“F***ing disgrace!”
… is what Arsene Wenger told Alan Pardew as he couldn’t stomach Marlon Harewood’s late winner for West Ham United against Arsenal.
Some moments from today’s game:
42 mins: Henry breaks into the box from the left, seems lose the ball then throws himself to the ground. He’s very, very lucky not to go into the book for that dive. If that was Cristiano Ronaldo he would have been lynched.
78 mins: Yet again Rosicky’s corner is poor, failing to beat the first man for at least the sixth time in the second half. Wigan then break and Heskey goes down in the area under a ‘challenge’ from Flamini. Nothing given
81 mins: GOAL - OWN GOAL HALL!Flamini is put through on the right edge of the area and slides the ball across the area, where Hall puts in to his own net. Wigan aren’t pleased, firstly because Flamini looked offside and secondly because Henry needlessly taunted Kirkland after the goal, presumably about the Wigan keeper’s alleged timewasting throughout the game.
85 mins: Lehmann is now playing the same time-wasting games that Kirkland was earlier in the game. No complaints from Henry this time, interestingly.
Maybe Mr. Wenger should reflect on his team’s lucky victory at home against Wigan Athletic. Arsenal, thou f***king disgrace.
P.S.: The only good thing about Wigan’s defeat (other than the obvious reiteration of Arsenal’s deviousness) is that Charlton are still in with a half-chance of staying up.
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Filed under: Football
Dude,
Much as I agree with most of your “footballing observations”, you’re way off the mark this time on your tirade against Arsenal.
Though I don’t like that irritating Frenchman Arsene Wenger for his “I didn’t get a view of the incident” excuse everytime their opponents don’t get a deserving penalty, you have to admit that there are three things Arsenal never do
a. They just don’t quit - I’ve lost count of the no: of times they have come back from a goal down to win this year at the Emirates. Yes, Wigan were fair money for a draw yesterday but then sometimes football can be harsh on you. You gotta be a man and cop it, not rant like a raving lunatic.
b. They never play out for time - Yes, Lehmann did run down the clock a little but if you’ve seen EPL week in week out, the three GKs who are most guilty of this crime are Kirkland, Kenny and Van Der Saar. Lehmann wasn’t like this but i guess he learnt it from that pathetic Van der Saar who employed exactly the same tactics against Arsenal and man, did he pay for it - my season’s biggest moment was when Henry headed that last gasp winner…I digress
c. They do not play ugly just to win. Man U might be having an excellent season but you ask 100 ppl who they’d rather pay and watch and my guess is that 90 of them will want to see Arsenal. JOGA BONITO if i may call it so.
And its exactly for these three reasons that Arsenal deserve the odd bit of fortune like they got on Sunday…
As for the Henry diving insinuation, I dont even find it worthy of a response… Look at Man U vs Tottenham and you will realise what footballing disgrace is all about..The best thing SAF can do is to sell the cheat to Real for 30m pounds and get some clean guys in the game !!!
PS: If you really want to read a lot about diving and gentlemanly behavior on the field, you should read The Guardian regularly.. They cant seem to steer clear of the topic..This week its Henry ironically…
Disagree.
Arsenal have bandied this “we play beautiful football” tag for far too long; it’s simply past the date. Bringing Man U into this equation proves where your sympathies lie, but that doesn’t mask the desperation.
a. Agreed they don’t quit. But look at Man U or Chelsea. They don’t need to come back and win games. They are a goal or two up most of the time. So Arsenal’s comebacks are more a necessity that a virtue.
b. “Lehmann ran down the clock a little”? Did you not see he simply threw the ball against the inside of the hoarding?
c. I think the 100 people you are going to ask are all Arsenal fans. 10 of them would still pay to watch United. United are the neutral fans’ favorite to win the league, and that’s because they have shown the league how football ought to be played. Most of the time we play with Neville and Evra at the edge of the opponent’s box. Now, that’s attacking football. Ronaldo, Giggs, vintage Scholes, Rooney, Saha, Larsson. 15 men on target thus far. I would be insane not to watch another team over this one.
Dude, Ronaldo goes down easy. The world knows it. But the fact remains he goes down only when there’s a semblance of contact. Not like Henry. That guy needs to be shown the way to the Albert Hall. And Lehmann. Boy, the comedy he enacted against Chelsea! Arsenal were once poor losers. Now even in victory, they are pitiful.
Lastly, why would we sell Ronaldo? Because then your sorry team can dream about winning something? Clean guys? You mean, like “look how they fall” Henry?
Ha Ha Ha
You’re full of passion, aren’t you !!
Arsenal do play the beautiful football and its NOT only me who is saying that. You might want to refer to the pundits on ESPN/Star (though most of them are hardly pundits) or you could read most of the British press who will only reinforce what I claim.
The point about Arsenal coming from behind to win was more to illustrate that they fall behind only coz they play open and attacking football. They are quite capable of playing like how Everton did against Liverpool and stifle the opposition by putting 10 behind the ball and hitting on the counter but thats not what brings the fans in.. I do agree that Man U have been very pleasing on the eye this season but Arsenal have been like this for ages… So I beg to differ when you say my audience for a straw poll would have to be all Gunners’ fans. C’mon, when was the last time you saw a team pass the ball onto the back of the net - Rosicky, Van Persie, Fabregas and Henry are probably the most pretty quartet in view today.
OK. Lehmann was bad that day but sometimes an eye for an eye is the only thing that seems to make the point.
Btw, footie pundits in Spain have been writing a lot about Ronaldo’s imminent arrival there and much as SAF is trying to tie him down with a long term contract, the chances of the Glazers saying no to 30m pounds seem remote. Young talent like Gareth Bale and long term replacements for Van der Saar and Paul Scholes (Owen Hargreaves… roflllllllll) dont come cheap, you see !! Fingers crossed !!
PS: My sorry team is still in the race in all 4 tournaments and only a brave man would write them off so soon.. looks like you’ve been talking to a lot of ex-English cricketers who are now saying English are second favorites to win the World Cup
As a Mancunian, passion is only natural. Maybe you should try to…
Jupe bhai, the claim wasn’t that Arsenal do not play good football. I know it for a fact. Plus, I read enough of the British press, but why would I wait for them to announce it?
I’m sorry, were you joking when you said, “We play good attacking football, and so we go behind”?
And the other joke took 4 full days to dawn on me. That Man U have been good only this season, and Arsenal have been doing this “for ages”. For ages? You’ve been alluding to the British press so often, please will you tell me who holds that view? Barnes? Kay? Cascarino? Winter? Hansen? Wright? Williams? Just who? Sir, we are talking about Man U. Manchester United, that is. Old Trafford, Manchester. Northern part of England. Not some one season wonder. Attacking football is in our blood and veins. Maybe you should watch the team play, or rather, if you get chance, watch some old footage. That should clear this up.
Footie pundits in Spain? You were in some mood, weren’t you? Ronaldo might yet end up in Spain; but don’t read too much press, Jupe bhai. These are the folks who found Thierry Henry a plush Catalan villa, a French-speaking chauffeur, forty servants and what not last year. If transfers-column spin doctors ran the game, even I would be linked with Barcelona. You can try too. Arsenal might need some “defenders”.