MADLEY’S SPOT OF BOTHER
Blundering ref denies Albion penalty before Lacazette hits double
FROM the wreckage of their dismantling at Liverpool a month ago, Arsenal have somehow managed to put their season back on a steady footing.
With no defeats since then, Arsene Wenger’s team are just a point off the top four.
So, from that point of view, Arsenal can approach another winnable league game against Brighton at the Emirates on Sunday with optimism, once they have travelled to and from Belarus on Europa League duty.
Nevertheless, those who watched this game closely know better. Arsenal were comfortable in the second half, much better than West Brom. They dominated possession and took control.
Once Alexandre Lacazette had scored his second goal of the night and the fourth of his debut English season with 23 minutes left, the game was effectively settled. But what of what went before? Well, that was different.
Arsenal were uncertain in the first period, defensively twitchy and disorganised.
They led at the break but did not deserve to and, had it not been for another aberration from referee Bobby Madley, they would probably have been behind.hind.
As Tony Pulis removedemoved his glasses at full time, the West Brom manager anve must have been tempted too hand them to the official. How Madley did not award a penalty when Shkodran Mustafi tripped Jay Rodriguez in thee eighth minute,e, maybe even his optician won’t know.ow.
Madley had beeneen in the news alreadyy this seacould season. He sent off Chelsea winger Pedro — correctly — in the Community Shield and Manchester City defender Kyle Walker — incorrectly — in a league game against Everton the following weekend.
This, though, was an abysmal effort. As Rodriguez ran on to a pass from Gareth Barry, he turned inside and was felled by Mustafi.
It was a clear foul. Maybe Rodriguez did not help himself by jumping up and forcing Petr Cech to touch his shot on to the far post. What’s more, Jake Livermore should then have converted the rebound.
But none of that should have mattered. The main event was a foul and, as such, West Brom were denied the opportunity to take the lead against a team who, given the way they played for the rest of the first half, might not have reacted very well.
Pulis was beside himself on the touchline. He usually is. But this time he had every right to be and we can only imagine what went through his head when Arsenal gathered themselves to take the lead 12 minutes later.
This time Madley did spot a foul, on Mohamed Elneny by Jonny Evans on the edge of the West Brom penalty area. It was a tight call but Madley was right. And when Alexis Sanchez curled his free-kick off Ben Foster’s fingers and on to the bar, Lacazette reacted fastest to nod the rebound into an empty goal.
When he calms down, Pulis will notice that his defenders were caught on their heels. That will irritate him as well. But the way his team responded will only encourage the West Brom boss, as twice before the interval theycould havhave found a way back intinto the game. SenSensing uncertainty amoamong the Arsenal pplayers,l Wes t Brom were ambitious — and that hhas not always been true of them away from hhome. In particular, uparticular, they caused AArsenal problems leproblems from wide popositions. DeDespite their creditable itablecreditable goalless draw at ChelChelsease recently, Wenger’s teteam did not look organised across the back here. It was frequently too easy for West Brom to cause them problems.
The visitors should have been level in the 38th minute. A cross from Grzegorz Krychowiak found Rodriguez peeling off the back of his marker and his header would have crossed the line had it not been for an acrobatic clearance by Nacho Monreal.
It was a let- off for Arsenal and soon they had another one. This time it was Barry arriving at the far post on to a Livermore cross and he would have marked his record-breaking Premier League appearance with a goal had his contact been cleaner.
So, Arsenal were a little uneasy on their lead at half-time, even if they did improve markedly from that point on.
Lacazette looked certain to score in the 51st minute, only for his shot to be deflected over, then Mustafi improvised with a flick from a corner, but Foster saved with two hands above his head.
Soon the game had a different and well-established pattern, one of Arsenal dominance. So, when Madley awarded them a penalty in the 67th minute, it was in keeping with the flow of play.
The offence this time was crude, obvious and unnecessary — a shove by West Brom right back Allan Nyom on midfielder Aaron Ramsey near the byline.
Lacazette’s low penalty was convincing and the Frenchman looks a real asset already.
If a few more team-mates can reach his level, Arsenal may yet have better nights than this.
ENGLAND women’s coach Mark Sampson was sacked for having a relationship with one of his players while at Bristol Academy, it emerged yesterday.
Insiders with knowledge of Sampson’s time at Bristol report that the woman involved was over 18 and the pair were together for six months. She is understood to have no problems about her involvement with Sampson and does not want to talk about it.
The FA safeguarding report that led to the dismissal of Sampson (left) last week also referred to his ‘over-socialising’ with Bristol’s players.
This information emerged on the day that the FA board gave their backing to beleaguered chief executive Martin Glenn after a meeting in which the Sampson controversy was top of the agenda.
An FA statement released after the meeting pointed the finger at ‘historic processes’ and no heads are expected to roll unless more damning revelations emerge.
Glenn and chairman Greg Clarke, who wholly supported his chief executive’s belief that Sampson had to go after reading the