Luton Town (A) - Sun 10th Dec, 14:00 | Pre-Match Thread

[Gabriel]

I wonder if the refs will start to dish out the yellows for Rodri for the most minor of infringements, after all these cannot be rescinded or VAR'd. So we might only have another five games with him until the ban hammer slams down! Nothing surprises me anymore.

Irrespective of the dubious refereeing standards, if we continue to play a front four that has less ball control in the final third, then Rodri is going to be more exposed and likely to concede professional fouls. It’s an almost inevitable consequence of our approach in the last months, so it might be time to go back to strangling teams.

 

[BigJoe#1]

Lets be absolutely clear about this.... if we don't win this week then we can almost certainly kiss goodbye to a fourth consecutive title.

 

[Brunswick Blue]

I'm beginning to think Pep is running out of ideas when it comes to tactics and substitutions.

 

[lionheart]

Lets be absolutely clear about this.... if we don't win this week then we can almost certainly kiss goodbye to a fourth consecutive title.

Absolute nonsense. The Arsenal team lacks rotation and will run out of steam by February. Liverpool will pick up more injuries, having just lost Matip for the season. We will not beat Luton on current form, but I still believe we can win the title.

 

[Xhavenjoe]

I wonder if the refs will start to dish out the yellows for Rodri for the most minor of infringements, after all these cannot be rescinded or VAR'd. So we might only have another five games with him until the ban hammer slams down! Nothing surprises me anymore

There is probably 2 sides to your question

1) Were refs correct to give Rodri those 5 yellow cards. I think they probably were.
The same case with Grealish.

2) Is he getting booked for "lesser infringements" than other players.
Probably. His position on the pitch is very close to the refs and they have a very good view of him. They can spot the pullback and trips that slow attacks down. There are several instances where Rodri could have pulled out in these situations but was prepared to " take one for the team".
He really needs some help, particularly when the opposing team is on a counter attack.

The refs themselves have made some really poor decisions this season.
Hwang for Wolves should have been sent off for 2 yellows against us and how Kovacic wasn't sent off in the Arsenal match baffles me.

 

[BigJoe#1]

Absolute nonsense. The Arsenal team lacks rotation and will run out of steam by February. Liverpool will pick up more injuries, having just lost Matip for the season. We will not beat Luton on current form, but I still believe we can win the title.

Understand where you're coming from but it's not about what Arsenal and Liverpool can and will do, it's about what we WILL do and our own ability to gather enough points. As I said, if and its a massive IF we do not beat Luton I don't think we will have it within ourselves to do enough to win the league. Only my opinion.

 

[Xhavenjoe]

We'll pump them by about 5. Haaland is fuming and just waiting to catch fire :)

We will be the first team to do that so to them this season.

 

[Sibierskii]

Lets be absolutely clear about this.... if we don't win this week then we can almost certainly kiss goodbye to a fourth consecutive title.

Lol. We have so many wet fanny fans.

 

[pee dubya]

We will be the first team to do that so to them this season.

Yeah, we're also you know, one of the best teams in the history of the game. Even if we're a bit out of form.

 

[Bluemoon has risen]

Whilst I think it's very dramatic to say we're done if we don't win on Sunday given were only 6 games behind, it does feel like a must win game for us. We need to end this run of PL games with no wins to restore our confidence and get our winning form back.

Two wins in the next two and we're back on track prior to the World Club Cup comp.