Once a Gunner, Always a Gunner 
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Does VAR make the decision though? Can’t the ref overrule VAR?
And isn’t VAR just a video replay?
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Correct, although in England you wouldn’t know it.
VAR is fucking God though. He also doesn’t get the chance to judge on our pen.
Can’t blame him for his call on that in real time. Either way there’s no pens today without the gimmick involved.
2022 so far is full of fun surprises, because I actually couldn’t agree more with your post 
Edit: sadly now realise I’m the third person to essentially post this in fairly quick succession.
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Peter Walton said pretty much the same on BT.
If Xhaka didn’t pull the shirt VAR would have said no penalty
You know mate your Denmark semi final penalty card could get played here mate. 
You having a laugh? He is definitely one of the least aware and most mentally slow CM we have had in a while… it is one of his absolute worst traits - that combined with his slow feet and he is a liability in a number of games and forces him to make stupid challenges.
Having said that, he has been decent recently and was ok today barring what wasn’t a good moment in the box (can argue whether it was a pen or not, but Xhaka badly misplayed it).
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I’d add further that Arteta has been clever with this guy - he at first used him as that “drop off left back” when in possession, getting him out of the firing line of the middle and the need for awareness and quick thinking.
Now I think he has basically given him some very simple and very clear instructions on exactly how to play and what to do… it is dramatic the change imho… he moves the ball quicker, takes fewer touches, and usually takes the relatively easy pass (even occasionally blind) that he knows is open based on the formula.
I think there are probably other examples of players who are doing things more formulaically, but I think with a player like Xhaka in a role as dangerous as his is, it has done wonders lately.
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Its NOT a pen.
Bernardo sees the stiff leg of Granit and decides to go down way before he even collides with the leg. That action alone makes it a non pen. The ref sees it on the screen from the shittiest angle where it looks like the shirt pull makes a big difference, but its not. The shirt pull happen when Bernardos dive is already in full swing and has no impact.
Had the stupid ass ref been given more than 1 single angle to judge the situation it would not have been given. And btw Xhaka had a sublime game and doesnt deserve criticism for this incident.
Windows open. Fucking throw him out of it.
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Its a judgment call imho - the aspects of it I outlined I think are relevant and if the ref bailed him out b/c Bernardo was stupid enough to start falling before the knees collided (which they did - and that is a foul), then that would simply have been lucky for Xhaka.
Either way, it was a bad play by him and horrible, horrible defending - you can’t turn your whole body like that on a juke - force him wide and give your goalie a chance if he gets enough space for a shot from a wide angle.
Why is he mentally slow?
Don’t think it was a penalty, so not going to highlight him. I know people can talk about the moment regardless, but I don’t think it is right to go into that when there is a thief that is the main culprit (officiating).
He has zero 360 awareness… its why he:
- passes backwards, looking behind him when there is no one even near
- takes more touches than necessary to get the ball situated properly when a pass is obviously on
- does the lunge and track back from behind b/c his positional sense (mental quickness and acuity) is poor when we lose possession
- grabs at players all the time, reaching for them b/c of a bad angle he takes on an approach (btw this has been a specifically Arsenal problem for a while), again, not sensing the movement, the positioning and physics fast enough
I could go on… I can’t honestly seriously imagine this is a real debate.
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I can’t really disagree - it is harsh even if I can see why it was given… it is just annoying that he defended so amateurishly and then also grabbed the shirt so blatantly (which was completely unnecessary) - it is inviting punishment.
And if there is no pen, maybe Gabriel doesn’t get that first yellow… etc.
Gabby killed the game for us though… and on another day we probably come out of it with 3 points.
Xhaka had a bad moment, but being charitable he was unlucky… he actually played ok today and I highlighted a key moment where he was crucial in the build up to our wonderful goal.
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My predictable posts about Xhaka are down to the frequency of his predictable stupidity.
Gabriel was stupid getting sent off but he was probably frustrated with Xhaka throwing away yet another game.
I seriously don’t understand how any Arsenal supporter can defend Xhaka and then criticise me for pointing out his glaringly obvious and constant stupidity.
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A shirt pull always looks so much worse when you slow it down on a slow motion replay. For me that was an extremely stiff overturn for clear and obvious error. Especially in a game you’ve decided Ederson on Odegaard isn’t worth a look at.
Double standards.
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Shirt pull or not its a dive and therefore never a pen. The way he falls to the ground is so unnatural its mad. Had Xhaka not made the stupid ass shirt pull it would probably had been a yellow for diving, which is crazy as the shirt pull happens when the fraud is already in a free dive.
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His mum carried on drinking when she was pregnant with him.