A beautiful game, ruined by the referee. I can only agree with Mikel Arteta completely and totally. The purpose of referees is purely ornamental, to look beautiful decked out in black; historical, from the old days before VAR; and as beneficiaries of the Premier League’s job-creation program to keep the unemployed off the streets. They have absolutely no right whatsoever in actually having any effect on the match. That would be prejudicial, subject to possible corruption and not in keeping with the spirit of abject violence which the quiet, seemingly intelligent Spaniard, seems to promote amongst his moronic players.

These players need to be given their freedom on the pitch. To create this ‘beauty’. They need to be able to play with flair, to give vent to the wonders of their athletic artistry, even when it resembles more Bruce Lee than Glen Hoddle. That’s just a matter of ‘style’. All this banding about of ‘cards’, yellows and reds, simply spoils the fundamental aesthetic of the game. So I have to ask: what was referee Paul Tierney doing? What was he thinking??? Awarding penalties? Bringing out coloured cards to wave?? I mean: WTF???

The problem is emphatically NOT down to Mikel Arteta, we need to get that straight right off the mark. Such a gentle, delicate man would never be the person to implement tactical systems on his team which result in brutality. It is not his way, certainly not the Arsenal way. Not since George Graham hung up his boots. Martin Keown perhaps. But during Arteta’s brief tenure, his team have been the victim of refereeing discrimination, persecution and unwarranted sendings off no less than 13 times!!! During the same period the next most ref-abused club is Brighton, with eight. Bastard, anti-Arsenal, Arteta-hating refs.

I get it really. When you play Spurs you’re in awe of Harry Kane but its Sonny who’ll kill you. The speed, the agility, the skill, the all-round slipperiness. So Rob Harding would have been instructed to ‘LET ‘IM KNOW YER THERE!!!’ in all the euphemistic understanding of that term. So Harding dutifully did.17 times in the first 10 minutes. Clattering and battering and butting and everything just short of rape. Unfortunately, Harding never got the second text which read: ‘once you receive the inevitable yellow card: BACK OFF!!! so you don’t get sent off’. And with an IQ of 46 the defender couldn’t work it out for himself.

All the ref’s fault. We woz innocent.

And so they were punished. Severely.

Happy no-justice Friday

A xxxx