Match Reaction v Leicester (home).

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Fuck off football.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Fuck off football.

That’s pretty much what the ref said tonight.

[Marc Overmars]

I think the first half was as good as we’ve played under Arteta in terms of control and incisive play.

Never turned up for the second half though and got done in the end.

Meh. :shrug:

[The Wengerbabies]

Mid table mediocrity :bow:

[Master Splinter]

Laca and the referee got Leicester the point.

That probably means Laca is a regular for the rest of the season. It would be good to see Auba supported by Saka and Pepe, but it seems unlikely.

It feels a bit like a momentum killer. The performance was still good, so hopefully the players go into the final few games with the same approach we've seen recently.

Martinez, Tierney, Ceballos all did well again. Auba and Saka with the expected excellence.

[Letters]

Tbh, Emery made sure this season is a right off before Arteta took over. Anything Arteta does should be seen as a bonus and building something towards next season.
Didn't see it but sounds like we basically played OK but didn't get the 2nd goal and we're always susceptible to concede one.
Not a disaster of a result but disappointing having been ahead for so long. On we go...

[I am invisible]

This team isn’t going to win them all - shape and organisation will get us so far, but our lack of certain attributes in the middle is always going to be a problem, and some teams are just fitter, faster and stronger than us across 90 right now. At least we’re making a decent game of it these days, and we’re giving ourselves a good chance of taking 3 points, even if we still noticeably fade as the game goes on...

[Mac76]

So typical that the one time VAR doesn't scratch out a goal for an elbow offside, it's against us

[WMUG]

Oh well.

[Letters]

Oh well.

:gp:

[dazthegooner]

***BREAKING NEWS*** 'Mustafi to be charged by the Premier league for viciously attacking Varny's studs'

[Mac76]

'Varny' ? :lol:

am not a fan of mustafi but he soldiered on well yesterday, though i suspect part of it is he is scared of being replaced by Holding so he stays on the pitch at all costs - he went down again in the second half and got up pretty speedily

[Letters]

On The Buses :bow:

[Penguin]

I think Arteta has a point about Vardy. If Nketiah was sent off for a dangerous challenge (definitely no intent there but you can't argue about it being dangerous), then why wasn't Vardy sent off for practically kicking Mustafi in the face? How is that not classed as a dangerous challenge?

I thought we played well in the first half but we don't have the killer instinct to pick teams off while we're on top. We really needed that second goal. Another great game from Saka.

Our defence is still trash. Leicester looked like they were going to get a goal even before the red. I mean for one of their chances Iheanacho was the only Leicester player in our box and got an unchallenged shot on goal because Bellerin got caught ball watching. How hard is it to mark the only player in the box?! :banghead:

[Marc Overmars]

It wasn’t a challenge from Vardy though. It was a coming together and his momentum took him into Mustafi. At least that’s what happened in the eyes of the ref. Only Vardy himself knows if he meant to leave one on Mustafi, so it’s difficult to interpret those kind of incidents because they appear so accidental and innocuous.

With clumsy attempts to get the ball like Nketiah, it’s easier to determine what happened.

Vardy is as nasty as they come so I reckon he probably did mean it but I can see why it went unnoticed.

[selassie]

I thought the first 45 minutes was the best I've seen us play in quite a long time, we looked very good all over the pitch, especially in midfield and attack.

We had our chances and I kind of thought they would come back to bite us in the arse.

Despite that and our drop off in the 2nd half, we were still the better team until the referee decided to ruin the game. Yeah Eddie messed up but it wasn't intentional IMO, the kid had just come off the bench and was eager to get stuck in (mind the pun).

I'm not going to go into the referee's performance or the decisions because it was a 0/10 performance from the ref IMO.

Despite the above, there were plenty of positives to take from yesterday and recent weeks.

[Mac76]

Vardy is as nasty as they come so I reckon he probably did mean it but I can see why it went unnoticed.

this, he's a dirty little gyppo

[GP]

Vardy definitely should have seen red. He kicked out at Mustafi, without doubt.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Watch the replay from the other angle where you can see the front of Vardy on the way down.

He doesn't take his eyes off of Mustafi and then hooks his leg round at the last minute.

It was intentional.

[Niall_Quinn]

Didn't see it. But I can confirm Vardy definitely cheated. It's Vardy. That's what he does.

[Unai Tea]

Watch the replay from the other angle where you can see the front of Vardy on the way down.

He doesn't take his eyes off of Mustafi and then hooks his leg round at the last minute.

It was intentional.

Agreed. Looked like he intended to do if you ask me.

[Dr.Gonzo]

Working from home on a game day, it was natural that I had far too much to drink early in the day. From my memory, I thought we played quite well in the first half. Ceballos and Tierney in particular IMO. Tierney is looking quite the player. Lacazette was wasteful again and I thought the game could have been over if he took his chances. 2nd half, the red lost us the game. It was a foolish challenge by Nketiah, he should have known better. However, Vardy should have been off as well. At the end of it, I was disappointed as I thought we were the better side but the season is a wash anyways. Ill focus on the small improvements as far as player development and tactics/playing style.

[selassie]

Vardy definitely should have seen red. He kicked out at Mustafi, without doubt.

Yup, it was a blatant red. But it’s “Arsenal”, it was a mistake lads. Ref was a cunt last night.

[KSE Comedy Club]

Keith Hackett in the Telegraph has said that Vardy should have been sent off, no question.

[dazthegooner]

Well Vardy is the Skysports and media darling he can do nothing wrong he is just he a good clean wholesome English boy...

[Letters]

Well Vardy is the Skysports and media darling he can do nothing wrong he is just he a good clean wholesome English boy...

I think you mean GHEL

[Penguin]

It wasn’t a challenge from Vardy though. It was a coming together and his momentum took him into Mustafi. At least that’s what happened in the eyes of the ref. Only Vardy himself knows if he meant to leave one on Mustafi, so it’s difficult to interpret those kind of incidents because they appear so accidental and innocuous.

With clumsy attempts to get the ball like Nketiah, it’s easier to determine what happened.

Vardy is as nasty as they come so I reckon he probably did mean it but I can see why it went unnoticed.

I can see what you mean but I just watched the replay again and I don't think it's just momentum:
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11670/12023483/mikel-arteta-arsenal-boss-angered-by-eddie-nketiahs-dismissal-and-jamie-vardy-let-off

There's a replay on the second video on that link. Watch Vardy's left leg after he lands, he definitely kicks out. No idea if there was any intent or not but that's irrelevant anyway, for me that's dangerous and should have been a red for the same reason Nketiah got sent off.