By Myles Palmer
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FLAMINI was outstanding in a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
And his all-action exploits will be vital at White Hart Lane next Saturday.
On Newstalk 106 Dublin on Friday night I said that I’d be surprised if Arsenal beat Man City.I thought Andy Cole would be playing.
Well, Arsenal won in a tale of two penalties.
The first WAS a penalty, when Toure intercepted and played it forward to Henry, who was brought down by David James while going nowhere.
Technically, it was a penalty. But I’ve seen those not given.
Pires took it beautifully : 1-0 in 61 minutes.
Then Bergkamp tried it on by running between two defenders in the box. He nicked the ball past Jordan and ran into him and Mike Riley bought it and gave a soft penalty.
Pires tried to pass it to Henry but only scuffed the top of the ball with his studs and Henry ran past the ball anyway, making no attempt to play it, and two City players get to the ball first and clear.
What a farce !
What an insult to people who have paid £56 a ticket to see professional football.
Pires had missed a sitter from eight yards early on, spooning his shot five yards over the bar.
Now he has a chance to clinch the game at 2-0 and he does that ?
Why? Because he knows Arsenal cannot win the title, so it doesn’t matter ?
I HAVE ALWAYS SAID that Arsenal is the only club in the world that could have built the Emirates Stadium.
It’s a special, special club with a great history and terrific directors, and while it ain’t perfect, it can do things no other club can do.
After the Emirates opens, Friar, Fiszman and Edelman are going to raise the Titantic.
And Arsenal is definitely the only club in the world where this despicable incident could happen.
It would not happen in Serie A.
It wouldn’t happen in the Spanish League.
It’s unimaginable in the Bundesliga.
Chelski wouldn’t do that if they were 7-0 up !
Manchester United would never do anything as stupid as that.
And if they did they would do it properly and score.
WHAT A PAIR OF PLONKEURS !
It was just a horrible, horrible thing to see.
I don’t want to analyse it.
I don’t want to write about it.
I don’t want to talk about it.
I don’t want to see replays of it.
I certainly don’t want to read about it.
That was the “work” of two ridiculously narcissistic French plonkeurs.
Incredibly, Henry laughed and grinned and giggled and said, “We did practice it in training.”
DON’T PRACTICE IT AGAIN, you big tart !
Would Brian Clough drop Pires and Henry for passing a penalty?
No, because if Brian Clough was managing Arsenal, no players would try a stunt like that.
It really spoiled a good day on which Arsenal pulled back 5 points because Spurs drew 1-1 at Old Trafford.
And Edgar Davids, a dynamo who could tank straight through Gilberto and Cygan, got his fifth yellow card and will be suspended for the Arsenal game.
Lucky Arsenal, or what ?
Darius Vassell had headed in for 1-1 but that effort was disallowed because he was 18 inches in front of Toure and deemed offside.
Arsenal will need that kind of luck at the Lane next Saturday.
THURSDAY’S AGM WAS DULL, but I enjoyed it anyway.
It was one where you had to read between the lines.
Will try to write something on Monday.
Saturday, midnight, 23 October 2005