NFR: Maybe our result at Reading wasn't so bad after all

[Bassey the warrior]

Great come back. But Arsenal were helped by two dubious referee decisions. Koscielny should've gone and the referee should've called the game before the goal. And I only saw the last 20 mins of normal time onwards.

[EJL]

I might be in a minority here, but I think the referee was right to delay the end of 90 mins. Reading were constantly taking it into the corner to waste time. What's the difference between, say, booting it into the stands or delaying a goal kick than with just keeping it in the corner?

[Herbie]

I might be in a minority here, but I think the referee was right to delay the end of 90 mins. Reading were constantly taking it into the corner to waste time. What's the difference between, say, booting it into the stands or delaying a goal kick than with just keeping it in the corner?

Because the ball is still in play.  It's no different than if a skilled team were playing keep ball in the middle of the park.  Yes, I agree that it's frustrating for the team that need the ball when the team in front take it into the corner, but it would be tactically naive for the team in front to let the opposition have the ball back in a dangerous position

[mr-ska]

Dont mind drawing with the likes of Southampton and Reading away.. as long as we beat them at home. Then it becomes a good result.

[HatterDon]

How poor has Arshavin been??!! Awful

I tweeted about ending the debate on him. He really has been crap.

Was never any debate with me. He's been lazy and ineffective the last two seasons -- except when back on loan in Russia.

[Bassey the warrior]

I might be in a minority here, but I think the referee was right to delay the end of 90 mins. Reading were constantly taking it into the corner to waste time. What's the difference between, say, booting it into the stands or delaying a goal kick than with just keeping it in the corner?

Not really. Ball was in play. He could add on an extra thirty seconds for the substitution but where did he find one and a half minutes from?

[EJL]

I might be in a minority here, but I think the referee was right to delay the end of 90 mins. Reading were constantly taking it into the corner to waste time. What's the difference between, say, booting it into the stands or delaying a goal kick than with just keeping it in the corner?

Because the ball is still in play.  It's no different than if a skilled team were playing keep ball in the middle of the park.  Yes, I agree that it's frustrating for the team that need the ball when the team in front take it into the corner, but it would be tactically naive for the team in front to let the opposition have the ball back in a dangerous position

Yeah, it's just that I feel as if there isn't much difference. Kills the game.

[Herbie]

I might be in a minority here, but I think the referee was right to delay the end of 90 mins. Reading were constantly taking it into the corner to waste time. What's the difference between, say, booting it into the stands or delaying a goal kick than with just keeping it in the corner?

Because the ball is still in play.  It's no different than if a skilled team were playing keep ball in the middle of the park.  Yes, I agree that it's frustrating for the team that need the ball when the team in front take it into the corner, but it would be tactically naive for the team in front to let the opposition have the ball back in a dangerous position

Yeah, it's just that I feel as if there isn't much difference. Kills the game.

I agree that it's not pretty and is frustrating to watch, but look at what's happened to us this season against Southampton and Reading, dropping points by losing the ball in dangerous areas and giving them a chance.  Both were down to giving away silly free kicks.  My bet would be that Jol has talked in training this week about how to close games out and the importance of keeping the ball.

[Burt]

I wonder what you would have got for laying a tenner on a 5-7 result before the match?

[ToodlesMcToot]

I wonder what you would have got for laying a tenner on a 5-7 result before the match?

Probably about as much as the fellow who laid a tenner on his son playing professional football when the kid was 10 or so. Think he made 10k on that.

5-7 for Reading v The Arse is just as improbable. Ok, maybe you wouldn't get 10k for 10, but I bet you'd be talking thousands.