The day is going well I have to say. Started with some coffee and the photoblog earlier and then I met with blog regular fourstar for a traditional English breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, bacon, toast, and black pudding, made the old fashioned way, by Italians. It’s been about 3 hours and I’m still full. [...]]]>

The day is going well I have to say. Started with some coffee and the photoblog earlier and then I met with blog regular fourstar for a traditional English breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, bacon, toast, and black pudding, made the old fashioned way, by Italians. It’s been about 3 hours and I’m still full. It’ll probably take an hour of walking to make me feel normal again.

In Arsenal news I’m starting to notice a trend; there are half a dozen high profile writers who basically do nothing but write pieces putting down Arsenal or Arsenal players. Most of these “writers” are formers players and they seem to love to wax nostalgic about the days when they could break ankles at will or some such nonsense. After reading today’s columns I’ve decided that Chris Waddle, Jaime Redknapp, Alan Hansen, and Tony Cascarino are the like the four horsemen of the shit-pocalypse.

Topless golf travel company shill and son of Harry “There Aren’t Enough English (insert one or more of: manager, player, owners) in the Premier League” Redknapp, Jaime has a paying gig over at the Daily Fail where he is paid actual British Pounds to write a paragraph like this:

Theo Walcott’s a very easy target, but I maintain that he will become a top footballer. He still needs more variation to his wing play. When faced with a full back who can match him for speed, he’s often too easy to mark. He needs to mix it up: come short, check, go inside, play one-twos and have more tricks. Pace alone is not enough. He played well against Burnley.

Maybe I’m just not getting it, maybe JR is just a comedian who has a keen grasp on the use of non sequitur’s for comedic effect. I’d probably use a 9 iron for the topless beach golf.

Meanwhile, former Liverpool player from the 80’s when Liverpool supporters were the most unbearable people on the planet, Alan Hansen, who very nearly cried on television when Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League is still going on about Theo Walcott. I think this is because he has nothing else to do. There are literally no other players in the Premier League who are eligible for the English national team and since the World Cup is Liverpool’s only hope for a trophy that’s the only topic left for him to write about. Arsenal won the league at Anfield.

And finally, there’s blog whipping boy Tony Cascarino who also is paid human money to write a terrible column. Today’s “fiver” is classic Cascarino; take an Arsenal player who had a bad game and say he’ll never be good enough. Tony’s target today’s is Bendtner and admittedly, after his profligate display on Saturday, Nicky is an easy target.  But this is exactly what Tony does. He picks the low hanging fruit, eats it, and shits out a column. I haven’t used my international eligibility, I wonder if I could play for the Republic of Ireland too?

I’d suggest we all ignore them but when there’s almost no other news I think it’s perfectly acceptable to take a peek at their columns. If nothing else they are worth a laugh.

There isn’t any team news quite yet. John Cross from the Mirror tweeted today that Cesc is 100% injured and will not play against Porto. It’s a pretty big blow, if true, and further proof that International Friendlies are the worst thing since Jaime Redknapp’s last column.

Without Cesc one of our many other creative midfielders will need to step up. Who do you think can play in Cesc’s spot?

That’s it for today, I’m off to the National Gallery to look at some art and stuff. See you all later!

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Flew in on a clear day, you could see Highbury and the Emirates. It’s amazing how central Arsenal are to the city.

Took the [...]]]> Very quickly, because I have to meet a man about some black pudding, here’s some photos that I took of the trip so far. After breakfast I’ll be back with a real post.

Flew in on a clear day, you could see Highbury and the Emirates. It’s amazing how central Arsenal are to the city.

Took the tube to Holloway Road, it’s amazingly close to the stadium, but unfortunately it closes down after the match.  I came out of the station, walked a block and this is what I saw:

Getting closer:

In the shop I saw the strangest stuff branded with the Arsenal logo. Does anyone really buy an Arsenal toaster? For $60?

Once inside, this is how close I was to the action, I mean Cesc looked fully, uhh, 5′6″ or so:

And this is how close the Burnley supporters were:

Chary was allowed to take some photos, there were no stewards where he was sitting. Here’s one of Jensen clattering Nasri:

After the match, the sun was shining on a pile of Tottenham:

How do you end the night? A large glass of Fuller’s… or 10!

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If the tube service to Russell square is out today it has to be because the train hit me on the way home from the Arsenal match last night. It’s the only thing that explains this feeling I have in my head.

The Good

I started the evening out rationally; I met with blog [...]]]> Preamble to the Obliteration

If the tube service to Russell square is out today it has to be because the train hit me on the way home from the Arsenal match last night. It’s the only thing that explains this feeling I have in my head.

The Good

I started the evening out rationally; I met with blog contributor Chary and two of my American readers for a pint at the Arsenal Tavern ahead of the match. After Gary and his wife left for the ground, Chary introduced me to some of the guys from le Grove and the folks who run Arsenal Arsenal. We all walked from the Arsenal Tavern to the ground together and had a chance to talk.

If you let it, traveling to another country and talking to others should open your mind to other points of view. I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve come here and had a chance to mix with a variety of  real Gooners. You all know that I’m a wild eyed optimist: I support the team, I support all of the players (even Almunia) and I support Arsene Wenger’s project. You also know that I tend to get down on people who moan like a drain about Arsenal. Most of the time a lot of us (me included) dismiss them as Johnny come lately supporters, or unrealistic, or stupid, but here’s the thing, I think I finally understand where the moaners are coming from.

The guy behind me yesterday spent the entire match putting down Almunia and Bendtner:

Did you see that? Almunia CAUGHT the ball! He didn’t try to punch it out or flap at it, he CAUGHT it!  Arsenal have the worst goal keeper in the league.

There’s our “star” striker, all right. Look at him, how can he miss that. Bendtner is just crap, when are we going to sign a real striker? He’s never going to be any good, I just can’t see it.

On and on he went, moaning about Arsenal. He’s a 50 something year old man who is a life-long Goonah so he’s seen the best and the worst that Arsenal has had to offer. He also supports the club financially; he buys the merchandise and he pays top pound to see the team live. Basically, he’s lived a life supporting Arsenal and if he wants to have a moan about the squad well I say let him. He clearly doesn’t love Arsenal any less than me, he just has a different way of expressing it.

And on the day, who can blame him? Bendtner really, REALLY had a nightmare. From where I was seated (within smacking distance of the Burnley supporters) I think I saw Bendtner miss three chances that could be called “sitters.” If he’d have taken his chances Arsenal could have temporarily topped the table on goal difference. As it stood though, Bendtner had a day much like Adebayor used to have three years ago and while I disagree with the notion that “he’s crap” I can understand the frustration.

The funny thing is that same guy behind me stood and applauded with the rest of the stadium when Bendtner came off saying “good work, son.” Because despite Bendtner’s profligacy everyone appreciated that he put in a really good shift. Personally, I’m inclined to stick with Bendtner. I don’t think he’s one of those magical players who can turn it on and win a game, like Cesc, but I think he’ll be a good squad player and as long as he works as hard in practice as he did on the pitch yesterday, then he’ll only get better.

No player epitomizes my “wait till he gets better” philosophy than Theo Walcott. Unlike Bendtner, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that Theo Walcott is one of those magical players who can come into a game and turn it on its head: the goals against Germany, the hat-trick against Croatia, his first goal against Chelsea, the amazing run against Liverpool, and even yesterday’s game all prove that Theo is a special, special talent.

The funny thing about yesterday’s game was that it followed on the heels of being slagged off by Chris Waddle as not having a “footballing brain.” Maybe he needs some of that, I don’t know, but whatever put the bug in Theo he was just magnificent yesterday. I’m not sure what you all got to see on television, but sitting 15 feet from Theo as he made run after run and put in dangerous cross after dangerous cross was amazing. He really is quick and up close he’s even quicker than you think. His pace meant that Arsenal could have basically played the entire game though him down the right side, the Burnley defenders had to give him room because once he beat their full back the defense was opened wide.

Again, but for Bendtner’s profligacy it would have been a Theo Walcott as winger masterclass and Theo runs away (at pace) with my Man of the Match award.

The first goal from Cesc (set up by a slick chip from Nasri) was a huge relief. As I’ve already said, I was seated LITERALLY in the first seat of section 19, the section which abuts the away supporter’s pen. Right there, front row, I got to see Cesc’s goal up close and immediately turned to the away supporters and (along with the hardcore supporters who sit on the other side of them, behind the goal) starting chanting “who are ya” right in their faces.

You’d think that sitting that close to the away supporters would be in the “bad” category but actually, they heightened the experience for me. Seated all the way in the corner where I was I got to look right into their faces and sing “one-nil to the Arsenal” when Cesc scored and throughout the match (like when they pegged one back through Silvestre’s insanity) the banter was light-hearted (mostly) and fun. Overall, the Burnley supporters were top notch and even after a heavy defeat sang for their team and seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Sure, they sang stuff like “same old Arsenal, always cheating” after Foy tried to kill Theo Walcott with a brutal tackle, or when Nasri was clattered by Jensen but I didn’t get the sense there was any real malice in it. In fact, as the game finished I tired to get the Arsenal supporters to sing “Same old Burnley, go home losing” which the Burnley supporters thought was funny.

It was a beautiful day in the sun, Arsenal won, and even the away supporters were fun to banter with. What more could a man ask for?

The Bad

I’ll tell you what more a man could ask for; the right to take a few snapshots of the match in action. If you ever get a chance to come to see Arsenal, don’t make the mistake of thinking that you are going to get photos of the game from the front row. As soon as I sat down, I was informed by the steward (stewardess?) that photography during the match was not allowed. I could take shots before the game, after the game, and at half-time but not during the match. And since the stewards were literally 3 inches away, I couldn’t even sneak a picture.

I’m a life-long sports fan, I understand that the various leagues want to control their image and the right to sell their image to others but I was still very frustrated by the policy.

What that means is that the only pictures I have are of before the match and I wasn’t allowed to record any singing or video of the game or the Ramsey banner. Though I did manage to get this shot before the Steward said something to me.

On Tuesday, I might be able to sneak a shot or two of the match because I am further up and hopefully far enough away from the stewards that they won’t notice my pocket camera.

I better be able to gods damnit!

The Ugly

Seated where I was meant that I was basically  the last person out of the stadium. I was stuck there in the corner waiting for all of the other supporters to leave. That meant that I was in the main bundle of people who left the stadium which is sort of fun in it’s own right. As we walked toward the Highbury and Islington tube station, there were loads of supporters singing everything from “Harry Redknapp’s got a twitch” to “We all live in a Perry Groves world.” It was a good humored crowd.

Just as I got to the Highbury and Islington tube station I got a call from Chary saying that I should meet him and his friend for a post match meal and a pint. Well, I was quite hungry and who am I to turn down beer? Unfortunately, it meant that I had to walk all the way back across Highbury fields, down to Blackstock road and back toward the Arsenal tube station.

I’m glad I did! I was just on the verge of lamenting the fact that I didn’t have anyone to talk about the match with after the game and Chary and his friend were perfect company. Plus, the food would set me up for what came next.

After we departed company I came back to the hotel, changed out of my Vermaelen shirt, and headed out for more pints. Let’s just put it this way, there’s a reason this blog isn’t being posted until 1:30 GMT. I spent the night drinking with some angry Canadians and a couple from Denmark who had been at the Arsenal game. The couple were lovely, the Canadians, well, they were angry young men which only fueled the consumption of many more pints. We closed the bar down and I went back up to my room and passed out only to wake up at 8am with this massive, massive hangover. Like I said, there’s a reason the blog is going up at 1:30 today.

Conclusion

I really need to get some food and go see some antiquities. First stop, food, then antiquities stolen from all over the world, and then I think some food, followed by paintings. It’s about a 3 mile walk round trip and the fresh air might just do me some good.

Touch wood.

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Let’s get this out of the way; I’m not too terribly hung over and I don’t know whether that’s a good or a bad thing.

I tried to tie something on last night but somehow managed to escape with just a little bit of blearyness this morning. As you already know, I started the day with [...]]]>

Let’s get this out of the way; I’m not too terribly hung over and I don’t know whether that’s a good or a bad thing.

I tried to tie something on last night but somehow managed to escape with just a little bit of blearyness this morning. As you already know, I started the day with a pint of Kroenenburg while writing the blog. From there I went to the St. James in Piccadilly circus and got two pints of London Pride. Now, before you get all critical of me I got in some exercise when I got out of the tube at Covent Garden and walked through Leicester Square to Piccadilly. That’s like almost, uhhh, half a mile or something. I must have easily burned off those first three pints, right?

The St. James has had some kind of facelift and seems pretty popular now, at least judging by last night’s crowd. Normally, I’m not very outgoing but I usually get a conversation going with some stranger when I’m over here, maybe it’s the beer. But last night every place I stopped was packed to the gills and it was impossible to stand much less start talking to strangers. So, after a few tweets (the St. James has free wifi) and the afforementioned pints, I decided to head back to a pub I saw on the way through Leicester Square.

Time for more beer!

It was getting dark out and the crowds outside were thick as thieves. It’s hard to take an ambling gait through the streets of London when you fly solo. Big groups are given a pass if they want to stop and gawk at some 300 year old building but the solo traveler who stops in the middle of the sidewalk is a pest. Not only that, but the passing rules are all backwards. I understand that my job on any escalator is to stand as far right as possible so that the people who are in a hurry can rush past me and catch the same train that I will catch twenty seconds later. But what, exactly, are the fucking rules for walking? No one seems to know. I sort of think you all treat walking like traffic, meaning you walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk, but I don’t think everyone agrees with this because I get loads of frustrated looks no matter which side I stand on or allow people to pass.

So, I headed back to Leicester Square trying not to annoy anyone and as it’s getting dark I immediately notice that the police have been kind enough to post a warning for everyone about the pickpockets who evidently work the streets there. Fair enough, I’ll be sure to keep a hand on my wallet, right after I snap this photo!

From there I basically walk back from pub to pub, stopping and sampling the different ales: there was an IPA of some sort, a Bitter, a Caffreys at some Irish pub, and my favorite, the Timothy Taylor up there. All of these are 20 oz beers (the imperial pint — thanks your Majesty!) and all cost around £3.20. That’s about $5 for a 20 oz pint for my American readers. I can’t beat that price in Tacoma, much less a big city like Seattle and I shudder to think what an imperial pint would cost in New York City.

I stumble around the city a bit more until I notice that the small tread on the stairs is starting to effect my balance (it’s not the beer, it’s the fact that you English have dangerously tiny tread on your stairs) and find my way back to the hotel to upload my photos and crash.

I snap on the television and there on channel number 1 (SkySports) is some “report” on what a horrible assault William Gallas committed and how Arsenal have no right to complain about Ryan Shawcross snapping Aaron Ramsey’s leg in two. Oh for fuck’s sake, I’ll deal with this stupidity in the morning…

And so here I am, the next day. Still a bit jet lagged and peeved that Starbucks doesn’t open until 8 am on a Saturday. I mean, how dare an American company not be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and be prepared to service me? I had to wait, like 15 minutes for a cup of coffee. I can tell you that you wouldn’t find this kind of disservice in the United States of America.

It’s 9am as I type this and I’ve already put in several hours of work you slackers! Waitrose isn’t even open!

Look, all I’m saying is that things like coffee at 6am need to be taken very seriously. VERY SERIOUSLY.

Anyway, I had a look back at yesterday’s blog and Wenger’s presser in light of the fact that SkySports is running non-stop coverage of the Gallas tackle, err, I mean the Shawcross tackle. It’s easy to get the two confused if you watch SkySports, the way I’ve seen it this morning you’d think that William Gallas has basically broken everyone’s ankle in the Premier League over the last two weeks.

Is there a word that means “insanely hypocritical?” Because if there were, I would use it to describe this whole press obsession with the Gallas challenge in relation to the fact that Ryan Shawcross destroyed Aaron Ramsey’s leg. I remember last week when the whole incident went down and Stoke City folks came on here and started talking about William Gallas’ challenge and how he “destroyed” poor Davies from Bolton and I thought “well that’s fucking weird, where are they getting that?”

Now I know, thanks SkySports!

So, I went back to Wenger’s presser and I just want to let the boss speak for us all on this matter.

Personally I wish we would stop talking about “intention” because I think there’s a clearer line that can be drawn when a player like Shawcross or Taylor lunges into the tackle. But Wenger, undaunted by the notion of intention took it on full force.

Asked if there’s a cultural issue, with some managers seeing Shawcross’ tackle as acceptable, Wenger responded

I love the comitment of the English game. I do not want to change that and I think that makes the game even more attractive and I am 100% behind the commitment of the English game. But high commitment demands, as well, fair intention.

The same “reporter” then brought up the William Gallas tackle saying that Gallas committed a tackle which “put the player out for 4-5 weeks…” a claim which I have heard several times on the blog and which we have disproved multiple times. I didn’t know where this bizarre accusation came from, but since my room gets basically the BBC and SkySports News and that’s it, I’m starting to see. Thankfully at that point Wenger stopped this reporter and said

That is not true, what you say here is not true. The player played less than 10 days later. This is exactly what we face on the other side of the fence. There’s always information which is not checked and that you have to stand up for. The tackle itself, I remember it, there was no intention to hurt the player.

As many of us have posted multiple times in multiple places it is actually possible to judge the intent of Gallas in that tackle. First off, having seen it now on constant re-run on SkySports, it’s about the clearest case of a 50-50 ball you will ever see with both players coming together at almost the same moment. But, and this is important, neither player jumped off the ground in order to launch into the challenge. In fact, Gallas leans back and actually pulls out of the challenge at the last.

It’s a committed challenge from both players, a 50-50 ball, and both players pull up at the last. Unfortunately, Gallas was a little bit later and a little bit higher than Davis and the Bolton player was on the wrong end of a one week injury. One week. Not 6 months, with his leg hanging after a desperate swinging lunge that had no chance of winning the ball.

Wenger sums this all up and gives the collected hacks a lesson in how to tackle with commitment but without intent and hopefully this will put the issue to bed for the week.

I admire as much a good technical tackle as a forward pass.A tackle in an art in itself, that means you always have your eye on the ball, you never have a high foot, even in the tackle you can already make a pass to one of your partners. To close your eyes and go in too physically doesn’t mean that there’s intention but it does mean that there is danger.

So, basically, SkySports, go fuck yourself with your 24/7 rotation of anti-Arsenal coverage.

I don’t believe in gods but if there was a just god, she would make sure Arsenal wins the league. If for no other reason than to see the anti-Arsenal brigade’s heads collectively explode because they can’t handle how reality differs from their opinions.

That title push would start today, with a thumping win over a Burnley side who are saying that they are going to kick Arsenal. They are saying that they are going to kick Arsenal on the day that REDaction is unfurling a banner in support of the young Welshman who has had his career put on hold by a team who previously said they were going to kick Arsenal. If there’s a just god, we’ll put on a clinic and dismantle this myth once and for all.

Right, I’m going to go see a man about some beans and toast, then probably head down to the Arsenal store to get my Vermaelen strip. For those of us  meeting up later, we might want to think about a change of plans and head to the Rocket to see the Rambo banner up close and march to the stadium with the REDaction boys. Drop me a note in the comments if this sounds like a good plan to you.

Now, if you don’t mind, beans and toast: the perfect hangover cure.

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I could go on but I’ll spare you the gory details. The point is that by 3pm (GMT) Friday I’ll be in London England and that’s the next time you’ll hear from me. In fact, my Friday blog might even be a little [...]]]>

• Passport
• Vouchers
• English money
• American money
• England cell phone
• American cell phone
• Camera
• Charger
• 220 -> 110 adapter
• 7 pairs of underwear
• …

I could go on but I’ll spare you the gory details. The point is that by 3pm (GMT) Friday I’ll be in London England and that’s the next time you’ll hear from me. In fact, my Friday blog might even be a little late for most Americans because I land at noon (4am PST), go through customs (English customs are much nicer than American) take the train in, get settled, do my research (basically just watch Wenger’s press conference!), and write the blog. In fact, it’ll probably be more like 10am kickoff for my American readers.

From there on out things will go by pretty quickly; Saturday’s blog will be a recap of Friday night in London, Sunday a recap of the Burnley game, Monday a free blog, Tuesday the Porto match preview, and Wednesday will be a quick recap of the Porto match before I fly back to the States.

As for Saturday, several of us are meeting up before the Burnley match and if you want to get in on that action drop me a line using the Contact Me form. Hell, if you’re living in London and you go see Arsenal matches you’ll probably just bump into me in one of the usual places, but you know, some people like to make sure.

I did include a couple of tips for the traveler in my list above; you kinda need two cell phones and you need some foreign currency before you leave. When I was there two years ago I bought a cheap phone and I just get a new chip or “top up” when I get there. It’s cheaper and easier than unlocking your USA phone (or comparable) IF your phone and company will let you.

As for currency exchange, I get some money through Bank of America before I leave. They have the best rates and it’s really simple, I just order some cash online and they deliver it to my local branch. You can use your credit cards over there, though you need to tell the company that you’re going to be in England or they will put a lock on your card after the first transaction, but you have to be careful because each transaction will have a fee from your bank, from their bank, and pretty much everyone else will try to get a hand in on the transaction.  So, while it’s true that you can get a really favorable exchange rate by just using your card over there, the fees can offset that rate pretty quickly. Basically, I use the card just for any big purchases I make or to get more cash.

Anyway, that stuff is boring!

In just a little over two days, I’ll be in the Emirates stadium where supporters are going to unveil a huge banner in honor of Aaron Ramsey. There won’t be a dry eye in the house, I suspect.

Right, signing off now. See you on the other side of the pond.

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Saturday was already going to be a very emotionally charged event. Arsenal’s players [...]]]> Sometimes a story comes along that’s so incredible, so mind numbingly insane that it demands instant comment and today’s quote from Burnley’s boss Brian Laws about how they are going to kick Arsenal off the pitch on Saturday is one of those stories.

Saturday was already going to be a very emotionally charged event. Arsenal’s players have recently come out saying that they are going try to win the league for Aaron after his season was cut short by Ryan Shawcross’ vicious assault. Eboue was the most recent player to publicly state that Arsenal are going to try to beat Burnley for Aaron.

Couple that locker room emotion with the fan tribute to Aaron that is set to be unveiled and Saturday at the Emirates and that stadium could be a real powder keg. It would take a someone absolutely disconnected from reality to be so oblivious to how emotional Arsenal and her supporters are at this moment that they would make a public pronouncement that they are not only going to kick Arsenal in their next match, but that they are going to mistime tackles. That is exactly what Brian “Thicker Than Pig Shit” Laws and his defender Leon Cort did today.

Cort gets stuck in first by saying that Burnley are not going to pull any punches and we should expect plenty of mistimed tackles.

We are going to go there and still throw tackles in because it is a physical game and we are fighting for our lives. I don’t believe anyone goes there to kick them. People know that when they play against Arsenal they have to get in their faces and stop them from playing. Maybe Arsene’s done it for a psychological advantage. Quite a lot of his players are small and move the ball a lot quicker so there are going to be a lot of mis-timed tackles.

What’s fascinating (and what Laws repeats later) is that Cort is admitting that not only are Burnley going to throw a bunch of nasty challenges around, they are going to go in late. Moreover, since Burnley is incapable of playing football this is the only tactic they are capable of employing. And then… he says that it’s not deliberate?

Brian TTPS Laws repeats this odd line of reasoning

We can’t play their system so we have to level it up somehow and that is by working harder than them… People talk about ‘getting in their faces’ and if that is what it takes then that is what we will have to do… I don’t believe any team targets Arsenal. I think he (Wenger) has been hard done-by in losing three players to broken legs in a relatively short space of time. I think he is more angry about that than anything else but I don’t think he can accuse anyone of doing it deliberately.

So, just to re-cap: Burnley have admitted that they are going to kick Arsenal, that they are going to be going in late to challenges, that this is the only way they can play, and that somehow this is not a deliberate targeting of Arsenal.

Ladies and Gentlemen, irony just assploded.

I’m really looking forward to Wenger’s reaction to this crap in his presser. Last week I wrote an article describing which teams I thought would deploy the kick Arsenal tactic and I deliberately left Burnley off the list because in my experience they play open, attacking football, and while they have been strong they have been fair. It seems since Owen Coyle left that they have decided to abandon that tactic are are publicly admitting that they are going to employ agrarian tactics on Saturday in order to “get something from the match.”

The thing is, much like the Stoke match, they will find that kicking Arsenal will not get them anything from the match. Arsenal are just all around too damn good now to be intimidated by a pack of dirty cheats. So, Burnley might as well play open, attacking football, because if they come to kick Arsenal off the pitch they won’t get any more points on the table and another young Arsenal player could be left with a limb hanging.

Hopefully the FA has seen this latest comment and is instructing the referee to make sure that any harsh tackles are dealt with harshly. Otherwise, an already emotional day could turn from hope to tragedy very quickly.

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Cesc came off at half time in Spain’s 2-0 win over France with Spain in charge and no need to risk their starters further. Bendtner scored a nice little header against Austria and [...]]]> Well, the International break is over and so far it looks like Arsenal’s major components have escaped unscathed. Finger’s crossed on that, eh?

Cesc came off at half time in Spain’s 2-0 win over France with Spain in charge and no need to risk their starters further. Bendtner scored a nice little header against Austria and Vela scored a goal against New Zealand but that’s about as exciting as the weekend got for Arsenal’s boys, which is a good thing!

Anyway, check out Bendtner’s goal here:

And Vela, (warning, “goooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaooooooooooooooaaaaaoooooooool”)

Personally, I was eagerly awaiting the match report for the 0-0 draw between Hong Kong and Yemen. Goal.com has the post match interview with the Yemen manager but I’m still waiting for the match report. Who subbed in, who got called for a foul, who had a shot on goal? I need to know!

While we wait for that match report, there was one bit of controversy last night when Nigel de Jong broke Stuart Holden’s leg in what some are seeing as a similar tackle to Ryan Shawcross’ assault on Aaron Ramsey. There are interesting similarities between the two: de Jong comes in late, high, and hard and it’s one of those tackles where the defender is going in to win the ball but barring that is going to take out the man.

But notice that the ref doesn’t even give a yellow card (edit: he doesn’t seem to give a yellow but de Jong was in fact booked for the challenge and got a yellow) and that for me highlights some interesting problems with refereeing the world over. There seems to be this misconception that intent is the important deciding factor; if the referee was somehow magically able to get into de Jong’s mind and discern that the player intended to injure Holden, well, then everyone (officials and non-officials alike) seem to be of the mind that that’s the only time we need to be up in arms. The problem is that the rule-book doesn’t say anything about intent, it simply says “excessive force” and that excessive force is a red card. How much more force would someone like de Jong have to apply before it’s a red? Breaking Holden’s leg in two?

What’s your take?

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