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• Debs says on March 16th, 2010 at 6:15 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  Thanks, Dev!

  Well Yemi, the referee gave a penalty, and if I had the same view as the ref, I probably would have given the same. I have watched the penalty incident again, and it’s only after looking at various angles of the challenge that you could argue that maybe it wasn’t a penalty, but there’s no way one can say the referee got it wrong in that instant. Hesselink definitely played for it, but minus it being offside, you can’t begrudge the referee for giving it. Sol did knee him in the back/side. It might have been a soft penalty, but from the way I see it, definitely one…

• kodjo says on March 16th, 2010 at 6:10 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  @Yemi

  i agree with you…serial diver rooney would have got a penalty on the Clichy and Bendtner incidents. Yes the brit media choose not to pick up on it…we’ll let that be for now.

  Right now, we just need to win our games and need L’pool to do us a big favour as i expect ManU and Chelsea to cancel each other out when they meet.

  Also, we’ll see whether other teams roll over for ManU

• yemi says on March 16th, 2010 at 5:05 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  @debs: i totally disagree with you on the penalty. long name pulled a fast one by jumping in front of sol. sol did not make any challenge albeit a clumsy a one. he was trying to clear the ball when long name jumped into his path. please watch the replay again. as for the offside, it happens. basically i think the lines men and ref at that game made a lot of wrong calls in the game. it was poor officiating the b52 and clichy calls for penalties were clearer calls but even those would have been harsh calls. (if it had been rooney or ronaldo, the ref would have pointed to the spot without any hesitation)

• Sam says on March 16th, 2010 at 4:43 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  @ davday – Sol worked for that money & he is entitled to every cent. He can claim it as he sees fit, and ensure to protect the fruits of his labour.

• yemi says on March 16th, 2010 at 4:41 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  @dampatti: we really need goals the way it is going now cos we are a bit goal difference disadvantaged even though we’ve scored the highest number of goals. chelsea and man u beat west ham black and blue, we need to do same.

• devday says on March 16th, 2010 at 3:56 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  @Richard Buxcey

  I do agree with the over-reaction from Sp*rs, but they do have a small point – there is a question mark over Sol’s payment. His “debt” contributed to the overall debt of the club pushing them into administration. However, Sol knows that if he doesn’t defer it, he will have to agree to X in the pound return from the administrator. Thus, Sol’s “kind offer” is actually a selfish act to ensure he gets all the money – with the risk of losing it all if Pompey go out of existence (very unlikely)…

  Re: Liverpool, I think you’re right, they can get something from United, and Chelsea do have the hardest run in… all we have to do though is keep on winning our games though!

• Richard Buxcey says on March 16th, 2010 at 2:39 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  I remember not so long ago all the Spuds fans bleating about how mercenary Sol was for “kicking Portsmouth when they were down”…if they owe him money contractually then they owe him money. You would not expect any reasonable person to leave a job (whatever the circumstances) and not fight for a payout to the tune of £1.7M. But what’s this?? Sol has deferred payment until Pompey have a new buyer…can’t believe he is so ruthless!!!!

  On another point Liverpool absolutely hate losing to Manure. Fact. Also, the way they played last night is the minimum level they need to play at if they are going to finish 4th. I can see them getting something from the Manure game. The most worrying factor is that they could play United off the park, Torres could get a hatrick and they could still get beat single handedly by Rooney alone. That boy is on fire. ust been looking at the Chelsea run in. Man that is tough. In their last six games they have to play, Villa, Spuds, and ‘Pool. Tough games as they all battle for 4th. Other games are scrappy affairs against the likes of Blackburn, Bolton, and Stoke. This could end up a battle between Arse and ManU.

• devday says on March 16th, 2010 at 10:43 am on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  Excellent post Debs… really detailed, great stuff!!!

  I kind of feel sorry for Phil Brown. Simply because he has done very well for Hull and obviously the club have no loyalty – if it weren’t for him they wouldn’t be in the premiership!!

  But at the same time, I think he deserved it as he was way too big for his boots, and it’s karma…

• dada says on March 16th, 2010 at 9:52 am on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  Cascarino says it, do the opposite?

  Two weeks ago Tony Cascarino was one of the first pundits to weigh in on Ryan Shawcross’ leg-breaking tackle on Aaron Ramsey calling it “mistimed” and not even a red card:

  There’s a difference between an awful injury and an awful challenge. Ryan Shawcross’s tackle on Aaron Ramsey was mistimed but not malicious — the same as Martin Taylor’s on Eduardo da Silva two years ago. Let’s not hang the Stoke City defender out to dry because poor Ramsey was simply unlucky. I don’t even think the tackle deserved a red.

  Today, he called the same tackle “horrendous” while going on to say that the Boateng tackle deserved a straight red. I don’t want to jump the gun here, but it’s almost as if he’s saying something, well, in line with Arsenal.

  I’m confused, I always say and do the opposite of Cascarino and I thought that the Boateng tackle was a straight red. So, maybe the Boateng tackle wasn’t even a yellow card?

  2. Stan Collymore adds to the confusion

  Now this is really weird… Stan Collymore has long been a fan of Nicklas Bendtner, dating back to last year he said that Bendy would come good and be a star — if only we’d stop booing him. And then again in today’s column he’s once again come to the defense of Bendtner saying that he told us NB would be a great player and that the hat trick against Porto proves it. If you only read those two lines you might think Collymore is a huge Arsenal supporter, after all, I’ve been saying the same thing for a year now. But don’t let his love for Bendtner distract you, in those same two articles he also says the following:

  With their crowd’s help, the Gunners may just be able to pip Aston Villa to fourth in the Premier League. (2009)

  and…

  Bendtner’s heroics go to show that, of the 60,000 fans at the Emirates, only the 30,000 or so who would have got into Highbury appear to know anything about football. (2010)

  You’ll remember how Arsenal “pipped” Aston Villa to fourth place by ten points and two places (they finished below Everton) last year and as for the second quote, I was AT the game where he claims that 30,000 fans booed Bendtner off the pitch (or that the applause was ironic) and I didn’t see it that way. There were a few folks who were frustrated with NB’s misses against Burnley but as the second half wore on the fans were behind him and oohing and ahhing at his work rate and rightly applauded him leaving as he left the pitch. Listening to a certain podcast (and the guy behind me who rode him the whole game) there were certainly some angry jeers and ironic applause but hardly the 30,000 Collymore claims.

  The point for me is crystal clear, we need to ignore folks like Collymore irregardless of whether he makes a positive or a negative statement and just simply get behind the team. All footballers occasionally have poor games and we can reasonably expect is that they put in a full shift. After Saturday’s last gasp goal against Hull, does anyone question Nicklas Bendtner’s commitment?

  Good, then let’s move on and flush the Collymore’s down the bog where they and their click-whoring web site belong.

  3. Graham Poll’s 50-50 challenge

  Meanwhile, Graham Three Yellow Cards Poll has weighed in on the Hull game on the weekend and gets it 50% right, which isn’t bad for him. He explains (to Mr. Orange) why Sol didn’t see a red for the challenge which earned a penalty — basically Mr. Long Name lost control of the ball. Unfortunately he then insinuates that Sol’s challenge on Zyatte was a foul and thus deserving of a yellow (which it wasn’t) and that Arsene would have been angry had the same tackle been put in on Arsenal.

  Funny thing there, Graham, Arsenal did suffer several x-rated challenges in that game and I don’t remember Wenger going on about it, so I guess you’re wrong about that.

  The good news is that Poll is calling for more protection ahead of the World Cup and wonders what would happen if Rooney were to get injured — of course.

  4. Happy Birthday Theo!

  Theo Walcott celebrated his 21st birthday in some style this weekend. I think I know what’s wrong with Eduardo’s form lately, he’s suffering from OD, Over Denim. Also, what’s up with inviting Gareth Bale to the party? Maybe Theo was trying to poison him ahead of the North London derby?

• Sam says on March 16th, 2010 at 8:10 am on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  It’s a few down, 8 to go! 3 points at a time.

  ManCity played was really poor Sunderland, so I think we can collect 3 points from them too.

  L’pool showed some signs of recovery against Pompey, I hope they continue their good performance against ManU at the weekend.

• Kodjo says on March 15th, 2010 at 8:55 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  Thanx for the post Debs and a great one to.

  Ref Mariner was poor right from minute 1 with all those bizzare decisions. He failed to award arsenal 2 clear cut penalties (1st one against B52 and Boateng’s tangling with Clichy)…much clearer than the mess which he called a penalty against arsenal.

  I personally fear that refeering decisons and percieved teams that roll over fo Man Utd, but kick us of the park could cost us the title…as usual with arsenal it has to be a clean-clean goal..anything with controversy will not be awarded in our favour.

• AmriGooner says on March 15th, 2010 at 8:44 pm on Hull 1-2 Arsenal. 90th minute goal= Hull heartbreak. Get in!:

  That was a great result in a very tough game considering all circumstances of that game. This result and that late goal by B52 will prove its worth by the end of the season because whoever going to win the title, it is going to be very narrow. I hope it’s ARSENAL.

• dampatti says on March 15th, 2010 at 4:31 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  Thoughts on the game
  -Winning these types of matches is what champions do (Look at United the past years, these are the games they won and what seperated them from the rest)
  -Jozy played out of his mind
  -Boatang could have been sent off twice
  -Campbell’s challenge was 50-50, he won the ball, and the player followed through into him, no foul
  -Justice was done in the end after the blatant offside that was missed prior to the penalty
  -Campbell is far to slow for the Premier League and was caught out too many times only to be saved by TV
  -Walcott is back in form and blazing fast
  -Hull put in a great team effort after the sending off, it was valiant work by the shorthanded team,
  We are all lucky Denilson took that shot, I tell you. This is the first time I’ve complimented the lad but he’s scored a couple from outside the box this season and deserves massive credit for having the guts to go for it on Saturday at such a late stage in the game.

  Andy – ever since you’ve put your faith in B52 scoring ten goals he’s done you proud!

  Before the goal I had that same feeling in the pit of my stomach. How could it all end here, in Hull?! Then it happened and like the rest of you I’m not afraid to admit that I went a little crazy!

  A week for Cesc to recover and a week closer to the return of Gallas and RvP. Song is back from suspension too and thanks to the Champions League he’s not out of practice.

  Let’s focus on hammering the Hammers to get our goal difference up!

• Nick says on March 15th, 2010 at 2:28 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  As long as B52 can keep poaching goals RVP won’t be missed. If he has another game like he did last weekend then RVP will be missed more than ever.

  Eddie needs to make a contribution badly! Theo needs more playing time. Arshavin needs to focus and improve his passing efficiency.

  Sol > Gallas in terms of physical presence.

  Song>>>>>>>>>>>Denilson in midfield. I never thought I’d say that, but this year has proved different.

  Most important, obviously, is that Cesc gets back on the pitch to give the guidance and intelligence in midfield. Nasri did OK but he’s definitely not got the vision that Cesc has.

• Jeffwardo says on March 15th, 2010 at 1:12 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  The mighty orange mouth from Hull has been given the shove!!!

  Arsenal win and brown dumped, i’m so happy.

• dada says on March 15th, 2010 at 1:01 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  In the event that we do manage to steal the Premier League title this season, don’t expect to be reading any thoughts from my good self on the miraculous feat. Because the heart will have packed in by that time, as there are only so many matches like this a fan can take. Was it really as tense as this in 1998, 2002 and 2004? Surely not. Granted, Liverpool on 26th May 1989 was pretty similar in many respects, but by injury time, I think most had given up. It’s the mixture of hope and expectation that creates the kind of tension this viewer was feeling watching the Hull game. There was no expectation that night at Anfield.

  Credit to Arsenal. They got the result they required and the three vital, vital points. If I’d been watching Chelsea or Man Utd get this result, I’d have thought – mark of a good team. Keep going, keep the pressure up, not play all that well, but get the result required and get out. Arsenal now have to be viewed in the same category. Surely, fans of our title rivals now watch Gunners’ games and think – they’ll nick one in injury time to get the points, I can’t relax until the final whistle.

  The team did not have their finest of days. But titles are won by such days counting for as much as the most comfortable of home wins. Quality of performance is an irrelevance now. What the remainder of Arsenal’s season is about is belief and determination. Wenger’s infamous ‘mental strength’.

  In this of all seasons, to say that had the team failed to win, their chances would have been finished might seem a bit harsh, but I really felt that way as the clock ticked down. We are talking about a Hull side in the bottom three here, as stoutly as they defended. The pitch may have made flowing football very difficult (and might explain some of the poor finishing) but these are the matches that title winners win on their way to lifting the trophy in May. If the win in adversity at Stoke was a turning point, then Hull served as confirmation that things have indeed turned 100% since the sequence of defeats to the title rivals about six weeks ago.

  Alex Song was missed badly today. When Hull had their captain dismissed, I thought, well that evens things up, as Arsenal have been playing with ten men since the kick off, such was the paucity of Denilson’s contribution. The boy has no strength to speak off and is just shoved off the ball with zero resistance. Wenger has got away with playing him against Burnley and Hull, but if he is forced to field the Brazilian one more time this season, I fear he will not be so fortunate. He adds nothing and is a liability. He did not even have the excuse of fatigue as he played only 20 minutes in midweek against Porto. Of course, it had to be him that set up the winner, the only contribution of any positive note from the number 15 all evening.

  And as for anyone who thought Arsenal had an easier run-in than the other two contenders, this evening’s experience nailed the myth of that one. There are no easy matches until they are won. The team can never take the field thinking they are not going to have to battle for the points. In fairness to Hull, they fought like… well, I hate to say it but, tigers – especially in the second half with ten men. Arsenal created enough opportunities to win the game, but simply failed to trouble the keeper.

  Sure Hull’s goal was as a result of an offside that wasn’t given, but these decisions happen, and all a team can do is react in the right way. I think in fairness, Arsenal suffered from a poor pitch, fatigue from the Porto game and – once they were reduced to ten men – Hull’s priority of keeping the point that they had. That they were a man down should have made the visitors’ task easier, but football doesn’t always work that way.

  What it came down to was persistence, keeping going, grinding down the opposition and waiting for the moment to come. Things were starting to look desperate as injury time ebbed away, but credit to Denilson for having a pop from outside the box, and Bendtner for following up before his marker could stop him. These are the matches that win titles. Arsenal have to keep winning them by hook or by crook.

  And they are capable of winning them all, and it’s my belief that they’ll probably need to. But momentum is everything and five league wins on the trot is indisputably that. Because a number of the team are so young, the European involvement may pose a danger, as tired legs are more likely in less experienced players, who may not be wise enough to pace themselves over a whole season. In truth it’s probable that Arsene Wenger will have to rotate a little to try and keep things fresh, but are the back ups good enough? When Arsenal play their European quarter final legs either side of the Wolves match will a side with Vela, Eduardo, Denilson and Theo Walcott be able to gain three points under pressure? Where will the goals to defeat Mick McCarthy’s side come from?

  Arsenal played against Hull without Gallas, Song, Fabregas and Van Persie. It’s a credit to them that they did achieve the result with four such huge players absent. But boy could we do with them back. Song will return for West Ham, but my gut feeling is that the captain will be rested further until the Birmingham game and even then, might only be a substitute, with the manager wrongly prioritising what’s likely to be a glamour European tie. As for Gallas, I fear we’ve seen his last ever performance in an Arsenal shirt, which really doesn’t bode well. Remember how the team folded in his absence last season? Van Persie will not play again this season until he pulls on a Holland shirt in a pre-World Cup friendly.

  It really is against all odds stuff, but Arsenal must simply focus on the next game and winning it. So it’s West Ham next weekend. Since the Stoke comeback, two down, eight to go. After going to Hull and back, the title is still very much on. Not good for the nerves, of course, but we’ll all be back for more suffering on Saturday, regardless. And paying for the privilege!

• Nick says on March 15th, 2010 at 10:46 am on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  @ny: Good question! Arshavin had another game where he was either a pit bull and went after everything with hunger and desire or he just rolled the ball to Hull like he didn’t care. So many passes off the mark and silly turnovers.

  Theo was absolutely brilliant from the moment he stepped on the pitch. Shame he didn’t put the winner in for us. On to the next match!

  It’s gonna be a tough run in the way Drogba and Rooney are scoring 2 each a game. Someone is gonna have to put up a great game to beat them.

• goonerman says on March 15th, 2010 at 8:47 am on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  hopefully bendtner keeps banging in and he will make the defences go weak at the knees haha!

  @ny- wenger probably took eboue off instead of arshavin becuase eboue and theo are similar players and are there to do the same job! and i suppose even though he missed a sitter arshavin is still a game winner so you always want him on the pitch if you can!

• ny says on March 15th, 2010 at 8:35 am on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  Any idea why Arsene substituted Eboue who was playing well and not Arshavin

• Yemi says on March 15th, 2010 at 7:16 am on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  the truth of the matter is that we do not have a stiker at arsenal in the mould of either drogba or rooney. Their presense alone makes defences go weak at the knees and makes teams kind of defend more and rely on long balls for attack. By doing this, they get sucked in. If you look at the teams that have taken the game to chelsea/man u (wolves, burnly, birmingham, wigan) you will notice that even when they lose, it is not as bad as west ham or fulham.

• Yemi says on March 15th, 2010 at 7:11 am on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  I know why teams put in 200% or more commitment. The simple reason is “How would you explain being beaten black and blue by a team of “small boys” with average age of less that 23 ? You have to take the little lads out anyway so you don’t get disgraced.

• goonerman says on March 14th, 2010 at 9:16 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  to be fair fergie and roy are complete bumboys who constantly lick eachothers arses! Ohh the job roy has done at fulham is amazing and ohh he is just a fantrastic manager! i know other teams deny it but every team even the smaller ones have some kind of mission against arsenal and put in double the performances compared to chelsea and man united! and the amount chelsea and man united are being carried by rooney and drogba is amazing! and still fabregas gets no plaudits for what he is doing from MIDFIELD he has nearly 30 goals and assists and he hasnt played the amount of games drogba and rooney have and he is only 22 rooney is a mighty 24 lol! I appreciate that rooney and droga have been excellent but cesc in midfield is literally smashing any season had by a midfielder like lampard or gerrard but of course becuase he is not english people are a little less keen to heap on the praise!

• Pissed off says on March 14th, 2010 at 4:23 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  To beat the odds you have to beat them all.

• Sam says on March 14th, 2010 at 3:47 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  @Kodjo – I always think every goalkeeper has the game of his life when playing Arsenal!!!

• Kodjo says on March 14th, 2010 at 3:22 pm on Hull vs Arsenal Preview…:

  @ Sam…so i am not the only one who thinks teams just roll over for man utd

  when i see teams get stuck into arsenal…with 200% committment…i just wonder!!! is this the same fulham team that arsenal played? i cant believe the pathetic defending and the general apathy!!!!