This Goes BEYOND Arsenal.

[@coolerdude42]

Unironically, Arsenal may now be the best 10-man team in the world now. We've had a lot of practice.

[@UpamanyuLahiri]

I think the wolves game was the first time we were great with 10 men. Man city we were good but fact is we had like 20% possession after going down to 10 men and did concede a goal late on. Bournemouth and brighton we were poor. We shouldn't have been down to 10 men in most of hese games but our performances with 10 men have been mixed at best let's be honest.

[@zTom_]

Silver linings & all that 😅 Maybe we'll eventually win our 1st Champions League final thanks to that unique "real life training drill" :p

[@0Forkular0]

On Havertz, I think people are underestimating the impact exhaustion has on his performances. I think this was covered, but i think there is more to say. In the past, we've seen glimpes of his physical strength (think Konate, or at home against brighton this season). Equally, he has had some remarkable technical moments (that finish against Chelsea, and that pass to Saka in the NLD). Moreover, his numbers at #9 were good last season, and he scored some very important goals. Arguably, he has the capacity to be a great #9. When I wonder why he isn't performing to the same standard, I think about the work load. He seems physically, and mentally, exhausted. The club are asking him to work immensely hard, and I think his technical and physical strengths have taken a hit as a result. Speaking from personal experience (not a professional sportsman), that cocktail of tiredness has a serious impact on performace. We need more attackers to take the heat off Havertz, and allow him to show us his best qualities. I argue that, when we do, we will see the return of 2024 Havertz. If not, better.

[@javierlandaverde4108]

Euros also took away from players to rest more in the summer. Easy for players to be this burnt out with extra football games due to international. Saka finally took a toll from overplaying

[@0Forkular0]

@@javierlandaverde4108 couldn't agree more. Under these conditions, I struggle to comprehend how on earth Saka was performing to that incredible standard.

[@Vincent77654]

It did cost us ! the team was knackered ! It took so much out of them ! We have so many injuries and to make our team play with 10 men physically and mentally has cost us if not on the day it will in future games !

[@meddy9852]

I lost interest in the game after the red card, glad we won but switched off from football after seeing the decision

[@oliverfrost7514]

100% agree. it's not about 1 game, if it wasn't for my love for Arsenal, I wouldn't watch the premier league anymore. I'm so sick of it. I have no doubts it's corruption. none.

[@damionlynette6512]

Same - just turned it off. Pleasantly surprised to see the calafiori notif!

[@javierlandaverde4108]

Too bad you turned it off because it was absolutely glorious of us being a man down and still handle wolves not to mention I had a feeling Gones was going to get sent off. He kept pushing Oliver and his coach kept telling him to relax since he’s a key player for wolves. After he got sent off clearly we pounce and took the opportunity to get a solid goal and 3 vital points to keep us in the title race.

[@meddy9852]

@javierlandaverde4108 I had left it on at home in background but doing other things. Saw the red card and the goal in replay. Arsenal done really well. But the players needlessly had to over work themselves for the win.

[@TobiMesh]

I find that I cannot engage with the EPL anymore because of the officiating. And u grew up watching EPL since the 90s. The blatant madness of it all. And the doubling down by PGMOL. The game has become about the officials. You can see that it's an ego trip for them now. I prefer to watch Serie A, Laliga or Bundesliga. The ref rarely has a say in the outcome. You don't notice them.

[@feltt001]

Michael Oliver has given Arsenal 8 red cards and Man City 0. Interestingly, the thing I haven't seen anyone discussing is Arsenal's next game... I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories, but it's almost like Oliver was trying to give Arsenal a red so that we loose another player from an already depleted squad and tire out the other 10 ahead of the City game...?

[@vinceaj6319]

I said it, laying ground work

[@allenlopez9731]

Oliver should be banned from refereeing Arsenal matches, until someone investigates the guy’s relationship with not just Arsenal but, equally, Man City. Something smells bad…really bad.

[@gladiatorscoops4907]

I think given his past decisions and now the abuse he has been through there is no way he can ref an Arsenal game without a personal bias affecting his decisions. Although it is widely considered that was happening before the Wolves match, now it really can't continue.

[@bak8823]

I know it's years ago but I remember Ramsey n Eduardo getting their legs broken. The refs see a terrible tackle but only produce a red once they've seen the leg snapped in half because they have to at that point. Refs are reacting so quickly to produce a red for basically mild stuff against us

[@makalamabotja4773]

Fun fact. We would've won the league if the lines were drawn at Brentford

[@jshshsshshsj]

also wouldve won if arteta didnt change up a winning team against aston villa…

[@SpencerH2000]

I feel it says a lot about the season that we've had, that when the camera was in the tunnel and it showed Michael Oliver I was deflated that he was the ref of this game.

[@Jonas_Shepard]

Mikel reacted perfectly in and after the game.

[@Jim_Milton29]

Alex, the sooner you accept that corruption is a VERY real possibility in a multi billion(maybe trillion) pound industry, the less of a fool you'll like like down the road.

[@aguywithaview]

Go back to 2018. Oliver's attitude to Arsenal changed after he sent off Ainsley Maitland-Niles v Leicester and Oliver and his wife both got death threats. He's also hated by Juventas fans who hate him for reffing them 'differently'.

[@_Tyy.Boogie]

Something that these officials are missing is the intent. That mls tackle didn’t have malicious intent nor was it a careless challenge

[@Jedimack7]

But they intend to fully screw our season.

[@alexcoyg3281]

This is objectively a crazy way to put HIMSELF into the game by the ref, its a challenge that happens all the time and its a clear yellow.

[@austincleghorn175]

Season is still alive! Come on you gunners!

[@austincleghorn175]

Loving the Intro!

[@harishsridharan8098]

I remember once you criticized fans for pointing out the refreeing decisions going against us Alex... See where it has brought us to I understand we as humans have different opinions but you have to accept that at some level there is a bias against us

[@Seidatsu]

i don't believe anyone thinks threatening him and his family is right, that goes without saying. but they can't act surprised at fans going mad when they are actively and consistently taking the piss out of us. don't piss in our pocket and tell us it's raining.

[@Ben_Gunner]

We might as well started this season with -9 but then the PGMOL wouldn't get the benefit of our players missing games due to red card suspensions.

[@_Tyy.Boogie]

I turned it off after that straight red honestly couldn’t believe it, these refs have been bad for a while I can’t remember a game week without a horrible decision.

[@Vincent77654]

Every fan, at every game, at the same minute of the game, should chant PGMOL OUT untill the FA and PREMIER LEAGUE do something about these refs and their corrupt organisation !

[@raaul]

In EVERY PROFESSION, you're accounted for what you do. How come only PGMOL get away with this incompetence week-in week-out? I want Arsenal to demand the FA and PGMOL to not put Oliver in our matches anymore. Something's gotta give. Sooner or later, fans will get apathetic towards the game with this constant awful refereeing, not matter the team. Arsenal red cards under Arteta - - PL. - 195 games, 19 RCs (one every 19.5 games) - UCL/UEL - 41 games, 1 RC (one every 41 games) - have committed second fewest fouls, yet most RCs.

[@AFCbirmsy]

Doubt I'm the only one, but I switched off after the red. Nothing to do with the team or the outcome, these decisions have just killed football off for me. It's not just this season, it's been coming for a few years, even decisions that happen to other teams I find frustrating. Happy for the team that they won, and glad we did, but I can't say I found any enjoyment.

[@hughzarie1860]

In International games the ref is never from any of the countries involved in the game they are officiating in FOR A REASON but domestically they don’t seem to see any potential biases in refs. Maybe they should.

[@Ay-rw7qw]

Havertz can’t play out on the right hand side let’s be so real for once

[@Ben_Gunner]

Watch ManU vs Arsenal game 49 2005 season as an example of inherent bias..

[@eightboll]

11:20 how can you blame var? The pgmol has come out and doubled down and agree with both ref and var. The whole institution stinks, they never own up to errors instead choosing to justify the nonsense...

[@Rk-xx1sg]

I really wanted to rewatch the game but my site hadn’t uploaded it :((((

[@joshhenry2389]

Genuinely so true I say it all the time, we have to stop watching, what actually is the point all we do is give them more and more attention, talking points, drama to their entertainment product. Not the kind of things that damage but rather add to their product, stop making bad decision an interesting topic so they stop profiting from the negligence to improving the experience for the fans and players participating!

[@yoshkahanson7368]

I didn't watch the second half, literally was playing a videogame until the second red came out. Only because Arsenal usually sit back and play for a point instead of winning or losing, and after seeing my team put in a shift running up and down twice sometimes thrice a week, it gets a bit much. Too much football, I don't have 6-7 hours a week to watch my team.

[@jamesd5205]

I’d love to hear that there’s a police investigation into the referees but it would just be one boys club investigating another boys club. They’ll probably tell you that there is no institutional racism no corruption it’s all legit. 😂

[@classicdansmith]

19:00 I do genuinely turn it off sometimes because of reasons like this

[@Ainlore]

I lost interest about the game after 2 red cards in early season. I know they have agenda against us

[@tamps3835]

regarding the striker convo, most of us fans yearn for someone that has the conviction/intent to to what it takes to put the ball into the back of the net. willing to bully their way by all means to get a goal. the reality is that havertz just isnt that player but he is someone who could compliment such a profile. even if said striker misses chances, the drive to just persist in just lacing the ball by all means, heading the ball, moving defenders, a box presence that shuffles defences with moments. something must be done.

[@zaweriogithaiga]

How can arsenal address the matter

[@mattvarner5825]

My two year old was screaming at me to change the channel the entire first half. I listened to him at the red card. His whining made more sense than the refereeing

[@TheLord_M]

Might've felt different as a match-going fan but I was fine with a walk-off after the card

[@luis9327]

Why does the front of Alex's face feel detached from the rest when he nods 8:30

[@simonminge8620]

However much I want distance from Arsenal's unseriousness/ injustice against, the thumbnails just look too good not to click on.

[@mkram2154]

4th red card this season. All debatable. 4 offences that always happened unpunished in every game. Arsenal had played 4 games with only 10 men for 45 mins and more this season. I don’t know how much the players got left in their tank. And we are still in January.

[@joggle0]

ALEX IS A PART of the problem. I’ve been saying this since Declan Rice. They have been Cheating Arsenal! Oh, but Alex says “the writer from The Athletic may have been misunderstood” when he LIED saying Partey caused the Rodri injury!

[@jamesd5205]

PGMOL is corrupt. The whole lot of them need to be removed. There are better referees at Sunday league football.

[@SenorjrjrIII]

I don't think Kai's detractors want him to be a bully / box dominator, they just want him to be better. An attacker rarely has everything but you'd hope he could be good be one or two of the following: a finisher, a ball carrier, a ball striker, a dribbler, a passer, a creator etc...I get he's a nice guy works hard and is a willing runner but we can't make that a justification for grading him on a curve.

[@paulb3318]

❤

[@samuelaffiah5981]

What is the difference between the 8 and 10 roles? I used to think that 8 is inside right role (odegard).

[@coachRoome]

I think Oliver isnt being honest about his decision making. I dont think he’s deliberately corrupt (although the speed of the card was ridiculous and he almost definitely has unconscious bias). But I think he’s totted it up in his head and gone “professional yellow + bad tackle yellow = red”. And I think that’s what a lot of ‘football fans’ presenting their contrary arguments in support of him are doing the same. They’re seeing the contact as worse because of the game situation. If it was Rice pressing a defender in their own box and catching him like that it probably wouldnt even be yellow. If it was Saka getting caught on the shin (probably happens at least every other game) it’s not a red. Cynical stuff like that is honestly disgusting in my opinion. I hate that an 18 year old kid has been taught that and I hate that Arsenal (and everyone else) have to copy the Pep/City model. I think fouls like that should be a minimum of a 10 minute sin-bin. But they arent.

[@nattytom7777]

He is corrupt

[@eightboll]

Mate, if Oliver saw it as two offences then he should have given two yellows like he did to Martinelli. You're just trying to give the benefit of doubt but your logic doesn't add up. How comes he's never sent a city player off in the same amount of games he's reffed?

[@coachRoome]

@@eightboll You can’t give two yellows. Thats why the Martinelli sending off was wrong. If more than one offence is committed by a player in a passage of play the rules state that you should only punish them for the biggest one. My ‘logic’ is just my interpretation of what might have happened. Sure, he might have thought ‘I need to get an Arsenal player sent off here’ but I prefer not to think that because then every decision by every ref in the past 100+ years is all of a sudden under scrutiny. In the past 8 years he’s given 25% of Arsenal’s red cards while only referring 12% of their games. That’s a big anomaly. However, if you ignore this season then it’s 15% of our reds in 12% of our matches, which isnt a massive anomaly. Surely if he was terminally corrupt he would have been punishing us excessively for years, whereas until this year he’d given the volume of reds you’d expect? His leniency towards City is a different subject though. That’s fishy as hell…but then again, comfortable teams dont get reds. For most of the past decade they’ve only had to come out of 2nd gear 3 or 4 times each season.

[@eightboll]

@@coachRoome wrong how? They didn't admit to an error and it cost us on the day plus this twat still gets treated like the best ref and constantly refs big games. You make no sense on either argument. Are you a pgmol spokesman in disguise? 🥸 You must be...

[@eightboll]

@@coachRoome you're the one that used the logic that he added up two yellows in his head to justify the red mate...

[@maltlickytexas]

The only person not good enough is Havertz!😂

[@nicholasbalasal8736]

The arsenal manger had got given 700 million and sighed 34 players and only 12 are good I can see why arsenal bored don’t want to give him more money tbh

[@DavWalker-zu6hh]

Pigeon boys in the morning

[@Ashley-c3u1n]

It just goes to show the state of things for thanking the refs for a normal game because bad refereeing happens so often ! It's like thanking your wife or husband for not cheating on you, gambling the mortgage away or not beating you up, or getting drunk every day, no these are things that should never happen, you shouldn't need to thank them for not doing things that are aren't acceptable ! There are minimum standards you expect from your partner. Praise them for going the extra mile, not doing the bear minium of acceptability !

[@Benjamin-gt6si]

Arteta’s system is too controlled and too defensively focused. With the false 9 dropping deep, and inverted fullbacks occupying the central zones, we should have been creating so many central overloads. However, that’s not the case. When our fullbacks are “inverted” they still look very close to the touch line. Our midfielders are either staying very deep, staying outside of the opponent’s block, or they are attacking the opponent’s last line. We don’t have midfielders staying between the opponent lines creating chances centrally. Because Arteta wants defensive stability, so we attack around teams instead of attacking through teams. That’s why our chance creation is poor in terms of both quantity and quality. If we pass to the space between the lines in the middle, which we didn’t, then it would be easy to create a dangerous chance. However, if we keep passing the ball on the flanks, it would not be resulted into a chance easily because the ball is always close to the touchline. A lot of our chance creation, are either at a tight angle, from far away, or the opponent defenders are still there ready to block the shot. Which are low xG chances. We don’t have the skills, technicality, and mindset to play through the middle, to walk the ball into the net anymore. We can’t create many high quality chances, so high in quality that they are almost impossible to be missed. That’s the problem. Because of that we rely on very fine margins, and we adopted a low scoring approach to beat our opponents.

[@nathanarelisky4545]

Honestly wished they just wouldn't come out the 2nd half..

[@yangzixiang6605]

rohan what a nerd u r... we love u

[@thearsenalmisfit2414]

The EPL may be the most watched league in the world, but it is not the best. It has absolutely no legitimacy anymore, with a multiple champion having 130 charges against still playing and the worst officiating of any major league on the planet. It could be the best, but right now, its reputation is shyte. Steven Gerard got 2 yellows in one passage of play after coming on as a sub with in 2 minutes of coming on to the pitch. So it has happened. I didn't watch the second half and still haven't. I'm so sick of this BS that I'm not sure I'll watch another game this season. I have been a fan since 1976, but right now, my frustration level with the league is becoming too high. It's not enjoyable anymore.

[@morafem9012]

I stopped watching the game after the red card.

[@ozarsenal1341]

pgmol are trying to get 1 back on Arteta buy disadvantage the Arsenal team

[@tracymorgansbelly3322]

I will not be gaslit. I've been watching sports in general my whole life. Arsenal have to leave for the Super League when it comes back around. This club will never be officiated fairly in England.