EPL | Burnley FC vs Arsenal FC | 2nd of October at 16:30 (GMT)

[DJ_Markstar]

What a finish, Laurent Bosscielny pulling it out for us again.

#GreatestFinishOfAllTime

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Do not discount Liverpool, they have a light schedule and are a better prospect than Leicester were last year.

Pool and City are favourites for the league IMO. Ourselves, Sp**s, United and Chelsea to fight for 3 and 4.

I don't really understand how people are discounting both us and Tottenham, the teams who came 2nd and 3rd last year.

Given that Leicester are not winning it again, Arsenal should be considered the next best team and therefore the best positioned to take the title if they don't, surely? We've also fixed glaring errors in our squad, with quality additions.

I believe its us and Sp**s for the title, Pool might not even make top 4. If City avoid a big lull they'll be there or thereabouts, too. Think ManUre will finish above Pool as well, leaving them 5th.

 

[WhatAFC]

Özil better win the next few games for us. He owes it to his teammates, Arsène and most of all to the fans who kept singing his name when even Stevie Wonder could see that he had a stinker.

Our Forward movement was horrifically slow. Özil needs runners and movement to be able to set people up. It was slow and laboured. Not saying he performed to his usual standards, but you can't create if people don't make the runs.

 

[yybecause]

I don't really understand how people are discounting both us and Tottenham, the teams who came 2nd and 3rd last year.

Given that Leicester are not winning it again, Arsenal should be considered the next best team and therefore the best positioned to take the title if they don't, surely? We've also fixed glaring errors in our squad, with quality additions.

I believe its us and Sp**s for the title, Pool might not even make top 4. If City avoid a big lull they'll be there or thereabouts, too. Think ManUre will finish about Pool as well, leaving them 5th.

Agree on most of that. Think Pool will be better then you think, but I find it weird as you do when people keep naming few clubs above us as favorites to win it, even though all the signs are going strongly our way

 

[redanddread]

Our Forward movement was horrifically slow. Özil needs runners and movement to be able to set people up. It was slow and laboured. Not saying he performed to his usual standards, but you can't create if people don't make the runs.

and he still made the most passes of anyone in the final 3rd. Stats & lies eh. Wenger alluded to him being touch & go for the game, so he wasn't 100% but he didn't play as badly as some suggest. Burnley's packed ranks made it difficult for the entire Arsenal attacking quartet.

 

[razörist]

Özil better win the next few games for us. He owes it to his teammates, Arsène and most of all to the fans who kept singing his name when even Stevie Wonder could see that he had a stinker.

Did you not see that short corner that Alexis crossed, Theo headed and Koscielny/Ox pushed over the line? That was all Özil mate!

 

[carlito'sway]

and he still made the most passes of anyone in the final 3rd. Stats & lies eh. Wenger alluded to him being touch & go for the game, so he wasn't 100% but he didn't play as badly as some suggest. Burnley's packed ranks made it difficult for the entire Arsenal attacking quartet.

Hey mate, how are you holding with Matthew?

Back to the game, Mesut was sluggish, no doubt about it. The whole team was a bit jaded as well and credit to Burnley, they defended like their life depended on it. Space was a premium on the pitch.

 

[Mark Tobias]

Our Forward movement was horrifically slow. Özil needs runners and movement to be able to set people up. It was slow and laboured. Not saying he performed to his usual standards, but you can't create if people don't make the runs.

We all love Mesut but he was useless. At one point he tried a pass for the top of the centre circle and Bellerin ended up screaming up the wing just to try keep it in play for us. COnstantly misplaced passes and just nothing worked for him. He had an off day. He'll be back. But making up excuses for him is just ridiculous. Let's move on.

Can't complain we didn't have "runners" against a parked bus. Where were they going to run. We didn't use our width well but having runners wouldn't have helped that. Giroud would have been a more viable option. Anyway, it is over and we gather 3 points.

 

[redanddread]

Hey mate, how are you holding with Matthew?

Back to the game, Mesut was sluggish, no doubt about it. The whole team was a bit jaded as well and credit to Burnley, they defended like their life depended on it. Space was a premium on the pitch.

Your birthplace looks like it's taking the pounding. Believe it or not we've hardly had any rain in Kingston as yet. Looks like we might have dodged a serious bullet.

The major pain is on the East/NE side of the storm, luckily we're still to the West/NW. Today's the day we find out what we're going to be dealing with though.

Mesut did look sluggish. Iwobi had a bad day also. Really only Theo & Alexis looked dangerous. Burnley stifled us in that favoured position just in the front centre of the box. We also were not clinical with some of the attacking opportunities we had - a constant gripe about this team.

 

[Arsenio Venger]

Özil gets too much **** for being a great player. Dude has a bad half and suddenly he needs to win the next 3 games for us.

 

[Top Quality]

"(...) Arsène Wenger’s finest gift to mark his 20th anniversary as Arsenal manager was delivered by the referee Craig Pawson and his assistant. Andy Hunter"

...or was the gift delivered by Arsenal defender Laurent Pawesome? Sorry.

 

[Brett]

I blame wenger for this..........we could see the players were tired.
Why not rotate. I think bellerin was also below par.
We should have started with gibbs and the young rb we started in the league cup. Ox and elneny also should have started. What is the point of a big squad when you are not going to rotate.

Contrary to many here i knew this is how the match is going to turn in the first fifteen minutes when I said to my friend this match has a draw written all over it.

And by the way was lucas injured or something?

 

[bingobob]

Hmm this is really difficult. In the Netherlands the rule is easy: its an unnatural body position with his hands so high, it goes in after hitting his hands in that position so there is a clear advantage --> goal disallowed.

The exact wording in the FA's rules says "A direct free kick [or penalty] is awarded...if a player handles the ball deliberately" while "distance between the opponent and ball" should be taken into consideration.

Koscielny wasnt deliberate and given the proximity of his hand to the ball it's very hard to give.

This idea of natural unnatural position isnt part of the rules. It should simply ve an unfair advantage if so the goal is disallowed.

 

[Rocky]

We all love Mesut but he was useless. At one point he tried a pass for the top of the centre circle and Bellerin ended up screaming up the wing just to try keep it in play for us. COnstantly misplaced passes and just nothing worked for him. He had an off day. He'll be back. But making up excuses for him is just ridiculous. Let's move on.

Can't complain we didn't have "runners" against a parked bus. Where were they going to run. We didn't use our width well but having runners wouldn't have helped that. Giroud would have been a more viable option. Anyway, it is over and we gather 3 points.

I'd like to see them shake things up a bit when there's an opportunity and try Ramsey behind Alexis with Özil on the right. Or bring Lucas in and look at various combinations of Ramsey/Özil/Alexis behind him or wide.

It is very concerning to hear that they are jaded at this point.

 

[bingobob]

Our Forward movement was horrifically slow. Özil needs runners and movement to be able to set people up. It was slow and laboured. Not saying he performed to his usual standards, but you can't create if people don't make the runs.

What about the run Walcott made through the middle and Özil dinked it out wide right to nobody.

Özil needs runners. He had Walcott and Bellerin on the right and Alexis burning everywhere. He wasn't upto it yesterday.

 

[Rain Dance]

The whole point is it is a legitimate goal as per the current rules of the game. And i am not mindlessly defending it. I spent time understanding the handball rule and watched the replays many time. As per the laws of the game it is a valid goal. And since Kos got the last touch he was not offside. The reason i say that it could been ruled out is because referee could have interpreted it wrongly in real time. But i do agree that it was lucky. But to say that was wrong to allow that goal is not right. If you understand the rules and analyse the video you will understand that it was correctly awarded. But not bothering to do that because it might make you look like a fool is rather foolish.

Does it worth the hassle to tell every opposition fan that the goal is legit? I'd say no. Just say we got lucky and move on.

Let's just agree to disagree I see your point and you have seen mine

 

[carlito'sway]

I blame wenger for this..........we could see the players were tired.
Why not rotate. I think bellerin was also below par.
We should have started with gibbs and the young rb we started in the league cup. Ox and elneny also should have started. What is the point of a big squad when you are not going to rotate.

Contrary to many here i knew this is how the match is going to turn in the first fifteen minutes when I said to my friend this match has a draw written all over it.

And by the way was lucas injured or something?

I guess you are looking for something to blame Wenger then....
A couple of points:
- This first team needs to get, create chemistry and cohesion, hence they need to play together.
- Next week is international break and a number of players, not called up, can rest if needed.
- This notion of rotation for the sake of it is totally bogus. The players are monitored carefully and the manager gets a report on their condition (hence a guy like Lucas not called since he had a slight injury).
- Across Europe, all the big teams plays their starting line up week ins and outs, unless it is a meaningless cup game. These guys are pros not senior citizens. Go check the Real, Atletico, Bayern or PSG line up this week end. Coaches don't rotate just for the sake of it.

 

[WhatAFC]

What about the run Walcott made through the middle and Özil dinked it out wide right to nobody.

Özil needs runners. He had Walcott and Bellerin on the right and Alexis burning everywhere. He wasn't upto it yesterday.

And when it was played out to bellerin no one was in the box and it ended up coming back out. Alexis' forward positioning was pretty poor.

 

[Goonerozil33]

Does it worth the hassle to tell every opposition fan that the goal is legit? I'd say no. Just say we got lucky and move on.

Let's just agree to disagree I see your point and you have seen mine

Yes it is worth the hassle. Because it is a legitimate goal and if we don t say that they will say it is an example of refereeing bias. You can look at the headlines in papers and see how everyone is saying it is a handball. That shows the amount of ignorance among football fans and pundits and reporters. If you don t want to correct the balance by trying then fine. But i want to. Anyways we won and we should be happy. The 3 points is all that matters, is nt it?

 

[razörist]

The exact wording in the FA's rules says "A direct free kick [or penalty] is awarded...if a player handles the ball deliberately" while "distance between the opponent and ball" should be taken into consideration.

Koscielny wasnt deliberate and given the proximity of his hand to the ball it's very hard to give.

This idea of natural unnatural position isnt part of the rules. It should simply ve an unfair advantage if so the goal is disallowed.

Yeah, if I follow you, its a perfect decision. It really was an unfair decision so FA should change the rules like knvb did. Still happy though!