PL | Manchester City v Arsenal | 5th November 2017 | 14:15 GMT | Sky Sports

[redanddread]

talk about blinkered, even most of your supporters on here have said it was a pen, get over it.

I don't think they did you know..........it wasn't a dive but didn't look like a PK. Shoulder shoulder imo. City are the better team but the two key calls were BS. The latter a joke.

 

[BobP]

truly staggering!

Bringing up painful memories.

 

[Rain Dance]

You could be right, but when things do go against us, it's often in the big games and at decisive moments

Go back to that United game in 04/05 where Rooney dived for a penalty. Or the fact that Ferdinand wasn't given his marching orders for tackling Ljungberg as the last man. Or that CL quarter final against Liverpool where Kuyt basically rugby tackled Hleb in the box only for the referee to not give a penalty. Didn't stop him from giving a penalty to Liverpool after Babel dived. How about RVP's red card against Barca in 2010/2011, or the fact that Abidal was going around throttling Arsenal players in that with no consequences.

And these are just off the top of my head.

My point is that it is truly staggering the number of times we've been shafted by the officials at critical moments in big games.

my favorite

 

[tcahill]

Mustafi should have had a pen given against him v West Brom:

That was definitely a pen, however the fact that Rodriguez stayed on his feet and had a shot turned it more into a 50/50 decision for the ref.

Enjoyed the game today, Arsenal started very well, the first ten minutes you looked really good, it seemed to me like Pep told us to sit and wait and try and work out Arsenal's tactics during that period, then stepped up a gear and passed our way through it.

Had a read through this thread, some great posts, and very interesting comments/observations when ignoring the usual tribal comments (to be expected and applauded).

It absolutely WAS a penalty, and we could/should have had another in the first half when Kolasinac shoved Sterling when in to meet a cross.

The offside goal was laughable, ref's assistant has to spot that, terrible for you.

Wengers post match comments were a disgrace, for a man that has been in his position for so long, to come out with that, was just not on.

We didn't play well today, a lot of that was due to the way you set up against us but de Bruyne/Silva/Sane were all well below par.

As regards Arsenal, the likes of Iwobi, Xhaka, Coquelin should be nowhere near the starting line-up of a club of the stature of Arsenal, Özil, Ramsey and Sanchez were not up to scratch too, during this game.

Thought Koscielny was outstanding for you, I'd certainly swap him for Otamendi, although Nicolas has been doing well this season.

Great to see manyoo getting beat too, all in all, a very good day at the office.

I really enjoyed the game too, despite the result. I think the penalty was a 50/50, one team was always going to feel hard done by. Either way the better team won on the day, we could've let in several more if Sterling hadn't fluffed some golden opportunities.

 

[The_Playmaker]

Try nullifying a team like City with man marking and you concede ten goals such is there movement off the ball.

Secondly, because all the forwards are man marking off the ball, they will ALL be marked by the City defence on the attacking transition. Play direct to them and they will lose possession under high pressure.

You don't man mark off the ball all of the time . The closer the ball is to the goal you mark the man. If it is further away you mark the space.

I'm not saying they just stick to their men as soon as they lose the ball. How do you think football works? If you are playing as a left winger it is your responsibility to track the right back. If your team then wins the ball you atrack and he then has to track you.

Why would our players lose possession under pressure? That makes no sense as half the attack would be marking space.

Of course you would nullify their attack that way. That is exactly how City defend. They play a 4 3 3 with everyone pressing on a particular man leaving Fernandinho to sweep up the runners that De Bruyne and Silva lose. The best formation to play against a team that plays a 4 3 3 is a 4 231 because you essentially mark Fernandinho out of the game with your number 10 and you occupy him when he should be free. That means if your other two midfielders escape Silva and De bruyne (which definitely will happen) you create an advantage.

Off the ball movement is a problem when you mark space. If they are playing triangles in midfield and Fernandinho is at the bas with Alexis on him, trying to get the ball to Silva with AMN on him or De Bruyne with Ramsey on him, it becomes far more difficult than Fernandinho being completely free with a simple pass inot silva because nobody is close to him.

You either sit deep and mark space with high levels of concentration or you press high and go man for man when the ball is moved into certain areas. You don't do neither, which is exactly what we did.

 

[BobP]

As a fan, I feel we're in such a lose-lose situation atm. Realistically, our best chances at silverware are through the cups but that's not enough for me and it'd give the club an excuse to keep managing itself in the same way. On the other hand, what would make the club change its ways is complete failure which would be dreadful as we're about to have to replace one or two of our best players, and need something to attract quality replacements.

So either we keep stagnating or we start free-falling. Can anyone envision a realistic scenario in which we start competing at the top level again in the near future?

It's not all that bad.

I mean it'd take something truly catastrophic for us to start, as you say, 'free-falling'. For example, I'd imagine the tail-end of George Grahams time at the club wasn't exactly enjoyable for supporters, that is despite the trophies we won. Nevertheless, all it took was for a new manager, with a fresh approach and a smattering of quality for us to start up again.

Look at Sp**s for example, they were laughable under Sherwood and then you have Poch come in with a fresh approach. He clears the club of toxic characters, brings in a few players here and there, and they're on their way.

You could even look at Liverpool who were in a truly dire situation after the 2008-2009 season. A couple of unsuited managers, and millions of squandered pounds later and they're still there or thereabouts.

My point is, things are never as bad as they appear in football.

 

[freeglennhelder2]

Ref aside, Özil and Alexis were totally misfiring and it's amazing we were still in it for so long with these 2 key players AWOL.

They are both liabilities with this contract stuff hanging about. You get the feeling its something we will see again soon Mark my words one of these two will be sent off for a petulant act in the near future.

Im at a point where Id prefer to see the front 3who started away @ Chel$ki in big away games, however one of those is only a part time employee so.....

Better team won anyway.

 

[krackpot]

Enjoyed the game today, Arsenal started very well, the first ten minutes you looked really good, it seemed to me like Pep told us to sit and wait and try and work out Arsenal's tactics during that period, then stepped up a gear and passed our way through it.

Had a read through this thread, some great posts, and very interesting comments/observations when ignoring the usual tribal comments (to be expected and applauded).

It absolutely WAS a penalty, and we could/should have had another in the first half when Kolasinac shoved Sterling when in to meet a cross.

The offside goal was laughable, ref's assistant has to spot that, terrible for you.

Wengers post match comments were a disgrace, for a man that has been in his position for so long, to come out with that, was just not on.

We didn't play well today, a lot of that was due to the way you set up against us but de Bruyne/Silva/Sane were all well below par.

As regards Arsenal, the likes of Iwobi, Xhaka, Coquelin should be nowhere near the starting line-up of a club of the stature of Arsenal, Özil, Ramsey and Sanchez were not up to scratch too, during this game.

Thought Koscielny was outstanding for you, I'd certainly swap him for Otamendi, although Nicolas has been doing well this season.

Great to see manyoo getting beat too, all in all, a very good day at the office.

you guys missed so many two-on-ones, even I was cringing every time Sterling had the ball on the counter. That guy has a lot of components missing in his head.

 

[turkish gooner]

not expected too much, so not feeling a big disappointment. We are not at same level with them

 

[Makingtrax]

It has never been more clear to me that we aren't one of the elite clubs.

Sadly football has changed bro, now a whole country owns a club, that can afford £200m for one player and near £400m by the time they've forked out his wages for the duration of his contract. It's only going to get worse.

We're not at that level, or even the one below it, like City, United and Chelsea who have won the league for 12 out of the last 13 years. And the gap is widening.

It's getting away from us and Liverpool. And in my view they have hell of a manager. The Sp**s blip won't last long either. They can't sustain a challenge against the likes of City who's got an owner who can fork out £1.2 b out of his own pocket.

The last few years has seen football change forever and we're going to be between 3rd and 6th for the foreseeable future, whoever our manager is.

 

[Makingtrax]

Enjoyed the game today, Arsenal started very well, the first ten minutes you looked really good, it seemed to me like Pep told us to sit and wait and try and work out Arsenal's tactics during that period, then stepped up a gear and passed our way through it.

Had a read through this thread, some great posts, and very interesting comments/observations when ignoring the usual tribal comments (to be expected and applauded).

It absolutely WAS a penalty, and we could/should have had another in the first half when Kolasinac shoved Sterling when in to meet a cross.

The offside goal was laughable, ref's assistant has to spot that, terrible for you.

Wengers post match comments were a disgrace, for a man that has been in his position for so long, to come out with that, was just not on.

We didn't play well today, a lot of that was due to the way you set up against us but de Bruyne/Silva/Sane were all well below par.

As regards Arsenal, the likes of Iwobi, Xhaka, Coquelin should be nowhere near the starting line-up of a club of the stature of Arsenal, Özil, Ramsey and Sanchez were not up to scratch too, during this game.

Thought Koscielny was outstanding for you, I'd certainly swap him for Otamendi, although Nicolas has been doing well this season.

Great to see manyoo getting beat too, all in all, a very good day at the office.

A fair post. I'd say Kos is probably our only player that would make your squad. And when Özil and Sanchez go we probably won't have more than him that would make the United or Chelsea squads.

2-1 would have been a fair result. So I don't think we did badly.

Now Kante's back it's a 3 horse race again, Sp**s will falter sooner or later.

 

[Mark Tobias]

Sadly football has changed bro, now a whole country owns a club, that can afford £200m for one player and near £400m by the time they've forked out his wages for the duration of his contract. It's only going to get worse.

We're not at that level, or even the one below it, like City, United and Chelsea who have won the league for 12 out of the last 13 years. And the gap is widening.

It's getting away from us and Liverpool. And in my view they have hell of a manager. The Sp**s blip won't last long either. They can't sustain a challenge against the likes of City who's got an owner who can fork out £1.2 b out of his own pocket.

The last few years has seen football change forever and we're going to be between 3rd and 6th for the foreseeable future, whoever our manager is.

Trax, I see your point and I completely agree with it. But I have to ask. What happens if we get a manager who knows Coq is useless and doesn;t play him vs the big boys. Why can't we get a manager who uses the 53M pound striker he just bought... We were in the game with a shout when he came on. Granted the third goal was complete BS but he helped nail the coffin shut with his selction.

 

[Lookin' for a new Baby]

The last few years has seen football change forever and we're going to be between 3rd and 6th for the foreseeable future, whoever our manager is.

I totally agree, I keep hoping it will eat itself, but it doesn't seem to be any time soon.

 

[Makingtrax]

Trax, I see your point and I completely agree with it. But I have to ask. What happens if we get a manager who knows Coq is useless and doesn;t play him vs the big boys. Why can't we get a manager who uses the 53M pound striker he just bought... We were in the game with a shout when he came on. Granted the third goal was complete BS but he helped nail the coffin shut with his selction.

Not arguing with that. But Coq played well compared with his normal game. But he's not anywhere near their level.

If Wenger had been bolder from the start, maybe we'd have got a draw, if the linesman had been awake, maybe 2-1. All possible bro.

 

[bingobob]

Why oh why didn't we sign a centre back over the summer. Why wasn't our main signing starting. Why is Xhaka allowed to get away with costly mistakes without fear of being dropped. Why did our players act like ten year old and not play to the whistle?
My mood has not improved at all today. It's only got worse.

 

[Mark Tobias]

if the linesman had been awake, maybe 2-1. All possible bro.

I think we would have got a draw there. The linesman cocked it big time

 

[Jae]

Ref aside, Özil and Alexis were totally misfiring and it's amazing we were still in it for so long with these 2 key players AWOL.

They are both liabilities with this contract stuff hanging about. You get the feeling its something we will see again soon Mark my words one of these two will be sent off for a petulant act in the near future.

Im at a point where Id prefer to see the front 3who started away @ Chel$ki in big away games, however one of those is only a part time employee so.....

Better team won anyway.

I don't think Özil did that badly, he was involved in a lot of our play and put in a shift defensively.

Sanchez did nothing except stand up front flapping his arms like he always does.

Xhaka was invisible again and made his customary unforced error.

I must have heard the commentators mention Ramsey's name no more than twice during the entire match.

 

[<<reed>>]

Mike Dean with a full head of hair. This clown sent Coquelin off at WHL but kept Dier on for a blatant 2nd bookable offence

Maybe he referees our all away games vs Top 6

 

[emilursin]

Drop Xhaka and play someone else, just try something different for a change....

 

[<<reed>>]

Don't buy this. I think the selection was fine for the most part. We clearly had the game plan of trying to tire them out and then bring Lacazette on and attack for the final part of the game. Just got ****ed by the refs.

What a brilliant game plan, it's strange that Barca don't keep Messi on the bench to bring him on later to kill tired teams