It’s been 24 hours since that shit storm of match graced my television screen. It’s been less than that then the words above were heard all around for everyone to hear – in less restrained tones than on this site.
I’ve spent some time thinking about the match and I take it from two tacks – I will first start with my rational tack. I am as angry as everyone is about this match. In simple terms even down to 10 men you don’t piss away a 4-0 lead. 4-2 okay, even 4-3 I could live with.
So on the rational side (I am doing this because I might as well give fodder to the hate brigade early on) – this match hinged on two decisions, maybe three, the first, Phil Dowd’s missed call (let’s call it that for politeness sake) on Joey Barton’s original tackle on Abou Diaby. Frankly he goes in with studs up and nearly breaks Diaby’s ankle. Fat Phil missed it pure and simple. Or he just held it in his pocket, because he is Joey Barton afterall and he should get away with that kind of stuff.
The second decision was Diaby’s decision to act like a petulant child. On the surface you can’t blame the kid for wanting to take Barton’s head off. I probably would’ve too but he is a professional footballer and on the pitch when your team needs you to keep your head on, you keep your bloody head on. Diaby who was having a pretty decent game in the midfield, left the pitch and left the midfield left wide open. Now on the surface this isn’t bad, because Djourou and Koscielny could keep the middle tiddy. Ah, but there is the problem. Djourou goes off at the start of the half and it brings on Squillaci who, we all agree is not meant to be a partner with Koscielny.
The Djourour-Koscileny partnership works because Koscileny cleans up the ground play while he leave the aerial stuff to Djourou. Squillaci can do neither of what either of these boys are doing. We were severely weakened in the middle and in defence.
The third bad decision was the second PK. It was about as soft as the come. I am not sure what Dowd is thinking here and who he calls the penalty was unclear. Was it Rosicky? Was it Koscielny? It is never clear and frankly I am not sure what the offence was that caused the call. And if you watch the goal again, the ball wasn’t even playable by the attacking player. In my opinion another bad call by Fat Phil.
I’d go as far to say as I have watched the goals over again and frankly the first PK was also weak in my opinion but there is a slight tug from Koscielny on the attacker even though he clearly gets ball and clears it from danger first.
There is a fourth decision I am curious about and is the sequence after the second goal when Szczesny keeps the ball – as do most keepers in such situations and Barton face plants him to the pitch – again why doesn’t Barton go off here. If you are going to send Diaby off (and rightly so) for pushing Barton to the ground you have to do the same when Barton pushes Szczesny to the ground.
Look I don’t buy into all the consipiracy theories about refs. But you’d be hard pressed not to find a lot of Arsenal fans who think Dowd overly called the match in favour of the home side, especially after the first half. That being said (and now for my anger part of it) you don’t come out play 45 minutes of some of the best football this group of players has played in a long while (maybe ever) and then come out and basically play 45 minutes of absolute shit. 10 men should hold down a 4 point lead.
And that is what is annoying about this team I love so much – that they can come out and play 45 minutes – hell they played beautifully for the first 15 minutes. The where championship quality that first half and relegation quality that second half.
As can be expected, we all went apeshit. Some have reacted more positively than others. And if you had to take any positives away its this – we didn’t lose (which I wasn’t sure we weren’t going to do) and we actually gained a point on United who after all their poor performances away from Old Trafford finally lost. And two great things happened – Arsenal fans have continued hope for the season (except some of the so-called realists) and our one true greatest moment in league history is preserved – our invinicible season remains in tact. So to that I thank you Mick McCarthy and Wolves. And we’ll see you on the weekend.
