Aresnal-v-Newcastle

kmart6

A good match played in awful weather.

Henry penalty should not be allowed as players had entered the box before he took it.

Final score Arsenal:3-Newcastle:2

Mossy Monk

not a bad game and the weather was absolutely awful. am i the only one to think Mike Riley was a bit reluctant to give frees etc.

Eron

Ah, it was a great game, and Henry's penalty was very cute...

Zaph

Posted by kmart6:

Henry penalty should not be allowed as players had entered the box before he took it.

I don't think referees bother too much with this anymore. Just look at the disgraceful refereeing at Leeds last week when a perfectly good penalty save was overturned and on the retake there was a Birmingham player a yard inside the box (I'll admit that I'm a Leeds fan and am feeling somewhat aggrieved about the penalty last week, but that's not the point here). If referees are going to apply every last rule, they can't overlook this one just because it is a seemingly harmless breach of the rules.

ZENER

A great match. Both teams played excellently and plenty of goals .. Fantastic Game. Bellamy showed everyone he's back. although I thought Shearer, looking for his 250th goal, was a bit quiet.

I thought Mike Riley (Ref) was going to break the habit of a lifetime and not book anyone . . he was looking good for a while there !

More to the point though (in my opinion) . . Friday Night footy on the telly . . Excellent Idea ! Heaven on Earth even !

Work week finished . . 6 pack of beers - tube of Pringles (Sour Cream & Spring Onion of course) and vegatate in front of the box in peace. No wife/mother/kids nagging/nagging/screaming. No grass/shopping/car to cut/do/wash. I vote we all email Sky and encourage more of this !!

Good result that reflected the match well I thought.

Tinky

Makaveli

What was Jenas thinking sticking his arm up like that?
Oh and you've gotta love Henry for that penalty, unless your Shay Given.
Bernard's goal was a great finish too.
Very enjoyable game.

gandalf

Hmm didn't see the match as it was my leaving do from the old job (ouch my head is in bits!!!).

Anyway one of my mates was texting me with all the scores etc from the match as it happened.

One of the text messages he sent was "We're down to 10 men". There I go telling everyone in the pub, "Bugger another player sent off", talk about jumping to conclusions

Gandalf.

mr_angry

I would actually like to congratulate Mike Riley for his performance last night. I thought he was absolutely excellent, although Bobby Robson had a complaint about a decision he made that led up to the penalty, which was probably a fair point.

Anyway, I think statistic of the match has to go to the fact that there was only one booking, and that was for Lauren Robert seriously injuring Freddie Ljungberg - not that he did it deliberately, of course. There were plenty of dodgy tackles on a wet surface that he could have easily started lashing the cards out left right & centre. But instead, what did he do? He had a quiet word with the players involved, and totally diffused any potential flashpoints. Common sense. I was beginning to think that the FA had outlawed it!

Pity we lost half a squad though! The way things are going, we could end up playing the reserve team against Liverpool and Chelsea! That means more Pascal Cygan. NOOOOOO!!!!

Did anyone notice how many times he gave the ball away last night, just when we really needed to keep it?

I wonder if Wenger noticed the crowd booing his substitution of Ray Parlour too? Damn right aswell - Parlour should be playing over Gilberto any day.

irish life

I know the penalty, by the rules of the game, should have been given and the ref would have probably been docked points if he hadn't given it but jenas didn't change the flow of the ball by touching it. He skinned the ball and if his arm wasn't stupidly up like that the ball would have went to exactly the same spot it was going.

By the rules of the game it should have been given, Jenas is a bloody eejit though. He has a lot to learn.

jesus_thats_gre

Originally posted by mr_angry4
Pity we lost half a squad though! The way things are going, we could end up playing the reserve team against Liverpool and Chelsea! That means more Pascal Cygan. NOOOOOO!!!!

Combine those losses with a few suspensions and the pool are sorted

Eron

I agree with Tinky, more Friday night football!!

mr_angry

Originally posted by jesus_thats_gre
Combine those losses with a few suspensions and the pool are sorted

That's exactly what I meant! If the worst comes to the worst, look at the team that could be sent out to face them:

Vince Bertram (Taylor injured, Lehmann suspended)

Lauren, Toure, Sendros (fantastic, but only 18), Cygan (why God why).

Parlour, Gilberto Silva (what does he do again?), Edu, Pires.

Henry, Aliadiere (Again - fantastic, but only 19).

Looking back on it, it doesn't look all that bad, except for the defence. Lauren is dodgy, particularly in the air. Toure is looking pretty good, but not experienced enough to deal with someone like Heskey. Sendros is great against reserve-team Spurs strikers, but Cygan is dire!

Up front I've included Aliadiere over Wiltord, simply because he's a lot quicker, and has a much better chances-to-goals ratio, which I think might be useful away from home. Especially considering last year, when we should have won 7-2 at Anfield, but only managed 2-2 instead.

Anyway, with a bit of luck, Mad Houllier will play Heskey at centre-half and Owen at right back, or something. Plus the fact that unless he plays his crazy 4-2-4 formation with Kewell and Diouf up top, Lauren and Cygan shouldn't get a roasting. I presume the attacking quality of Pires will stop him playing Diouf down the right. Then again, its dangerous to make assumptions with Houllier in charge...

smemon

indeed, friday nite footy is a great idea. it was an even match and n'castle i dont think deserved to lose. however jenas is plain stupid to stick his hand up like that, he's not the cleverest of footballers anyway. has a lot to learn.

arsenal as usual look dodgy at the back but henry was superb. pressure penalty having missed one in the champs league and just dinks it over given, fantastic.

ljunberg should have been taken off, it was funny to see a player hobble around and get 1 touch of the ball in 20mins! good response from arsenal after last week. keep it up.

The Muppet

Good match in apalling conditions. Credit to the gunners fro putting the difficult week behind them and doing what they do best, Play Excellent attacking football. Stonewall penno but what was jenus doing, Will we see him in croker tommorrow?:)
Wht was Ljungberg left on the pitch for so long big danger he could get a nasty cold. Agree with the previous comments on injuries and suspension but i think even the gunners reserves will be too good for the pool. Chelski could be a different Story.
I live in hope anyway.

Agree on the friday night footy Not sure that herself does though.

sleepwalker

fantastic win for us, could hardly bare to watch that peno because the way given dived is usually where henry puts them


is it just me or has vierias passing been pretty poor by his stantards this season ? and gilberto is strolling around the pitch, parlour or pennant deserve to get a chance ahead of him. wiltord is just frustrating to watch i think its time aliadiere is given a chance we seriously need to stop relying on henry so much


to be honest i thought the defence looked very solid during the match despite the two goals, toure played superb his general presence in defence is growing in each match


liverpool will be tough coz we're usually pretty dodgy after a champions league game

Spud

V.Good Match i hope bobby dont get sacked