Blurry photo mate it looks more like a grimace of empathetic pain in focus.

I think I can say on behalf of all gooners that we are absolutely gutted by this news. What you think of Wenger and our team is right at the top of the list of things that matters in our lives.

no, never played "soccer" but I did play soccer. Soccer is this game that everyone else calls football.

Haha, you are such a jackass.

Erm, wow, what can i say, you must be the first set of supporters that doesn;t care about what other fans think about them. Well done on this footballing epiphany.

Good idea to call it football then, you know, just for clarification sakes like, and to actually look like you, you know, get it, and you know, have a clue, in a thread about English FOOTBALL

Wenger can be annoying, but many of us would overreact if a colleague/friend received such an injury from such a challenge and he's retracted his statement so I don't see what the issue is.

Having read this page, it might be best that 2+2 no longer has a thread opn football, or excludes Americans who have no ****ing idea what the **** they are talking about.

****ing idiots.

In his position he can't over-react after the game to the press in a statement that will be quoted worldwide, especially in a way that is slanderous. I wouldn't be surprised if he hasn't been told by Arsenal's solicitors to retract that statement before they got nailed, which with Whingers record, would really be the only reason for this retraction.

Haha.

we have to be getting leveled right now.

LOL, been on the beer have you?

FWIW, I don't think the actual tackle was that outrageous there have been a few worse this season but unfortunately the outcome in this case was pretty horrendous. Eduardo was very unlucky that his left leg was firmly planted at the time Taylor caught him.

Example of a worse tackle IMO (only got a yellow card)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uLqF6y_j1zQ

Wow, thats proper nasty. How did that not get a straight red?

BTW there was nothing slanderous about what Wenger said. I often think he's a twat with his "I didn't see it" comments but he is no worse than any of the other "big 4" managers IMO.

The joys of inconsistent refereeing

Disturbance, the fact that Hunt's tackle didn't get a red is part of the problem. The EPL needs to be cleaned up.

I know fatshaft has already had a go at you but honestly you are talking rubbish, the game tacklewise is the cleanest it has ever been, tackles from behind banned any raised over the top tackles banned, two foted tackles banned. The average punter over here thinks the game has gone soft these days.

In the 70's and 80's some of the pussies playing the game today wouldnt know what would have hit them, and in them days you probably didnt get a card for a lot that would get you sent off today.

Teams have always used the physical aspect to defeat the footballing teams, being well organised and getting in the other teams face is a great way to try and bridge the quality gap, and it works Arsenal in particular as easy to get riled up their forign nancy boys hate getting it up them, man utd were in the past as well. Probably the best example of a team who were solid but lacked individual talent were the crazy gang and they managed to win the FA cup.

Bit of history lesson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzEJLncp150

Davey, which league would you prefer?

LOL, you seriously want to return to the days of players like Vinnie Jones? That clip only reinforces the fact that he lacked talent and relied on kicking people instead. I don't think the league needs cleaning up as TSC put it but there does need to be consistency from referees.

As for the game going soft, that's highly debatable. Many of the restricitive rules were brought in to stop players like Vinnie deliberately going out to foul people. That's not playing the game, they need to learn how to tackle FFS. One of the things I enjoy watching most in football is a perfectly timed slide tackle that collects the ball FIRST and then takes out the man. It can be done if the player has the ability, no need to protect useless cloggers with no skill.

davey,

tsc i think is being overbearing. however, at the crux of what he's saying is truth. a red needs to be a red needs to be a red. unfortunately, the refereeing is inconsistent to the point that a red is a yellow is a yellow is a red. or in the case of some of the arsenal players last week, is nothing at all.

there's been tackles this season that did not touch a player at all that have gotten red simply because they occurred during the two week period that every two footed tackle, regardless of result, was given a straight red. a month later and it's back to 'normal.'

of course, it could be worse. the refereeing could be as it is in spain or italy, where it's downright dreadful.

THEOSU, perhaps I am being overbearing/obnoxious, but I am also frustrated. I don't see how any team can have a strategy of kicking another team to stop free flowing action. I mean, is a hard tackle with the studs up unsportsmanlike or violent conduct/serious foul play?

Now with that in mind, what kind of league do people want to watch? A league where teams can foul people to gain an advantage? Or do you want to watch a league where teams move the ball and defend as a unit?

Finally, there were some things Vinnie Jones said they use to do that I agree with, somewhat. You can bully people or intimidate them in ways that don't put a player at risk. You can bump them after plays, push them around, various small things that bug players. I actually consider that stuff ok and a part of sports. Basketball players do that all the time. But basketball players don't generally engage in fouls that can lead to serious injuries with regularity. I mean christ, look at the NFL, you can't horse collar people anymore because people were ****ing their knees up.

What Wenger said isn't a big deal he is obv going to be upset when one of his players gets an injury like that. I suspect if they ask Fabregas he says far worse and what Gallas did was nowhere near as bad, a little kick is never going to break Nanis ankle

Hope we beat city gotta hold off the reds who I must say were handed points by burrow today if they continue to play like this we are a lock for 4th

I've seen a replay of Gallas' incident, and yeah he's not going to hurt Nani, he's just kicking him in the ass. I think its different, but still embarrasing behavior from the Arsenal captain. I still haven't seen Flamini's challenge.

I feel sorry for Taylor tbh it was obvious it wasn't a malicious tackle