Play Above the Refereeing, Boys!

That's what I used to tell my players when I was a high school basketball coach. Play above the referee's calls. It's hard to find good highs chool referees - especially for girls' athletics. I have very little patience for whining about referees.

So the ref let the game play on 15 seconds after stoppage time. So what? If Rozicky had converted the penalty, if Song had not mouthed off after obstructing Sunderland (or had watched his fouls after his first yellow like Wilshere did), if Jack had a better first half at keeping the ball and not passing it away, If Clichy could actually focus the whole match, we could have handled the late game equalizer. Don't blame the ref.

We started with the same 11 as the Champions League match on Tuesday. That surprised me. I thought he'd rest some midfielders (Arshavin, Nasri, Jack) and let Tricky Tommy or Eboue, Vela, and Denilson have a go. I was worried about tired legs. And we had those in the first half. Sunderland pressed, we gave away passes and could not find a rhythm. Cesc scored a goal that many are deeming a "fluke". That goal came from the hard work of closing some one down up field as they tried to clear a ball. Hard work is not a fluke. It's an excellent example.

I wanted three points this week as I knew Chelsea would get theirs playing Blackpool. But, I'd rather drop points now than at the end of the season. We're still unbeaten. The good news is that our new boys all look great. The center halves did a nice job yesterday and Chamakh continued to work his tail off trying to produce opportunities. Last year - playing away at the Stadium of Light cost us three points. This trip only cost us two. And at the end of the season, when we play Sunderland again at home, we'll be ready and take those three when we need them the most.

I think the most serious thing to be concerned about is 1) Cesc's injury and 2) the rumor that Wenger could be brought up on FA charges for laying his hands on the referee.

So we play West Brom at home next Saturday after our young 'uns take on Spuds in the Carling Cup on Tuesday. Between now and then, I'm sure the moral of the squad will be lifted as we look to take advance in the Cup and take another three points. Keep your heads up Gooners!