Lacazette takes the pen 3-0

Clear pen that - 3 nil - Lacazette

Allen with a nasty lunge at Lacazette’s shin from behind, clear intention to take down the man. Yellow. Xhaka still the only player to ever see red for that sort of tackle

Utterly awful game for 75 minutes. Penalty changed the game.

I don’t think it was a pen. Ref wasn’t in the best position to see it, the stoke defender was coming from behind and just toes the ball away before making contact with Özil who seems to kick the ground. It’s possible there was slight contact as Özil drew his leg back to take the shot but it would have been unintentional from the stoke player.

Nice to see Lacazette and Aubameyang look lively when given the right service.

We have two of the most clinical strikers in Europe and certainly one of the best creators......our problems are controlling games from the back and central midfield AND getting the ball wide to stretch teams to give these strikers the space they thrive on.

At the 50th minute, it was so boring, I decided to walk my dog instead. I thought it would be a draw or a 0-1 loss. Pleasant surprise to see 3-0 after my walk. 3 points is good, but this team needs a lot of changes.

Can’t wait to see the back of stoke and West Brom. Both have been stinking up the league for far too long. Feels like they’re only been spared relegation due to being the least worst of a number of teams.

Did you not see the sandpaper tucked in his shorts?

That is very hard on The Baggies. Since returning to the Premiership in 2010 they have usually been around mid-table and last season finished ninth. They are a great old club who never play the game the bad way. They simply lost their attacking instincts under Pulis and couldn't get them back sufficiently under Pardew. Hopefully they will be back playing on the front foot. The Premiership is always better when one of England's founding league clubs is in it. Good news is that Wolves will be promoted and Villa, Derby and Preston are in with a shout too.

It’s only because I get bored of the same non descript teams in the league, apart from Shaqiri neither of these teams have any players to get you off the edge of your seat, neither team plays fast or exciting football. And as you say there are some decent teams ready to come up. West Brom had a few years of playing 4 CB.
I think teams like Bournemouth and Leicester and others have shown you can stay in the league, and prosper, without having to resort to all out defend and long ball tactics. I much prefer when attacking play is rewarded.

Didn't watch the game but caught some of the highlights off sky plus. My goodness the ground looked empty especially at the start of the second half. The game kicked off and barely anyone is in their seats for some time. Don't know if anybody who's went today can comment? Is that a PR disaster for the club or what.

It's always been an issue with people arriving late for the second half but with the reduced attendance it really highlights it. Look at the highlights when the second half kicks off the ball is crossed behind our goal and by our corner flag there can't be more than 20% of all the seats occupied for some time behind it.

I'd say the ground was about half full most of the time. I seriously think the lack of bums on seats these days, even if the ticket has been paid for, is one of the things that could get rid of Wenger.

I think Wenger said something like ‘they’ll be back on thursday’ and Used Easter Sunday as an excuse because people are with their families. My goodness can someone, anyone just put this man out of his misery. He really isn’t going to walk is he?

Baggies fans would agree with you. They have traditionally been used to attacking football, especially at The Hawthorns, but in the desperation to stay in the Premiership the club appointed Pulis. He did a job but once the defensive and cautious mode set in he couldn't alter it. He never refreshed the oldish squad either. I imagine they will rethink over the summer and give it a real good go in the Championship.

Clubs like Albion are on fine line between success and failure. They sit bottom of the league having scored 25 goals, just four fewer than Burnley who are seventh! They don't even have the worst defence in the league. Their 51 goals conceded is less than five teams above them. They have not often been thrashed and have lost many games by the odd goal. Lack of a consistent goalscorer has been their downfall.

In what way ..... okay you agree it wasn't a penalty . Özil's reaction is so unnatural , he can feel the guy breathing down his neck , so jams his foot into the ground and falls . Therefore Özil is a cheating p****ck

If Shawcross had done that in our area you'd be doing your normal froth at the mouth about incompetent refs .

Think you might be right Bernard, it's a PR disaster with everyone questioning why aren't Arsenal fans going to games anymore.

If the stadium is half full at 30k that's an attendance lower than Highbury. Even in 1994 when we finished 12th we had an average home attendance of 35k in the league. Our fans have given up.

If we get past Moscow the club would be worried about the West Ham game on the Sunday in April before a potential away trip for the semi final. Barely anyone will turn up and if our final home match againest Burnley is to be Wengers last it would be a testament to the mess he's made of the last 10 years if only 30 thousand turn up

Both penalties were penalties

Few on here seem to have serious issues with self loathing

Got back from New York a few days back ... 3 things from the trip

1) I watched Patrick Vieiras New York City play New England and all I'll say is he should be ruled out of the new manager running based on what I saw as the standard was lower than championship at best and more likely division 2. There's a massive difference between managing there and managing Arsenal and for that reason Henry should be discounted too. Pure romance. (Football does seem to be really catching on in the states though)

2) Watched The Death of Stalin on the plane ... if anybody hasn't seen this yet I highly recommend it as it's hysterical with several LOL type moments

3) I walked from Central Park to little Italy which is some distance and a mate and myself walked into a bar there for a drink and rest. A group of middle aged male and female Americans were sat next to us and deep in conversation. What subject were they discussing? That Arsene Wenger was past it and arsenal should have let him go years ago! I shat you not ! It's just inescapable. I didn't comment or inject just listened

4) Americans eat like frickin horses, I've put on a few pounds that need to be shifted asap!!

I'm not sure I do ; season ticket holders are keeping this idiot at the helm .

I went back to bed straight after the " penalty " so didn't see the other two goals .

Questioned on the empty seats .... Arsene understands " because we are not challenging for the Championship " ... delusional

..... it's because the spectacle is so p**ss poor and sitting through 75 minutes of dross to grab a couple of goals near the end doesn't correct that .

Plenty of loyal Geordies pack St James' Park every week .

They haven't challenged for the title since Keegan was manager and before that when Stanley Matthews was in his prime .

I think this summer is going to be one of those where the really big teams get greedy with their squads and end up releasing some very good players in order to fit in their new expensive plaything.
City will probably be pretty stable, but Real Madrid will certainly make a galactico statement this summer. PSG need to balance the FFP books after 2 £100m+ purchases, Barca are desperate for Griezeman and so will need to move some on. Man U will go for 3-4 big money purchases and Chelsea will go big again with their new manager.

Just watched the 2nd half. Stoke were terrible & our effort was lacking for at least 20 minutes. This is simple not good enough. Special mention to Wellbeck, Chambers & Wilshire who should all be gone at the end of this season if there is any sense at the club.

Long wait at the check in , too many drinks , tiring flight , mixing with Americans can have a profound effect on anyone's judgment .

Never fear ; a week's rest and you'll be back to your irrational best .

No wait at check in mate I flew first class.


Clear pens.

Easter or not, a team challenging for the title will have seats sold out in no time. Wenger is FOS, but most of us already know that. So sad that he has to find excuses every week.

I think #4 is a bait for .............

Full blown Poser ... disentangle the Platinum Credit card from the moths and fork out for some new Specs ... Özil dived ...no doubt . Arsene wouldn't have seen it and neither did you .... you two have a lot in common

MOTD2 highlighted an important issue with regards to refs yesterday. Murphy and Sutton both complained the ref had got it wrong and that he shouldn’t be guessing. Well first of all how do they know he guessed? They were besmirching the ref by saying he’s guessed rather than being sure, when the only person who knows whether he guessed is the ref himself. Murphy and Sutton were the only ones guessing.
But more importantly Murphy and Sutton were taken to task by the presenter who said that they both thought it was a penalty when they saw it first time in real time. The only thing the ref has. This was glossed over by both.
Given the refs position and the player coming in behind I can easily see why it was given.

I also think a defender can touch the ball first and a penalty still be given. I remember a furious reaction when Darren fletcher was sent off and gave away a pen for fouling Fabregas in a champions league match at the emirates and the replay showed fletcher got a minuscule touch on the ball before taking out Fabregas. My point is that if the touch on the ball isn’t a foul then play still goes on, the touch was so small that it didn’t change the path of the ball and the chance for Fabregas to strike at goal was virtually no different towhat he had before the touch. At this point he is then taken out by fletcher who is following through from his original tackle. So at this point he fouls the attacker.

Refs will get more sympathy when they apply the rules no matter the situation. Too many are scared of making a decision they know will likely change the course of a match. Take the situation with Mané at the weekend. Rightly booked for a ludicrous dive then later in the game he thinks he is fouled on the edge of his own box so he does that incredibly annoying thing of grabbing the ball with his hands. If he hadn't done that Palace had two players v 1 on the edge of Liverpool's box, a very dangerous attack without even giving regard for deliberate handball being a yellow card in the laws of the game. The ref lets Mané off, and I'm certain becayse he knows that a player being sent off for a dive and deliberate handball is sure to create headlines especially with a match poised at 1-1.

How often do you see the laws not applied correctly when one team is being absolutely hammered and it is late in the game as well?

Our record with injuries seems to have improved a lot this season. I know we have long standing issues on Cazorla and Koscielny has Achilles problems but I always get more worried by those continuous muscle injuries players who should be in their prime keep getting.

Players like Bellerin, Monreal, Xhaka, elneny, Özil (save for his away day ‘illness’) are pretty resilient to injuries.

The best teams really don’t pick up injuries, spurs best players are hardly ever injured and even when they are they come back much quicker than expected. Kane, alli, Eriksen, Son, dier, vertonghen never injured.

It’s the same for city. De Bruyne, Silva, Walker, sterling, sane, otamendi never injured.

Whether this is the players or the coaching I still look at those lists and see the other teams players as more robust than ours, not just injuries but in the style of play - far more physical

I'm probably wrong and a statistition could well show my view as utter bunk, but I associate the take off in our injury problems as coinciding with Wenger moving from a physically imposing team to ones packed with less robust skillful midgets.

Just clearing out some drawers (what else is there to do when it rains at Easter). Came across this poignant keepsake. Brilliant camaraderie by the forum to get together and fund it. Hard to believe that was back in December 2009.

Yay!!! I thought that I'd lost this. But had just put it 'somewhere safe'

And a final blast from the past

My assumption is the same and I’m sure it has been summarised well on here before.
1. Cheaper players with an injury history
2. Smaller players with less bulk on them to withstand knocks
3. Possession football which invites more tackles

I would love to see a pair of CB and pair of CM of raw power, pace and strength in or side. I think we’d be a hugely better team and more balanced team.

I’m hoping one of the big clubs goes for Pochettino in the summer. Real Madrid could easily be after a new manager and Poch would struggle to turn them down.
I admire the way he has built his team and how he has dealt with the loss of players. As opposed to wenger he has planned well for the loss of key players by having a replacement of sufficient quality either already at the club or transferred in, there is a smooth transition. He has also not rewarded anyone trying the engineer an exit from the club, last year he sidelined Walker towards he end of the season, this year Alderweireld and Rose are getting the same treatment. For those 3 players you have Trippier, Sanchez and Davies stepping in. He’s signed tried and tested Aurier to give himself 2 RB and I expect another Cb and LB in the summer to push the players he currently has - rather than Wenger either signing no one, or a sub standard player and hoping he can pull another rabbit out of the hat.
Pochettino is the most important part of spurs.

LTG this is fantastic

Great share

I've got the Ali cooper Highbury programme. I think it goes when my heart does

My sons won't understand or actually don't

You do spend more time than anyone else on here moaning about refs and only when calls go against us .... so how is that a cheap shot ?

Watch Özil's left foot ... he takes it back to shoot THEN jams it straight into the ground knowing the momentum of the bloke behind will catch him . If he had been genuinely taking shot his foot would have been in the air ....so he's a cheat .

Game , set , match ......... no sandpaper needed for that one .

Don't think Ali ever fought Cooper .

Of course I'm just being the smartarse ... Cooper v Clay to be precise ... in spite of knocking Clay down 'Enry doesn't look to flash .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Coo ... ,_1963.jpg

Nice

West Brom has done us a huge favor and made Pardew available to us for a smooth transition this summer.