Match Of The Day 2 a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
January 23, 2017
2,228 Views
- There may have only been three matches yesterday but that does not mean there was any less controversy
- And the majority if not all of it was reserved for The Emirates
- Talk about drama
- Arsenal were held going into the break but finally got the advantage tye deserved when Shkodran Mustafi broke the deadlock
- With The Gunners ahead it then looked like Arsenal were set for a routine win but we were nowhere near done yet
- Firstly Granit Xhaka was sent off for a wild two footed lunge on Steven Defour and that gave Burnley a glimmer of hope
- And it looked as if they would rescue a point late on
- Laurent Koscielny was clumsy at best as he bundled over Ashley Barnes in the box
- John Moss had the ideal view of it and had no hesitation in awarding a spot kick
- Much to the ire of the majority of The Emirates it must be said
- Andre Gray just about held his nerve from the spot to give Burnley an unlikely late equaliser
- Arseene Wenger was not best pleased with the decision and his remonstrations would not end there
- A verbal tirade to 4th official Anthony Taylor was enough to see Wenger sent to the stands
- Only Wenger had other ideas in mind, he refused to go down the tunnel and then placed his hands on Taylor
- Surely a touchline ban now awaits
- But we were not done yet
- With 7 minutes of injury time on the board there was still time for last twist
- A hopeful ball was planted to the back post where Koscielny was one again in the thick of things
- Only this time, it was from a positive point of view (that is if you were an Arsenal fan)
- As the stooped for the ball, he was caught by the high boot of Ben Mee
- And again John Moss pointed to tbe spot
- But what made the decision all the more galling is the fact that Koscielny was offside when the ball was played
- A correct decision for the penalty but had the offside been spotted it would have been a moot point
- But the penalty stood and it was up to Alexis Sanchez to snatch back the points
- He was coolness personified as his Panenka chip sold Tom Heaton and give Arsenal the win that takes them to second in the table
- Incredibly harsh on Burnley especially as that is the second contentious Arsenal late winner that has gone against them this season
- It means Burnley still only have one point from their away fixtures
- While Arsenal are now Chelsea’s nearest rivals albeit 8 points behind
- That is because just a couple of hours later, Chelsea would go onto dispose of Hull at Stamford Bridge
- The question of whether or not Diego Costa would start was answered and he took the game straight to Hull with an early effort to announce his return
- Regardless of the win it was a result marred by the injury to Hull’s Ryan Mason
- A clash of heads with Gary Cahill would see Mason later diagnosed with a fractured skull
- That stoppage saw 7 minutes of stoppage time in the first half and Chelsea would need all of them to finally go ahead
- And who else would get the goal?
- Of course it had to be Costa
- The goal was somewhat contentious but they seem to be the breaks in regards to a side challenging for the title and one aiming for survival
- With the goal coming just before the end of an extended first half the goal knocked what wind Hull had in their sails
- Without Robert Snodgrass they lacked any real creative spark and once behind it seemed as if their day was as good as done
- And with the second half seeing Chelsea in control they would wrap up the win when Gary Cahill doubled their advantage with 9 minutes to spare
- A victory that puts them in a commanding position at the top and in the perfect frame of mind for thei trip to Anfield next Tuesday night.
- For Hull the new manager lift could not help them and it was all too obvious that still need some new signings before the end of the month
- Starting the day off though was Southampton as they made easy work of defending champions Leicester
- The 3-0 win at St Mary’s meant it bought to an end a run of 4 straight league defeats and saw them move up to 11th
- For The Foxes though questions have to be asked
- Firstly how on Earth did this side win the title last season
- It was another abject performance on the road as Claudio Ranieri’s men still search for a first away win of the season
- They stay just 5 points from safety but with each game they fail to win they must be looking nervously over their shoulder
- As for The Saints it shows thst life goes on after Jose Fonte as they recorded a very welcome win
- The only blot on the copybook would have been the injury to Virgil Van Dijk which now sees him doubtful for their EFL Cup Semi-Final 2nd leg at Anfield on Wednesday
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