ARSENAL ON CLOUD 9 .... LETS MAKE IT 12!

What a difference a year makes! Or more to the point, having a fantastic new young defender, a dynamic skillful striker, and a team not decimated with covid!

We really are in dreamland at the moment as we look at the table, not top out of goal difference....but on points! We have a team that is oozing with class and a huge sense of togetherness, Jesus has an aura about him that suggests he has been with us for years. How did this happen? Why was every team out there not clambering for his signature?

I'll be honest, I had reservations. There were strong rumours towards the end of last season that he was a possibility and I just could not become too excited by the thought. I mean he was performing well at Man City but was never a regular starter. How wrong I was! Of course Arteta knows him so well as a result of working closely with him, so maybe it was a simple case of Arteta knew....and thankfully not many others did!

The other signing that arguably raised most eyebrows and murmurs of praise through gritted teeth from outsiders was that of Zinchenko. Again I admit I did not know too much about him, I remember him being highlighted as a real prospect when he came onto the pitch as a substitute for Man City, however as I mentioned the comments from the media were incredibly positive and exciting. It turns out we have a real player on our hands who is currently keeping Tierney on the bench! If I told you last year that we would have a player to do this to Tierney I would have sounded crazy! It's a selection problem for Arteta, but as they say, it's a lovely problem to have. It also proves how right Arsenal were not to panic buy over Christmas. For the first time for many years we are in a position where the squad is full of 1st team players. No dead wood. Our bench is going to be immense.

So where are we? A concoction of a young team that have had just over a year to blend and who showed flashes of real brilliance, and now extra ingredients to not only add depth but true quality. All of whom appear to have blended together perfectly. And who knows, there may still be additions especially with the departure of Pepe, who I wish all the best in his new club. It really is an exciting position to be in.

Of course there will be bumps in the road, but I really believe that we are in a position to bounce back from these positively. Also just as importantly we can deal with injuries that hurt us so badly at the end of last season.

Fulham are next, and whilst we salivate at the prospect of another 3 points we must remember this is football and there has already been some very strange results this season. However, if we are to kick on and actually challenge this season which I believe we can, a win is a must. I am sure Arteta will send them out onto the pitch to achieve just this.

REF WATCH

Wow, where do I start? Why not where I left the last one....total inconsistency! Last week we were saved by VAR when Vardy fell over in the penalty area. It looked very much like a penalty however closer inspection showed that he clearly dived. The ref agreed and overturned his initial decision....because it was shown on his screen he had closely studied that HE CLEARLY DIVED!!!! So where was the booking? The referee stopped play the week before to book Xhaka.....so why not now? It does my head in!!

Now, let's talk about the Chelsea v Spurs game. My word, someone could write a book about how bad this was. The biggest talking point however was the hair pulling incident. Mike Dean stopped play as the ball fell for a Spurs corner to look at a possible foul. Obviously everyone is expecting to see an incident which may lead to a penalty, however there was nothing. So why did he stop it? Was he fishing? However what was there for ALL to see was Romero grabbing hold of Cucurella by the hair and dragging him to the floor. At the least a foul, at the most a red card offence....which it is. However inexplicably Mike Dean informed the on field referee who had missed the incident anyway to play on! Absolutely mind blowing decision. And then we wait until midweek to hear that Make Dean has admitted to his mistake....in his weekly newspaper column!! You could not make it up! Mike Dean can make mistakes to actually boost the interest in his other job. He is actually benefiting from his sheer incompetence at being a referee. He has a long history of strange decisions, but the moment I thought he really should be retired was when he sent off West Ham’s Soucek late on in a match for an 'elbow'. It was clear to anyone watching that it was an accident. Mike Dean looked at the incident on the VAR screen approximately 22 times, this alone demonstrates that there is clear doubt in his mind, only for him to produce a red card that was very quickly rescinded in the next few days which would have been one of the easiest decisions for the panel involved. So how is he rewarded? He is now the VAR referee!

The final incident I wish to cover is the red card incident involving Trippier when he had absolutely no chance of reaching the ball, so he kicks the defender to send him sprawling over to stop a promising attack. Its a common tactic, its been described as 'taking one for the team' and usually results in a yellow card. Unless your name is Xhaka of course who is the only player I know who has been red carded for doing exactly this. Now again, I have no issue with this red card decision, as I did not with Trippier's, which was overturned following a VAR check (Xhaka’s wasn’t obviously), as I strongly agree it should be a red card offence and this is why.

Trippier even admits after the game that he deliberately kicked the opposing player. Think of. scenario where a player kicks another player whilst the ball is on the other side of the pitch, the ref is called over to look at VAR for a possible Red card offence, that player will be sent off. There is no debate about that. So what is the difference in this case? He has no intention of a legitimate tackle, his only aim is to kick the player....this is therefore clearly violent conduct! Therefore a red card offence. I hear pundits talking about 'he didn't show his studs'. This totally misses the point, this relates to a genuine attempt to tackle a player. You don't not send off a player for punching someone because he did not show his studs!

Please, if anyone can see a fault one my argument I’m all ears. But please make it a good one!?

This weekend promises another fun packed exhibition of football with yet more surprising results on the way. Let’s hope that does not apply to The Emirates though and our perfect run continues.

Thanks for reading. Until next time ….

Up the Gunners !!

Rob