Even VAR Fails To Stop The Big Red Machine

On the face of it, a routine 1-0 win at Leicester. But, going deeper, there was a little more to it than that.

The key, of course, was the three points in what was on paper a tricky fixture. Which will hopefully allow the team to take full advantage of its game in hand on Wednesday evening, Indeed, with successive home fixtures against Everton and Bournemouth this week, and with City playing Newcastle on Saturday, there's a chance that the lead will be more than 5 points by next Saturday evening. The bigger the buffer that can be built up between now and the difficult run of fixtures in late April/early May, the better.

A change of plan from Arteta. Trossard for Eddie, in the 'false 9' role; intending to have him dropping off to create room for Saka and Martinelli. Partey not completely fit, but back on the bench - good news. And a nice touch - Zinchenko with the (blue and yellow) captain's armband as the Premier League acknowledged the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

And here's the thing; when the game started, this wasn't the Leicester we were expecting. Maddison-less for sure; but tactics unlike anything they'd done all season. Where they'd played an open game against Manchester United in their previous game, this time it was 'low block'. I think that Rodgers knew that if he played his normal expansive game he might get ripped apart. Due respect shown to Arsenal, but this would have thrown all plans out of the window. What does this say about what other managers think about Arsenal these days - and, as an aside, what do they think about supposed title contenders Manchester United?!? Only Arsenal and City get this sort of respect these days.

But, low block or no low block, Arsenal absolutely dominated the first half. With little to show for it as far as shots on target were concerned, but there was approximately zero threat from Leicester. I read a stat, in fact, which said that Leicester's first half xG was 0.01 of a goal. A record low, apparently.

What there was to show in the first half was the standard Arsenal VAR controversy. A goal not awarded when the VAR shouldn't have got involved, according to the guidelines. And a very, very good shout for a penalty.

Trossard's smartly-taken goal was chalked off for a supposed foul by White on keeper Ward a few seconds earlier. Now White, Barnes and the keeper had their arms entangled, for sure, but was it really a foul? And was it a clear and obvious error by the referee; enough for the VAR to get involved? Surely not. Even massive Leicester fan Gary Lineker disagreed with the decision:

Last year, a Villa goal was allowed to stand despite Ramsdale having both arms pinned. This year?...

And for the penalty shout, there really was little doubt that Souttar had bundled Saka over. Clear as day. Yet this time the VAR chose not to intervene. 

Conspiracy? Nah... course not. We're literally up against 13 people every time we play... 

And here's something that made me laugh...

And so, despite having complete control over the opposition, it somehow remained 0-0 at half time.

Before I go on, time for some appreciation. Firstly for Edu and Arteta, and secondly for the January signings themselves. The primary targets had been Mudryk and Caciedo, but in both incidences Plan B had had to be swung into operation. And there can be little doubt that some very shrewd work has been done. Trossard was of course ready-made for the Premier League and has slotted in pretty seamlessly. And Jorginho? Well, forget what Chelsea supporters had been telling us, and forget our own prejudices regarding raiding Chelsea's 'bins'; this signing has been inspirational. Agreed, he doesn't have the pace or physical presence of Thomas Partey. But he has the pedigree, the in-match intelligence, and the eye for a pass that makes him the absolutely perfect fit for this Arsenal side.  And from what I heard through the microphones the away fans - the true barometer of any team’s support base, already love him.

Whilst he was caught out a few times late on in this game when Leicester midfielders managed to run off the back of him into the space behind, he had an essentially sublime 90 minutes. So much so that Arteta took off Odegaard, not Jorginho, when he turned to Partey to help secure the result. I hated him in a blue shirt. I love him in a red one.

And so back to the game. We saw tunnel footage of a conversation between the entire Arsenal team and referee Pawson on the way out after half-time; no doubt about the disallowing of Trossard's goal. And, whilst they may have felt hard done by, Arsenal took it out on Leicester immediately as they took the lead within a minute. Trossard collected Gabriel's chip down the line on the left wing, 'megged Souttar as he looked for a sprinting Martinelli, and the Brazilian attacked the penalty area and did a very passable imitation of Thierry Henry's trademark finish as he slotted the ball into the far corner of the net. He took an inadvertent knock from Ndidi in the process, but was OK to continue after a short panic.

And Arsenal continued to dominate. They had the ball in the net yet again, but Saka's finish was ruled out for offside. Fair enough; nobody could argue with that call. And, until Rodgers finally made some substitutions including bringing on our nemesis, Jamie Vardy (although he's 36 now), there was little sign of any change in the pattern of the game. Essentially, Arsenal always looked in control, and apart from the occasional late panic as Leicester started to pick on Jorginho a bit the 90 minutes were seen out quite comfortably. 

Just one attempt on goal by Leicester the whole game, and that off target. As Brendan Rodgers said afterwards: 'Arsenal were on a different level.... Arsenal are top for a reason... Their ball possession was so good that we couldn't get there.' Acknowledgment of Arsenal's superiority and Leicester’s inability to do anything about it. Thank you very much.

No surprise that City thrashed Bournemouth in the late game. Although their defence didn't look as solid late on as I'm sure Pep would like. And they've got a fight on their hands in the Champions League too. So it's 'as you were', another game ticked off, and just 14 to go. It's getting real now.

I'll be back on Thurday. In the meantime - COYG!!!

Oh Emi Martinez!

Now, here's an admission. Ever since around 10 to 5 on Saturday evening, I've been catching myself smirking. Either merely feeling it in my face, or looking at my ugly mug in the mirror whilst I was getting ready to go out yesterday evening. I know that there's a hell of a long way to go yet, but I'm sure that we'd have never guessed how much our mood may have altered between 9.30pm on Wednesday and now. Or even from 2pm Saturday (when Arsenal were still trailing 2-1 at Villa Park) and now. Football. Bloody hell!

Pick the bones out of that, then, I hear you say. And I shall.

No huge suprises in the Arteta selection - I did think that Tierney may get a start, but Super Mik loves what Zinchenko brings to the side too much - and as we'd guessed still no Partey. Trossard for Martinelli had looked inevitable, and White was back in for Tomi. Jorginho, looking more and more like a very smart piece of business, deputised ably for Partey. Don Unai, having watched his side concede 4 at home last week, changed 75% of his back 4 and drafted our old friend Coutinho back into the starting XI.

But there were concerns from early on. The team looked nervous, too much time was being spent on the ball, and there wasn't enough movement higher up the pitch as the team continued to adjust to its Parteylessness. And within 5 minutes disaster struck as Zinchenko (overlapping for a change) lost the ball to Cash wide on the left, the latter's driving run infield and through ball freed Watkins, and the striker got away from Saliba and hit a cross shot back past Ramsdale into the far corner. Could Bill have done better? Perhaps. But so could Zinchenko have done. And Gabriel, who backed off Cash instead of engaging him. And even Ramsdale himself. Disappointing, and just what we didn't need after Wednesday's deflation.

Thankfully, that woke Arsenal up; if only somewhat. Villa aren't that good, after all, but confidence had been further hit by the early concession. Nonetheless Arsenal started to move the ball a little quicker, and it only took 11 minutes for the equaliser to come; Saka lashing in on the volley from around the penalty spot following England centre half (?!?) Tyrone Mings' weak headed clearance. I leapt to my feet at this point. Thank goodness!

Things started to get a little spicy from that point, with Saka - as usual having his ankles targetted by his full back - commenced a war with Moreno. Starboy is offered insufficient protection by referees - unlike that thespian Grealish - and perhaps had taken heed of Thierry Henry's recent words when he'd reminded Saka that all great players have a nasty streak about them. Certainly, in this game, he gave some back. Late in the half, he trod on Moreno's ankle. I thought that it was accidental (I would do, I guess) - unlike some of what was being meted out to him - but for the rest of the game the Villa fans, well-known for their class and impartiality, booed our Starboy every time he touched the ball. And specifically following a 'handbags'-type melee late in the first half that shouldn't detract from a couple of unnecessary Villa challenges - Mings on Odegaard and then Coutinho on Saka.

On the half hour, Villa retook the lead. A sweeping move following an Arsenal corner that Martinez claimed bravely and then - for a change - got his team moving quickly. Arsenal backed off once more, and nobody got near enough to a single Villa player as they swept the length of the pitch. Following a clever dummy by Buendia, Coutinho wrong-footed Ramsdale from the edge of the area. Poor. Again. And whilst I'm not going to point fingers specifically at Jorginho here, his defensive capabilities aren't the same as Partey's - and we missed the Ghanaian's physicality at that point. 

And so Arsenal went in at half time a goal down. A spark - perhaps understandably - had been missing. And what followed in the second half showed just what this Arsenal team had about it. Grit. Determination. And the willingness to go right to the end. They were transformed by whatever went on in the dressing roon, came out early for the second half and proceeded to pound away at Villa for most of the rest of the game. 

At which point the pantomime sideshow that is Emi Martinez started to come to the fore. He wasted time at every opportunity (understandably at 2-1, I guess), but all this did was help to set up what was to follow. The away fans, who remember him more for his constant whining at losing out to Bernd Leno in 2020 than for his Cup Final heroics weeks earlier, gave him all the gyp he deserved.

And the main thrust of the game was by now very much towards the Villa goal, as Arsenal's increased intensity and swifter use of the ball forced the home side back. Jorginho got onto the ball more often, Odegaard started to find more space, and Saka was fouled more and more... at one point I thought he'd have to come off. The combinations between Odegaard and Saka, and also White - who was sublime at times in this game - were making life extremely difficult for Villa (I've said this before, but Arsenal need to work the ball more down their right as a general rule in my opinion). 

On 61 minutes, Arsenal were level. Villa fell asleep at a corner, and a pre-planned move to give Zinchenko loads of space on the edge of the area led to the Ukrainian firing home hard and low to Martinez's left for his first Arsenal goal. Well-deserved at that point, and game very much on.

Chances came and went - particularly for Nketiah - as the intensity built and the clock ticked on. As far as Eddie is concerned, I'd be more worried if he wasn't getting into position to score. But he is. And he's doing his best. There's no point laying into the guy; he needs encouragement. And there frankly isn't an alternative until Jesus returns. The award for Miss of the Match goes, however, to Odegaard who, set free by Nketiah (who had robbed Konsa in the box), proceeded to miss the target completely when entirely free just 12 yards outl. Was that going to be it?

But interestingly, at 2-2 and as Emery allowed the game to open up as he looked to hit Arsenal on the break and sneak the win, it ended up playing into Arsenal's hands. Villa's formation had stifled Arsenal for a long time, but gaps started to appear as the game reached its climax. There were admittedly chances at both ends, as Ramsdale earned his wages, but ultimately Villa's loss of shape cost them. It reminded me of the good old days when Emery's Arsenal midfield was often non-existent due to lack of discipline (I'm looking at you, Matteo Guendouzzi!).

And it took until the 93rd minute - the beginning of referee Hooper's added on Martinez Shithousing Time - for karma to strike for the Villa keeper. In an unlikely turn of events, the ever more influential Jorginho let fly from fully 25 yards. The ball cannoned off the crossbar onto the head of the stricken Martinez and into the net. And this was probably the perfect way to take the lead. Late on, and a Martinez own goal. Oh how we celebrated. And how we laughed! Karma's gonna get you, Emi.

And just to add salt to Martinez's wounds came the icing on the cake. A 97th minute Villa corner. Martinez takes it into his own hands to go up for it. But it's headed clear, Vieira plays in Martinelli, and the Brazilian strokes the ball into the empty Villa net with Martinez a mere 50 yards out of position. Job done and cue celebrations massive enough to alert Richard Keys, the FA and The Celebration Police.

And so, despite the continued doubts about fragile confidence levels, squad depth, fatigue and to some extent temperament, Arsenal had bounced back and ticked off another win - when anything else may have been terminal. But as it was there was more fun to come as Manchester City, despite laying siege to the Forest goal for almost 90 minutes, fluffed their lines, let in a late equaliser, and left Arsenal suddenly two points clear again; with a game in hand. And the perfect end to the perfect day was completed by Chelsea's pathetic home defeat to Southampton. Cue the smirk.

Next 6 games; Leicester away, Everton home, Bournemouth home, Fulham away, Palace home and Leeds home. A fairly benign set of fixtures; especially compared to what's to come in April. In that time, City have to go to Newcastle and also come up against a reinvigorated Liverpool. It'll be level games at that point, and we'll see exactly where we are. But Arsenal must continue to push, and take advantage of City's unexpected cock up.

Let's see. It's a little more hopeful now. COYG!

Reality Check

Well, then... that was tough to take. And there's plenty to unpick - both positive and negative.

Let's start with the team news. And to the surprise of nobody at all, Erling Haaland was fit to play. However, the news that had started breaking at lunchtime about Thomas Partey was deeply concerning - Arsenal are a considerably lesser team without him than with - and the Ghanaian duly missed out with what I understand is a 'minor' hamstring issue (I should mention at this point that, having been handed this news, I don't think that I'd been nervier before a game of football since the Champions League Final of 2006...).

But there's no way that we can pin any blame on the performance or result on Jorginho. He did exactly what it says on his tin. Received the ball from the back line, played it simple - mostly forwards, and at a high completion rate - and had his fair share of interceptions too. He lacks physicality compared to Partey, of course. Plus perhaps the speed of mind and body against this type of opposition to really hurt them. But he really wasn't the problem. And I would add this; his acquisition is a smart piece of business - the alternative had he not been signed, Sambi Lokonga, would surely have been eaten alive!

In all this analysis, we have to bear in mind that Arsenal were up against probably the best club side in the world. Very early in their development, the youngest in the Premier League, and up against a team that's now over a dozen years in its (financially doped) construction. It's remarkable that we're up alongside them, frankly. 

But... Arsenal's sparse squad is being stretched, City's is large, and deep. It's a real shame that Arteta couldn't have put out his best XI against them. The loss of Partey was obviously important, but I think that we're really starting to feel the loss of Jesus more and more with each passing game. Hopefully he'll be back in 3-4 weeks. Arsenal need to hang on to City's coat tails in the interim.

In the rarefied atmosphere of a battle such as this, everybody need to be at or close to their best. But unfortunately not enough were. Nketiah - Jesus' replacement - missed maybe three more than presentable chances. The sort of chances that need to be taken (not that I'm suggesting that Jesus would have taken them, but he offers more elsewhere than Eddie; not least the ability to drag his team-mates into battle from the front). To be fair to Eddie, he did win Arsenal's penalty - and it's one of those that you're annoyed to concede on the defensive side, but would be equally annoyed not to be awarded it if you're attacking. The goalkeeper's come out, failed to get to the ball, and has brought down his man. On balance... soft, but yes - that's a penalty. And he'd already been booked - did 'double jeopardy' save him from the walk of shame?

Elsewhere Tomiyasu - in for Ben White - frankly looked a bit rusty. All part of the downside of Arteta picking the same XI week after week after week; and also making few (and late) substitutions. It was a risk to bring somebody in cold to Manchester City, of all opponents, and it was his mistake that led to City's opener. Not that I'm taking anything away from De Bruyne, by the way. His finish was exquisite. And I'll also chuck into the mix that Gabriel failed to recognise the danger posed by the Belgian as he let him run away from him. Poor judgment. 

I'm of the opinion that the Japanese's natural two-footedness was part of the reason he was selected, bearing in mind Grealish's penchant to cut inside a lot of the time. But the plan failed in the end. Unfortunately for Tomi, Grealish's shot to make it 2-1, which I believe that Ramsdale would probably have saved comfortably, took a slight nick off of him to give the keeper no chance. Insult to injury.

Frankly, lack of composure cost Arsenal. I'd been scratching my head at Guardiola's choice of Bernardo Silva at left-back - the Portuguese was booked for possibly his fourth yellow card offence on Starboy and could quite easily have been sent off - but Pep rectified this after an hour. By which time it was 2-1, of course. But elsewhere on the field Gabriel's penchant for clumsiness meant that the ball was conceded for the second goal, Zinchenko was surprisingly inconsistent on the ball, Martin Odegaard yet again was nothing like involved enough, and Granit Xhaka's shortcomings at the highest level were once again exposed. Forced to play in a slightly deeper role with Partey missing, the Swiss looked a little ponderous and indecisive. We're due an upgrade there for next season.

Here's a moment that, had Xhaka made his mind up quicker, could have changed the momentum of the game:

As I have mentioned, I thought that Jorginho had a solid enough game. Also that Saliba coped manfully with the threat of the freakish Haaland. My goodness, he's a sight to behold; tall, broad, a really commanding presence but additionally lightning fast. But Saliba coped, and Haaland had considerably more success when he started to pull onto Gabriel instead. For the third and decisive goal Trossard lost the ball wide on the left near the half way line, and 10 seconds later Haaland - working on Gabriel by this time -  had the ball in the net. Game over.

I'm also offering no criticism of Bukayo Saka. He had Bernardo Silva on toast - ref Taylor was unaccountably soft on the latter, but how many times have we said that Starboy isn't offered sufficient protection? And he took his penalty so coolly under tremendous pressure - whatever mind games Ederson was trying on him failed miserably. Things got more difficult later on when he was forced to face up to Ake instead of Bernardo, but I frankly won't have a word said against him. I love that boy.

This is something that only Arsenal get in trouble for by the way...

There'll be changes for Saturday, I'm sure. Surely White will come back in at right back - unless Arteta opts to give Saliba a break - and perhaps we'll see Tierney at left back. That may be a shame for Martinelli, who could do with help on the left - again left isolated by the pattern of play in this match - but I suspect that Trossard will get his start. We may see Nketiah rested. And I'm expecting to see Vieira get a start soon too. The fact is that Arteta can't expect to get away with playing the same starting XI again and again. Especially with the Villa game kicking off just 65 hours after the City game ended.

What Arsenal really need now is for Partey, Jesus and forgotten man Emil Smith Rowe to be fit and ready for battle. It's crucial that Arteta has more options.

A few other things in summary: 

• City took this game very seriously. It was a right battle, and the fact that they were actually looking to time waste from early on shocked me. Despite that, I felt that Arsenal looked a little overawed early on, and it took City taking the lead to unleash the shackles; whereupon Arsenal were the better side for quite a while
• A single shot on target - the penalty - is a totally inadequate return. Especially with the dominance that 64% possession, 524 passes to 303 and at a higher pass completion rate, ought to have presented. And this is against Manchester City, remember!
• Part of Arsenal's identity is passing out from the back. We saw plenty of teething problems last season and the season before, but it's been much more effective in helping to evade the press and get the side onto the front foot this season. Unfortunately, it went wrong a few times in this game. And twice it was punished in the cruellest manner. The fact of the matter is that City took their chances, and Arsenal did not. That, one might easily say, is why you can't expect to win the league with a lean squad, and Eddie Nketiah leading the line
• However, it's by no means over. A game in hand means that matters remain in Arsenal's hands. City will be stretched by FA Cup and Champions League in the weeks ahead. And it remains to be seen how Arteta approaches the Europa League at this point. He has bigger fish to fry, perhaps?

Keep the faith. The next game is the most important. 

COYG!

Diabolical Officiating For Sure - But That's Only Half Of The Story

First of all - an apology. I didn't post after the Everton defeat; which some people might see as a cop-out. But... firstly I was away for the weekend, with an almost non-existent signal during the game itself, and then a hectic itinerary. And, when I did get home on Monday evening, I got ill. The dreaded man flu struck me down, and I was out of it for fully 48 hours. By which time it was frankly too late - too much water under the bridge. So I knocked any thoughts of posting on the head. 

And so we move on to a sort of 'double post' - along with my thoughts on the rap sheet facing Manchester City. Anyway, and mostly concentrating on the Brentford game, I'll crack on...

At Everton, Arsenal ran into one of those 'perfect storm' things. Sean Dyche is everything Frank Lampard is not. Competent, pragmatic and with the ability to organise his players into a cohesive unit. 

'Fat Frank' is another example of why great players rarely make great managers. And Dyche an example of a journeyman player with the right set of skills to give him a successful management career. And because Arsenal were a little off their game, what Dyche drilled into his players was enough to inflict the necessary damage. I know that this is simplifying things, but I'm really here to talk about Arsenal vs Brentford.

But here's the thing; it generally doesn't take long for other clubs to work you out in the Premier League, and I'm seriously starting to wonder whether Arsenal have been 'sussed'. There's half a season's evidence on how Arsenal play, and opposition coaching staff have had quite a while to work out how to try to counter it. Brentford have a certain way of playing against teams who they know are going to dominate possession against them, and both game plan and execution were almost faultless. They are a very good side; well organised, although frankly with just a single 'star' player - one who I would imagine will not be with them next season. Ivan Toney - the most effective player on the pitch... by a mile!

For me, it does feel the Arsenal are starting to look somewhat predictable. That doesn't mean that they're not a very good side. They dominated possession and were almost constantly on the front foot. But Brentford had their plan - sit very deep indeed and strike hard on the break - and they actually looked in control (certainly for the entirety of the first half) despite seeing little of the ball, and there was a humdrum aspect to Arsenal's play. 

What is becoming something of an obsession about 'inverting' Zinchenko - thus additionally somewhat exposing Gabriel I should add - means two things. Firstly, there is something of a 'disconnect' between the Ukrainian and Martinelli that leaves the latter somewhat isolated. And secondly it means that Bukayo Saka, on the other flank, sees much less of the ball than he should. The key combination between Starboy and Odegaard isn't used enough, to my mind, and adjustments need to be made. Our skipper was once again not at his best - also somewhat starved of possession (whilst at the same time we are seeing that Granit Xhaka's ceiling has been reached) - and Arsenal failed to exploit the unpredictability of the Odegaard/Saka combo. Ben White makes for a really unpredictable triangle, I should add.

It came as no surprise to me that Arsenal's goal was created on the right, when brilliant improvisation between Odegaard and Saka led to the latter finally getting in behind the Brentford defence, and the latter's perfect cross was stabbed in - for his first Arsenal goal - by Leo Trossard. And from that point Arsenal should have seen the game out. But before I go on to why they didn't, a word about the officiating.

Firstly, it was clear that part of Brentford's game plan was to ensure that the ball was in play for as little time as possible. I cannot locate the precise details - despite a deep trawl of the internet - on how long it was, but it felt like well under 50 minutes (Everton did the same last week btw). And it was clear from literally the first minute that this was part of the plan, as Raya stood with the ball at his feet for over 20 seconds. Referee Peter Bankes - a quite useless specimen in my opinion - allowed Brentford to waste time throughout without interefering, and two extra minutes in the first half and 5 in the second weren't even close to making up for it. It's clear, let's face it, that if the ball isn't in play then you're not going to concede any goals!

I'll cover the equaliser in a moment, but at this stage I need to reiterate that Arsenal didn't help themselves. It was all a bit of a struggle and - as I've already mentioned - predictable and even ponderous at times - and they can count themselves as fortunate not to have gone in one or even two goals behind at half time. Mbuemo had a goal disallowed, Henry missed a very presentable opportunity, and Toney hit the post when he ought to have done much better as he made Saliba look quite ordinary for large parts of the game. Throughout, Toney was a menace, and if there's any centre forward in the Premier League (with the exception of Haaland) that I covet then it's him. He'd do a fantastic job for Arsenal, in my opinion. The cloud of an investigation into gambling hangs over him, but I can see no other downside to making a sizeable bid for him in the summer.

The likes of Brentford and Brighton are really starting to put the pressure on the so-called Big 6 these days. Quite a compliment to how those clubs are run - and there are plenty of similarities (if you know, then you know).

And so to the equaliser. Saliba conceded a free kick as Toney pinned him - for me, it was six of one and half a dozen of the other - and following some heading pinball Toney headed in unmarked at the far post. One could argue that it was down to Arsenal to ensure that the opposition don't win 5 headers out of 6 in their box... but on the other hand three of the 5 were down to players being offside or blocking off defenders - or both - and there were actually two offsides in the sequence of play. VAR Lee Mason - another useless specimen - ruled that Pinnock wasn't offside/interfering with play from the initial cross (he was; he blocked Gabriel off) and the fool took so long in checking that aspect of it that he failed to notice that Norgaard was clearly offside in making the assist for Toney. A travesty, frankly - and something that UEFA's semi-automatic VAR offsides would have indicated clearly and swiftly.

No matter how you look at it, that's offside. And no semi-competent official should miss it. We've had two go against us this season now - first at Old Trafford, and now this. As if it's not hard enough...

Nonetheless, credit where it's due. And it's due to Brentford. Despite just 31% possession - they had less than that at The Etihad and yet actually beat Manchester City earlier this season - they were, to be honest, more than worthy of the point they took. They deserve to finish high enough to play in Europe next season, and good luck to them.

Arsenal are of course still clear at the top of the table. But Wednesday's heavyweight clash with City looms ever larger now. City are of course a long way further ahead in their development, and their huge squad depth may well make the difference on the long run in to May. Avoiding defeat in midweek at the very minimum is now absolutely imperative.

A quick word on the rap sheet facing Manchester City before I go. There's been a lot said about it, and I'm sure you've seen or heard it, but the most pertinent thing that can be said in commentary on the matter is that there's not a single football supporter in the country whose first reaction wouldn't have been: 'Well... of course - we knew that, didn't we?'... 

However, not only breaching regulations and behaving in a non-commercial and non-competitive manner - not purely the sole domain of the UK Government as it turns out - but hiding it and being uncooperative? That should increase whatever penalties they've got coming. Who knows how this will play out, but for the moment there's a title to win, for all that the playing field is not level (just ask Liverpool). Meantime, what are the chances of Erling Haaland getting a double hat-trick at Burton Albion or Hartlepool next season?...

COYG!!!