Goonersphere Match Review: 17.8.13 Arsenal 1 Aston Villa 3

Referee Anthony Taylor made some questionable decisions

None of the team played hugely well, but Szczesny and Walcott stood out in how poor they were. Walcott was anonymous. There was very little width and he never really got at the defence after the first 20 minutes. Szczesny had a torrid game, capped by a comical moment that found him 30 yards from his goal, slicing the ball high and sprinting back to save himself just in time. He didn’t have much to do, but when he did, he was unconvincing.

Cazorla looked short of match fitness, Jack didn’t look his usual self and Sagna was caught upfield far too many times in the second half. All the players were below their best and it didn’t help that there wasn’t much inspiration to be found on the bench. We really do need some new players, probably before Fulham too.

I’ll try to keep this bit short, because I don’t want to make excuses. But in all honesty, Anthony Taylor gave the worst refereeing performance I have ever seen. There was no consistency, sometimes the slightest nudge was enough to draw his ire, yet other times blatant trips and barges were ignored.

This was most evident when Giroud’s mere breath seemed to fell a Villa defender and Taylor gave a freekick. The ball ended up being played long and Benteke flattened Kieran Gibbs, leaving the left back with a large cut in his head and forcing a substitution. Freekick right? Possibly a yellow card? Nope. Taylor saw it as a fair challenge, which was laughable given what Giroud was penalised for. It really had to be seen to be believed.

The first penalty, for me, was a difficult one. Many around me felt that the advantage had been used and that it shouldn’t have been given. But, if I’m honest, I can’t have too many complaints. Szczesny clattered Agbonlahor and Villa lost the advantage after that, which in normal play would have resulted in play being pulled back. For me, it was a penalty and it was definitely our fault.

The second penalty was a shocker. Koscielny took the ball cleanly and clearly, a magnificent bit of defending. I really can’t understand how between the referee and his linesman (who was perfectly placed) couldn’t get the correct decision between them. The decision changed the game and although we were disappointing, this really did put the skids under us. At the end of the day, a refereeing performance like we saw from Taylor is hard to play against.

But despite that, it’s a mess of our own making. We now have something of a selection crisis ahead of a massive couple of games against Fenerbahçe, either side of a difficult trip to Fulham. It’s seriously worrying times and to start the season like this is a massive disappointment.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)Szczesny?, Sagna (Podolski – 90′), Koscielny??, Mertesacker, Gibbs (Jenkinson – 28′), Ramsey, Wilshere?, Chamberlain (Cazorla – 45′), Rosicky, Walcott, Giroud

Aston Villa (4-5-1)Guzan, Baker (Clark 17′), Vlaar?, Luna?, Lowton, El Ahmadi, Westwood?, Delph, Weimann (Bacuna 88′), Agbonlahor?, Benteke?

Ratings

Szczesny	4/10	Looked shaky and had a very worrying charge out of his goal
Sagna	5/10	Industrious, but caught upfield far too often
Koscielny	5/10	Should have done better for the first penalty and struggled a bit with Benteke
Mertesacker	5/10	Lost the arial battle against Benteke, otherwise was ok
Gibbs	5/10	Looked ok, but was injured before he could have an impact
Ramsey	6/10	Fairly solid, should have done better for the first Villa goal though
Wilshere	5/10	Not his usual self and lost the ball too much, leading to a goal
Walcott	4/10	Anonymous performance, did little of note
Rosicky	6/10	Worked hard without much to show for it, missed a golden chance to level
Chamberlain	6/10	Looked set for good game, but picked up what looks to be a serious injury
Giroud	5/10	Took his chance well, but failed to hold the ball up and got little quality service
Subs
Cazorla	3/10	Looked very unfit, lost the ball too much. Nightmare half
Jenkinson	5/10	Did ok, got forward well, but didn’t deliver anything of real quality
Podolski	N/A