On the 3-1 CL Defeat and the Cule Referee: The Pseudo-Optimism of a Butthurt Gooner
By Staff
Admittedly, this is a biased post. You have been warned.
When Wojciech Szczesny was replaced by Manuel Almunia after a few minutes from kickoff, I knew the night wasn’t going to go as planned. To be fair to Almunia though, he had a great game. The goals he didn’t manage to save were impossible to save, to say the least. When Robin Van Persie got sent out unfairly because of what the Blaugrana referee deemed as “time-wasting” (he didn’t hear the whistle, what with the Camp Nou abuzz), our game was practically ruined. Our lone striker got sent off. It’s not the fact that it was Van Persie; it was his position that was crucial. But if I’m going to be all bitter, then I would also say that his dismissal amounted to that degrading statistic at the end of the match (Attempts on Goal: Barcelona = 19, Arsenal = 0). Nicklas “Big Game” Bendtner couldn’t do anything about it, not even my all-time personal bet Andrey Arshavin. Add to that the fact that to begin with, we didn’t have our strongest squad, what with Theo Walcott and Alex Song out. This game proved how crucial these two players are to our gameplay. Cesc Fabregas was clearly nervous, this being his first game in the Camp Nou and against his boyhood club. Everything was against Arsenal, whether we liked it or not. The temporary joy the Fabregas and Van Persie inclusion brought us was completely overshadowed by Mr. Cule “he-who-must-not-be-named” referee. Oh and by the way, that penalty he gave to Lionel Messi, I don’t know if it was a cutesy gift but I choose not to dwell over it. As the post title says, I am a butthurt Gooner.
It was disappointing, not because my side lost, but because I expected better officiating. It was a very promising and interesting match, and because of a “few” bad calls, it turned into a disaster. In so many ways I am acting like a butthurt aficionado but to tell you the truth, any person with eyes would’ve seen my point while watching that match. It doesn’t help that I am a Madridista too, and my dreams of having Barcelona eliminated just went down the drain. Ah well, I’m counting on you to do that now, Manchester United. And have I stressed enough how unfairly Van Persie was sent off right after Sergio Busquets scored a goal for Arsenal?
So where does the optimism (or in this case, pseudo-optimism) come from? For one, now that Arsenal has been eliminated from the Champions League (and don’t even get me started on that heartbreaking Carling Cup final), they could focus more on the EPL title, and that is what we Gooners want the most. All of these will be easily forgotten once we win that EPL title and for that to happen, we need our squad’s full force and concentration. Arsene Wenger did say that prior this match, most Gunners were thinking about this game and I think that affected their previous performances. But of course we wouldn’t say no to any type of silverware at this point (FA Cup, I am looking at you). Second, circumstances were against us during the match. I don’t know what would’ve happened if we had the strongest squad, nor if the referee decided to be neutral, but ah well, it happens, and that is why football is beautiful. Third, the clash brought out the Arsenal loyalty in Cesc Fabregas and as a Gooner, I’d take that anytime.
The match could’ve ended in so many ways but as butthurt as I am right now, I’d have to admit that the goals from Barcelona, we saw it coming. In fact, Arsenal was held back to just defend for most parts of the game, what with the Cules dominating the possession. Congratulations, FC Barcelona. Bottom line: the officiating got to me, and to my fellow Gooners as well (I watched the match in a sports bar, I should know). As much as I would like to continue this “comprehensive rant”, it’s time to stop.
Better luck next time, dear Arsenal, and I can’t believe I’m saying this but “Come on, you Red Devils!”. But if Real Madrid decides to outperform Barcelona this time, you won’t hear a complaint from me.