Arsenal’s dark arts hypocrisy, and are conspiracy theories really so crazy?

Editor F365
Arsenal surround Michael Oliver after Leandro Trossard's red card.
Arsenal surround Michael Oliver after Leandro Trossard's red card.

The Mailbox pleads for perspective on ‘dark arts’. Also: why indeed Arsenal boil p*ss – or not – and is it really so wild to consider that the game might not be entirely pure?

Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com

Everyone is at it
May I suggest that anyone who uses the words ‘dark arts’ to describe events on a football field should have their ‘opinions’ immediately and loudly ignored? Lordy, everywhere you look after this weekend, that bloody phrase. This isn’t Harry sodding Potter, there are no specialist potions coaches on the sidelines, or voodoo dolls having balls hurled at their heads. These aren’t things happening in the shadows, it just isn’t ‘dark’. Every team does it when necessary. Every. Single Team. We’re talking about ‘gamesmanship’ at best, or for those of us old enough, we used to just call it basic ‘time-wasting’. It happens. Just cut the ludicrous romancing of a basic in-game strategy, for Severus’s sake
Paul, Atlanta

 

Not crazy to consider conspiracy
Nick, Romford made a point in the Mailbox that was also made – with more style and sympathy for Arsenal – by Barney Ronay. To wit, that people muttering about conspiracies are a bit ridiculous.

It’s time to inject a dose of realism into this – Calciopoli was real. Marseille bribing opposition players was real. Barca paying the vice president of the La Liga referees’ committee ‘consulting fees’ for 17(!) years is real. Fixing scandals in cricket were very real, and very possibly continue today.

How long are we going to carry on like David Lloyd – expressing a wide-eyed naivete about the corrupting influence of billions of unaccounted-for pounds on sporting integrity?

When financially unsustainable amounts of money are being poured into building footballing teams, it is normal to observe that the ‘investor’ has a massive incentive to control the variables affecting their returns. One of those variables is refereeing decisions. It is impossible – and probably unwise – to force all the inflection points in your favour. But if you force enough of them, miraculous things can happen. Like winning 6 titles in 7 years in a very very competitive league.

We know that Man City’s owners are legally and generously paying PGMOL referees, including last Sunday’s. We also have serious reports that they play fast and loose with off-book transactions, like Barca, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and probably others (but not – as of date – Arsenal).

When you add 2 and 2, what do you get? That is not an assumption, that is a question. Journalists should ask their sources that question. It’s better than handing out presumptive clean chits.

Regards,
TG, Arsenal

 

Indifferent to Arsenal
A couple of things to say about Rich, AFC’s latest mail. Firstly, Arsenal don’t boil my piss at all. Arteta’s quite annoying for reasons I cannot fathom, so I guess that’s on me, but Arsenal are a bit “meh” really. I think you play decent (very good) football and I quite like that you’re not the old Arsenal that just wilted all the time. Some may say that’s still the case but I can think of 115 reasons why that’s an unfair assessment of this Arsenal side. I hope you do win the league this year because a) I predicted it (won’t happen then, sorry and b) I’d rather it were you than Liverpool or City.

I don’t think your problem is the big games at all. Your problem is dropping points against the likes of West Ham. You just can’t do that sort of thing against 115 City.

Final few points relate to this paragraph:

“We’ve gone the entire of 2024 away from home without losing – only been behind for 13 minutes of all those games, won at Spurs 3 times in a row, have gone 5 unbeaten away to chelsea (including 3 wins), beat Man U at old trafford and remain undefeated in our last 2 games away to City and Liverpool – but yet some rival fans still demand that we actually show up in these big games away from home.”

Being unbeaten away from home is great but half of 2024 does not a season make. You got 4 points from the final 15 available in 2023, a run which ultimately cost you the title. Please avoid that this year.

You’ve won 3 times at spurs. lol. Lads – it’s “Spurs”.

You’ve beaten United at Old Trafford. My only question there is who f*cking hasn’t? You weren’t exactly in a select group for that last season. Even Roy Hodgson got a go.

But fair enough I’ll give you the rest. It’s be nice if United could do some of that occasionally (unbeaten against Liverpool last season though).

Anyway, don’t worry Rich we’re not bothered by Arsenal. We might be if you start winning titles, especially if you cheat to do so. But I just see a well managed/coached tough young side that is unlucky to be up against the best/most dubiously assembled side the Premier League has seen.
Ash Metcalfe

 

Ref justice
Now we’re cooking with gaslighting!

I needed to take a day before writing in so I could compose an email that wasn’t purely fuelled by emotion. I’m glad I waited, as most Arsenal fans who wrote in covered what I was going to say anyway. Some were still hung up on the “Letterofthelaw!”. But, that’s to be expected, given the spectrum of F365 readers. I do want to remind people of things my past couple of emails covered that were pertinent to the City game. Firstly, the Martinelli double yellow against Wolves dished out by… oh, Michael Oliver. You have to really want to give those. Secondly, Kovačič getting away with GBH last week against Brentford. Should have seen red for flying recklessly into the back of Wissa. Guess who turns up a week later to have a major part to play in City’s last-minute equaliser… And, when he commits three yellow card offenses against Arsenal a year ago, by way of dangerous tackles, guess who the ref is in that game… I don’t get into conspiracy theories, but, it’s totally valid to point out patterns. It’s like Mike Dean never left us.

Anyway, we’re being patronised about these “new” refereeing directives each season. As long as I’ve followed football delaying play from a free kick has always been a yellow card. The ref has just chosen not to book the player. Gesturing that, and/or imploring the referee should book a player had always been a yellow card. The ref has just chosen not to book the player (or coach). Like I said in my last email, the ref always has a choice. Don’t be gaslit. So, why is it that there is such eagerness to act? All I see is power-tripping by people given authority who otherwise wouldn’t look out of place as a gimp in Tek Knight’s sex dungeon. They’re like traffic wardens who set out to get their ton for the day. These are the kind of people who grab a Miami Dolphins star player out of their McClaren and force them to the ground because suddenly it’s their moment. And, for everyone who calls Trossard foolish for kicking the ball after the whistle, can’t you see he’s already wound up to hook the ball out to Martinelli for the counter attack? Does his “decision” to not suddenly halt when he’s in the middle of such frantic action on the stroke of halftime warrant such an ego-boosting second yellow that will transform the game?

I’d like to list a few game-affecting things that are far more worthy of such harsh punishment.
1. The goalkeeper intentionally handling the ball outside of the box. At least get it VAR checked.
2. Reckless tackling from behind (um, obviously).
3. Pulling an opponent back by their collar.
4. Putting your hand on your opponent’s throat as you “fall” on them.
5. The goalkeeper employing gamesmanship at penalties.
The finals of WC 2022 and Euro 2020 saw clever exploitation of loopholes where the letter of the law spares you from a dismissal. Chiellini pulls Saka back by his collar when it’s a chance to run clear down the wing and possibly set up a championship winning goal in the last minute. It’s technically only a yellow card offense. A booking is given. Italy survive extra time and win on penalties. Emi Martinez messes around with the ball before Tchouameni can take his penalty. It’s technically not a red card offense. Tchouameni misses. Argentina win the shootout. Why don’t officiating bodies focus more on this kind of stuff? Why not make these red card offenses? I mean, if you’re trying to stamp out unfair play why not prioritise the big things, rather than going for the low-hanging fruit just so you can make yourself the main character and go on a power trip? Does that sound petty? Well, don’t these things need to be stamped out of the game more than Trossard and Rice’s crimes of the last few games? And, whatever happened to refs giving final warnings to ensure we still have a contest?

And then we have the City players getting salty after the game. Let’s talk about “dark arts”. Going down to break the flow of the game? Often, that is tactical and not because a player needs treatment. But, when you get the time added on and score in the last minute you can hardly complain. Especially when your opponents are playing almost an hour with 10 men. Get over it. Also, the Arsenal players who were going down had to come off anyway. Oh, and how about going down holding your face at kick-off when you’ve stepped in front of your runner? Spare me. City had every advantage going for them. They were playing their third consecutive game at home while Arsenal were playing their third consecutive away game, with a day less to prepare. Stop your crying, Bernardo.

The main takeaway from this game should be that Arsenal are immense. Any attempt to change that narrative is desperation. It’s just a shame we have to talk about refereeing again. It’s every week. It’s exhausting to the point of breeding apathy where we’re just supposed to accept it. And then the media refs tell us it’s all fine. It’s not fine. It’s gaslighting.
Simon, Norf London Gooner

 

Misdirection
Arsenal are not in a tribunal hearing for alleged financial impropriety. Not even once. Let alone 115 times.

Arsenal are not raising eyebrows by signing 40 players for a billion quid on 9 year contracts.

Arsenal spent 200 mio last summer on large upgrades. This summer they had a net spend of zero as a result. They actually trimmed their squad to restore free cash flow and reduce the wage bill.

Arsenal have a 40 year old coach who has won exactly one trophy – the fa cup (which means nothing to anyone bar ETh) – and that was 4 years ago. I checked this fact with Bernardo Silva by the way.

So why is everyone so apparently terrified or appalled at what Arsenal are doing to the game ? Surely it’s not misdirection ?
Johnno


Back for good?
Yippee, it appears that Arsenal are back after that 2-2 draw against City. This is really pleasing, however, you might be better off being “back” at the business end of the season, when you have traditionally bottled it.

Also, has a player ever gone down with cramp when on the losing side? Winning cramp is a thing?
Simon S, Cheshire.

 

Speedy defence
Arsenal fans are funny, aren’t they.

Are they going to clog up the court system by challenging their speeding tickets on the grounds that not everybody else got done? Lots of people speed. Some get punished, some don’t. That’s not a defence.
Mark Lewis (SWFC, in other news, we’re f***ed)

 

Postcard from east Manchester
Just a thought but perhaps the refs are being harsh on arsenal because the players and fans are constantly whining, cheating little bitches.

Just a thought
Matt MCFC

MORE MAN CITY COVERAGE ON F365…
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Insufferable Gunners
In response to Rich, AFC saying that Arsenal haven’t had any real shockers go their way, I remember last season Odegaard committing a clear handball for a penalty against Liverpool in a game you went on to draw and Havertz diving while on a yellow card against Brentford before scoring a last minute winner. Both times the review after the game said the decision should have gone against Arsenal but didn’t. That you don’t notice that is only natural – you’re a fan and, like all fans (me included) almost everything your team does is the result of our own brilliance (or is at least justified) and the opponents and refs are filthy cheats trying to screw you over. They’re not though.
Arsenal fans in the last couple of years have started an extremely vocal insistence that the only reason they might possibly not win is referees cheating, which doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny.

Finally, the reason I reckon that most other fans don’t want Arsenal to win the league is the same reason you didn’t want us to win the league when we were against them; Rival fans are already annoying enough – if you lot actually won something you’d still be insufferable, but now with justification, which would be dreadful for the rest of us. City winning doesn’t matter – they’re expected to and it doesn’t matter much but a different club doing it would be nightmarish for rival fans.
Tom, Andover

Wenger was right
There is one, or shall we say two, things that stood out from Wenger’s cry arsing that we should take a moment to acknowledge.

By things I mean names. The first, is the delightful Shawcross. Wenger asking whether he goes for the ball or not became thoroughly pertinent for a young Aaron Ramsey and his shattered leg. A potentially career ending challenge on a young lad just starting out.

The second is the targeting of another young player, Eduardo. We can’t quite forget the mouth-clasping, vomit-suppressing looks on the Arsenal players faces in 2008. Dislocated ankle and broken tibia, if i remember right.

Cryarsing? Maybe. Premonition? Who knows. Cryarsing when absolute rage was probably the right answer? Certainly.

(But then the editorial team at F365 new this and most likely it’s a fishing exercise for read responses)

Bait. Taken
Alex

READ MORE: From Bernardo to Klopp via Wenger and Jose: Top 10 post-match ‘proper football’ cryarsings


VAR and Villany ​
Given the furore in the aftermath of the Citeh v Arsenal game and refereeing I have two things to say (as a Villa fan)…

There was a lot of talk in the comments section about calling out your own team too. Duran’s dive against League 1 Wycombe was disgraceful tonight. I guess it showed how desperate Villa were and…
B. I think he did it knowing he’d never get booked and VAR couldn’t check it. Basically took a chance on the ref being incompetent. Long live VAR.

Ta,
Gary AVFC.

 

Farmer maths
Wimbledon AFC were reported to have pumped 100,000 litres of water from their pitch, the surface of which is 6,900 square meters. By my farmer maths, that’s water to a depth of 1.4 cm all over the pitch. Right?
Dan, Phnom Penh (not a farmer)

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