EPL I Arsenal VS Burnley I Sunday 14.15 BST I SS1

[rich 1990]

I thought the decisions were mostly fair. But here's what I'll complain about:

• Mustafi should have gotten a penalty early in the second half. Stone-cold foul inside the box.
• How many high elbows were Burnley getting away with? And a tackle from behind in the first half. There was enough malice in these challenges to get a booking for me but the cards stayed in his pocket.
• This one is controversial, but I think Xhaka's red was a touch soft. Yes if you go by exactly what is written it is a red card, but the decision wasn't really in the spirit of the rules. I think because Xhaka shared his thoughts with the ref about an uncalled foul on him earlier, the ref was extra harsh.

I thought there wasn't a great deal of contact in the Mustafi but it could have been given.

There's no one to blame other than Xhaka. It's a ridiculous challenge to make. It's dangerous and, what compounds it, is he made a similar style tackle earlier in the game. The bloke's just thick.

 

[Mike Vinna]

On a side note, I really hope Giroud gets dropped from the starting XI.. With Perez, Welbz, Ox we have plenty of options and we'd likely look much more dangerous with Alexis up front.

 

[Batman]

6 game ban Wenger just push the referee he didn't tow footed him ffs. get a grip.

If it ends up being any more than 1 match Arsène should pop round his house and piss in every room. May as well get your money's worth.

Did you know Garth Crooks actually has his own private phone in the BBC studio?

See for yourself:

Is Garth Crooks even a real person or a country singer who doesn't pay his taxes?

 

[Box2Box]

Is it legal, within the rules of the game, to go in with foot above the waist and kick an opponent in the face even if they are in an offside position?

Doesn't that kind of dangerous play trump any technical infringement the opposition player may be committing?

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

10 games ban the media really pathatic

 

[razörist]

Is it legal, within the rules of the game, to go in with foot above the waist and kick an opponent in the face even if they are in an offside position?

Doesn't that kind of dangerous play trump any technical infringement the opposition player may be committing?

Yeah I've wondered about that myself. My thinking is technically the play should have been over (because offside), any further punishment could only be a yellow or a red card. Even though the ball is close to them, wouldn't it be the same as kicking somebody after the wistle? You'll get a card, but not a pen. I'm not a rulebook scholar, very intriguing question actually.

 

[Sapient Hawk]

10 games ban the media really pathatic

It's just their latest witch hunt and conveniently enough they have Arsène in their cross hairs. They want to show that they're not soft & corrupt, which is going to take some doing.

But to levy such a disproportionate punishment towards Arsène would be almost criminal. Ban him 2 games, hell ban him 3, but 10? That's just being ridiculous.

 

[grim_tales1]

Garth Crooks (aptly named):

"The behaviour of Arsène Wenger was jaw-dropping. To push the fourth official, who was well within his rights to ask Wenger to leave the area having been dismissed, was appalling."

It was wrong but "jaw dropping"? wtf, he overstepped the mark sure but he was angry. Pretty sure the official also shoved him.

 

[kopzilla]

How many games did Mourinho get...I think he'll get the same punishment...besides it would be interesting to see how Bould goes about his job.

 

[Gooner Zig]

I thought there wasn't a great deal of contact in the Mustafi but it could have been given.

There's no one to blame other than Xhaka. It's a ridiculous challenge to make. It's dangerous and, what compounds it, is he made a similar style tackle earlier in the game. The bloke's just thick.

When did he make a similar style tackle earlier?

 

[Optimistic]

When did he make a similar style tackle earlier?

Watch the MOTD analysis on Arsenalist. Xhaka does a similar scissor tackle but doesn't make contact on a Burnley player. Clearly a technique he's been taught or picked up from somewhere. I get the impression he won't be doing it anymore though!

 

[CaseUteinberger]

10 games ban the media really pathatic

Read the article and Tony Evans is such a c**t! Pure BS! He can **** off!

 

[Gooner n Proud]

This doesn't even make sense. Chambo has never played in central midfield, it will be a disaster.

What? Chamberlain has played in the cm position many times and at an effective level. Ramsey pairing Coquelin in the middle of the park is a recipe for disaster as was shown last season away at old trafford and home to Swansea.

 

[Nyctophobia]

This match was too much, I had to lie down immediately after it was over, huff!

We were deservedly lucky getting the last second penalty, but I've got to say our attack was a bit rusty, I hope we really get going against Watford or whoever we've got next, we have to be in a good shape before the Chelsea game.

 

[Rain Dance]

10 games ban the media really pathatic

the media witch hunt has begun. Not surprising tbh, as many of so called pundits and journalist support Toothnumb

How long did Moaningho get btw?

 

[DanDare]

Watch the MOTD analysis on Arsenalist. Xhaka does a similar scissor tackle but doesn't make contact on a Burnley player. Clearly a technique he's been taught or picked up from somewhere. I get the impression he won't be doing it anymore though!

Because his previous red cards have really taught him some valuable lessons.....

 

[CaseUteinberger]

I thought there wasn't a great deal of contact in the Mustafi but it could have been given.

The way he was fouled didn't require much contact for him to go down simply by law of nature. The way he was tripped simply makes you go down regardless if you try to stay on your feet or not and almost regardless of amount of contact. Don't honestly think he could have stayed up even if he would have tried. When his foot was hit and went to the side he simply lost his balance and went down. When the Burnley player was fouled though, even though the contact was much harder, he actually choose to fall. If you watch the replay in slow motion you can see the split second when he notices the contact and throws himself to the ground. Other than Mustafi he could actually have stayed up.

This is where I struggle at times in the discussions around fouls. Some small trips are much harder to deal with (i.e. to stay up) than other more robust contacts. Take a push in the back e.g. It really has to be very hard for one to actually lose ones balance. The body can react very well against that. A trip from behind on a leg that is swinging is much harder to deal with. I played American football when I was young and since there it is normally the idea to keep standing and keep running even when people try to get you down it was always a bit surprising looking back on what could easily make you fall and what not.

This is not to dispute that the Burnley penalty wasn't a penalty, but it is clear Moss totally misinterpreted and misunderstood what happened. He saw Mustafi's tumble as a dive (which it wasn't) and the Burnley player's as not being a dive (which it actually was).

 

[1970*Gooner]

10 games ban the media really pathatic

Fook off Tony Evans ******.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

"Protecting Referees".......

If you're seriously frightenend by the prospect of a nearly 70 years old man merely touching you, the only kind of protection you should be getting is a padded cell and a couple of pills.

 

[rich 1990]

"Protecting Referees".......

If you're seriously frightenend by the prospect of a nearly 70 years old man merely touching you, the only kind of protection you should be getting is a padded cell and a couple of pills.

To be fair, Wenger's clearly in much better shape than Moss. He'd kill him in a fight.