Good day one and all.
Arsenal is hosting Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon for their Premier League clash. This followed having avoided a Europa defeat against Vitória Guimarães after a shock loss to Sheffield on Monday night. Yes, it’s been quite a week.
The tale of Arsenal under Unai Emery has been consistent; flawed ‘build from the back’ style, lack of cutting edge and creativity despite the quality in our squad, with individual brilliance too often having to save the day. For a while the Cup games have offered fans an escape, but from the midweek game it seems that thrifty approach may have crept in there too. If we are honest, this week has been particularly damaging for Emery because it was expected of the Gunners to win both games at a canter. And one can’t help but feel if things continue this way the Spaniard may get called in for an inquisition.
Bit of good news now is that we got our first-choice front three all back. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had to carry the bulk of the attacking burden as Nicolas Pépé, who had no pre-season, still got to grips with the league and Alexandre Lacazette absent due to an ankle injury. With Pépé now having his shot of confidence with those two cracking free-kicks and Lacazette rid of most of the rust, it will be expected of Emery to coax better performances out of a very talented crop of players, especially with us now chasing down a top-four spot.
Roy Hodgson’s Eagles have ruffled some feathers at their nest this campaign with just one defeat in five, however, on the road they’ve been a bit patchy; two wins and two losses from four outings. With one of those wins at Old Trafford. I know, not all that surprising. And they’re 6th on the league table.
Nobody can deny that Crystal Palace has come a long way, at least no Gooner. The last five meetings between these sides the Gunners have only beaten them twice. Last season they took five points off of us and surely the Hodge must fancy their chances again, especially looking at our current form, or lack thereof, and defensive uncertainties.
Where are the days when this used to be a straight forward fixture?
We got Liverpool coming up on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup so Emery is expected to play his ‘league team’ to keep most of those that started vs Vitória fresh for that one.
Despite losing only twice all season the Gunners has been far from convincing. So this could be one of those tight ‘both teams to score’ matches, with Arsenal just doing enough for all three points. COYG!
@LaboGoon
Positively Arsenal 
this game gets you really hopeful and full of confidence for the midweek League cup game…
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Ref is absolutely pathetic.
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now we’re waiting (again) for a moment of individual brilliance to save us…
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Fantastic squad management sees Arsenal use up their last sub when chasing a game to see a defensive wing back come on for an attacking full back.
Ween in week out, eighteen months of continuously poor management and coaching like this and only now did the Big Blaggers call out this shite. Whilst still blaming Ozil of course.
FML
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Correction: there’s still got one sub left!
Whah odds will the bookies give me on Auba off for Martinez?
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Its so daft fins, I keep laughing at these potty decisions…(it being so absurd)…dont want to but…
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ha! the Özil song is being sung!
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Sok does the biz…
still time for the Smeagles…
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offside..
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that is some VAR call,
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Wow.
Riley is on the viagra today.
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The PGmo is just as Shotts described it would be:
It is in fact Chambers who is pushed over.
What a bunch of blatent cheats they are, only a clown could attempt and fail to deny it.
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JB
™️
@gunnerpunner
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24m
“Mesut Özil wouldn’t improve this squad”
Mate Fran Merida would improve this squad
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First big shot from open play in long time there for Luiz (came of from a corner I think but I’ll take it!)
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This team really are up against things , very few VAR calls going our way, which is just how they will like it
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Atkinson doing everything to help palace.
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Mandy it was Scudamore himself who said Man Utd were The Brand.
They don’t even pretend to hide it, which is what all the lobotomised smears of conspiracy bollocks even funnier. I mean just look at that list of officials we’ve had so far this season.
Only a clown could attempt to pretend that there is nothing wrong with that. One of those weird clowns, from Arkham Asylum…
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Yet VAR was worse.
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FT: Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace
Sokratis and David Luiz, both goals from corners, had given us a 2-0 lead, but Palace had more possession in the first half and went in 2-1 down but drew level in the second half. Looked like Sokratis had given us a late winner from another corner but VAR somehow deemed Chambers had committed a foul.
Martin Atkinson was Martin Atkinson and will have pleased the PGMOL and Mike Riley. As will VAR, I stated last season that VAR would not be any aid what so ever to Arsenal and I’ve seen nothing yet that suggests otherwise.
The Crowd sang the Mesut Ozil song, a clear message to Emery and the Execs, and a clear sign as to the mush Emery’s side is serving up to the paying public on a game by game basis. Joselite and out of his depth at Arsenal. The sooner he is dumped the better.
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We may have helped them at times, but this match was fixed.
If anything, should have been an Arsenal penalty in the buildup.
Raul, use your darkness for good, on the PGMOL
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Man UTd only 3pts behind us now, and we are 4pts off 4th spot
we have a +1 goal difference after ten games, 14 goals conceded, we are heading for another season of letting in 50+ league goals, we have failed to win 6 of our 10 BPL games so far, once again the Draws are killing us,
our midfield was trash once again and it got worse when we took off Xhaka, for me Ceballos floated about like a butterfly and stung like one too. But the taking off of Xhaka was in my opinion only done by Emery to try and appease the boo boys. How little our head mini bus knows.
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Mandy it was gentle fix compared to Stoke away and almost every other away game in AWs last season but yep only a liar could pretend otherwise:
Atkinson was match fixing.
There’s no doubt about it, if you see the timings of the comments we were even saying it before Palace scored. Let’s see how many other have the Footballs to honestly comment upon the Football.
Proud of the crowd for telling that other fraud Raul what they think of his unqualified management of the club. Wow after getting his pants pulled down by first Ozil then Koscielny and Monreal and then again Ozil’s agents this mobster is really showing himself to be a master of football of football relations eh?
FML
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Judging by today’s decisions, Operation Save Utd, and Special Operation Hand Liverpool The Title are in full swing.
Liverpool are so privileged, even got a dodgy pen against darling Spurs it seems.
And Utd get 2 out of nowhere.
As mentioned, none of us should be surprised.
Got to love Gwens tribute to England’s rugby boys though, Sam Underhill would have been proud
But Emery could be in trouble with this, as could Xhaka
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did Xhaka tell Emery to Fuck Off, when he was subbed off today.
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Was it Emery or the crowd? Or both?
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Not seen action, but assuming roughly correct that pen overturn was similar to what Saka got booked for and disallowed goal was a joke, surely it’s time to go nuclear on pgmol’s ass.
Point out absurdity of ref doing 4 out of ten games, Var being used to different standards in space of a week, our bonkers pen stats for a decade.
Utd now have 16 to our 6 since start of last season; we’ve conceded 11 to their 6 in that time. +10 for them ; -5 for us in that time. 15 goal swing.
Damage ourselves but let’s damage those bastards while we’re at it by complaining to press.
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Emery deems Mesut Ozil surplus to requirements, and even without him we have attacking talent of the caliber of Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pepe, Saka, Nelson, Martinelli and Ceballos, but we have only scored 15 league goals in 10 games, and this with our first choice midfield available all season too. So if that is not a clear sign that Emery’s tactics and formations, and team selections are just plain wrong, I don’t know what is.
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VAR ref today appears to have been Australian ref who moved over here and has done 6 championship games only so far. Jarred Gillett.
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In fairness to Atkinson, and not often I say that, looked to me like his initial decision was not to give the pen against us, and to allow the Sok goal. VAR was the culprit, the faceless face of Mike Riley.
But sounds like things got pretty ugly, I suspect Emery will soon pay the price. Cannot keep giving away such leads to such clubs, even if they are ref assisted, and we have a horrendous Xmas schedule coming up that seems beyond the team and coach at the moment.
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We let them keep fucking us so much and whoever follows Emery is going to have to work with same giant disadvantage as always. Few will have anything like Wenger’s powers of fighting against it. I’d roll dice and risk reputational and other harm rather than just let it continue indefinitely as it is. Go after Riley publically.
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Emery after game comments, from football.london
On the game
We can speak about our performance and the VAR decision.
We started very well and then conceded many chances so we should have controlled possession better to get more chances at 2-0 but usually the opposite team want to push more and then they scored.
We need to respect the decision, which was amazing, Last match here against Bournemouth, they didn’t check for a clear penalty on Pepe and at Sheffield on Sokratis.
On VAR
VAR is positive but at the moment it is not working well.
I think we deserved to win this evening. Only I can be disappointed about not controlling the match better.
On Xhaka
He was wrong. We need to stay calm, speak to him internally about that.
On VAR
I think VAR is very important for the referees because their mistakes are very important.
When it’s used in the right way but now we haven’t checked a lot of things to not change the pace of the match.
Pepe and Soktratis’ penatlies were very clear but they didn’t check. Maybe they are starting to check more after this week.
On the disallowed goal
That is not a fault. If you watch that, I’m sure you don’t decide that is not a goal.
I think Martin Atkinson needed to watch it again.
On why Xhaka came off
We are working with the club and the players to play under pressure.
We are going to speak with him because the reaction was wrong.
We are here because we have supporters. We work for them and need to have respect for them when they are applauding us and criticising us.
Will Xhaka stay captain?
Now is not the time to talk about that.
More on VAR
The next step is a monitor on the touchline to check because VAR is to help referees.
On the connection with the fans
I think the connection with the team was amazing.
After the 2-2, the fans pushed for the victory and then there are some special circumstances.
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so second time this season we have failed to win after going 2-0 up, its all Mesut Ozil’s fault.
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The review might take some time. I’m spitting mad, best to calm down first.
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Quite amazing, cheated by the PGMOL, and that has happened a few times in recent games, but boo Xhaka who did little wrong in that game
Complete inconsistency in the way they overturn decisions against us, to what they have done to every other club.
Stand to be corrected, but think they got the first ever overturned yellow by VAR?
You can legitimately question the manager, Raul, or even the appointment of captain, but nobody should be distracted from the corruption against this club , which will continue after Emery has gone unless the club find the balls, guile or whatever is needed to take it on
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george what are you spitting mad about, surely you could see it coming, everything from letting a two goal lead slip away, to VAR fucking us over, the fans reaction to Xhaka when he was being subbed off by Emery to appease the boo boys who were singing the ozil song in a direct attack of Emery’s ways, and not forgetting the performance of Martin Atkinson against us for the 4th time in 10 games this season. What was there to get you spitting mad about, I found myself once again totally nonplussed by it all, its a scratched record under Emery bringing us back to the same part of the song time and again, we are just getting into the beat of the music or the chorus of the song when scrrrrrrrggghhh and we are back at the start again, hoping Emery will have changed the record, or upgraded to a Disc.
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Yes, we were cheated, but Guendouzi got away with a yellow that should have been red as it looked like he was the last man. I guess Xhaka will be joining Ozil on the naughty step now after storming off and straight down the tunnel. But who can blame him after yet another baffling decision. Meanwhile the real madrid player remains on the pitch aimlessly strolling about and contributing next to nothing. Cutback FC has now graduated to set-piece FC – happy days!
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@MickHazel – 27/10/2019 at 7:15 pm I have not seen this happen in the 3 to 4 years that VAR has been in operation anywhere. The ONLY reason to overturn a yellow card is a mistaken identity.
Having watched Spanish, German and Italian football for the past 3 years the law has been made clear ONLY red cards can be looked at. Yellow cards have NEVER been changed
So PIGMOB have changed the rules…again Nice one Riley
The above is a post from Les Williams over on Untold Arsenal
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https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/arsene-wenger-england-new-zealand-17151558
It seems Wenger spent a day with the England rugby team, no wonder they beat NZ
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We are now Set-piece FC just like Stoke, Bolton and all those other shithouse teams we used to scorn. Look at our reaction as fans and the players as well when Pepe gets a deadball.
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Me and George did a podcast fresh after the game focusing on “The Trashing Of the values of Arsenal FC” Check it out at at all the usual podcasts links or this link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/10802980/the-destruction-of-the-values-of-arsenal
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Well guys believe it or not there are actually Monitors on the side of the pitch for VAR, as to comply with FIFA or EUFA guidelines on the use of VAR, but I believe that BPL Refs are not to use them as its the PGMOL’s way of getting around the guideling, have them but just don’t use them. They comply with FIFA/Eufa guidelines by having them, but have VAR the way Mike Riley wants it by not using them. ITs Brexit Britain after all,
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Xhakas biggest crime today was allowing the media to deflect from matchfixing with his antics
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you know something, if Guendouzi had been subbed off today instead of Xhaka and he walked off waving his arm the same way as Granit did, we would have fans telling us that it was great leadership from the lad, trying to whip up some crowd noise, trying to get them to cheer on the remaining players. But it was Xhaka so crucify him
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I’ve seen many claim that Xhaka told the crowd to fuck off today, but my initial reaction was that he was saying fuck off at the decision to be subbed, then the fans were jeering him and he reacted to them by waving his arms up and down and then cupping his ear.
Also some say he threw his shirt to the floor, but I’ve only seen video of him taking off his shirt and then walking down the tunnel, without any pictures as to where his shirt is, it could be in his hand, I don’t know. anyone seen any video that shows it
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Looked to me like he took the shirt down the tunnel with him. And he didn’t throw the skippers arm band on the ground deliberately, as some allege, he gave it to another player.
I am not even sure if the fans were booing his performance, maybe the slow walk
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Xhaka’s a good footballer, so I hope his time here doesn’t end up hurting his career or changing outlook. Doesn’t seem a chance in hell he will ever win over the sort of people who booed him today.
Add that to my belief that, good as he is, it’s a bit tricky trying to find the right * midfield formula with/for him, and there probably isn’t one with the options we have, and it’s quite a gloomy picture.
*right as in a formula, with us, to be (very) strong top 4 contenders, which is probably least the booers and rest of his critics can accept for us, and also happens to be where squad should be overall talent wise.
Any way you shape it- Freddie coming in and, say, playing Xhaka Torreira, with Ozil in front, and it improving us, included-still feel it’ll be impossible for him to win those people over, and instead they’ll always be on his case, with whatever negative impact that inevitably has.
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last season our game 10 of the season was a 2-2 draw away to Crystal Palace, that seen us have sit 4th in the table, with 22pts and a +11 goal difference. 4pts off top spot
today we sit 5th, with 16pts and +1 goal difference, 12pts off top spot,
good job Emery has made us so competitive
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We always knew it though. The idea some set of circumstances could reunite fanbase or anything like that was always the most egregious nonsense. Nothing can make wankers cease to be wankers, and the late Wenger years and social media explosion surely made everyone acutely aware how many wankers support the club.
Best you can ever hope for is for things to go so well that the wankers quieten down a good deal, and you’re so happy with things their existence can’t spoil the enjoyment.
Thing is, as we fight the long hard fight to get to ‘things going so well’, they surely hurt our chances of getting there. Maybe not a quarter as much as pgmol do but still a significant amount.
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rich the swiss use Xhaka as the play maker with defensive midfielder behind him, he was used like that by his other clubs too.
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