03 Sep 2023 19:45:06
Well you can't help but be upset at losing in the last few minutes as we did there last year.

I think VAR got both decisions right. Havertz wasn't touched and Garnacho, alas was marginally off. The defender just managed to shift his back leg forward in time, but it was nearly a very different outcome.

Given our injuries I thought we played well and were tactically sound. Arsenal dominated the ball but really didn't create that many chances. Antony had a decent game. I'll say this for him, he worked his socks off. Dalot kept Saka pretty quiet, and AWB blocked off Martinelli consistently, conceding at least 1/ 2 doz corners. Hojlund looks like a real CF and thought he showed enough to look promising. It remains to be seen.

All in all, despite the loss, I saw some very good signs today. The team looked quite balanced. Everyone worked hard. It would have been great to come away with a point, but when you're down to Maguire and Evans at CH, that's a tall ask.

1.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 20:33:19
It isn't his leg but his head that is playing Garnacho on I felt. Anyway, you get some decisions while others go against you. we move on.

2.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 20:39:53
The thing that annoys me is the blatant foul on evans for Rices goal. Arsenal have clealry been trained to purposefully obstruct opposition defenders, Evans was clearly being manhandled and would have made a challenge for the ball if it wasn’t for the foul. I can’t remember which game but this happened already this season by Arsenal, I can’t understand why VAR didn’t look at it. The Garnacho goal was so harsh to be ruled out. Who’s to say they got the exact frame right when the ball was released as well? A fraction of a second sooner and he’s onside. Personally I think we were incredibly hard done by in that game. VAR is killing the game imo, regardless of the penalty situation that went our way I’m honestly sick of it now.

3.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 20:51:32
Garnacho was offside, he looked offside on real time and he was offside on the VAR, let’s forget this nonsense, you have to trust the technology on matters of fact or what’s the point?

4.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 20:53:04
Not going to blame Var as it goes both ways. Its a tough away fixture most years and limping in for this game did not help. its over we need the break and hope Martinez is okay. just read its his foot, hope its not the same injury.

5.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 21:00:00
Not sure you watched the same Antony, constantly gave the ball away, likes to slow the game down and does that stupid ball roll all the time

We were sold a dud pal, he is no winger he would be better playing off a Striker

gave him the benifit last season with it being his first but he is bang average has improve massively

Doesn’t run at defenders, can’t put a cross in and is predictable

He’s scored 3 goals for us since his first game against arsenal last season the other 2 came 2 games later

Why ten hag continues to play him is anyone’s guess he offers nothing

When the lazy martial went off and garnacho came on with hojland we looked miles better

Thought we deserved at least a point thought the passing and controlling was miles better but that first have lacked movement off the ball beyond the defence

But again the goals came from our lack of awareness the corner had been coming every corner rice was free yet no one marked him

And then 35 seconds after we score we concede, Martinez tells Erickson to mark the guy who eventually has a free shot

Small margins but it’s costing us points

Stop zonal marking and man mark it’s simple.

I think with amrabat hojland starting and the likes of Mount and shaw back in the team with varane we have a decent team but the drop off in quality when these players are missing is there to see

We couldn’t make any changes to the central areas today along with 2 cbs going off

Plenty of positives I’m not worried about top 5 (now that’s what you need for UCL)

But we are still 3 or 4 players off making a challenge in my opinion

Dalot is not good enough we need to replace him, your taught in school not to dive in and what does he do goes flying in and gets embarrassed, game over or not you stay on your feet and try make it difficult for the striker

For me City are still the team to beat, no one will stop them winning it, arsenal don’t convince me they have made it any closer to city who are miles ahead of everyone else.

6.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 21:04:26
GTS who’s to say the technology is good enough to pinpoint the exact moment a ball leaves the players foot. The refresh rate of a video camera for TV broadcasts is only 24FPS which is actually very low. Let’s say it was 100FPS, would they have a better idea of the exact frame the ball was passed? Would it have made a difference to whether the goal was actually offside or not? I don’t really want to get into a debate about technology, I’m just making a point that VAR isn’t 100% accurate and in these incredibly close calls it is fallible. Personally I want to see it scrapped completely but it’s not going to happen. For me it’s completely killed the game.

7.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 21:08:38
Yes evans was obstructed but he needs to do betters to fight through it…. or the buffoon next to him could move and close down rice rather than just stand in place shouting with his hand up.

Maguire is an embarrassment. Martinez Injury happens and we need to completely change how we play since he is incapable of passing out of defence.

8.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 21:08:46
Also actually Ten Haag made a very good point about the angle. If the cameras in a different position it changes the angle for the lines coming up from the ground. Only just realised this but think about it. Unless the camera is bang inline with the players it cannot be used to measure an offside. If the cameras further forward it completely changes the angle of which the lines meet the players. Again not saying it would have made him onside, perhaps it would have been obvious it was offside, but the angle of the tv camera makes a huge difference to where the lines meet the player on the VAR pictures.

9.) 03 Sep 2023
03 Sep 2023 21:51:32
Tom, he did battle through it, the Arsenal player ended up on the ground, and Evans then ran towards the ball, and it deflected off him and into the net. If it wasn’t for the obvious foul that goal almost certainly would have been prevented. As for blaming Maguire, what do you think expect him to do? The ball had already passed over his head he was nowhere near it, do you want him to run through Evans and Gabriel? (Not sure who it was who made the foul) at faster than the speed of the ball to challenge Rice?

10.) 04 Sep 2023
04 Sep 2023 00:05:38
United were not set up to defend the deep corner. It might have cost them in the first half when Rice headed a good chance over. At the end of the game it did. Rice was effectively unmarked. I would not have given a foul on Evans either. No complaints about the ref. The problem lies with the players.