Gameweek 8: The Headlines

Hi! It's Thursday lunch time. Do you have time for quick story break?

Once upon a time, a baby was born in Bondy, France. The baby grew up into a young boy who played football every chance he could. Like his peers, he idolized Thierry Henry, Arsenal's talismanic French striker of the nineties and aughts.

The little boy's passion and talent for footy meant he learned from the best, like Wilfried Mbappé at AS Bondy. You may have heard of Wilfried's son, Kylian (bottom right)?

The boy started out as a striker, but adapted to defensive duties to better support his team. His strength, poise, and composure at the back quickly set him apart from his peers.

He continued to grow and learn on the pitch. In 2016, he joined St-Etienne, later spending time at Nice and Marseille on loan, before signing with Arsenal in 2022. In both the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons, he was named to the Premier League Team of the Season. Today, he and his fellow center back, Gabriel Magalhaes, are widely believed to be the best defensive duo in the Premier League.

By now, you know the boy's name is William Saliba. His friends call him Wilo. Gunners lovingly refer to him as "Rolls Royce," meaning that as a player, he is of the highest, best quality.

In October 2024, Saliba was shown his first-ever red card after taking down Bournemouth player Evanilson in what was controversially ruled to be a goal-scoring opportunity. Saliba was consequently sent off. Arsenal lost the match.

But is that the end of Saliba's story? Absolutment pas! Do you want to know what happens next?

So do I.

Injustice?

Last week generally sucked. I lost in both Fantasy Premier League games. Arsenal lost 0-2 to Bournemouth.

My feelings aside, the fact remains this is the third time in eight Premier League matches that Arsenal have been shown a red card and played with 10 men. The first two instances consisted of two yellows, while the latest situation was a straight red because it hindered a clear goal-scoring opportunity.

Much ado was made of the loss, given it was the first time Arsenal have lost in 6 months. There has also been a lot of chatter about whether or not Arsenal are treated differently. Many other players and teams have not been penalized as harshly, even in similar situations.

It's not just Arsenal fans who feel they're the target of unfair refereeing decisions. On social, Liverpool and (shock! horror!) Spurs fans think so too. Manchester United fan and Youtuber Mark Goldbridge unleashed his wrath at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) just last month, calling Declan Rice's red card "soft."

Do I think the PGMOL has a vendetta against the Gunners? No. Do I think Arsenal have been unlucky? Yes. Do I get anxious before every game anticipating their shenanigans? Duh.

Speaking on the Bournemouth loss, big man Declan Rice said,

“We’ve kicked ourselves in the foot three times in eight games. ... I’m proud of the players for fighting, even with 10 men, but the naivety, we need to stop making mistakes because you want 11 players for 90 minutes and that’s what wins you football matches."

For now, we just have to hold our heads up high, move forward, and beat Liverpool at the Emirates on Sunday.

Do Manchester City receive special treatment?

On the subject of injustice, Arsenal fans' perception of unfair refereeing has bled into other clubs. Both Wolves and Nottingham Forest are aggrieved about PGMOL decisions they feel are unjust. Nottingham Forest were recently fined £750,000 ($980,000) by the Football Association (FA), because they accused the PGMOL of corruption last year.

And Wolves manager Gary O'Neil took aim at Manchester City on Saturday, after they narrowly defeated his side with a controversial last-gasp goal.

The goal in question was flagged by referee Chris Kavanagh because Bernardo Silva was in an offside position. However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) said that Silva was actually not hindering the Wolves 'keeper's line of sight.

Perhaps the best part was Jack Grealish talking to the referee and telling him Bernardo Silva could not possibly be obstructing the 'keeper because he's too short.

The decision to give the goal was a controversial one. Former player and current Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards even said, "I understand why Wolves would feel aggrieved in this particular moment."

"Aggrieved" may not be the right word, though. Gary was fuming.

The Wolves manager landed in hot water for his post-match comments that suggested match officials have a subconscious bias towards Manchester City. Gary's statement:

"Is there something in the subconscious around decision-making or, without even knowing it, are you more likely to give it to Manchester City than Wolves? ... Manchester City scoring a last-minute winner is a big thing. It’s a bigger thing than Wolves scoring a last-minute goal against West Ham. So maybe there’s something subconsciously that means that you are less likely to get them."

The context here is that Wolves had previously scored a last-gasp winner against West Ham that was similar to Manchester City's–but in their case, it was called back for offside.

I guess it's fine if the goal that Wolves scored against West Ham didn't stand. But then why did Man City's goal count?

That's Gary's issue. And honestly, I feel you dude!

Southampton surrender (& other woes)

It's always interesting to see how the promoted clubs fare in the Premier League. Ipswich have done all right thus far, while Leicester City's Premier League experience is holding them in good stead. But Southampton? That's a different story.

The Saints had an epic collapse on Saturday, losing to Leicester at the death after going up 2-0 in the first half. This was a must-win game for them because they next travel to the Etihad to play Manchester City. Fun times!

Losing after you've led by two goals is never fun. Just ask Everton.

But as a whole, Southampton manager Russell Martin has gotten a lot of flack for refusing to change his game plan, even when it's clearly not working for him. The Saints have the dubious honor of being 1 of 4 teams who have yet to win a match. Is this the end of the line for Russ? The manager strenuously denied rumors that he was getting fired, saying,

"A lot of people made up that it was do or die against Leicester– I'd be sacked after that game. In this profession, in this industry, you're just allowed to ask about people's jobs all the time. So I'm here, I have a really good relationship with the owners. ... I'll continue to [build the team] to the best of my ability with the same love and care I have in the time I've been here."

Elsewhere, things went badly for West Ham and Newcastle, both of whom lost. In particular, West Ham got thrashed 4-1 and Mohammed Kudus completely lost his s**t.

In the above stills, you can see West Ham's Mohammed Kudus striking and kicking Tottenham's Pape Matar Sarr and Mickey Van de Ven. Big yikes.

Mohammed was shown a red card for violent conduct. Both West Ham and Tottenham were also fined by the FA for failing to stop their players from "behav[ing] in a improper and/or provocative and/or violent way."

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou admitted the whole thing wasn't great optics, but Mickey Van de Ven came out swinging in his post-match press comments. He said,

"I had a duel with Mohammed Kudus and fell down on the ground. I had a feeling that he kicked too much through the ball and hit me like three times. I was a bit mad and stood up and pushed him. Then he literally punched me in the face and I went down. ...If the FA say you need to get fined, it's not how I think about it. I think it should be a different situation."

Let's hope this coming weekend isn't as violent and/or stressful–unless you like that kind of thing? I'm not here to judge.

Say a prayer for the Gunners if you feel so inclined! I most likely won't be able to watch the match on Sunday because my nerves tend to get the better of me, so ... say a prayer for me too, while you're at it.