Random snippets of the thoughts flitting through my mind at any one time. Styled by Stabilo. These views are my own and nothing to do with my employer.
"Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should. He was briefly unconscious." Morten Boesen, Denmark team doctor. Thoughts with Christian Eriksen.
A positive update on Christian Eriksen, who collapsed during Denmark's friendly against Ukraine.
He was fitted with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) after suffering a cardiac arrest during a Euro 2020 match.
Spurs have carried out an investigation into whether the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's retractable pitch is contributing to the club's ongoing injury crisis 💬
Premier League clubs have unanimously refused to congratulate Arsenal on winning the Premier League, and here is why:
Despite winning the Premier League, PGMOL gave them at least 20 points. They could not have won the league without favouritism. It is the first time in history that a club has been openly supported by PGMOL because they wanted to end Manchester City’s monopoly in the Premier League.
They wrestled opponent players, wasted time from the first minute, and received controversial penalties that should never have been given. They also never received red cards despite being one of the most physical and bullying teams in the Premier League.
For these reasons, other Premier League clubs unanimously refused to congratulate what they consider to be ‘robbers’ for winning the Premier League.
🚨JUST IN: Mikel Obi says No Premier League Club congratulating Arsenal after winning the Premier League says alot about how they won, no one accept that kind of football
> "I noticed something immediately after Arsenal won the league — almost no Premier League clubs were rushing to congratulate them publicly. In football, that usually tells you something."
> "People inside the game respect champions when they feel the football was dominant and convincing. But with Arsenal, there are still many conversations about how they actually won it."
> "When over half your goals and biggest moments come from set-pieces, naturally some people will question the overall quality of the football."
> "And then you add all the referee controversies throughout the season. There were too many moments where decisions seemed to fall their way."
> "Fans can call it jealousy if they want, but football dressing rooms notice these things. Players talk. Coaches talk. Clubs see patterns."
> "I’m not saying Arsenal cheated, because winning the Premier League is still difficult no matter what. But I understand why some people don’t fully respect the way it happened."
> "The great Premier League champions usually make rivals accept they were simply the best team. With this Arsenal side, I don’t think everybody truly believes that."
> "At the end of the day, the trophy is theirs forever. But respect in football is different from medals — that has to be earned differently." — John Obi Mikel
🚨🎙️Gareth Bale on the Spurs vs Chelsea penalty controversy, explains the laws with regards under IFAB:
“If you slow it down frame by frame, there’s no world in football where that isn’t a penalty. You can’t grab a defender like that inside the box, regardless of whether the ball is technically ‘in play’ for half a second or not.”
Marc Cucurella was seen pulling down Micky van de Ven during a Tottenham corner, a moment that sparked immediate controversy after the referee awarded a yellow card for the foul but did not give a penalty, instead ordering a retake of the corner.
“The laws are clear under IFAB. If a holding offence like that happens inside the penalty area once the ball is in play, it’s a penalty, simple. You can’t punish the foul with a yellow card and then ignore the consequence of it.”
“That’s what confuses people. You’ve already judged it as a foul worthy of a card… so where is the penalty? That’s the inconsistency fans can’t accept.”
“That’s where football loses people. They hide behind ‘ball not in play’ arguments, but in reality, the attacking movement has already started. Defenders know exactly what they’re doing in that moment.”
“If that happens in the middle of the pitch, it’s a foul every time. But because it’s in the box, suddenly we’re rewriting when a foul counts. That’s why Spurs fans feel robbed and honestly, I understand them.”
🚨🎙️Joe Hart on Kai Havertz escaping a red card against Burnley, insists they’re doing to help Arsenal win the league:
“Listen, I’ve been in this game a long time as a player, now watching it closely and that challenge from Kai Havertz on the Burnley lad today is a stone-cold red card. Straight out of the IFAB Law 12 playbook: serious foul play.
You’re lunging in, studs showing high, minimal contact with the ball, endangering an opponent’s safety with excessive force. It’s reckless at best, dangerous and brutal at worst. The law is clear, ‘a tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent… must be sanctioned as serious foul play.’ VAR had a look and still bottled it. Yellow card? Come on.
If that was a Burnley player sliding into Saka or Ødegaard like that in the title run-in? Red card before he even hits the ground, three-game ban, headlines for days. But Arsenal? Nah, just a booking and carry on.
They’re doing everything, everything to help Arsenal win this league. Refs, VAR, the whole system. It’s not even subtle anymore. Big club protection on another level while teams like Burnley are fighting for their lives. How are we supposed to trust the integrity of the competition when decisions like this keep swinging one way?
Fans are fed up. Proper fans see it. This isn’t football anymore, it’s a scripted title charge. If Arsenal win it, a lot of people will have serious questions. Absolute shambles.”
🚨| NEW: Patrice Evra on Arsenal winning the Premeir League title this season:
🗣️ “I don’t know how much they’ve paid the officials, but we can all see the trophy is being handed to them, not earned.”