Home advantage? Maybe. More likely the typical anti-LFC bias playing out again.
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I thought there was an element of Slot not wanting to change something that was working well too. It could have backfired as Arsenal came back into it towards the end with fresher legs, but the lads did well.
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We have no players but people want us to smash Martinelli.
You guys confuse me
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i was very happy with the performance .
i said prior to the game id be disappointed on a different level if we put in a good show after what we have seen of late, but im re assessing my position.
that had everything i needed to see from a team clawing its way back into form. ââ
i loved quite a few things, in no particular order;
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Frimpong, i was saying very early on to get him one on one with the full back and take him on, just to change their shape. He might have done a bit better with the final ball on a few occassions, but even that ones harsh, the cut back to Wirtz was superb awareness and link up between the two of them and if you have a look it actually takes a deflection or else it would have been acurate
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that Boxed Midfield, the way they were inbterchanging false nine duties and moving around the pitch, it is a bit of a conundrum really, i mean we need a striker becuase we didnt even get a shot on target, but its almost a shame to mess up that dynamic the four of them had and the room they were working in.
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the defence, kudos to all of them but special mention to Kerkez, i have said it before in passing, but now the more i see the more i feel hes the type of player whos better when hes in a battle and the game is taken to him, when he doesnt have to make the game.
so many positives, i was buzzing after that game for more than i have for a while because we actually showed a bit of what we are about, i understand the issues still present when we now go and face a âlow blockâ, but with the players moving in and around each other like i havent seen for a while then that problem can only get easier to figure out.
now onto the Martinelli stuff.
the ref should have dealt with Gabriel earlier when he picked Wirtz up off the floor after the penalty incident, that was a precursor of what was to come but it showed an amazing amount of arrogance and insight into that clubs culture that they feel they can just deal with players how they see fit. if a card was given then, then they could have no complaints.
then the ref should also have dealt with Martinelli when he dove in the box, if its not a penalty( and it wasnt) then its clearly simulation and should have been yellow carded.
then the incident itself, i cant tell you how disgusted i am at the behavior, i have seen it once or twice in all my years playing and i understand a player can read the situation wrong in the moment, that way i could almost forgive the ball part, but the afters is just indicative of the culture at the club.
then you have the aftermath, legoman saying he Martinelli didnt understand the extent of the injury is telling, becuase hes not say âwe shouldnt handle playersâ, hes giving that a green light, but just make sure they arent severly injuredâŚpathetic.
then ive heard online some fans have suggested he rolled himself back on the park, which i had to go and relook to make sure, but if anything sums up the rampant disgusting tribal fan culture of modern football, this moment is itâŚnot even bothering with the actual facts, just framing the narativeâŚ
oh yeahâŚi originally didnt think either ones were penalties, but as i watch the Wirtz one more and more, im certain that it should have been a penalty.
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I have to admit I was dreading that game beforehand but ended up lovinâ it ! The period in the second half when we were camped in their half , knocking it around in front of them while their players looked like rabbits caught in the headlights was an absolute joy. The silence (and groans) coming from the stadiium was telling , surpassed only by the roar that went up when they won a corner in the last minute. 
Their team , manager , and fans are rightly the most despised now in the Prem. I hope to fuck City pip them to the title.
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for those commenting on the Frimpong vs Van Dijk (vs brentford) penalty calls, there was a difference.
the difference is the referee gave a freekick against VVD which VAR then reviewed to tell him it was in the boxâŚ( the sensible thing to do would be for the ref, on rewatching, to say he called the foul incorrectly, but that was never gonna happen) âŚso with the foul given, the error was the location, not that the foul was missed.
with Frimpong, some bullshit about threshold etc etcâŚi dont think it was a penalty, but the more you see it, the more interesting it looks.
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While weâre on the subject of the manager. 
https://x.com/gummessontimmy/status/2009384925229654237?s=20
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thats a still shot?
Fixed it. 
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In all honesty I didnât fancy our chances down there but the lads did us proud and could have so easily come away with all three points. The whole team played so well in the conditions and the back five were all excellent. Konate put in his best performance of the season. I thought it was a definite penalty on Wirst but not given as the ball seemed out of his reach. Our injuries are piling up and we really do need to recruit in this window. As well as we did play we could have lost it in the last minute when they had that corner. Three of their players at the back stick unmarked but they got in each otherâs way and fluffed it. Thank goodness.
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On watching the incidentâŚI think Ibou wouldâve liked a pop⌠but whoever pulled him awayâŚmustâve warned him about yellow ticket manâŚ
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Doesnât he get shoved by Jesus?
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Especially Taylor he always waves away any claims of foul on our players but going the other way he will give a free kick or penalty at the slightest of touches and VAR will back him either way.
Notice how we always get him or Oliver for the big games and the same for VAR.
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You are never going to get the Trossard one, but on reflection, the sort of reflection that VAR is supposed to afford, the Frimpong one is not really that debatable. The contact was minor, but the people who automatically say that means a pen would have been âsoftâ ignore that it was still pivotal to ensure there was no way Frimpong could have stayed on his feet.
He was in possession (critical in interpreting the level of contact the defender is allowed) and had his foot clipped as he was about to plant it. It is the sort of contact where attackers will often use it as the excuse to go down, but itâs pretty obvious that isnt what happened here from the slo mo, from the way his ankle buckles and his foot makes contact with the ground with the outside rather than his sole, that he wasnt ever going to be able to stay up. There was no intention, but as a defender when pursuing a player in possession you have a responsibility to make sure you donât do something like that. If they were both running shoulder to shoulder for a ball over the top maybe heâs got leeway to get a bit closer and that sort of contact is excused. But once the attacker is actually in possession that leeway is gone.
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There is something I really dislike about this side that has been difficult to express, but is perfectly illustrated in the Martinelli incident and it all flows from the way Arteta conducts himself - acting like a cunt on the sideline yet acting like people should respond to him and his team in a gentlemanly way. They transitioned from a wonderful to watch energetic side into a cynical bore, and just like in the pivotal City draw 2 years ago (the day the threw away the chance to knock city out of a title race they would somehow win) Arsenal responded to the challenge we posed them in the second half with a possum like response of not really fighting back and being willing to take the draw. Ok, lets not overly criticize that, but that is where the incongruency in Martinelliâs actions come from. Had they been playing with the urgency of a team looking to impose themselves and take advantage of City dropping points you could make forgive a head wobble incident in response to perceived time wasting. But they were already in âweâll take the drawâ mode and yet still had a player acting like this.
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I think the appropriate thing to do is that fans all over the country boo the shit out of him for the next month or so, even if heâs just getting off the bench to warm up. I get doing stupid things in the moment, but part of asking someone for forgiveness is accepting there is a penance to be paid.
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Good to see you @Kopstar
Happy New Year, and I hope all is well with you.
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Whilst I donât disagree with your points, I donât think Arsenal had accepted the drawâŚfar from it. In those last 5 mins of the game, we started falling deep and clearing the ball. The fans were getting up, pressure was building, and it nearly told when Gabriel had the chance to head in the corner right at the death.
Regardless, the way Artetaâs team conduct themselves is down to him and his own behaviour - which is to play heavily into the dark arts both ways and edge past the rules and to be unsportsmanlike. No wonder they are so heavily disliked. Artetaâs explanation/defence of Martineli was pathetic, and as pointed out by @Redbj he gives it the green light for his players to do these things.
Good to see Arteta be carded for leaving his technical area - heâs barely in it. I donât understand why the fourth official doesnât get given a brief of totting up how many times a coach leaves the technical areaâŚdo it 3/4/5 times and its a yellow card.
As others have said, it was a good performance yesterday from our lads. But we know we can play well against the best teams out there - itâs the low blocks that we struggle with, and with our main forward attacking players absent, the option to whip it in doesnât work (no one to hit in the box).
I hope Bradleyâs injury isnât as bad as we fear, but Iâd expect heâs out for a bit now.
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