I’m an Arsenal player, get me out of here!
Rather than structure this week’s review chronologically, as is the custom, I would like first to invite you readers to participate in the interactive part of our service by voting for which Arsenal player will be ejected from the pitch if/when the Gunners suffer humiliation at the hands of AC Milan this week. Read on to find out what I’m on about.
It was a quiet week for most Premiership clubs, with some, such as Aston Villa, embarking on “team bonding” trips to the likes of Spain where the squad could train hard in the sun, whilst other less fortunate Premiership teams faced a prospect not quite as appealing; with Portsmouth travelling 190 miles or so to — er-hem — sunny Preston and Middlesbrough making the somewhat shorter, if not more appetising, 100 mile trip down south to take on Sheffield United.
The magic of the cup was on full display this weekend, with upsets, last minute goals, dream debuts and a couple of well-deserved hammerings all part of the FA Cup menu.
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The FA Cup week-end
Old Trafford was the scene of one of the most one-sided matches of the season, as a slightly under-strength Manchester United side — there was no place for Ronaldo, Tevez, Giggs or Scholes in the starting line up — eviscerated a shell-shocked Arsenal team that was admittedly missing a fair few first-eleven players.
Since there is no shortage of Manchester United fans eager to rub it in, I shan’t dwell too much on the events, with the match stats proving eloquent enough: aside from the crushing 4-0 scoreline, Arsenal rustled up just 1 shot on target, to United’s 12 (6 to 21 shots overall), and didn’t manage a single corner throughout the 90 minutes.
If it hadn’t been for some wayward finishing from Wayne Rooney — who finally etched his name onto the scoresheet after a few billion missed opportunities — and Louis Saha, as well as some excellent shotstopping from Arsenal custodian Jens Lehmann, the result might have resembled a rugby score. Who knows what sort of psychological blow the result could afford to Arsenal’s young guns, although it is worth noting that they suffered no such hangover following the Carling Cup defeat to bitter rivals Spurs.
So, onto the title. The title of this article, not the league one. Whilst the manner of the defeat will have upset Wenger and Arsenal fans, for me the most significant part of the whole affair was the aggressive conduct of the Arsenal players when placed in a high-profile losing position; (mis)behaviour that bore an uncanny resemblance to the spat between Adebayor and Bendtner during Arsenal’s 5-1 mauling at the hands of Tottenham and had me questioning, for one of the first times, the maturity of Arsenal’s young team and their ability to avoid implosion and keep tempers from flaring under pressure.
There was a time during Saturday’s match when I could have sworn that United fans were texting in mistaking the match for en episode of “I’m an Arsenal player, get me out of here”, since the Arsenal players seemed determined to show solidarity with Eboue — expelled for a horrible lunge on Nani — by getting themselves sent off by any means possible, with William Gallas’ kick out at the Portuguese the pick of a repulsive bunch. Such actions are reprehensible in all lights, and Wenger would do well to rein in on his side’s antics before they come to assume the unpopularity of Chelsea under Mourinho.
The next biggest FA Cup story came from Anfield, where a beleaguered BenÃtez saw his Liverpool side — missing Torres and Gerrard, although it’d be wholly unfair to blame their absence — totally dominate the game and yet still lose at home to Barnsley. When Dirk Kuyt scores and you still don’t win, you know for sure that things really are going against you.
The Tykes, managed by 37 year old Simon Davey, one of the up-and-coming talents in football league management, were resolute in defence, offered up a vast array of contorted blocks and diversions, and kept plugging away until they got their reward, courtesy of a last-minute strike from centre-forward Brian Howard.
The real star of the show, however, was debutant goalkeeper Luke Steele, who only signed for Barnsley from West Brom midweek thanks to the “emergency loan signing” rule. Not since Jimmy Glass, who famously scored the goal that kept Carlisle in the Football League, has an emergency goalkeeper had such an effect on a team’s fortunes, with Steele responsible for one of the best displays of goalkeeping the FA Cup, or indeed any league, has had the privilege to see in recent years. One stop, from Peter Crouch on the verge of half-time, was nothing short of brilliant.
In other FA Cup action, Bristol Rovers did excellently well to defeat managerless Southampton — going some way to justify the Beeb’s decision to show the match — and cause another cupset, whilst Middlesbrough could only muster up a draw away at Sheffield United, in what was a typically fraught and exciting FA Cup encounter.
All of the other ties, however, went according to league precedence, with Chelsea batting aside Huddersfield 3-1 thanks in no small part to two goals from Super Goals Frank Lampard; Portsmouth garnering a 1-0 victory at Preston due to an injury-time own goal from Darren Carter – David James had earlier saved a penalty for Harry Redknapp’s side;
Tony Mowbray’s West Brom destroying managerless Coventry 5-0 at the Ricoh Arena; and finally, Cardiff dispatching Wolverhampton Wanderers by the scoreline of two goals to nil. With just three Premiership teams set to compete in the quarter-finals, including Manchester United and Chelsea, here’s hoping that one of Chelsea or United gets knocked out — or better still, drawn against one another — so as to spare the British public another 90 minutes of utter boredom at Wembley — we’ve got the Queen’s Speech for that.
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Miscellanea
The Championship
The race to the Premiership continues to be about as consistent as Arsene Wenger’s “I didn’t see it” routine is believable.
Stoke City won three games in a week, scoring 10 goals in the process, to leapfrog Bristol City and Watford — both winners on Tuesday, with The Hornets taking just a point away at Charlton on Saturday — at the top of the standings. Meanwhile, any lingering hopes of Queens Park Rangers and their billion pound arsenal making a late charge for the play-offs were essentially quashed as the Hoops lost out 4-2 at home to Burnley, one Andy Cole getting a hat-trick for Owen Coyle’s rejuvenated Clarets.
And finally, the removal of Bryan Robson (Sheffield United) and Iain Dowie (Coventry) from their respective hotseats means that outside of the current top 6 and bottom 3, a staggering 11 of the remaining 15 sides have now had managerial changes this season. No wonder it’s a league of consistency in which anyone can beat anyone!
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Ronaldo recovery — fat chance or no chance?
Finally, a word about A.C. Milan’s Ronaldo, who unfortunately tore the ligaments in his left knee in the Rossoneri’s midweek draw against Livorno. Ronaldo, who had managed just 5 appearances for Milan this season prior to the injury, and had been linked with a move to Flamengo in his native Brazil is expected to be out for at least 9 months. Faced with an already deteriorating body, and a chequered psychological past, many are wondering whether the break will in fact spell the end of Ronaldo’s professional playing career. For what it’s worth, I dearly hope that my favourite striker makes a full recovery, even if it is only to go and join the seemingly irrepressible Romário in the Brazilian league.
Topics: FA Cup, Features, Week In Review
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Arsenal are undoubtedly the worst losers in the Premier League. Of course, they don’t get much practice!
Hopefully, Gallas will be suspended by the FA when they review the video.
They’ve always had disciplinary problems under Wenger, but he can’t do anything about it because he never sees it!
February 18th, 2008 @ 10:15Whilst Arsenal hah a very poor game and got well beaten1 I do not believe we could learn any sportmanship from Man Utd,over the past 10 years we have had the Neville sisters and the Mad roy keane kicking our players all over the pitch, then chasing the Ref like demented animals when the decision goes against them!! And then you the Purple nose manager talking as if the F.A. and Premier management are his toys which are always thrownout the pram! now he is using his dirty tricks to get Gallas suspended, class will tell and the Arsenal will prevail,we like making things difficult.
February 18th, 2008 @ 10:46Regardless of reputations (on both sides, mind you), Gallas deserved a yellow card for his kick on Nani.
February 18th, 2008 @ 10:49didn’t ac milan smash you lot in your biggest game ever easily. the player you say is the best in the world was absolutly outclassed. on wednesday we will show you why everybody including that “troublesome kaka”(manu players only)can see we play beautiful football the best in england. and that football is not a 1 man team.
February 18th, 2008 @ 10:54so please do not get confused.
great result against us. you need to win a cup i suggest you focus on the fa cup. we have bigger fish to fry. you all are so excited about the win. about as happy as i was after real madrid v manu and ac milan v manu. 2 big test 2 failures.saturday was no test get that right. real madrid v arsenal and inter milan v arsenal 2 test 2riffic. we can handle teams that play good football we are the best at it; we progress while you go out. lyon is that a test?
hands up …we admit we got a pasting from the manc scum this weekend…fair enough…sh”t happens…I look forward to another 0-0 bore draw final with you and the Chavs. However, there is still the question of the league itself and I don’t see us imploding yet, I don’t expect us to win the CL, but then I don’t think you will either.
But what really gets my goat is how you lot have the front to bemoan some nasty tackles when you have kicked the likes of Reyes/Henry/Hleb/Fabregas all over a pitch for 90 minutes previously.
The truth is you are just like your bindipper cousins…can dish it out but don’t like taking it.
And as for that rheumy old git SAF…I just hope I bump into him one day on Euston station.
February 18th, 2008 @ 10:54??? laughably, arsenal fans are bitching about the wrong opposition.
The author is a spurs fan…heh
February 18th, 2008 @ 11:16in the 2- 2 draw earlier this season we over estimated manu with the 4- 5- 1 formation. rvp was out and we were not sure about edu silva at the time. rvp is still out but edu will let us come out and be ourselves in the next clash. manu are a good side but in tough games they rely on 1 player which is quite poor really, but this 1 player is very good but ac milan man city west ham will tell you its not enough. last season i think he got alot more space and showed how good he is, now clubs snuff him out, also teams in the prem are playing nice fball ie spurs, man city, villa so 1 player dont cut it. against sunderland derby even newcastle it can work. maun have always struggled against teams that play good football in chleague porto real milan. lyon play ok but manu are cracking. 4 losses in the prem already, chelsea will catch them and be more a threat.
February 18th, 2008 @ 11:28Arsenal fans – I have many a comment to put to you. One, calm down and lighten up.
The article was intended to be humorous for the most part, and not incendiary.
Secondly, I am not a Manchester United fan, but a Spurs one, so you have a barrel of cheap-shots over me any day of the week (no trophies in x years, no leagues in decades, etc.).
Thirdly, the logic you have used to defend your players’ actions simply doesn’t hold up. United fans are just as capable of deploring their players when they step over the line, as the likes of Keane have done on a few occasions. The fact that a United player has acted censurably does not automatically entitled an Arsenal player to do likewise.
What’s more there is a difference between playing an aggressive game – the way that some sides set their stall up against Arsenal and United – and acting irresponsibly and/or fighting off the ball.
Gallas deserves a suspension within the rules of the game, if the referee did not see the incident. When the rules punish raising one’s arm as violent play, kicking out most certainly qualifies, regardless of the players or teams involved – if a Spurs player were so stupid as to do such a thing, I would happily accept his suspension.
Can you really deny that as a team, Arsenal have been veritably riled in the two losing cup ties? Passion is great, but it needs to be channeled, and I’m not sure that the kids’ passion was well directed.
February 18th, 2008 @ 11:41You also need to know how to laugh at your own team – something Wenger patently lacks. Just like any person unfortunate enough to have elected to support Tottenham when he/she was still in his/her infancy, can only crack a smile at Radek Cerny’s Paul Robinson impression.
February 18th, 2008 @ 11:44Arsenal are a great side and usually really entertaining to watch. I just don’t think they act with much dignity on the rare occasions that they lose a game.
Gilberto is in the press today saying that Nani was disrespectful with his showboating and could end up getting a kicking.
Has there ever been a more disrespectful moment in the Premier League than the penalty fiasco between Henry and Pires a couple of years back?
February 18th, 2008 @ 12:22I didn’t watch the game as I was otherwise engaged & to be honest, as an Arsenal fan, I’m glad I didn’t! I have to congratulate Man Utd on the result, no matter how many excuses you make they still beat an Arsenal side 4-0. We’ve given Spurs fans a nice day out this season at our expense & we’ve now done the same for Man Utd fans so I hope they appreciate the gesture!
What has been interesting though is the amount of people, mostly media, who say that Saturday’s result has shown who exactly is the best team this season. By that reckoning, Barnsley are better than Liverpool, Middlesbrough are a better team than Arsenal, Man City are a better team than Man Utd (although we beat City this season so does that in fact make us better than Man Utd?) etc. etc. etc.
Ultimately, you win some & you lose some. Like I said, both Spurs & Man Utd fans have been treated to very rare results against Arsenal this season but I think come May we really will know who the best team has been this season whether it be Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea or whoever. And if it’s Arsenal then all you Man Utd & Spurs fans be prepared to have every single taunt, jibe and degrading song about Wenger shoved firmly & swiftly down your throats he he!
Anyway, this has been written purely in good spirits & I for one am looking forward to how the rest of the season pans out.
February 18th, 2008 @ 12:39Sorry mate, BUT do you really believe our players,i.e. Arsenal, were really up for it against the mancs? Lots of trash on the net about the psychological impact of such a defeat, however, neither the manager nor the players needed the distraction of the cup. And, for me at least, the defeat by our poorer relations at the wrong end of the seven sisters was the harder to take.
February 18th, 2008 @ 12:39Beefy,
Liverpool dominated their game against Barnsley.
Arsenal *were* dominated by United.
There’s a difference, if you noticed
Showboating can get you kicked because people don’t like being reminded that someone is better than them? That’s quite pathetic.
February 18th, 2008 @ 12:49Oh what a surprise. Chavs get Barnsley. Someone somewhere is making sure they reach the final.
February 18th, 2008 @ 13:51Okay, we(Arsenal) are sore losers. Someone please tell me what to call Demento who’s insisting that the FA do a retrospective checkup and give a red card for Gallas and get him barred from few games. The fellow is also suggesting that the FA do a good checkup, take their time and give it. He expects Gallas to be suspended for our EPL match at Old Trafford. What a joker…………..
February 18th, 2008 @ 14:07Demento is desperate. He knows the League game will be different and with a five point gap he will try anything.
February 18th, 2008 @ 14:23As for Nani vs Gallas, it was natural onboth players’ parts to do what they did. One’s team was having a big lead against their big rivals, so he thought he would just mess around. The other didnt like it so gave one kick. Now if you guys have played any contact sport in real life(as opposed to the computer games), you would understand. As someone who played for his college and university, i can safetly attest that I’ve done both and I’ve given and got it. Thats why they invented fouls and cards in football, hockey and fouls and technical fouls in basketball. Sometimes I really do wonder if the literary geniuses who contribute here have ever played any real sport which involves some pushing and shoving…………….
February 18th, 2008 @ 14:27not agreed with Gallas getting a red, mind you, just a yellow.
like you said, that’s why they have fouls and cards.
If Fergie’s asking for a red, he’s wrong.
February 18th, 2008 @ 14:31If ronaldo gets a red for a ” headbutt” then gallas must be given a 3 game ban.And this bullshit about the arsenal ‘not being up for it’ .Ha!they couldnt do shit because united didnt allow them to do shit.simple.Gallas is an embarrassment.he is really pathetic.Theres nothing wrong with showboating.I fuckin love it!I was on my feet cheering in a pub.Its football.’Entertaining’… as the arsenal would put it hehe.Ronaldo and nani are showmen.Who do arsenal have?adebayor?haha.Thats why wenger was upset… His team were boring.The so called beautiful football wasnt there.And we were busy playing champagne football.See you in april!
February 18th, 2008 @ 15:13Iqnadirshah,wats your point.Yes physical play, is part of football.But silly kicking out is just pathetic!and what makes it worse was nani had his back turned,Lucky our captain wasnt there to sort him out like keano always did viera
February 18th, 2008 @ 15:21Sorry ignadir, I think your comment is totally ridiculous. I played for two Sunday league teams for more than 7 years, for my school and university, at all levels and in all different types of stadia. However, not once did I kick out at a fellow player. Yeh, I made some bad challenges and certainly wound up my opponents a fair bit, but there are limits and beyond these limits come red cards. In fact, in all my years of park football, living a pretty dodgy area, such behaviour was never condoned.
How exactly is Sir Alex a sore loser for demanding a review of the Gallas incident? He didn’t lose! It’s another thing altogether if he expects the FA not to be as expedient (ha, ha) on the case in order to prolong the suspension so that Gallas misses the United game. But I don’t expect that to happen, and am not in favour of it. There’s no point defending Gallas and Arsenal by slating Ferguson – turns out, they are both out of order.
February 18th, 2008 @ 15:34As for showboating, I don’t see what’s so wrong with it. It’s one of these things that you love when you’re winning, and can’t tolerate when you’re losing. Indeed, I can recall an Arsenal crowd getting almost orgasmic at times when Arsenal have been three or more up, cheering every time the ball was passed from one player to another and possession was retained. Now you can’t tell me that such play isn’t taunting the opposition? I haven’t got a problem with it, I just don’t like kettles that call the pot black.
February 18th, 2008 @ 15:37Sorry Hugo, maybe I’m not such a graceful character like you, so my expectations are a bit low. Plus our team is known for our physical play. Of course it doesnt always work. So do you and taehr mean to say that such things dont happen? And Hugo, are Arsenal the only team who does that?
And taehr, there was a ManU vs Newcastle game at St.James in the 2001-2002 season when Shearer tackled your precious captain and let the ball roll out. As soon as his back was turned, your precious captain threw the ball at Shearer’s head. Very Glorious indeed!
February 18th, 2008 @ 15:53methinks le arse fans (iqnar and co) are sore losers just by looking at their response.. They’re still backing gallas even though it was clear he committed an offense.. For fuck sake, just admit that it was a foul. now, it wasnt hard for man utd fans to admit that ronaldo dives, but I wonder why a blatant kick by gallas goes unnoticed by le arse’s fans? maybe its because its the captain? And how pathetic is it to talk about the past? Why dont we just talk about the present? ex: ronaldo= diver, gallas= wanker?
February 18th, 2008 @ 17:01I love the generalisations everyone gets into with these things. Its like all along Arsenal have been the custodians of arrogance & pettiness & Man Utd/Tottenham are the last bastion of all that is good & great about English Football. How’s that for a generalisation eh?
So let me see. We’ve lost 4 matches this season, one in each competition we’ve played in. The other 2 were 3-1 against Sevilla & 2-1 against Middlesbrough. Does this generalised viewpoint encompass these matches as well? I saw both matches & i don’t remember any ‘aggressive conduct’ by any of the Arsenal players. Bear in mind that its because of the loss against Sevilla that we are facing AC Milan now. So just looking at this season alone we’re seeing that in 50% of the matches that Arsenal lose, they act like spoilt children. Is that right? In that case i’m sure Wenger is aware of this as well & masterful statistician that he is, he will surely right this wrong so that Arsenal will act like spoilt children 100% of the time. Its a glaring oversight & its inexcusable that he missed it.
Looking at the Spurs vs Man Utd match-off just recently i think more than half the Man Utd team got booked for various offences. My critics will tell me ‘it was only 6 players so emphasising that it was more than half is misleading & could have been taken to mean that it was 8 instead’. I say to them again that i’m generalising here so please forgive me, i won’t do that again.
Of course, the people who make these generalisations against Arsenal could be forgiven for being Spurs & Man Utd fans. Fair enough i understand where you’re coming from. For one team its their first win against us in 9 years. For the other (with slightly higher expectations in such face-offs) its their first win after at least a season or two. Fine. Again, i see the reason for such vehement criticism & i applaud you for your ability to patiently wait for such an occasion to arise in order to fully take advantage of two shocking performances by Arsenal & position it as a general state of things within the Arsenal camp.
Yea verily, our boys take to their training with gusto. Yes indeed Wenger instils in them the need to make rash tackles during the sessions (he’s especially telling them ‘feet first! Always feet first!’), look for the yellow/red card intentionally & then act genuinely shocked when they deservingly receive one. They practice the wink to their teammates when they get away with breaking the opposition players knee/ankle &/or when they get the opposition player sent off for protesting that their knee/ankle was broken unfairly.
To the Man Utd fans who like to generalise about Arsenal being ‘sore losers’ & ‘talent-less shit kickers’ i’d like to remind them of the era of Roy ‘leg smasher’ Keane & their one true God Eric ‘drop kick’ Cantona. To take lessons from such a team for on-pitch behaviour is laughable & counter-productive.
To be fair to Hugo, he doesn’t generalise in this article & he does admit that its the first time he’s questioning the maturity of the Arsenal players to handle such pressure. But i disagree with him about banning Gallas & i also disagree with him about showboating.
With Gallas, he deserved a booking for what he did & he didn’t get it. I sincerely doubt he deserves a ban though. But for SAF to pressure the FA in reviewing the tackle & then banning him smacks of desperation (despite a comprehensive win) & more seriously brings him at odds with the FA who more often than not don’t like being told what to do & especially don’t like being criticised by managers for poor decisions by referees. Man Utd fans will say, ‘good old Fergie & his mind games’ & they’d be right.
With showboating, i think its needless & infantile & i have no problems in criticising my own players for doing it. What’s wrong with just knowing that you’re winning?
Hugo – its unfair to blame Arsenal players for standing up for their teammate irregardless of what he did. Its what teammates do (unless they commit murder on the pitch). If you want to criticise the fans & the manager that’s fine, but players need to stick together or they don’t work as a team very well. Wenger has criticised his own players conduct in the past & he has a better record in this regard than other managers such as SAF & Mourinho. Most notable was when he criticised Eboue for diving in the 2006 CL final (despite the fact we got our only goal from the resultant free kick). At that time he definitely did see it.
Let me remind the half-wits that generalise about Arsenal’s ‘unfair’ style of play, that Arsenal won the FA Fair PLay Awards for the 2003-04 season (which we won) as well as the 2004-05 season (which we didn’t).
And for the moron who suggested that the Henry/Pires penalty vs Man City was disrespectful, i suppose Cruyff wasn’t being disrespectful when he tried it. And if you want to talk about being disrespectful, how about telling your fellow fans to stop labelling Wenger a paedophile whenever he turns up for a match.
February 18th, 2008 @ 17:59Before the Man U. game on Saturday I thought it was charming the way taggert greeted the Red Devil Mascot. Was it because his face was the only redder face in the ground then his puce complexion.
February 18th, 2008 @ 19:15Taggert was up to his old tricks however after the game stating Gallas should be suspended. Nothing to do with gaining home advantage in the league. Nanis reaction to some stiff challenges proved him to be a wimp which won’t be forgotton. He should learn not to show such disrespect to fellow professionals and Taggert cannot even take winning gracefully which shows the man has no class.
Retard?I see arsenal players and fans have something in common.
February 18th, 2008 @ 19:26Spiral – thanks for your measured comments. I’m afraid we’re to disagree on showboating, but I can understand your point of view. I also do honestly believe – not because I’m a Spurs fan – that it is significant that the young Arsenal players have reacted over-zealously to two severe losing situations. I don’t say that it’ll condemn you to losing the league, but I personally felt that the behaviour was reprehensible. By general refereeing standards, Gallas deserves a red. I happen to think that the regulations are a piece of shit, but that’s neither here nor there.
Ignadir – I don’t deny that such things happen, but it is a non-sequitur to jump from their happening to condoning them. Murders happen – we still have the right to prohibit them and throw the book at anyone who breaks the rules.
February 18th, 2008 @ 20:50Just to clarify, Spiral – I don’t feel that Arsenal generally have an unfair style of play, although the years prior to the fair play victories did produce a fair few red cards. My point is that under severe pressure and in “humiliating” circumstances (of which there are very few, since Arsenal are having a fantastic season), Arsenal’s players have reacted poorly this season.
What frustrates me about Wenger is that he is capable of being a great sport, but can also be irritatingly narrow-minded at times too. The “I didn’t see it” line is not just a joke, and you can’t deny that he tends to see things when they go his way, and not vice versa.
February 18th, 2008 @ 20:54Spiral,
You make a strong argument. I don’t think suggesting that the Henry penalty was disrespectful was moronic though:)
Arsenal have played some wonderful stuff this season and I certainly have no axe to grind against them.
As a neutral, I simply feel that the players have not reacted well to either heavy defeat. That’s probably a good thing as nobody should be happy about losing.
What Gallas did was petty and if the FA are consistant then he probably should get a ban. Like Hugo said, the rules are stupid, but hey, they’re the rules.
February 18th, 2008 @ 21:01Graham Fisher –
I apologize for the ‘moron’ comment. After posting it i felt it was a bit strong as well. But this IS an old issue that keeps cropping up again & again. I just feel that if Cruyff can get away with it, why not anyone else? And in the end, that incident just made Arsenal look stupid anyway because they didn’t do it right. So what’s the point of rubbing it in? Let the event speak for itself.
Hugo –
I agree with your point about the ‘humiliating’ aspect of the defeats (plus the fact they were both against long-standing rivals is an additional ulcer). And i do hate it when Wenger acts like a sore loser at times. But SAF has his own version of the ‘i did not see it’ line & so did Mourinho. I just think its important to recognize this fact & also the fact that these guys won’t change much & if they do it will be very slowly.
Its hard for any team to react well under these kind of circumstances. Gallas should have known better (one of the reasons i was worried about him being captain this season) & i definitely don’t condone these actions. But come the day Spurs/Man Utd act equally negatively, i know there will be a similar article castigating them (& this great game of back & forthing between fans will go on).
As for showboating, we’ll just have to agree to disagree
February 18th, 2008 @ 22:03to gunner romford : Nani’s reaction deemed a wimp? What would u do mate if u get a kick in d arse (thats a bit exaggerated, but it kinda seems so)? Oh well, its back to d playstation right mate? I thought at least gallas should have gotten a yellow for fucks sake. Yeah, I know its wrong to showboat, but does it make it reasonable to kick the bloke? Fuckin hell, we should see a lot of kicking in football then right? Theres ronaldinho.. Oh well, double standard among fans is accepted right?
February 18th, 2008 @ 22:38and sorry for making one of my argument to sound like a generalization. Not all arse fans are mean. I mean there are arse fans condemning eboue. If u still support eboue, than let me fuckin wash ur brain. My point is that a blatant kick is still a blatant kick. Its uncalled for in the game ( unless you’re playing american football), be it john terry, cantona, gerard or any other footballer.
February 18th, 2008 @ 23:03I really do cannot agree with the following:
-showboating is bad
-Gallas should have been sent off
OK, I know that Nani’s dribble might have upset the Arsenal players a wee bit, but there is nothing wrong with it. Surely it is no more infuriating to the opposition than either keeping the ball in the corner – something which is not in the least entertaining unless you find throw-is pretty cool – or passing the ball around with the sole aim of keeping possesion at the half way line.
Gallas’ hit on Nani was a bit nasty, but by no means worthy of a yellow or a red card. The referee understood that he was frustrated and did just enough to make sure that there would be no more of it. That was fair.
Are Arsenal players/fans sore losers. You bet. Man Utd did not make a racket when our team was given football lessons at the San Siro last year. Roma players behaved admirably in their shocking 7-1 defeat (had that been Wenger’s team it would have ended with an ice-hockey style fight) last year. Bolton did not seem too upset after 5-0 last season and neither did Totteham after a 4-0. However, Arsenal players do have the right to behave like Eboube did and get frustrated enough to hit an opposition player. How come?
February 18th, 2008 @ 23:05Gallas escapes further punishment from the FA. Demento? What say you?
February 19th, 2008 @ 01:53Lot’s of hysterics from the Gooners but you’ve just got to love this one from Topgooner:
“manu are a good side but in tough games they rely on 1 player which is quite poor really, but this 1 player is very good but ac milan man city west ham will tell you its not enough. last season i think he got alot more space and showed how good he is, now clubs snuff him out, also teams in the prem are playing nice fball ie spurs, man city, villa so 1 player dont cut it.”
We assume he’s talking of Ronaldo!!??
Interesting that teams now know how to “snuff him out”……..27 goals and counting!
As for 1 man team, obviously this muppet doesn’t watch Utd play often: Rooney, Nani and Anderson made Arsenal look like amateurs on Saturday. I could go on but why bother?
The Arsenal fans on here are wound up tight as a drum, just like their team.
It’ll be fun to watch it it all unravel in the next couple of months.
February 19th, 2008 @ 02:12‘somebody’ let me try and understand the point you seem to have obvious difficulty making. You first exagerate the incident which you do acknowledge, then you propose a punishment for an action which did not happen. The referee who saw it at first hand, then the video later is quite happy with the yellow card. Case closed. RIGHT!
P.S. Its nice to know Man U. now care so much for the FA Cup when a few years ago they couldn’t dump it quick enough in their search for foreign lucre.
February 20th, 2008 @ 00:01That was a good 8 years ago, and I am sure that not many fans agreed with the move. I certainly did not.
Similarly, it is funny how Arsenal fans seem to discount the FA Cup only 3 years after they were overly proud to have won it. You know, Viera’s last game.
February 20th, 2008 @ 00:41