It was a very tight hard-fought game against West Ham yesterday, and although Arsenal won 2-1, the Hammers boss Sam Allardyce believes that his team could easily have won by the same scoreline if it had been a different referee.
First of all Alex Song had a screamer of a goal disallowed very early on in the game, and then Winston Reid fell over in the West Ham box just before half-time, and as he stood up again he tripped Santi Cazorla, a penalty was given and Arsenal were given the all-important opening goal.
“Obviously it was a very poor decision to disallow the goal,” Allardyce said after the game. “If we’d have been allowed that goal, as we should have been, I don’t think we’d have lost to Arsenal here. It would have kicked the lads on and Arsenal would have found it very difficult.”
“I don’t see any real point in confronting a referee and you know you’re 100 per cent right. You don’t get anywhere by telling him how wrong he’s been,” Allardyce continued. “But we’ve ended up losing a game that was a great spectacle.”
It is often said that refereeing decisions even themselves out over the season, and it is a fact that Arsenal have been on the losing end of quite a few dodgy decisions already this season. Perhaps at last a bit of luck is running our way for a change….
Kouyate was offside, but Shit happens big Sam, sometimes it favors you and sometimes it doesn’t
I don’t remember Szczesny making any significant save. On another day Sam it could of, and should have, been 4 or 5 – 1. Take your medicine and nob off.
West Ham were very lucky. all Arsenal opponents are infact lucky. With wenger as coach, the team plays to 16% of its potential. With another coach, west ham would have lost 7-1.
They should thank Wenger, like really
Wenger must be a genius then. Not even madrid barca bayern would win anything or make cl playing at 16%. These Arsenal players must be the best ever and we dont even know it yet cos they arent even playing 1/2 max, not even 1/4 or a 1/5 max. How did we ever sign such players.
What has Sam been smoking? The same weed that Mourinho uses.?
Imagine if the Irons had conceded a shot like Song’s, and the referee had allowed it. Think we might have heard a different argument.
Face it Sam, we created more clear cut chances, played the better football and deserved the 3 points.
COYG
Bollocks! Song’s goal was offside and Carzola was clearly fouled. Big Sam can’t take defeat like a man. The only thing he said that is true is that they “ended up losing a game that was a great spectacle”. Game was truly a breathtaking classic!
The referee saved Arsenal, but Adrian saved West Ham. All in all, a lucky win, but it could have been sealed off a lot earlier if it wasnt for Adrian.
For the third time in a row, Wenger goes up to 80+ minutes before he makes his first sub, and for the third time in a row we are dominated in the last 10-20 minutes of the game. Sanchez is exhausted (Just look at his sprint duel vs. Andy Carroll and how he runs in general late in the matches), Ox is recently back from injury, yet neither Poldi nor Campbell get to relieve them from a situation with high risk of injuries. I hope both of them leave, for their own good. Wenger should follow at the end of the season.
Hey AKB’s: Looking at the last 10 years with Wenger, how can you defend him? Consistency you might say, but quite frankly – 10 years of mediocre results in CL and notoriously at 3rd or 4th in may is far from good enough for the fourth most valued club in the world, according to Forbes.
Just an advise, if you want to me an arsenal fan, you have to be wenger fan, your must think low, 4th is always a trophy, the rest is just bonus. Any win just embraced it, any lost just except that is just bad luck, nobody is bigger than Wenger if you can’t just stay away for a while, if you can out live him, you can come back later cos wenger won’t be going any time.
I feel like I’m just waiting to watch alexis pull up with a hamstring injury, the guy runs his socks off but its obvious he is going to burn out soon. Injuries are of major concern but more importantly when the game is not going how you expect you don’t leave it till the final ten minutes to change the dynamic, and you don’t field your best 11 against the lesser teams (unless you don’t trust the players on the bench, in which case you should sell them) sometimes I wish he was as brave as mourinho who is not afraid to take a player off at half time if he thinks it provides him with a better chance of winning. Wenger was a great manager but tactically he’s just so far behind now
The only changes mourinho makes to his line up is which defensive mid to play alongside matic. The same che players have been playing all season and mourinho has a set subs list also, the times might change a little but depending on score line he could tell you before the game whos about to come on. While i do appreciate his desire to win i think he lets his home fans down by not giving them a spectacle in beautiful football as he will always play two holding mids. He has some of the best attacking talent around but he is not adventurous. The fans pay allot of money and get to see titles which is the holy grail but he could really try and get them off their seats. Even abramovic wants to see this but mourinho is a rigid believer in rigidness.
I’m no AKB, and I can’t disagree with you on Wengers use of substitutes, but I have to disagree on the last ten years.
Why do you think Arsenal are the fourth ranked club in relation to net worth? Don’t you think it has something to do with Wengers management of transfers in and out, all the while overseeing the building of, and paying for the new stadium and facilities the club now enjoys, it was always going to be a struggle to remain in the top four with the financial constraints played on him. We are now in the position to push onand spend some proper money on players that are needed, real quality, not just purchases to see us through the CL this season (we have no chance of winning it this year, no matter who we buy in the transfer window).
I know some of Wengers tactical decisions have been baffling at times, but he deserves to see out his contract, to try and push us on without the financial shackles he’s had for the past decade.
I see on here people saying we should buy this player, that player or a combination of players. People need to stop playing fantasy football, get off their FIFA computer games and realise that the real world isn’t played on a screen, who says these players want to come to Arsenal, or their teams are willing to release them.
I understand his frustration, because when a team beat my team and take my position at the same time, then i must complain no matter what. assuming i am a coach.so its normal #COYG
As Fat Sam once so eloquently put it – ‘I don’t give a shit’
I don’t understand the people that say Alexis, Santi, and mesut can’t exist in the same lineup because Alexis needs a free role. Just seems like ur hating on Ozil. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Messi drifts wherever he wants, and that doesn’t seem to effect Iniesta and xavi. CR7 drifts wherever he wants, and a midfield of Ozil, Xabi Alonso and modric did just fine. Now Kroos, isco, and modric are doing great.
As long as Arsene purchases a proper DM to put behind them and protect the line in front of him as well as the back 4, Santi and mesut next to each other with Alexis wide will be deadly. Get them a proper 9 that will finish chances in big games that matter, and we’ll truly be on to something. Welbz ain’t the answer, and OG is a 60-65th minute super sub.
I disagree, I dont think santi and ozil play as well together personally because they both like to operate centrally. Unfortunately, cazorla gets pushed out wide by arsene, where he doesn’t have as much time or space on the ball, to either pick out a pass or turn his man and doesn’t have the pace to really get to the byline. Also barcelona’s style of play is built around possession with pass and movement, barca players dont really take more than one touch before moving into a different position to receive the ball or draw the man and because they press intently after losing the ball it is not as vital that all players are correctly positioned. You can afford to be wherever you want when you have players like xavi able to retain possession for most of the match, unfortunately 47 percent possession against west ham does not put our team in this category
JT I have to respectfully disagree with you my friend. You can’t use one possession percentage stat as your entire sample size, and stake your premise from that.
I find hard to believe that with the 4-1-4-1 we’re playing and having mesut and Santi central, both of whom retain possession extremely well; theo and Electric Sanchez wide and a new CF up top cannot be deadly. If they all press hard when dispossessed and have a powerful CDM behind then to bust shyt up, we can be extremely successful.
I understand the logic behind your thinking and I agree, this could be lethal, but it then means wilshere ramsey flamini and arteta are bench players or have to be sold because none of them can operate as the sole midfielder in front of our back four, arteta is probably the most well rounded for this but against better opposition I don’t think he has the physique or pace to really command that area, he has the intelligence to read the game but without the other attributes he can only do so much. I think it is vital to keep santi for as long as we can because on his day he is world class and I don’t think I can say that for many players in this team, if jack and aaron were willing to rotate with ozil and cazorla it could work but I think even at 30 cazorla wants to start every match and I don’t see wenger dropping wilshere or ramsey or rotating because he only really does that through injury
I hear you, and here’s where I get frustrated. Arsene says they’ll be competition for places, and that statement seems to apply to everyone but Jack and Aaron. Both have underperformed tremendously in the positions of their choice, yet when fit once again should be favored to just walk right back into the team and push mesut/Santi aside? I’m sorry but that’s crap. They should have to compete and rotate just like everyone else. Folks want to talk about mesut and Santi/Alexis not coexisting, why not acknowledge the obvious: that Jack and Aaron can’t play together and the team suffers when they do? Look at the results. Arteta gets overrun against the big boys, and Flamini – come on.
We tried Jack and Aaron, and that got us to the middle of the table. Why not see just how successful we can be with ozil and Santi and a new CDM?
I understand the logic behind your thinking and I agree, this could be lethal, but it then means wilshere ramsey flamini and arteta are bench players or have to be sold because none of them can operate as the sole midfielder in front of our back four, arteta is probably the most well rounded for this but against better opposition I don’t think he has the physique or pace to really command that area, he has the intelligence to read the game but without the other attributes he can only do so much.
I think it is vital to keep santi for as long as we can because on his day he is world class and I don’t think I can say that for many players in this team, if jack and aaron were willing to rotate with ozil and cazorla it could work but I think even at 30 cazorla wants to start every match and I don’t see wenger dropping wilshere or ramsey or rotating because he only really does that through injury
Again all have a problem with AW and arsenal shit man we won the game and let’s face it 9 minutes Added on at Liverpool cost us that game so we are owed. All u ppl do is moan even when we win. 6 points are great for the gunners at the mo. iPod won’t play as he is going in a few days and Campbell well sorry he’s not that great. Just get behind the gunners let them no we are the 12th man.
I don’t think people are moaning, they are just pointing out what deficiencies they believe are the reason we are not challenging for the title currently, do you think we should be challenging?
we need a proper world class striker…someone like falcao that guarantees goals
Falcao? Sorry over rated man overrated. We need a young back 4 that will be in place for years then the team can play there parts without having to defend ever 5 minutes mate
Falcao??? Cmion mate, we need sum1 better.. Hw many goals does he guarantee Man U since his arrival?? No no no?? We need a striker like Diego Costa, Benzema, Lewandoslky, Rooney, Cavani etc..
Lol! We were the ones that could’ve won 5-1. What a sore loser. That’s what happens when your shit team suddenly becomes a champion league contender.
I seen some suggestions recent weeks and read transfer roomers, that AW should buy Winston Reid from West Ham. After seeing his performance against Arsenal. Do fellow gonners still think we should buy him ? Personal I think he´s not good enough to replace BFG.
Incident happened very early in the 1st half. Plenty of time for his team to level or win. Besides Kouyate was offside.