Welcome to the briefing, where every Monday this season The Athletic discusses three of the biggest questions arising from the weekend’s football.
This was the weekend when Arsenal sputtered, Manchester United staved off crisis for another week, Sheffield United got their first win of the season and Luis Diaz showed astonishing determination to equalize for Liverpool at Luton Town.
Here we’ll look at Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s reaction to the Newcastle winner, the importance of Emma Hayes taking the USWNT job and why “Always the victim…” isn’t harmless terrace banter…
What’s really embarrassing: the referee or Arsenal supporting Arteta’s complaints?
Maybe managers shouldn’t give interviews straight after games.
Frustration is high, emotions are heightened, the likelihood of them saying something unreasonable goes through the roof.
From that perspective, and taken on their own, you can understand (if not agree with) Mikel Arteta’s comments about refereeing in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday. Anthony Gordon’s winner might have been disallowed in three points, but there was no conclusive evidence that the ball had gone out, Gordon was not offside and the question of whether Joelinton pushed Gabriel could have gone either way can.
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Declared: ‘A disgrace’ – Gordon’s controversial winner for Newcastle against Arsenal
The anger was understandable. While in an ideal world every manager would be completely impartial and calm about any decision that goes against them, it is unrealistic to always expect this.
But anyone who saw Arteta’s comments before watching the incident in question may have been confused when they finally saw it, expecting a much greater injustice. “I’m embarrassed,” Arteta said, “but I have to be the one to come here now to try and defend the club and ask for help because it’s an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed, one Absolute disgrace.”
This was merely a controversial decision, not a devastating moment of incompetence that should lead to major introspection and resignations from PGMOL, the body that oversees refereeing in English football. It may have been a mistake, but it may not have been: at least enough experts and other neutrals seem to agree that officials were right when they claimed it wasn’t a catastrophic mistake. Oddly enough, Arteta’s reaction might have felt a little more appropriate if it had been about the decision not to send Bruno Guimaraes off the field for hitting Jorginho in the head with the gun, but his anger was specifically aimed at the goal.
But here we are now. We have reached a point where a manager feels justified in calling such a decision an embarrassment and a disgrace, as the constant and endless focus on refereeing decisions is exacerbated by VAR and its loose promise of perfection. Controversial administration is now seen not as just that, but as part of a larger narrative and sense of collective injustice.
Arteta’s reaction was disproportionate, he should probably know better – especially after being told by referees just a few weeks ago that “we have to understand that mistakes happen” – but again, it can be understood.
There it could have stayed… until Arsenal released an official statement on Sunday afternoon saying:
“Arsenal Football Club fully supports Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments following more unacceptable refereeing and VAR errors on Saturday evening.”
[VAR debate: Has it made football better or worse? How could it be improved? Have your say in our subscriber survey here]
They probably don’t care what others think because they supported their manager and reflected the feelings of many fans. But when a football club releases an “official statement” about a minor refereeing decision with which it disagrees, that is something out of the ordinary.
One would wish a football club would be more sensible and constructive if, as stated later in its statement, its aim was to improve refereeing standards in the league. You would hope that even if we accept that it was a mistake and Gordon’s goal should be disallowed, some decisions will go against you and everyone should be mature enough to accept that. But they didn’t and instead officially supported their manager’s frustrated outburst.
That’s the embarrassing thing.
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How big is Hayes’ impending appointment as USWNT coach?
English football will feel pretty strange without Emma Hayes.
She joined Chelsea in 2012 when the Women’s Super League (WSL) was just entering its second season. The WSL, along with the success of the England national team, was the main driver of the rise in popularity and recognition of women’s football in the United Kingdom, and Hayes played a large part in this.
She has won six WSL titles, including the last four in a row. They have won five FA Cups and the League Cup twice, winning all three titles in a single season in 2020/21. This makes the Chelsea team only the second team to win a domestic treble. Chelsea also finished runners-up in the Champions League this season, only the second English team and first since 2007 to reach the final.
Two of the key players in England’s Euro 2022 winning team, Millie Bright and Fran Kirby, have flourished under Hayes at Chelsea. Two others, Jess Carter and Lauren James, helped Sarina Wiegman’s team reach the final of the Women’s World Cup.
With her expertise, she has also made a significant contribution to how the general public thinks about the game. She is often one of the most insightful and respected TV analysts and co-commentators in both men’s and women’s football.
Hayes’ skilled work was praised (Robin Jones/Getty Images)
In short, there is hardly a more influential English figure currently working in the game.
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The USWNT is hiring a serial winner in Emma Hayes – a coach with unfinished business in the United States
This is a huge deal for the US Women’s National Team if Hayes is confirmed as the new head coach in the coming days, as is highly expected. This is a crucial period of rebuilding after the World Cup and they have the best candidate they could have brought in to lead this new era.
It was probably the only job Hayes would have left Chelsea for. Anyone else in England would have been a step backwards. Another European club, like Lyon or Barcelona, might have earned their talents, but the latter in particular would not suit Hayes’ sense of pragmatism. None of the US domestic sites have the required capacity. The England job is probably the only other job she could have taken, but Wiegman won’t be going anywhere until 2025 at the earliest.
English football will miss her. The US should not underestimate what a significant coup her appointment is.
It’s no joke: why ‘Always the Victim’ should never be sung in front of Liverpool fans
Luton’s promotion from non-league to the Premier League was one of the most heartwarming stories of recent years. The team have a style that can be uncomfortable to play against but is often exciting to watch and they have a great manager in Rob Edwards. Kenilworth Road is a charming anachronism amid a string of luxurious, gleaming top-flight stadiums.
In short, their rise last season was much more interesting than a Norwich City or a West Bromwich Albion or a Watford yo-yoing back to the Premier League.
And yet with the charm and novelty have come some deeply unpleasant elements to its support. In their first home game against West Ham United, some of their fans directed a profoundly misogynistic chant at Jarrod Bowen – and another deeply offensive example came in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool.
Perhaps it was just a vocal minority, but the chant of “Always the victim, it’s never your fault” was clearly audible from the home fans in the second half, followed by another chant referencing the ban of English clubs from European football in the 2011/2019 season alluded to the 1980s, introduced due to the Heysel tragedy in 1985.
Fortunately, there have been fewer of them lately. The saying was heard at Chelsea on the opening weekend and a few times towards the end of last season, but in general “Always the victim…” wasn’t quite as common as in previous years.
This is partly because fans have been educated about the importance of singing and Liverpool fans group Spirit Of Shankly have done valuable work in this area.
There will still be some who insist that it is just terrace banter and that there is no connection to the Hillsborough disaster and the 97 Liverpool fans who lost their lives as a result of the events of 1989 and the culture is becoming understand that, whether the person singing consciously intends it or not, this is a direct reference to Hillsborough, the most prominent example of how Liverpool fans may have been victims but were repeatedly told was the disaster your fault.
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One wonders if the people singing it know its true meaning, that they’re just repeating something they’ve heard in the name of the usual rivalry between opposing fans, that they think it’s exactly the same as any other chant . They may just be ignorant or naive children who weren’t alive in 1989, let alone aware of the context.
But that’s even more reason to call chanting unacceptable when it happens, as Jamie Carragher did so well in his commentary for Sky Sports.
Rivalry, antipathy and even verbal aggression between different fan groups should be encouraged. Some of the best atmospheres you will ever experience will have an element of malevolence, namely that not only do “we” win, but “they” lose too. It’s part of what makes football fun.
But those who join in this chant should be aware that in doing so they are contributing to the ongoing demonization of Liverpool fans and belittling a 34-year battle that continues to this day.
Comes
- Arguably the biggest game of this Premier League weekend comes on Monday when Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham take on Chelsea to claim their only unbeaten record in the Premier League. A win will see them return to the top, while Chelsea could just move into the top half of the table with three points.
- Then it’s the turn of the Champions League, with these encounters the opposite of the round of games we saw last week: Newcastle takes on its depleted contingent against Borussia Dortmund, who beat them in Newcastle but have since been replaced by Harry Kane Limits were shown while Manchester Theoretically, City should make short work of the Young Boys.
- On Wednesday, Arsenal host Sevilla with their burning sense of injustice, while Manchester United continue their (often unsuccessful) quest not to embarrass their fans too much as they travel to FC Copenhagen.
- On Thursday the Europa League returns to our collective consciousness and Brighton take a trip to Amsterdam where they face an Ajax side who have actually managed to win a few games since their last meeting, while West Ham are at home to Olympiakos Piraeus plays and Liverpool travel to Toulouse. Aston Villa hosts AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League.
- On Thursday, Gareth Southgate will also announce his latest England squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. Will Anthony Gordon get the nod? Will James Ward-Prowse continue to be ignored? Will people just get bored of Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson being called up again?
(Top photo: Getty Images)