Arsenal dominated the match, but clearly had the referee on their side ....... Lomas never should have been sent off, but if Arsenal are going to be so arrogant in their play, like they did when West Ham scored, then they could easily let slip the title.
I have said this for a long time, but just to say it again, Thierry Henry is the best striker in the world, bar none.
Yeah, the wind was definitely blowing on Arsenal's side today. I can only assume that Lomas got sent off because he said something unbecoming to the ref. That foul of his was a bit rough, but didn't merit more than a yellow card. Bergkamp also dodged a bullet, but IMO this match was still all about Arsenal. Henry was in fine form, but the rest of the squad wasn't-- hope they're a bit more focused for Liverpool.
Let's not forget how many calamitous saves the gunners forced out of James today. I'm not denying that we benefitted from some good luck, but without some of their own the hammers could've lost by much, much more. Anyone care to bet how long it takes Henry to net 200?
Totally agree . . . however, I felt the Gunners kinda let down a little after the penalty and the Loma's red card (which I thought was harsh). It was going to be tough to score with West Ham sitting back and taking whatever Arsenal could throw their way. David James was excellent though . . . maybe Sven was watching . . . it would've been worse if James didn't make all those brilliant saves. I was happy with the result but I would like to see the Gunners to keep it at a high gear instead of letting up . . . Lots of games left but it appears that the title could come down to the rematch vs. Man U at Highbury. Man, I hope it won't be a payback scenario though . . . NewCastle is making a run as well though . . . don't know if it's a 2 horse race but it appears more and more the case . . .
Was this game on FSW today at 2pm Eastern? If so I totally blew it. It also says tonight at 11pm Eastern. This according to FSW.com Can someone please confirm.
Also worth watching for the worst call of the year on Lomas. You may have beaten us anyway (look how we've been playing all year) but an arbitrary decision by the ref that puts us a man down is no way to win a game. The ref should be hung.
You'd have to ask his wife about that. If however, you'd like to see him strung up from the nearest tree, or hanged, that's a different story.
Yes that is what I meant. Just to protect myself: (from Cambridge Dictionary of American English) hung past simple and past participle of hang
Are Arsenal players targeted by the FA? Latest news says that the FA is investigating the elbow incident between Bowyer and Bergkamp, and that Dennis could be handed a 3 match ban. This is ************ing ridiculous. It looked like Bowyer simply ran into Dennis' elbow, was barely touched, but then fell to the ground and rolled around like he had just been shot by a sniper. I really think the FA is out of control and is looking for every little thing to be able to punish Arsenal players. Just goes to show that once you get to the top, everyone wants to see you fall. Bastards.
Re: Are Arsenal players targeted by the FA? hahahahaha!!!! The penalty/red card is arguable, but don't tell me Bergkamp didn't smack Bowyer in the face with his forearm. You're delusional.
Okay already! Regardless if he should have been hung or hanged, he obviously had no balls with his pandering to the home crowd and number one team.
Re: Re: Are Arsenal players targeted by the FA? Whatever. Usually when someone gets smacked so hard in the face with an elbow that they can't stand for a minute or two, they usually have something to show for it (bruises, bloody nose, teeth knocked out, etc.) I saw nothing of the like on Bowyer.
DB10 did what some of us wanted to do for a long time. That is to punch Bowyer in the face. The non-call by the ref and the assist is just the bonus for punching Bowyer in the face.
Fine result, piss poor performance. I do think it was a penalty, however I don't think Lomas deserved to go. Bergkamp didn't look to me like he particularly swung his elbow at Bowyer, although he does have a history of these type of indescretions. Whatever the rights and wrongs of it, playing against 10 men we looked like we thought we could just stroll around and win at a canter. Even before Defoe eventually equalised they could have had one as Campbell and Keown kept letting long punts from James drop over their heads and Defoe was chasing for all he was worth. You could see it coming for a long time. Henry hat-trick, great. Two one on ones with the keeper and not scoring, not great. If he had been just a bit more careful with his finishing in the first half, one, the game would have been over by half time, and two, he would have had five. Bergkamp and Wiltord were also guilty of some pretty dreadful finishing, so don't think I'm just getting at Henry. West Ham have some quality players, but their defence is awful. Against 10 men with a poor defence, we should have scored more.
Michaec, you surprise me. No mention of Wiltords blunders in front of goal? We had some amazing chances where it appeared that it would be easier to put it in than miss. The score could have been 6 or 7 goals had we kept from that lazy attitude we started with. I hate to say it but DB10 elbow appeared pretty intentional and the fact that it was Bowyer makes me believe that even more. To defend the ref though, I didnt see it when the game was in action but had to see the replay. I dont want to go on and on about the corner kicks but surely some one in the organization sees this problem and wants it addressed in practice. We must have had 12-15 corners and only one appeared close to goal. I also believe that from now on we should award the opponent one goal so that we must play from behind. It seems every time we score first and early that we stroll through the game until they equalise.
Not at all... It seemed to me that my rants against Wiltord were well known on these boards and that I've derided him in every way imaginable in the past. But if it's by popular demand, I'll reinstate my tirades beginning the next time I see him play. Watch this space!