Soft pen? You're having a laugh!

I saw in the Metro this morning that Arsene Wenger was calling it a soft, harsh penalty. Theo Walcott and a few of the other Arsenal players were intimating something similar with their post-match comments.

I can't fathom this. I know I'm not exactly unbiased, but I thought it was absolutely blatant. Dembele went past Koscielny, the Arsenal defender took him out, without getting the ball (or close to it), how can that not be a pen? There was definite contact, Dembele was taken out and he didn't dive or even go down particularly easily.

I've seen some soft pens given in my time, but that wasn't one of them. The pundits on BT the other day were calling the foul on Raheem Sterling a clear pen when he went down easily from minimal contact, but Howard Webb seemed to think this was a soft penalty. Still a penalty, but a soft one. There was me thinking it was stonewall! I know, I know, rose-tinted spectacles and all that, but surely even Arsenal fans would agree that it was a penalty?

As for the offside. Letter of the law, it probably wasn't, but I find it difficult to see how a few of those Arsenal players weren't interfering with play or putting Wimmer off. One of those decisions where, if it goes against you, you feel aggrieved; but if it goes for you, you struggle to see what all the fuss is about. The offside rule is a bit too complicated these days, but - in hindsight - I don't blame the lino for letting that goal pass.

As for Wanyama getting sent off for an elbow - get out of town, Wenger! That wasn't even a foul, let alone a red card. Walcott spent the whole game going down like he'd been shot. Selective vision and sour grapes from Mr Wenger, as usual.

Anyway, to the game. An excellent, entertaining, end-to-end affair. BT were doing it down a bit after the match, but they were clearly watching something else. I thought it was tense, interesting, edgy, full of chances and, at times, some excellent football. The NLD is one of the best derbies in terms of consistent quality, and yesterday didn't disappoint.

Fully deserved point for us, probably should have been all three. If only Dier or Son could have got anything on that wonderful Eriksen cross. If only Janssen could have got his feet sorted out a few times, who knows? Draw probably a fair result, though. Not much between the two teams yesterday, as has been the case for a number of years now.

Brave but successful switch from Poch. Wimmer - other than the og - slotted in admirably in difficult circumstances. Walker put Wednesday's dismal performance behind him, as did Son, Dier and Eriksen. Jan was superb (as always), Rose was a constant menace, Kane did what he always does and Wanyama and Dembele were excellent at the base of the midfield. Easily Mousa's best game of the season. Lloris didn't have to do much, but was always solid and composed when called upon.

We needed that result, to increase confidence a bit. We keep drawing too many games, but an away draw at the Emirates is fine by me. Gives us something to build from. Going into the international break off the back of a defeat would have been damaging, to say the least.

While we're here, the Remembrance Sunday tributes were classily handled by Arsenal yesterday. One of the most haunting I've seen. I think the tributes can be overdone and overblown at times, but yesterday's was pretty moving. Impeccably observed. It's a unique and odd moment when 60,000+ fans can fall totally silent. It's why the minute silence is always more appropriate than a minute's applause.