Premier League Round Up (Oct 19-21 2024)

[tlw content]

 

The big story this weekend was Arsenal losing at Bournemouth after having Saliba sent off early and then later conceding a penalty. As soon as I heard Saliba had been sent off I knew my ‘for you’ twitter timeline would be fucked up. I must have read a few Arsenal fan tweets and now I’m bombarded with the cunts.

 

I’d say they’re easily the worst fans on twitter but maybe that’s because I see far more from them than I do anyone else? Or maybe they are just the biggest crybaby fanbase in the country? Maybe both?

 

That being said, when I first saw the Saliba red card I thought it was harsh. Firstly because it’s only a slight tug and I think Evanilson goes down very easily. Secondly I don’t think it’s 100% certain that Ben Shite couldn’t have got back into a covering position. Not saying he would have, but maybe.

 

Now I should point out that the first time I saw it was on my phone scrolling through twitter. After seeing it properly on the big telly I don’t think the ref / VAR have any choice but to give a red. But then I feel the same about the Tosin foul on Jota. That’s a red.

 

Arsenal fans just can’t accept any decision that goes against them though. The stink they made over the Rice red card was bad enough but they’ve outdone themselves this time, the pathetic fucking losers. The ref and VAR are both Liverpool fans so therefore the PL want to fuck Arsenal over at every opportunity.

 

There’s no conspiracy against Arsenal, they just play on the edge and when you do that then occasionally you’ll fall off. They employ the dark arts more than anyone, hence why they have more red cards than anyone since Arteta has been there. You reap what you sew. Unless you’re Man City, in which case you reap what you buy.

 

So yeah, Saliba should have been sent off, for stupidity as much as anything. Why is he grabbing at the lad when he could just run back with him and snuff out the danger? It’s not like he was beaten and had no choice. Just fucking run back with him and make it difficult for him to score, dickhead.

 

Bournemouth are decent so having to play a man light for so long against them was going to be difficult, but Arsenal’s resilience is their big strength so I did think they might hold out for a 0-0 or sneak a goal from a well worked set-piece. They didn’t though. In fact they conceded from a well worked set-piece and then conceded a pen to go 2-0 down.

 

Bournemouth’s opener is lovely. It’s a clever corner that their set-piece coach came up with after seeing how Arsenal were defending corners with only ten men. It’s well designed, but you still have to finish it off and the strike by Christie is a beauty. Great goal.

 

The second came from the spot when Raya brought down Evanilson. I actually think the striker deliberately runs into Raya who can’t really avoid contact, but that’s going to be given nine times out of ten. The one time is obviously if it’s Ederson making the challenge.

 

Tell you what though, that Arsenal starting line up was dogshit. They had a couple missing but if that’s how it looks when you take Odegaard, Saka and Martinelli out, they’re fucked if they pick up a few injuries. Four centre backs, three holding midfielders and a front line of Sterling, Havertz and Trossard is a side that would be battling just to make the top six. Arteta is slowly turning into Tony Pulis with each year that passes without a trophy.

 

Might need to bring back the ArsenLOL nickname based on how this season is going. Any time they drop points these days, just open up the popcorn and settle in for the conspiracy show. They’re fucking mental. The fans I mean. Arteta is only one step behind them though and give him a few more bad results and I could easily see him donning the tinfoil hat as well. For now though it’s just the fans who have completely lost the plot.

 

They’re the whataboutery kings. Any decision that goes against them, give it a couple of minutes and some “Gooner” on twitter will have found a comparable incident with a different outcome from some point in the last ten years and will be using it to cry “conspiracy”. Apparently the PL don’t want them to win it. Behave yourselves.

 

If they were saying refs are biased in favour of City then I’d be right there standing shoulder to shoulder with them. They’re not though. They don’t think it’s about City, they think it’s about them. Everything is a "northern conspiracy" to keep Arsenal down.

 

Just fuck off you sad, deluded, mental bastards. They were comparing the Saliba sending off with the non-sending off for Tosin at Anfield. Valid comparison, except instead of asking “How come Tosin wasn’t sent off?” they’re saying “how come Saliba got a red card when Tosin didn’t”. It’s not about you, knobheads. Who benefitted from both of those differing decisions on almost identical incidents? Clue, it’s not Liverpool or Arsenal.

 

The funniest part of it was the camera picking up Howard Webb texting someone while the VAR check was going on. He may or may not have been involved in the decision (if he was it was more likely to have been about protocol rather than the actual decision itself, as he’s not looking at a monitor, he’s in the fucking stands!), but Arsenal fans thinking he’s just trying to fuck them over (to benefit us! US!!!!) are batshit crazy.

 

Arsenal fans need to realise it isn’t about them. Stop crying it in about how all these “northern refs” favour northern teams. They don’t. It’s one team that is getting favoured, as both ourselves and United can point to fucking loads of occasions when we’ve been screwed over.

 

The common denominator here is that Man City are never on the wrong end of these decisions. If it can go either way, it’s going their way. If it can’t go either way, it might just go their way anyway. It’s been that way for several years now.  That’s what Arsenal fans need to realise, instead of wallowing in this inflated sense of their own importance.

 

I’m willing to put good money down that they benefit from some sort of contentious decision against us this weekend, and even if that happens they’ll still be telling the world that there’s an evil plot to stop them winning the league. Fucking weirdos.

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[DaveT]

It's funny seeing Arsenal fans squealing about their injury crisis - the same kind of crisis we had to face for maybe all but 2 of Klopp's nine seasons.

 

I watched a fair bit of Championship footy towards the end of last season, especially Hull because of Morton and Carvalho. I also remember that Fatawu absolutley destroying someone during Leicester's run-in - might have been poor old Southampton again. Him and Semenyo at Bournemouth are deffo ones worth keeping an eye on.

[redinblack]

I like the name Philogene. It sounds like something they would throw round at ICI, some sort of detergent or industrial solvent.

[Kevin D]

Think you need to give the Bournemouth manager a bit more credit.

 

He is the soundest guy in the league.

 

Takes ownership for defeats, praises the players when they win and is always straight about the referee’s performance without sounding whiny or sycophantic.

 

Obviously it’s MOTD, so can be selectively edited, but he seems a good egg.

[dave u]

You want me to give him more credit when you won't even refer to him by his name. Practice what you preach!

[Kevin D]

12 minutes ago, dave u said:

You want me to give him more credit when you won't even refer to him by his name. Practice what you preach!

Iraloa.

 

I always get tripped up over it.

 

I think him and Gary O’Neill always carry themselves well on MOTD, the latter in increasingly absurd circumstances.

[Jarvinja Ilnow]

12 minutes ago, Kevin D said:

Iraloa.

 

I always get tripped up over it.

 

I think him and Gary O’Neill always carry themselves well on MOTD, the latter in increasingly absurd circumstances.

 

Iraola. You even spelled his name wrong just to add more disrespect, you fucking thug.

[Kevin D]

4 minutes ago, Jarvinja Ilnow said:

 

Iraola. You even spelled his name wrong just to add more disrespect, you fucking thug.

17 minutes means I can’t even edit it.

 

The exact disaster I was trying to prevent has befallen me.

 

Black day.