Premier League player deserves five-match ban for ‘p***ing on shoes’ | OneFootball

Lucas Paqueta is not getting any sympathy even from the woke folk while Arsenal fans do not really know how to feel.

We have mails on Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester United, as well as more on Arsenal and Chelsea. Send your mails to theeditor@football365.com

No sympathy for Paqueta

I mean, by any reasonable definition, I am a woke human (notwithstanding the fact that the notion of “woke” has moved away from its original intent and is used more as a stick to beat people with these days than to be particularly mindful about shit, but I digress), but I am struggling to sympathise with Lucas Paquetá, even though he has played the mental health card.

I don’t really understand what he went through, so I can’t really empathise with his circumstances, but it was his pathologically passive/aggressive line – “I’m sorry if I am not perfect” – that has left me with a twitch. There is a huge gap between what he did yesterday and perfect. Gaping. Chasm like.

It looked like he got himself sent off deliberately yesterday. The free kick that so incensed him is the type of free kick that is given a dozen times in every game. It was in the middle of the park, the ball was going nowhere in particular, and his long, petulant response made no sense whatsoever. The referee was staggeringly patient with him, and Jarred Bowen as captain was oddly passive about the whole thing.

It actually reminded me of excellent player turned appalling fascist Paolo Di Canio getting sent off over a throw in decision way back.

Paquetá let his team down appallingly at a time when they were still in with a shout of getting something from the game, and rather than take a moment to own his childish behaviour, he doubled down, blaming the FA for not giving him psychological support after the betting allegations. Maybe he has a slither of a point there, but what about his club? What about him? Surely if this has left him so messed up, aware that he needs some help, then his salary would stretch to a little psychological intervention?

And was it just me, or did Nuno suggest that the death of Billy Bonds might have been a factor in this outburst after the game? Bonds was a proper old school warrior, he would never have done that to his team, and we are supposed to believe that Paquetá was so bereft that he couldn’t control his emotions?

I’m all for being nice – or at least not being nasty – but it seems to me that Paquetá needs to take some responsibility for his own actions, rather than p***ing over everyone’s shoes and telling them it’s raining. The fella had only just come back from a suspension, and if the FA had any minerals, he would be getting a five-game ban for his behaviour yesterday.

Or maybe, just maybe, that’s why Paquetá chose this line of attack – how can they come down hard on a fella who is struggling mentally? If this is the case, then it’s unbelievably cynical.

Or maybe I’m just too old and cynical, but fork me, what an embarrassment he is. Mat

Arsenal lost it in the air

From the moment the game started the main thing I noticed was the amount of headers Chelsea were winning when challenging Arsenal players. I looked at the stats at the end and it was 29 to 12. That’s too many from an Arsenal perspective bearing in mind that’s normally one of our strengths. I think that’s one of the main reasons we couldn’t get ourselves going.

Chelsea basically had a stranglehold over the game not just in the midfield zone but also in nullifying our corners to great effect by blocking our players in a disciplined, well rehearsed manner.

Each one I can remember either being an easy catch or routine punch out for Sanchez. We really were missing Gabriel here I was screaming at Saka (who appeared to be taking most of the corners) to try something different, particularly in the second half where Chelsea’s best weapon was their pace and impressive counter attacks and hence for us to stop feeding them from our inadequate kicks. As the game went on I didn’t feel good about winning corners but more worried about how vulnerable we were from Sanchez’s quick distribution of the ball.

The fact that this carried on throughout the game and left me at times wondering which team was down to ten men is (ahem.. I now comment through gritted teeth because I really have no love for this club or their ‘supporters’ (and I’m sure the feeling is mutual)) credit to them.

Now for the rest of my views/observations and where perhaps I lose a bit of dignity (because I definitely lose all of that during a game!).

Yes the game was feisty as one would expect but how on earth did Arsenal pick up six yellow cards to Chelsea’s one? That dirty ugly ‘get your hair cut ‘ weazel Cucurella must have gone through the back of Saka three times and Caicedo through Merino with no punishment but typically it was an Arsenal player i e. Zubimendi that was booked first for a mistimed tackle. Probably justifiable but more like a token card for Taylor to show he hadn’t lost control. B

y the way, it felt extremely satisfying that Saka turned Cucurella inside out to put that exquisite ball in for Merino to head home. He’s entitled to poor games if and when he conjures moments of magic like that! No need to really cover the red card because the decision was a no brainer! Another point, other than that needless one for the red, Chelsea cleverly kept fouling Arsenal players nearer the halfway line. I can’t remember Arsenal having one free kick near Chelsea’s penalty area.

Now I’ve praised Chelsea as much as I am prepared to do so. Arsenal were against ten men but, as is often the case, the game can become harder for the team with eleven to win because the onus is on them. With the game remaining heated and after going behind and bearing in mind with so many players on yellow cards Arsenal had a mountain to climb.

However, they remained calm, Arteta made the correct substitutions and with their corners being null and void resorted to that boring tactic of scoring a goal from open play…’yawn’. In general as stated I felt the substitions were correct although I personally might have risked keeping Calafiori on (taking into consideration MLS’s poor, rusty display midweek) and taken one of the centre backs off and put White on as a replacement.

For a game that had so little football to comment on I feel I could keep writing about it all day. Sorry for waffling on and it’s up to you at Football365 if you want to publish it but at least I’ve managed to get some of my views across.

In the end, after a difficult week to navigate versus the Spuds, Bayern and Chelsea away and to come through unbeaten is still quite a statement. Chris, Croydon

Worst of the season from Arsenal?

Difficult to say whether that is a point gained or two points dropped from an Arsenal perspective. Probably our worst performance of the season so far, it felt like a lot of physical and emotional energy had been spent on the Spurs and Bayern games and whilst a few players are coming back from injury they weren’t quite back quickly enough for significant rotation, and then we’re still losing players (Trossard and Saliba) to injury.

The last kick of the game felt very much like last season at Chelsea, an Arsenal player nicking it off the toes/head of another Arsenal player who looked destined to score in to an empty net. Many will say Chelsea were the better team and deserved the point but Sanchez had to make the better saves.

I think the huge quantity of yellow cards stifled what Arsenal wanted to do, 6 yellows for only 13 fouls seemed a bit harsh and I think there was definitely an opportunity in a derby like this for Taylor to give himself some room to ref the game by not going so quickly so early for the cards, especially as he seemed to let Cucurella and Caicedo off late challenges early on.

For Arsenal that is 7 consecutive games at Stamford Bridge unbeaten and only 1 defeat in the last 13 v Chelsea.

In isolation Chelsea can’t have (and didn’t have) any complaints about Caicedo’s red, they may complain about consistency in other games but that is 6 red cards (7 if you include the manager) this season with only a 1/3rd of the season gone. Not many headlines about ill discipline floating around. Chelsea are/were very aggressive, and really tread a thin line, their disciplinary record bears this out. I’m sure some disgruntled Chelsea fans will demand the red card for Hincapie’s elbow, but I can’t think of any example where an elbow that isn’t swung towards and opponent when contesting a high ball was given as a red in the Premier League.

Two small points about the officiating, only 4 minutes of added on time felt particularly strange. It was like the officials just wanted to get out of there with the draw in tact. The ball was in play for just 23 minutes of the second half, 6 fewer minutes than the City v Leeds game which had 10 minutes added on time.

Also, there has been a lot of controversy about subjective offsides this season and there was a case to answer for Chelsea’s goal, Enzo is in an offside position as Chalobah flicks the header on, Enzo semi jumps/challenges with Mosquera for the ball at the back post and it goes in. Now Mosquera should probably just focus on the ball more than Enzo but isn’t that the point of the subjective offside, Enzo being there has effected Mosquera’s ability to play the ball. Or in other words if Enzo isn’t there does Mosquera just clear the ball comfortably? I get these things with the refs we have seem like a lottery and Arsenal had a debatable one for Eze’s goal v Spurs. It just seems bonkers that every season there is something these officials simply cannot give any level of consistency on, but if you mark your own homework and have cosy little chats with Sky to ensure the heat is kept off you then there is no desire to improve.

For Arsenal that is trips to Liverpool, Chelsea, Newcastle and Man U all ticked off, Villa away at the weekend as well. We’ve certainly ticked off far more of the tougher fixtures than our rivals at the moment and still hold a 5 point lead.

Once again I firmly believe injuries will decide the title. I think F365 wrote the only thing that can stop Arsenal is Arsenal, implying a meltdown, but I think it’s injuries. With similar injuries as the other title chasing teams Arsenal should win the league, but we’ve had far too many so far, we’re picking up a new injury every single game, whilst also having to deal with all 3 strikers out injured, both starting CB, our captain and decent periods out for a couple of wingers.

The team looked fatigued, but we’re just about coping and held the 5 point lead at the top and actually extended the lead over City in the last 2 games. We’ve seen the effect of just having 2 right-backs injured had on Liverpool and when City rotated in the Champions League they were embarrassed by Leverkusen. The team that keeps their best players fit for the majority of the season is the most likely to win the league. Rich, AFC

A surprised Chelsea fan writes…

I was genuinely surprised that we managed to nullify Arsenal tactically so effectively yesterday. We were the better team with 11, and you wouldn’t have noticed in the second half that we had 10 men. Gabriel and Saliba were big misses for Arsenal for sure, but we have also been missing our best player. So objectively, I don’t think there’s any doubt that we did.

I think a lot of people were also surprised and expected Arsenal to steamroll us, especially after hearing so many 2–0 predictions in the media. I hope this is Maresca and his Chelsea side coming into their own. He deserves a lot of credit for expertly exploiting the tactics of one of the most experienced managers in Europe (Hansi Flick) and for nullifying the most in-form team in the league, all in the space of a few days.

Ultimately, I think we will be out of the title race this year come March, as we struggle to put in the same level of effort against mid-table and bottom-half sides, along with moments like Caicedo’s red card, which cost us a great chance at three points yesterday. Chelsea have not had a good December-January run in a very long time, and I don’t think those weaknesses are going to go away completely this season. But it does look like we may actually be turning into a more consistent side for billion pound bottle jobs. Time will tell. Cian Reid P.S I admit forgetting myself how much of a beast Reece James can be.

Credit for Ruben Amorim please

Disgruntled RSA (and anonymous – for obvious reasons) asks about Amorim, other than making a couple of subs, “what did he do? He didn’t inspire any urgency or get his team to impose themselves on the game”.

Yes, other than clearly using his halftime team-talk to inspire urgency and get his team to impose themselves, meaning we dominated the second half, what did he do?

Other than picking the team and coaching them all week, what did he do? Other than beating a resolute (and excellently drilled) Palace team, who haven’t lost at home in 427 games, what did he do? Other than picking the two players who scored, to replace our injured summer signings, what did he do? You get the point with that.

First half we weren’t at the races, second half it was rectified and we won the game. Why the manager is taking flak after a well-fought victory is beyond me. What else did you want him to do?! Give your head a shake. Garey Vance, MUFC

Refusing to celebrate that Liverpool win

That a dominant display from Wirtz and the best game in Liverpool jersey, Isak took his chances very well too. But I failed to celebrate the win as I promised because that entitlement mentality as ingrained to my system because I saw that as a normal win for Liverpool. Celebrating every wins like a cup winner is very unique to ‘small club’ supporting life and no big club supporters can match. Mudashiru LFC Ibadan ( don’t expect me to not cut my hair if Liverpool didn’t win some five or something matches in a row and Tottenham will keep the chairman of crisis clubs for this week, we really appreciated it Dr. Tottenham we need it for our health)

Some rare Newcastle United optimism

Newcastle replaced Isak (26) with Woltemade (23), Wilson (33) with Wissa (28), Almiron (31) with Elanga (23), Longstaff (28) with Ramsey (24) and Kelly (26) with Thiaw (24).

They knocked 22 years off their total squad age (ie they could get an extra 22 seasons of football from their new signings), massively improved their strength in depth and pretty much guaranteed a minimum of challenging for Europe for the next 5 years.

4 of these 5 players played in the massacre at Everton and were responsible for 3 goals and 1 assist between them. Arguably their most important short term signing is about to play his 1st game. The best 2 long term signings are both looking like steals.

It’s hard to believe Newcastle’s net spend for this major squad overhaul was just £80m. It’s virtually impossible to do what Newcastle have done over the last 4 years (securing 2 first team players for every position, 2 champions league qualifications, 2 finals, 1 trophy) considering the PSR rules and the squad Howe inherited but they’ve done it anyway. Ben Teacher

When is a penalty a penalty?

Football, or rather the PL/FA, have a real problem, IMO.

VAR sometimes makes decisions over small things which nobody on the pitch has noticed. And in the last week or two we have seen discussions over when a player is off-side in regards to the goalkeeper.

In Sunday’s game between Wolves and Villa (two teams I have no affiliation with), I was annoyed by two decisions or rather, the inconsistency of them. Strand Larsen scores a goal, but it is ruled out due to off-side of his team-mate blocking the view of the goalkeeper. According to the law. I am OK with the decision.

A few moments later, Strand Larsen has another shot at goal and Konsa, the Villa defender comes flying in and plants his studs on the shooting leg of Strand Larsen – after the shot has been taken. Now, as most fans will know, there is nothing in the rules about timing, it just says that, ‘if you make contact with the player, before the ball, when making a tackle, it is a foul. Yet, no foul was given. There was no mention of it on commentary.

Considering the Caicedo red card against Arsenal, you could argue that Konsa should have seen red as well – his leg was stretched and he led with his studs, but because it doesn’t affect a goalscoring opportunity, we ignore it. But, the point is that, if defenders are allowed to move like this, they can take more risks and thereby make it more difficult for attacking players to score. So, not according to the law and I am not OK with the decision.

I mentioned VAR in the opening, but this is not a rant against VAR, they are just making the issue more clear when clamping down on some details and blatantly ignoring others. This mail is to point out the danger that we allow when not actually following the rules of the game. If we don’t think a challenge like that should result in a penalty, then let’s write that clearly in the laws. Because when I run onto a pitch next Saturday and a challenge like that is made, I give the penalty! And I think I am right to do so. But, as a referee, I am constantly met by players who think they know the rules better than me and one of the reasons for that is that they watch the PL! Andreas Hasle, Brussels

When is a red card a red card?

Watched the fiery London derby yesterday. But it struck me how comfortable everyone (including me) that thought that Caicedo’s 50/50 tackle was late with a lot of force and in todays’ world of football a red card.

But strangely the commentators hardly raised a pitch when Gyokeres who was going for 50/50 ball goes through Sanchez studs first as he gets to the ball late. Yet somehow a player who gets late to the ball taking out the keeper who’s head is in danger does not constitute a violent and red card offence.