
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SlovenianGooner @slovenianGooner 6h6 hours ago
So the ref from the Barca – PSG is going to be removed from the competition, while far worse things were happening a day earlier in the Arsenal game and nothing happens.
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I appreciate it follows the line eddy but wtf are either referee being removed ? Removed or barred because Suarez is a incessantly cheating little c*** ? Ruled out because in both games both referees are told by the previously total silent “official behind the goal” intervenes with some bizarre decision – even though in both incidents the referee was closer.
Any referee who is good at spotting the little uruguyan shit is about – really about game in and game out – I will buy a Ferrari
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I used to go to Millwall in the mid 80s and there was a lot of abuse for ‘ chicken George’ Lawrence – by that time blatant racism was on the wane.
Apocryphal story of a pre season game at the Den with the very young Wallace brothers playing – all of whom had good careers at the Saints and ManU etc. They were on the Lions books but never came back.
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Livers Delivers @Sir_Livers 8h8 hours ago
BT Sport showing Arsenal v Millwall 1995, Arsenal 14th in league not won in 1995 and losing 0-2
I want my Arsenal back!
16 months pre AW
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‘Arsenal Guvnor’ @ArsenalGuvnor
Afc v Lincoln Sat 5.30pm
On the 20 minute mark to celebrate/appreciate Arsene’s 20 years at the helm we will be holding a minutes applause.
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‘Uefa could be sued by TV companies’
This season’s Champions League last-16 ties have been packed full of goals, late twists and drama – plus the occasional controversial decision.
Arsène Wenger watched Barcelona complete a remarkable turnaround to knock Paris Saint-Germain out on Wednesday night – and the boss feels the game’s governing bodies must now bring in video technology to help match officials make decisions.
“I’m believing that in the next five years if Uefa does not bring video in they could face legal action from television or from fans because they refuse to progress for the right decisions,” Wenger said.
“The fans and television companies pay a lot of money and they spoil the package because they don’t do the maximum to give a fair spectacle.
“If they don’t go further, that is what will happen because we live in a society that is legalist and what people pay is more and more, if Uefa and Fifa don’t take that step to go for more justice, they can’t offer what we saw for us against Bayern or the night after, it’s indefensible.”
Copyright 2017 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20170310/-uefa-could-be-sued-by-tv-companies-#IXtt4WkS2mZi3DyB.99
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Nothing to see here…
Lincoln defensive linchpin Bradley Wood has a plan to stop Alexis Sanchez: ‘If he tries to run me in the channels then I’m smashing him’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4302958/Lincoln-s-Bradley-Wood-plan-stop-Alexis-Sanchez.html#ixzz4ay7fqhCl
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And the Ref will give him a stern talking to as Alexis is stretchered off and the pundits chuckle as ‘You have to get in their faces you know tee hee hee’
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