https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/15/william-saliba-wins-ligue-1-award-ahead-of-arsenal-return-16648438/ William Saliba wins Ligue 1’s Young Player of the Year award ahead of Arsenal return

Saw a little bit of the sperz game. Was hoping they'd drop points and they didn't. Took a look at the table, which I haven't done for several days actually. I just stopped being interested in football generally. Since it appears Liverpool won't win the league, they can lose the CL final as far as I care. I loathe Real Madrid as well but another CL for them doesn't bother me that much.

I agree. Big IF on Saliba being willing to stay though given his rather neutral comments about anything Arsenal related.

We all know how it will pan out tonight.

Such a shame Mee, God rest his soul, isn't here to paint the picture in words in only the way he could of how we will lose this game.

Away game up north under the lights. Start slowly, unable to handle the pressure of the occasion, and concede an early goal with some sloppy defending.

Huff and puff trying to find a way back into the game but create very little and squander the few promising situations and half chances we do create.

Look increasingly vulnerable to the counter-attack as we throw bodies forward and eventually get sucker-punched and concede a second goal.

Lose our composure and get a man sent off for a reckless tackle, then concede a third as we try frantically to reorganise.

Score a consolation goal in the 89th minute.

Rich blames the ref for the defeat after Newcastle commit 2,000 fouls with not a single yellow card

Sorry Rich, couldn't resist.

The problem is that scenario is not implausible.

You’re right, that is the big IF.

Salibas contract runs out in 2024. So if the club can’t get him to sign a new contract this summer it’s very likely he will be sold without ever playing a game for us.

I can’t see the club willing to play a player who occupies the same spot as Ben White for a season without that only to have to sell him 12 months later or lose him on a bosman and have a disgruntled White. Has Saliba got enough confidence himself to sign a new deal.

You get the feeling the moment he has a breakout season he’s going to do one anyway. The club made a major mistake in letting him pick where he wanted to go as Marseille was always going to result in a lusting for home and accusations towards us. He should have been sent to a palace or saints to build experience and adjust. Simply a really really stupid decision that’s really naive. It shows little know how.

It’s weird, seems like Arsenal have been punished for investing in a talented young players future. It’s a case study for why you shouldn’t pay big money for young centre backs who are teenagers.

It’s all up for grabs now. I haven’t watched Newcastle at all recently and have no idea how we should play. Unfortunately the next 2 games probably determine our future for the next 2-3 seasons. CL and about 80mil extra for players and we will have a better class of player wanting to come to the club. The alternative is not as attractive.

But if you’re blaming Arsenal for making a stupid decision sending him to Marseille, surely you think it’s Arsenal’s own fault more than the club being punished “for investing in a talented young players future.”

Yes it’s a bad decision but it’s investing in the player. It’s a decision that’s naive and ignores the cynical nature of this world and football.

Things to watch out for this evening

The resident Orcs asking for Artetas dismissal if it’s still nil nil after 30 minutes.

The defensive blame game as whatever back 4 the manager picks will inevitably be wrong by the Orcs and no matter where Tommy has to play be it right, left or centre it will be the wrong decision ignoring the turdfest of a Hobson’s choice we have.

Anything less than 80 percent possession in the first ten minutes will result in accusations they aren’t “up for it”

Around the 80th minute if it hasn’t gone our way someone will suggest we are missing a leader despite having 2 international captains in our first 11.

If Ramsdale let’s in a 25 yard screamer into the top bins from Guimares some Einstein will suggest he should have got it and his form has “Tailed off”

The usual accusations around the minute of the required substitutions not being good enough.

If Ben white manages to play and we struggle in front of goal anything less than a beckenbaur esque performance will result in accusations of his lack of passing ability

When the inevitable blatantly dodgy VAR penalty or red card gets given Gunfire will say we deserved it in a form of malignant self loathing.



All in all. It’s going to be great

Even more galling for them was that the immediate break led to the red card situation for their defender.

Instead of having a penalty they are suddenly down to 10 men. Very unfair.

Or get those Tamla Motown hits playing and enjoy!

... and if we do win, all the bed-wetting and gnashing of teeth and renting of garments will be forgotten and forgiven.

I’ve been listening to back to back Radiohead since the penalty award v spurs yesterday.

Changed it up this morning when I’ve been listening to the doors song The End on repeat.

Spurs penalty against us did remind me of some LBW decisions that were made by home umpires in the days before the 3rd umpire in countries that it is safest not to name.

They should try something like a 3rd umpire in football.

Oh hang on ...

Immediately after the Tottenham penalty I was thinking that well yes it was a foul.

But then on reflection, as many on here have said, it’s the lack of consistency that is so aggravating. It does feel like many subjective decisions don’t go our way.

Clattenberg was so correct in his comments about the award against us.

VAR hasn’t led to an improvement in England at all, although it has on the continent.

VAR has weakened decisions. Everything gets given no matter how trivial it’s like making Stephen Fry’s character in blackadder goes forth referee.

It’s a microcosm of the systematic corruption that is destroying western society. Reject it. Go Dennis Hopper in apocalypse now.

Some Leonard Cohen as light relief?

As in You Want It Darker.

I'm amazed Arsenal fans wank om about the Champions League ... there is of course the finishing above the twats from White Hart Lane .
But realistically we don''t have the squad , the player quality , to go to go toe to toe with any of European heavyweights ... it's purely $$$$$$$ .
We'll lose to Newcastle 1-0
Joey Barton to come off the bench and score the winner 89 th minute

Hello Kiwi. I'm primarily interested in Champions League qualification because I assume Arteta will have double the budget to continue rebuilding the team. As a competition I became less invested in it (when we were in it) because we would get routinely thrashed in the knock out rounds. Not confident about tonight but fingers crossed eh...

Light relief ... Jesus I wouldn't want that at my worst enemy's funeral ..... get this into you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9x0wbKHos0

George Robledo to score after lino failure to spot ball had gone out of play?

Much obliged Kiwi - cracking performer. Am knocking this one over the net - like a quality Newk volley.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgaM43KCqT4

For those with long memories.

Yes, despite being called "Lucky Arsenal" we could get the wrong end of it, and way before VAR.

Gidday Bored ... I feel the same . Early seventies I lived and breathed Arsenal ...Sunday morning 8.am NZ ...this is the BBC here are the British football results
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Ipswich Town ... if his voice went up Suffolk had won , if his voice went down they'd lost if his voice was neutral it was a draw .
I stopped one year in the middle of the Ureweras ...a rugged mountain range in NZ .... Mrs Kiwi said "" why are we stopping ..? Ï had a 1964 Vauxhall Velox
at the time I said ... British football results .... blah blah Tottenham Hotspur 0 Arsenal 5 .
He hah .... I'd like to say we had vibrant sex but in truth the memories are dim .... these days I'd like us to smash Newcastle for that 4-4 and to piss Spurs off
but if we don't Ce La Vie ...we weren't up to it . If we had real Champions League credentials we shouldn't have dropped points v Palace Brighton and Southampton

How much for a 1-0 90th minute win tonight curtesy of a Joe Willock own goal? That would get plenty frothing at the mouth!

The biggest problems with var for me are the viewing still frames and ultra slow mo rather than an incident at full speed (as has been covered by others on here) also that the directive for it to only correct ‘clear and obvious errors’ is being ignored. There are times when you think the var ref is trying to find any reason possible to disallow a find any reason possible to give a penalty. And for me far too often this season we’re on the rough end of this whilst our rivals benefit from this sh*t show of officiating.

I’m not against the use of technology but when you have a bunch of incompetent referees and then give them further tools to be in charge of and incompetent with it’s only going to end one way.

Yes. A bunch of exclusively northern refs in an office in stockley park,

each of them DIH adjudicating a team of “ southern softies”

You ain’t getting fair decisions

Hi Old Man - I think there's a bit of confusion here.

The 'ball behind the line' final was 1932 v Newcastle when we were on the wrong end of a bad decision that cost us the match.

In the 1952 final also v Newcastle, having held on with 10 men for most of the match, Robledo scored late on with a header to win the game for them.

Good value ... you are changing .......... A quality Newk volley these days looks like a powderpuff ... watching old clips of Drobny , Seixas and Hoad I'm amazed how I didn't beat them myself in the late 50's .
Your mention of Robelow ...apparently John Lennon painted that goal into one of his album covers ""Walls and Bridges

Well remembered. I’m impressed.

Settle down Big Guy 1932 ...1952 ... in your declining years they all run together . I visited an old sheila at the geriatrics centre recently
...she had breaking news ... her husband [ who died twelve years previous ] had run away with a fifteen year old .

Stuff of family folklore. My Grandad was there in '32, the Old Man in '52. I have a newspaper cutting (somewhere) of the photo showing the ball over the line.

Chelsea’s situation is looking ‘interesting’ this afternoon. Could it yet all fall apart?

I'm going for a jammy 2-1 win for us with early goals from Nketiah and Ode and rest of the match pure torture.

Touch wood.

Newcastle have improved, but they’re not world beaters yet. I fancy a narrow win tonight.

It's all that LSD I'm afraid...