@LaboGoon eases us into New Year’s Eve
Arsenal travel to the Hawthorns of West Brom this afternoon to bid au revoir to 2017 – and hopefully we do so in style.
After being victorious in the opening two PL fixtures of the season, WBA have failed to get another win since and has slipped all the way down to the foot of the table.
Tony Pulis (“should old acquaintance be forgot, and never thought upon…”) who of course set them on this barren run is gone and they are now managed by Alan Pardew – who is not only still looking for his first WBA win but also his first against his old foe Arsène Wenger, and honestly… I can’t see today being the day him or his side turn any corners.
We may have left the Hawthorns without a single point on our last two visits but they are on a sticky patch at the moment and their confidence shot. However that doesn’t mean our mere presence should be enough to win us the game. We still need to continue to work on being more clinical in front of goal, improve our awareness when switching between a two and a three at the back, when either in attack or defense, and to take better care of the ball in possession to quit giving away sloppy goals.
If there’s one thing football has taught us it is not to take anything for granted. When on the field you cannot afford having your thoughts somewhere else because there are no freebies, you have to earn each point you play for. So to get over the line, it’s still expected of us to put our backs in.
Team news: with Monreal, Ramsey and Giroud still missing out and no new injuries, the Boss is likely to stick with the same XI that beat Crystal Palace last outing, just so we can build some momentum and familiarity ahead of our clash vs Chelsea on Wednesday.
We have steadily improve on our away form and today is potentially another good one for the away and travelling support. So good luck to all of them and everyone watching from home.
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Thank you PA community for another year filled with thought-provoking and insightful conversations. I wish all of you a very happy and prosperous 2018.
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Positively Arsenal 
of course Cech does not save it, he might save more if he just stood in the middle and not dive at all
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Cheated by the PGMOL…..again
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4 minutes of stoppage time,
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Poor Chambers. I was doing some research on refs vs Arsenal. Mike Dean has simply confirmed it is a viable line of research.
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I started the research. Now I am really motivated to continue.
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Full Time – Mike Dean 1-1 Arsenal
one of the worst penalty awards you will ever see, its another one of those 1 out of 100 decisions that you only see given against Arsenal. PGMOL new year party in full swing.
Arsenal did not play great, but were the better team, took a late lead only for Mike Dean to level the scores with a phantom penalty to WBA, disgraceful stuff
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We were far from our best , but Anyone who looks at the history of Mike Dean and Arsenal would realise he was always going,to take any opportunity to do us.
Chambers hands were down , it was ball to hand, no way was that a penalty.
Mike Dean and his secretive organisation disgrace the game at times, especially when Arsenal are playing
This club are up against monied teams, and biased referees
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Chambers didn’t deserve that, he played well
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Little bit frustrating – not a great performance going forward from us but a poor decision from Dean at the end. We never really opened them up today so the own goal a bit lucky. No idea what Dean thought he saw, but he didn’t.
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When even Alan shearer thinks it is not a pen? Wow
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even Gibbs was not asking for a penalty, that shows how bad a decision it was
in the confo aw had with dean it looked like Dean was saying “I made the decision”, we fucking know you did you stupid little bias cunt, everyone knows you did.
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Defensively I thought we were very good today Wwwb – last season we were dreadful here but today the home side managed almost nothing.
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anicol Dean say the memo from the PGMOL, Arsenal in Crisis Narrative has to be adhered to
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Cech says he was booked for saying “it was not a penalty, and asking Dean why he made a decision that the players are told by the officials in meeting with them that this is not a penalty”
Cech says Dean would not answer him, just gave him a yellow card for asking the question
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one thing the Arsenal players did wrong after the game today was to actually shake hands with the match officials, once again we get screwed by them and we shake their hands.
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The club should take this further is on top of it all Dean is handing out bookings for nothing.
Dean should not referee Arsenal
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Wenger’s after game interview suggests that Dean did say to him in that talk in injury time that it was him who called it, as AW says Dean did not see the game, could not have as he had a player blocking his view of it, so did not see it.
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Wenger says Refs do not work enough, I think he means, despite what the pundits are saying about him meaning they do not do enough games, for me its the opposite, he means a certain few select refs do too many games, and do not get even spread of number of times each ref has each team.
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so called Arsenal fans blaming Wenger for that phantom penalty call by Mike Dean, we really do have a very strange fan base, Mike Dean robbed us of the win, no one else.
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Alan Pardew says it was wrong call on the penalty
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Petr Cech, speaking to Sky Sports: “First I got a yellow card for saying this is not a penalty.
“Every time we meet with refs prior to season and it comes to the point about when the player is close to the ball and has no chance to react it is never a penalty
“I asked the referee why he changes this decision
“I was not rude, I just asked the question and it disappoints me even more that he said nothing when I asked him
“I’m disappointed by the penalty situation and I expect when I walk to the ref with respect and ask a question I would like if he answers in a normal way, not (for him to) give me a yellow card and say nothing.”
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Crazy decision which again is difficult to see how a ref can get wrong and so the obvious conclusion is deliberate bias.
However that ridiculous moment aside I thought we were more negative than the average wob today with loads of sidewards and backwards passing, against a side who are struggling to score surely a gung ho approach would of been better.
Even some of our breakaways didn’t get out of our half.
Watching the top six teams at the moment its difficult to see how we can make a case for anything other than sixth place.
I know there is a very long way to go and our form in the past has dramatically changed in the second half of the season however we are stale in more games than not these days and I am extremely disappointed.
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That was such an underwhelming way to end the year and to celebrate AW’s 811th.
Good old Mike Dean came, saw, and made himself MOTM once again.
Based on the 90 mins, I can only say I found the game annoying.
We still have much work to do.
I can’t even get any deeper into it.
2018 cannot come soon enough.
May the new year usher in a higher quality of play, greater consistency, better effort and more inspired winning to Arsenal FC.
Thank you Positivistas for the good vibes.
Always
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This narrative that many of our shitty supporters hv that beside the dubious penalty call Arsenal didn’t play well enough do deserve the win is dishonest and transparent because of their agenda. I agree this wasn’t our best performance but we still did well enough for a 1-0 victory.
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posted this back in November, might need to adjust the WBA stat
Mike Dean awards a penalty on average to
Man utd every 4 games
Chelsea every 5 1/4 games
Spurs every 5 1/2 games
Newcastle every 5 1/2 games
Man city every 6 games
Aston Villa every 6 games
West Brom every 6 games
West Ham every 7 games
Arsenal every 21 games
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Cant be arsed with this shit , that’s a minimum of 10 points we have had absolutely stolen from us.
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Poleaxed me that pen. Was ready to drop points today as game went deep, after a below par performance; then the euphoria of being on for 3 points anyway, meaning a superb six from two tricky away games; then that.
It shouldn’t hurt so much when dean is merely conforming to exactly what I would predict from him and his peers, but it fucking well does.
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Labo I stole your post for a tweet
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Those who think me and others are nuts banging on about pgmol, but who also have huge respect for Wenger have to confront the fact his comments afterwards are the firmest evidence yet he believes we are being cheated.
So, is he wrong or out of order, suggesting they know what’s going on, and can’t prepare for Dean, or what?
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so Dean seen Chambers rise his elbow to head height to block the ball, or so he told Chambers
this is where he seen it, really it is, can you not see it
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Rich, when Wenger does decide to call it a day, hope he lets them have it with both barrels, tells the world what he knows, what he has experienced, been told, he is articulate enough to cause them damage.
This was not right, an appalling decision, and booking senior players who wanted to discuss it.
The PGMOL are cheats, and this ref is up with the worst of them, bet he wouldn’t dare cheat Utd, Chelsea, City , Liverpool or the Spuds as regularly as he cheats us, and the media would crucify him if he tried
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Wenger’s comments pretty damn good from what I’ve seen. My ideal would have been him saying something like :
‘ I can prepare players not to do what others do, to be as clean as feasibly possible. Hands down, don’t grab, don’t barge, don’t get too close, but can I ask them not to chase attackers in box as Bellerin or Monreal did? Can I prepare them not to have hands tucked in when player hit ball from a yard or two away??!!!
I shouldn’t have to urge them to be more cautious than any other teams, but I do, and I do.
What could I possibly advise, however, to try stop pens like those we have conceded this year? Do we now have to let attackers run free in box, and not close down anyone striking the ball? In each situation, what are the defending players supposed to have done?’
What’s the worst that could happen after that? Don’t blame him though. I suppose his comments cut to the heart of it perfectly well.
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Wenger on transfers (sort of)
Will you bring anyone in during the transfer window?
Tomorrow I will try to bring myself in first and after that we will see.
19:18
Wenger on the penalty
Was it a penalty Arsene?
What do you think?
Why not?
Because it wasn’t a penalty. There was no handball, it wasn’t a deliberate handball. You can’t play football if you are close as that.
Is it a problem with the rules?
I think the referee has not even seen it. I am angry because we have seen the same things again.
Wenger slams referring standards
I fought very hard for the referees to become professional many years ago with David Dein and we did a good job to allow them to become professional but I see no improvement.
At the end of the day there are two countries in Europe where you have professional referees, in italy and in England. not one English referee will go to the World Cup.
You can’t say a word against it because they are untouchable. And that is the truth as well. There is a reason, it’s not only me who judges them.
Wenger unhappy with the festive schedule
Maybe we haven’t played well enough, that is down to you to judge. But West Brom have five days to prepare for a game like that, we have three. I’m ready to play every game as long as our opponent has played the same over christmas. It’s not normal.
And we have the same problem against Chelsea. They have one day more for the game.
On if he was surprised by the reaction to Sanchez’s celebration at Palace
No. It was never a problem inside.
Wenger on Henry stirring things up with his comments about Sanchez’s celebrations
I don’t know, I don’t listen to what he says and other people says.
We focus on our own problems, that’s the only thing.
There are people who are paid to talk, it’s difficult sometimes when you are paid to talk, to talk, to talk and only say things that are true and intelligent.
Wenger on Alexis
On whether this was Alexis’ last game for Arsenal
We play on Wednesday night.
I have spoken many times about that, I’m not ready to talk about that some more.
On whether things may have changed due to injuries to Jesus and De Bruyne
I have given you my answer many times, i don’t see why I should come back on a subject we have talked about 155 times.
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some great quotes from Wenger, let rip at the refs, and the likes of henry
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Well said Wenger. I suspect we will pay for his comments, but they needed saying anyway.
Even the media saying Dean got that wrong.
No English refs at the WC, if so,that’s pathetic, and a damning indictment on the untouchable mike Riley
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Wenger on TH stirring shit about Alexis celebration
“There are people who are paid to talk, it’s difficult sometimes when you are paid to talk, to talk, to talk and only say things that are true and intelligent.”
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Silence is golden…..
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Wenger slams referring standards
I fought very hard for the referees to become professional many years ago with David Dein and we did a good job to allow them to become professional but I see no improvement.
At the end of the day there are two countries in Europe where you have professional referees, in italy and in England. not one English referee will go to the World Cup.
You can’t say a word against it because they are untouchable. And that is the truth as well. There is a reason, it’s not only me who judges them.
has no one told Wenger about PGMOL’s
GAME MANAGEMENT
or that the PGMOL’s own ref assessors say they get 99% or some such daft figure, of calls correct. Really, they claim it, and that is why I say not one thing will change, especially for AFC, when VAR comes in, the PGMOL have their views on the game and nothing or no one is going to change that, VAR will be run by them, there will be no accountability, and sweet fuck all will change. Mike Riley will still decide who is best to Game Manage the games he wants managed
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Apparently, Bein sports panel saying we should have had two pens right at the end.
All smacks a bit of a calcioppoli type situation, too few refs, refs with known bias carefully selected to apply their bias to manage an outcome.
If it were a one off, we could say Dean bottled it, or made a mistake, but far from a one off with this ref.
Have said this many times before, but I hope the influential gazidis backs his manager and had words, David dein certainly would have back in the day
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Wenger; “if we make a mistake, we deal with it, we have enough (as a team) to make up for, enough to stand up for, I can’t prepare for Mike Dean”
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yeah mandy, Welbeck was fouled only moments after their penalty, and it might have been Alexis taken down off the ball moments later
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IanSpace2014 @ 6:53pm:
I have been reading your constant criticism of Arsenal’s sideway passing. Respectfully, I think you are belaboring the point. Arsenal’s midfield is not made of Xavi and Iniesta with Messi at the sharp-end of the spear. If it was easy to pick and execute that final through ball then all beggars would ride thoroughbreds. Jack Wilshere was our only real creative in midfield today and he is nowhere in Xavi or Iniesta’s class, at least not yet, and Lacazette is no Messi. In fact Alexis was surplus to Barca’s requirements and sold to us for good reason. With the talent available to Arsenal we tend to be more circumspect and conservative. Frankly I am happy we don’t needlessly give the ball away trying over elaborate passes that simply give these defensive teams we play the counter-attacking opportunity they are living and praying for all week in the run up to our games.
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Lots of threads out there now highlighting the catalogue of unexplainable ref decisions against this team this season…Leicester- Dean, Stoke- Marriner Watford right at the start, Taylor refusing a clear pen against Bournemouth, two offside goals given to City, Marriner, again refusing a clear pen when Darmian bought welbeck down against Utd.
Think Wenger this evening has gone the closest he ever has to calling it out by its true name ” we know deeply what’s going on and we don’t talk about that” if Wenger cannot say it, I will, it’s called cheating, systemic bias and corruption
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I disagree entirely with the view that nothing will change the PGMOL. Ten years ago when they stole the 50th game from us, the entire footballing public and the lying mainstream media laughed at our complaints and treated them as entirely sour grapes. Over time as we the truth-tellers have unearthed the facts of PGMOL bias it is certainly now common, at least on Twitter, for a sceptical, distrustful football public when it comes to the PGMOL. Even United fans, who benefited so much from the bias of the Mike Riley Mafia during the Ferguson era, are demanding reforms and the earliest implementation of VAR. Ten years ago when Wenger argued that refs needed technology to aid their decisions, United fans were totally mocking and derisive in their comments. Now VAR cannot arrive too soon and I dare the PGMOL to try manipulate the decision-making as much as they would like to. Metaphorically, it would be over the dead bodies of football fans.
The PGMOL exposed itself to the world in Game 50 and their hold over the game is slowly but surely weakening no matter how the media tries to cover up their bias and incompetence.
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Certainly bias and incompetence Shotta, but though we cannot prove it, not sure we can completely rule out personal gain in some quarters either, that’s why I used the word corruption .
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I don’t agree Shotta, take for example the penalty today, loads of Arsenal fans are attacking wenger and the players, not Dean, they have seen the decision, they have listened to every pundit out there say it was no penalty, they have seen the majority of AFC fans say it was no penalty, yet Mike Dean is not at fault for our 2 pts being robbed. So if some Arsenal fans are not even annoyed at it, let alone outraged about it, why should we think that when VAR comes in and same call still goes against us that the wider football fan base will suddenly be outraged. Look the pundits and journos who all say it was no penalty, are still now only hours later writing articles and giving their views on the game, and the conclusion is
Arsenal did not play well enough to deserve the win. Penalty or no.
VAR will change nothing for AFC, it might for Man city or Man utd or CFC or THFC or LFC.
look at the diving panel, look at the fa panel for unseen incidents, and remember all the clear as day decisions they decided were not dives, like Richardlson v AFC, or all the sending off offences missed, like Lukaku doulbe kick v Brighton, and unlike VAR they have hours if not days to study the incident, the VAR will only have moments, or minutes to decide,
VAR going to right the wrongs of corrupt or bias refs is a pipe dream of the highest order.
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also shotta, the PGMOL’s hold on the game has not been weakened one iota in the last ten years, in fact it is stronger than ever, the media have seen to it, they refuse to expose it, they don’t question it, they don’t ask why the mistakes, in fact they come up with excuses for their mistakes, they don’t ask why a manchester based ref gets to ref utd games or city games, or why there is not a single qualified ref from London deemed good enough to make the PGMOL ref list, or why just the one southern based ref is on it, they don’t highlight how kane and allie or any other English favorite keep escaping bans for diving or kicking,
the refs are pros for 17 years now, their wages have got very big, yet the standard has gotten poorer and poorer. They act like they are the stars.
Why do the media not ask why same few refs keep getting all the big games regardless of their performance for or against any certain team. I ran the Mike Dean stat about penalties for all the bpl clubs, here it is again, surely there are questions to be asked, articles to be written about it
Mike Dean awards a penalty on average to
Man utd every 4 games
Chelsea every 5 1/4 games
Spurs every 5 1/2 games
Newcastle every 5 1/2 games
Man city every 6 games
Aston Villa every 6 games
West Brom every 6 games
West Ham every 7 games
Arsenal every 21 games
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I’m angry. Still. As angry as Petr Cech, and that’s pretty damned angry. He reminded me of my dad, when I was really in trouble. He even used the dreaded word “disappointed”. Scary.
And, seriously, if you’re complaining we didn’t play well, I don’t get you. Win ugly. That’s what you do this time of year. Liverpool managed it this round. City and United drew ugly, just like we did. Well, truthfully we did win ugly. We actually won two away games in a row against desperate teams at the bottom of the table looking for a new manager bounce. And then we got screwed by someone who thinks he’s great at his job but actually sucks at it. I’m not a conspiracy theorist. IMO he’s not bent, he’s just bad. And there should be consequences for that kind of work product. At least when players are bad, they lose points and face the consequence of lower table position and potential lost bonuses and other income. What consequence is there for Mike Dean here? Just turn off the TV and don’t read the papers for a day, and by Tuesday no one will be talking about this performance any more. It’s infuriating.
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Ed, at the risk,of possibly being kinder to the media than they deserve, just been reading a post by Tony Attwood over at Untold, he says that in return for broadcast licences, the media have restrictions on what they can say regarding controversial,things like refs, and other issues that could hit the brand…. they clearly can have a go, but it seems there are lines in the sand.
If Mr Attwood is correct, the EPL FA PGMOL have things even more sewn up than one would suspect
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yes mandy, some seem to think that for a ref to be corrupt they have to get a little brown envelope with a large stash of cash in it, while their gain might actually only be more high profile games awarded to them by their boss Mike Riley, and I would not rule out a ref telling family who to place a little bet on in the games he is reffing.
I mentioned on here a couple of times about a former high profile ref here in Ireland, in the GAA, a man considered by many as totally unbiased, beyond reproach, who admitted to me that he beat teams by actually giving them lots of useless freekicks, bringing back play when they broke through for a score etc, when he considered that it would be better for team x to win to make it more likely for his own county team to win a provencial or national title. His game management he claimed led to his county winning 2 All Ireland titles, by him helping to knock out the team he felt was more likely to beat his own county if they met. He gained nothing financial, but were his performances not corrupt, he gained the enjoyment of his county winning the All Ireland.
I have said it before, if you are a BPL ref, and you support Sheffield Utd, but your wife or children support say Man Utd, and you are reffing utd in a game, are you not going to be a wee bit bias towards them, knowing that if utd lose what you will face at home.
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