19 Sep 2015 12:46:53
Happy with line up - plenty pace and runners

Need big game from Ozil

1.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 12:57:07
Opening 10 minutes are the best I've seen at Chelsea for yeaes, vast vast improvement on recent visits.

2.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 13:39:39
No matter the end result today, I just want to say that Costa is a disgrace of a player. I'm not justifying Gabriel's actions but surely the FA could look at what led to his reaction.

{Ed002's Note - No, they won't be doing any such thing.}

3.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 13:47:30
Should be banned for the rest of the season for that pathetic display, as should his manager and the rest of the chelsea team who surround the ref screaming every single game.

{Ed002's Note - Whining and bitching like a prepubescent girl won't help. Move on.}

4.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 13:50:25
I desperately want to see Arsenal as a,competitive force again but I'd rather be relegated than ever have players like Costa at Arsenal, for some its all part of the game but not for me.

5.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 13:52:46
Ten years of watching mounrinho teams cheat constantly ed, it's insane that he's never been punished for it.

{Ed002's Note - What an absolutely stupid remark.}

6.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 14:02:29
Agree G62, definitely for me that's something I hate to see and wish wasn't part of the game, but it is and has been from the beginning and we have to live with it.

You could see from a mile off after they had both been booked it was going to happen. We had no one in our team with enough experience or initiative to notice the situation and drag Gabriel away.

Extremely disappointing from Gabriel but it happens and I think let's move on

7.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 14:11:24
Everybody knows what Costa is, if you let him get to you he wins, all Gabriel had to do was ignore it and walk away so I've got no sympathy for him tbh

8.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 14:28:28
Loved the poor poor me act as Costa came off . Class acting!

9.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 14:30:57
Ed02,

I do not often disagree with you, but instead of being one man up on the three bookable offences before Gab even came over, arsenal were one man down and arsenal should feel aggrieved.

Mike Dean got it wrong and his assistants share the blame for that.

When Mike Dean sees the replay of the match he will agree as well. I am not sure what your beef with Lemons comments are.

{Ed002's Note - Gabriel kicked out at another player deliberately. It is sending off offence. The fact that the referee missed something else is entirely irrelevant.

10.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 14:54:27
Irrelevant? It is totally relevant. Costa should have been sent off! that's clear to see by the linesman and the ref.

{Ed002's Note - You are presumably some sort of halfwit.}

11.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 15:07:38
I agree Gab should not have been sucked in and his ban should stand, but Costa should already have been off.

If the FA cannot ban him for the unsighted hands to face x2 then what point is there in having retroactive bans?

Dean should have either sent Costa off in the first instance, sent them both off when they initiated hand to chest contact after getting the yellows, separated the players and warned them (thus allowing time to cool down), or done nothing and spoken to both managers at halftime to ensure things did not boil over; but instead he ruined the game as a contest.

It was a masterclass in ineffective refereeing from Dean and I am not sure how the kick out is worse than Diego showing dissent and initiating physical contact with Gab after receiving the yellow (ie if the minor contact kick out is a yellow so is the hand contact - as it was done immediately after receiving a yellow, with intent to escalate a violent confrontation).

So I respect you and your opinion ed02, I just do not agree this time. Costa should and likely will be banned retroactively as Dean cannot have seen the hands to face or Costas putting his hands on Gabs chest. It does not help Arsenal but it should still be done.

{Ed002's Note - The referee booked him - it was dealt with during the game. Try to go through life without looking for others to blame - suck it up and move on. Whining like this is an embarrassment.}

12.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 15:11:50
Gab was stupid but if Costa was off it would not have even happened
Costa is a cheat and CFC players surrounding the ref is a joke
I am not saying Gab was not stupid - he was and rightly sent off but with good Reffing, that passAge of play would not have existed

13.) 19 Sep 2015
19 Sep 2015 16:57:58
Ed02,

At the end of the day it's just a game, and only one of 38, your opinion has a place as do Arsenal fans' opinions. My life does not end if Arsenal lose, even if I feel the referee's decision may have impacted on the outcome.

I do not agree with you nor will I ever convince you to my point of view.

My view is partisan about Arsenal, so perhaps I am not objective enough to honestly assess Dean's performance and you may be better placed with your comments.

I do not want to get banned (but do as you feel you must) I do have a couple comments:

1. Blaming other people in life - if that was meant to make this about me as an individual, I am a bit offended as I was commenting on Mike Dean's performance as a referee - if it was a mantra to live by, I generally agree;

2. I am not Arsenal F.C., the manager, the Board of Directors, a player, or a shareholder, I am a fan of Arsenal, I do not directly impact the outcome of the game, and, therefore, I cannot take the blame for their poor performances or the credit for their good performances;

3. In general, that lies at the feet of the Arsenal Players and their manager and in Zagreb and many other places I have agreed that they were their own undoing by not playing at the requisite level or making stupid decisions;

4. What I believe is, that a referee's job is to ensure a fair contest, enforce the rules of the game,and adequately manage situations in a neutral way;

5. Here is where you and I diverge, Mike Dean did not handle the situation leading up to the sending-off well, it was his job to handle it well, and because he did not handle it well it impacted on the outcome of the game. Mike Dean as a referee (not a person, he may be a great guy) is subject to criticism for his poor refereeing (much like I am subject to suit if I am negligent at my job or criticism if I do my job poorly but not negligently);

6. You are right, it does not excuse what Gab did. He should be banned, but it should have never gotten to that point; and

7. Taken literally, your "not blaming everyone else in life" would mean if you needed your left leg amputated and you consulted a surgeon and then he cut off your right leg - that you should not be blame. The real mantra has to be, "do not blame others for what you can control," and "do blame others for failing to do what is required of them". What was required of Mike Dean was to properly control the game, in my view, he did not. You may disagree, but I do not think I am wrongly blaming him for something in my control or the Arsenal players control. I am blaming him for what he should be blamed for - poor refereeing.

{Ed002's Note - (1) Dean missed something; so what? It happens every week. (2) Then don't try and blame the referee when Arsenal lose. (3) I am sure they know they could have done better in Croatia. (4) He missed some stuff - Costa scratching, a couple of Chelsea penalties - it is unimportant, don't keep up this petulant grousing - it really is an embarrassment. (5) So Dean got it wrong - why are you going on and on about it? Why are you not going on about the penalties he didn't give? Why don't you tease him about his accent? Or the fact he is losing his hair? Move on. (6) "Should never have got to that point" is a ridiculous statement. (7) Your analogy is nonsense. The rest of the paragraph is you not being able to let go of your need to blame someone - as I said, it is all embarrassing to read.}