Who 'killed' Arsenal?

(Baonghean.vn) - The Gunners suffered a bitter defeat against Stoke City with a score of 0 - 1 in the second round of the Premier League, after controversial decisions by referee Marriner. Was that the main reason why Arsenal lost at the Britannia Stadium?

In the post-match press conference, manager Wenger angrily said: “I think we scored a legitimate goal. When the ball was kicked, Lacazette was not offside at all. Even his foot was not offside.” However, former referee Graham Poll insisted that his colleague had handled the situation correctly.

Graham Poll shared: “Any part of the body (except the hands) can be used to play football and the feet are one of those parts. Therefore, when the player's feet are closer to the goal than the defender, it is also offside. In my opinion, the linesmen decided correctly on this situation.” It proves that referee Marriner did not recognize Lacazette's goal as reasonable.

Referee Marriner was heavily criticized after decisions that were disadvantageous to Arsenal. Photo: Internet

That does not mean that Mr. Marriner and his colleagues are innocent in Arsenal's unjust defeat. Witnessing the match between the two teams at the Britannia Stadium, all spectators could recognize 3 mistakes made by the referee team, causing disadvantages for the visitors from London.

First, a header by center-back Mustafi hit Pieters' hand in the Stoke City penalty area in the 11th minute. About 10 minutes later, right-back Bellerin of the away team was illegally blocked by a Stoke City player in the 16m50 area. Not stopping there, when the match entered the 55th minute, Kurt Zouma let the ball hit his hand right in front of the home team's goal.

All three of the above plays were quite clear, but referee Marriner did not blow the whistle once to award Arsenal a penalty kick.

In football, just one moment is enough to completely change the situation and the result of the match. Arsenal had to suffer three times the opportunity to turn the game around, coach Wenger and his team and their fans were angry, it would be strange if they were not angry. This defeat also caused the Emirates team to be increased in points by main rivals such as MU, Liverpool...

Newcomer Jese's goal brought a valuable victory to Stoke City. Photo: Internet

Obviously, the wrong decisions of referee Marriner and his colleagues indirectly "killed" Arsenal. But, "first blame yourself, then blame others". Coach Wenger and his team were not innocent in the defeat of their team against Stoke City. It was the tactical adjustments of the French coach that could not help Arsenal achieve a favorable result at the Britannia Stadium.

Against an opponent not highly rated like Stoke City, the London "gunners" still accepted to leave empty-handed, so coach Wenger's fault is not small. Besides, along with the dull, harmless appearance of Ozil, Welbeck... in the attack, Arsenal's defense also played without certainty.

In Jese's only goal, both defender Monreal and goalkeeper Petr Cech made positional errors. If Monreal had blocked Jese better and Petr Cech had closed the angle quicker, it would have been difficult for Arsenal to concede.

This shows that Arsenal was "killed" at Britannia Stadium by the referees and Wenger's team. If they continue to perform like in the match against Stoke City, the Premier League title is still far away from the Emirates Stadium team./.

Thanh Hung