Congratulations to Michael Oliver. You made it all about you yesterday. You proved once again that your biases are clear when it comes to Arsenal and not even for the first time this season, you decided to change a game based on a decision that for 19 other clubs you would never give. Myles Lewis-Skelly’s red card yesterday has been rightly lambasted by basically every single pundit, ex-ref, ex-player, fans and more. In the commentary that I was watching Lee Hendrie was trying to make a good fist of beginning the gaslighting process by explaining why Myles’ foot was above the ankle of Doherty, but it was never really convincing, probably because he knew it was never a red card offence. Yes, it was cynical, yes it was worthy of a card, but that is where it stops. Not if you are Michael Oliver refereeing Arsenal. He has already made numerous decisions in the last three to four years which you can call debatable, but the evidence seems to be so stacked up right now, that we have to start calling out that most hyperbolic of things: corruption. I don’t think Oliver is on the take by anyone. I don’t think he is going in to games thinking he wants to do something extraordinary when it comes to Arsenal. But in a world where referees like David Coote have been caught red-handed and on camera showing their biases and dislike for teams, I think we can now say that there is something going on with Michael Oliver. He should never be allowed to referee an Arsenal game again.

Congratulations to VAR. A few weeks back we saw the Brighton player Estupinan get away with the most reckless challenge you’ll ever see a few weeks ago. It endangered and opponent and could have caused serious injury to Max Kilman of West Ham. But nobody on VAR decided to do anything. Yesterday there was an opportunity for Darren England to call Michael Oliver to the screen, or to have a word in his ear and say “you might want to just have another look at that” on the monitor. But instead you decided to just ‘back your mate’. Because that’s what VAR does. It doesn’t bring true impartiality in to the game. It doesn’t afford an opportunity for referees to admit that they are human. It is used merely as a rubber-stamping exercise to validate a peer. We’ve already heard from Mike Dean last year about how he didn’t want to go against an Anthony Taylor decision because his mate had had a tough game. Here is what he said:

“I said to Anthony afterwards: ‘I just didn’t want to send you to the screen after what has gone on in the game.’ I didn’t want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I think I didn’t want to send him up because I didn’t want any more grief than he already had.”

So we have a man who worked on VAR admitting that they make these kind of calls with the knowledge that they want to help friends out rather than apply the laws of the game.

Congratulations to PGMOL. You have manufactured this ludicrous situation. You and Howard Webb, who want to make it all about you, about putting yourselves in the centre of the spectacle, have exactly what you want. And the fans and everyone who watches football suffers. Last season we got “He doesn’t want to ruin the game” from Howard Webb, as a defence of his ‘top’ referee . Please show me that same rhetoric this coming week, Howard, I beg you, because you will just once again underline how broken the institution you head up is. This happens on a weekly basis and instead of addressing the problems, we get gaslit by PGMOL-favoured media like Dale Johnson and his absolutely mental ‘takes’ on VAR that are essentially designed to exonerate poor calls.

Congratulations to the Arsenal players. You stepped up lads. After the red card in that first half I thought I was going to be in for an absolutely horrible time. I thought that second half would be a ‘backs to the wall’ 45 minutes of us clinging on for a 0-0 draw, which wouldn’t have been enough anyway, because Liverpool were trouncing Ipswich. What I didn’t expect from that second half performance was a team who would come out and use the clear injustice dished out by Oliver to their advantage. Those Arsenal players were everywhere. They dominated the ball, they created chances, they pinned Wolves back and were absolutely magnificent. We can all be very proud today as Arsenal fans, because they represented the shirt brilliantly and whilst the bulk of today’s analysis will be focused on refereeing, we should not forget the absolute shift those Arsenal players put in.

Congratulations to Mikel Arteta. Whatever you said at halftime worked. We were already on top of Wolves before the red card, but we didn’t quite seem to have that killer touch. Thankfully the introduction – your introduction – of Calafiori, was the right call. It was the right call from a defensive point of view, but it was also the right call at the other end of the pitch, because his finish was good enough to find the net and I don’t think I have shouted that loudly on my sofa for years. It felt like a pocket of justice had been given back to us and with Wolves already down to ten men as well (that Gomes ‘challenge’ was worse than Lewis-Skelly’s, by the way, but only warranted a second yellow), we knew these players had enough to see out the game against a Wolves side who created a couple of chances and forced Raya in to a couple of good saves. It was a tough game for the lads, there were some knackered bodies out there by full time, but every single one of them did an amazing job and Mikel Arteta’s half time team talk must have inspired them.

Congratulations to all and to all a good night.

I’ll be on the Same Old Arsenal pod at 9.30am this morning – join us live or catch up afterwards here.