closed Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea

[kiwi1691 255]

user Dorset from the shedend forum made this brilliant comment, it deserved to be shared.

 

Quote

For me, this game was all about our benefiting from the unbelievable amount of prejudicial ‘sticking to the narrative’ on show when we play Arsenal these days. I’d put my evidence for this into three groups - the print prejudice, the pride and prejudice of a certain Arsene Wenger, and the misplaced Media prejudice - all of which served to concentrate a Chels mindset and befuddle Arse preparations. In that order and taking The Guardian as a typical example of self-fulfilling narrative prophecy in print, I could start stating my case with this news outlet’s week-long online feeding of Gooner frenzy, with articles such as the one detailing how Arsenal and Ozil in particular would dominate Chelsea, the German said to be on the brink of being hailed as the new Bergkamp. Or maybe it would be better just to begin with the one entitled ‘All-seeing Cech lays to rest Arsenal demons of Chelsea’s Mourinho era’, whatever that particular word concoction might actually mean. 

 

But then again, perhaps the point is already well made by merely referring to this swing-o-meter of opinion, as we all witnessed that steady rise in journalistic craving for significant change in both London club’s fortune throughout the Jose years of supremacy. Indeed, it could be argued that the Special One’s going was bound to force the pointer off it’s fulcrum and deep into any Red Zone of gleeful these-things-go-in-cycles philosophy. So, on to Arsene, recalling as I will the corresponding fixture at the Bridge and the Arsenal manager’s expression of amazement at Costa’s ability to ‘get away with it every week’, alluding to his behaviour on the park and how unacceptable it was. In the Frenchman’s eyes, his blind one was easily turned on Gabriel’s over-reaction, whilst his acutely observant one gazed critically on Costa’s criminality. This week, once more in Wenger’s World, it was but one simple step for him to take, resetting the narrative and reconfiguring Per’s problem to conform to what had gone before, whereas I'm seriously at a loss to understand how anyone in their right mind can suggest that such an ill-judged and ill-timed tackle, committed on a forward who has outwitted the defender and is clearly going to get a goal scoring opportunity, is not a red card offence. Yet Wenger and the Costa narrative deems it otherwise -Voila! 

 

Delusional though it may be, this Costa concept is constantly fuelled by the Media’s portrayal of Diego as the game’s pantomime villain, and it is little wonder that poor Arsene now acts like one of those storybook-fed kids, star-struck and out there in the audience, who instinctively boo every on-stage arrival of the bad man himself. Of course, unlike in the fairytale frequented by the Frenchman, the real truth of the matter casts ‘good guys’ in far from blameless light - Mertesacker killed this game with a suicidal challenge and Wenger compounded the felony by subbing Geroud off. Sentiment and woolly thinking then kept Walcott on the pitch, no thought given to the fact that he needs space in behind to prosper and our low block system, with Zouma as the right-sided CB, always likely to provide speedy cover for Branna. Once again, perceived narrative regarding both Walcott’s ability and Branna’s vulnerability influenced the situation in our favour and Arsenal’s only real chance of fighting back with 10 men [Giroud as the focal point] was discarded by a coach who has never been able to accept a simple truth - his teams have not been good enough to beat ours ever since Roman arrived. 

 

Lastly, we have the Media narrative, inexplicably expressed by Souness on Sky, with his ’cute’ verdict hastily buttressed by the one clear replay of the incident [from behind both players showing Mertesacker making clear contact on Costa's leg] being swiftly removed from the coverage after a single showing - it was to be replaced by two replays providing inconclusive evidence and if I had been Jamie Carragher, having already stated categorically that it was a sending-off offence, I’d have been screaming for its return to back up my case. But no, he didn’t and it was left to the BBC MOTD coverage to restore the critical viewpoint to our screens later in the evening. Not that this was anything more than a failed attempt to level out previous bias in my book, bearing in mind their commentary on the game continually posed the pleading [heart] question - what do Arsenal need to do to score? No neutrality in evidence here, just typical beeb narrative in action.  

 

Oh, a final observation, personal narrative put to one side and credit where credit is due... the referee did just fine.

 

[Iggy Doonican 4,186]

Think this Dorset is trying a bit to hard it's got wannabee journalist going through it like a stick of Brighton Rock. He doesn't exactly write like your average man on the street it's too smug and smartarse by half.

[DANILA 290]

Found on reddit: https://www.change.org/p/fa-football-association-diego-costa-to-recieve-an-official-punishment

Hahahahahaa arsenal supporters... look at the comments you'll get a nice laugh!

[guddy6969 188]

8 hours ago, DANILA said:

Found on reddit: https://www.change.org/p/fa-football-association-diego-costa-to-recieve-an-official-punishment

Hahahahahaa arsenal supporters... look at the comments you'll get a nice laugh!

Is this cheating as well ?  http://www.thickaccent.com/2016/01/25/vine-chelsea-man-john-obi-mikel-pulled-the-ankle-breaker-on-aaron-ramsey-yesterday/