Arsenal v Aston Villa All-in-one Thread (Match #272) (Post-match #993)

[walsall villain]

Some people think if there as minimum contact with the ball, all is allowed. But in Gabby's case, his left leg clearly is hit by his knee before touching the ball

Yes, if you wipe a player out but touch the ball first it's a foul despite what a lot of ex players seem to think in the media. Question is, why do defenders take the risk in the box?
Gabby was just great yesterday, fast and direct, at his best

[Gregorys Boy]

Getting back to today, am I the only person that didn't think we looked particularly impressive?

We certainly weren't bad but we didn't seem hugely incisive up front for most of the game (in spite of his two goals I thought Benteke was very quiet and a bit wasteful when he did have the ball) and we still looked pretty ropey at the back quite a few times.

This is all very positive, because it we didn't need to be at our best and still won 3-1 away to Arsenal then it's a very good sign, but I'd be amazed if we don't have a couple of games this season where we play better than today and lose.

I am with you on that Dave. I thought Weimann looked really out of sorts, Benteke was not really a threat and Westwood was quite out of the game strangely. Overall I thought we played much better at times towards the back of last season. But then with Bacuna going through at the end we could have ended up winning 4-1! Strange. But I will take it!

Who cares!?  Its the first game of the season, its a fixture we would have taken a point from and to win 3-1 is pretty damn good going.  Pretty much everyone can look to improve at this stage, but there were far more positives than negatives and you worry more if you play like that against the likes of Cardiff or Stoke.

We were lucky at times today, and they can feel unlucky on at least two of the talking points (second pen, and sending off), but the tactics were spot on, the players responded well from going behind so early, they worked hard, played good counter attacking football and took the breaks when they came.  The second half display was better, but a good start anyway.

[The Left Side]

Wow, what a result... we rode our luck but put our chances away, utv

[JD]

Just watched the whole game on Arsenal TV. Loved the bitterness of their commentators, even when Villa were 3-1 up they were saying if Villa play like this for the rest of the season they will finish in the bottom six. Where will Arsenal finish then? 

A great win today, yes we got lucky at times, but despite their possession, Arsenal didn't create that many chances. Well done to all of the players for battling back from an early goal. 

[ciggiesnbeer]

I am pretty bitter Arsenal shows the full game for free afterwards and AVTV chages for crappy highlights.

[Matt Collins]

Some people think if there as minimum contact with the ball, all is allowed. But in Gabby's case, his left leg clearly is hit by his knee before touching the ball

Yes, if you wipe a player out but touch the ball first it's a foul despite what a lot of ex players seem to think in the media. Question is, why do defenders take the risk in the box?
Gabby was just great yesterday, fast and direct, at his best

If you get the ball and then wipe out the player that's fine under any understanding of the game I've ever had -unless it's dangerous play. The reason the second was a penalty was because koscielny's knee took out gabby's trailing leg before he took the ball with the other foot. Whether the ref has actually seen that or made the right decision by luck, I'm less convinced.

[eastie]

I watched the game yesterday afternoon and again on sky last night and thought the 2nd penalty was 50/50- however on watching shearers review of it and the different angle he used it was clear that gabbys left leg was caught before the ball was touched and it was a penalty- i was looking at his right leg in the other replays .

[walsall villain]

Some people think if there as minimum contact with the ball, all is allowed. But in Gabby's case, his left leg clearly is hit by his knee before touching the ball

Yes, if you wipe a player out but touch the ball first it's a foul despite what a lot of ex players seem to think in the media. Question is, why do defenders take the risk in the box?
Gabby was just great yesterday, fast and direct, at his best

If you get the ball and then wipe out the player that's fine under any understanding of the game I've ever had -unless it's dangerous play. The reason the second was a penalty was because koscielny's knee took out gabby's trailing leg before he took the ball with the other foot. Whether the ref has actually seen that or made the right decision by luck, I'm less convinced.

The rule for the award of a direct free kick include:
kicking or attempting to kick an opponent. Accidentally kicking an opponent while tackling the ball is not a foul unless it was careless, reckless, or there was excessive force

So I guess it's down to whether the tackle can be considered careless or reckless. If its against a villa player, I reckon it's bloody reckless every time!

[Ron Manager]

Dont know if anyone else has commented on this but Bacary Sagna was very lucky not to have broken his neck when he went over Benteke.

I immediately thought of the Bert Trautman incident.

[eastie]

Dont know if anyone else has commented on this but Bacary Sagna was very lucky not to have broken his neck when he went over Benteke.

I immediately thought of the Bert Trautman incident.

Yes , it looked awful and i feared the worst but was delighted to see him walking off the pitch - hope he recovers fast , seeing a fall like that is not nice.

[joe_c]

Fuckin hell what a performance! 10 mins in and I thought it was the same old story from this time last year but after that we grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and took the game to Arsenal in their own back yard. The defence was quite superb! Guzman immense, Delph fantastic and Gabby quite simply the best player on the pitch.
Haven't enjoyed myself so much in London in ages. Well done Villa and keep it up!

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH SAUNDERS_HEROES?

*winky thing*

[Salsa Party Animal]

What do you think about referee's booking of Antonio Luna or Tony Moon. I thought it is a bad decision as he won the ball and then got flattened by Alex C.

[supertom]

Dont know if anyone else has commented on this but Bacary Sagna was very lucky not to have broken his neck when he went over Benteke.

I immediately thought of the Bert Trautman incident.

Yes , it looked awful and i feared the worst but was delighted to see him walking off the pitch - hope he recovers fast , seeing a fall like that is not nice.

It was a hell of a leap too, he just went right over Benteke who's 7ft4.  It didn't look good at one point,so glad he was able to walk off.

[supertom]

What do you think about referee's booking of Antonio Luna or Tony Moon. I thought it is a bad decision as he won the ball and then got flattened by Alex C.

It was a 50-50 challenge. Both players were commited to getting the ball. Luna got the ball. It was never a foul let alone a yellow. In fact by the basis that Luna was booked in the refs mind, he could just as easily booked the Arsenal player instead.

[eastie]

What do you think about referee's booking of Antonio Luna or Tony Moon. I thought it is a bad decision as he won the ball and then got flattened by Alex C.

It was a 50-50 challenge. Both players were commited to getting the ball. Luna got the ball. It was never a foul let alone a yellow. In fact by the basis that Luna was booked in the refs mind, he could just as easily booked the Arsenal player instead.

Totally agree with that , no foul and a good 50/50 challenge , was surprised to see luna get booked for it .