Lee Mason is an incompetent, bumbling dolt. That is all.

Well, there's more. It wouldn't be much of a blogpost with only a title and no actual post. I could go the way of certain poblications that will go unnamed for now, giving you roughly 100 words of text interspersed with about the same number of images and/or ads, but I know that you're here for more than that. You're here here, fine reader, for the same petulant, self-absorbed whining I dispatch almost daily. Let's get to it, it then. As I've already stated, Lee Mason is an incompetent, bumbling dolt. He's so incompetent that he makes me pine for Jon Moss. What'd he do this time? It's what he didn't do, and it was the only thing he really had to do: draw a few lines. A child could do it, really.  However, according to PGMOL representeative Chris Foy, the VAR referee simply forgot to check the offsidein the buildup to the Brentford goal. That VAR referee would be—you guessed it—Lee Mason. Lee effin' Mason. 

Swansea 3-1 Arsenal—Vote for Player Ratings & MOTM!

Well, that was unexpected. After all of the hype and excitement of adding Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang, Arsenal arrived at Liberty Stadium and promptly laid an egg against the Swans. At least it wasn't a goose-egg, if you don't mind my mixing metaphors. Monreal salvaged a tattered scrap of dignity by briefly putting us ahead. However, horrific defending allowed Swansea an easy equalizer—and without suggesting any blame—Mkhitaryan came on and bore witness to a god-awful comedy of errors as Čech squibbed an easy clearance directly into Ayew's path, and it was 2-1. We never really showed any fightback after that, and we deserved the result—the beating, really. I just hope the ink is dry on Auba's contract. He might be reconsidering his options. Feh. Let's get down to the poll.

Arsenal 0-0 Southampton: Vote for Player Ratings/MotM!

Arsenal dominated proceedings for most if not the entire match on Tuesday but could not break down a stubborn Saints defense or put anything past Fraser Forster, a fine keeper who always seem to save some of his best performances for Arsenal. Despite having Alexis back for his first Prem match since November and being about as close to full-strength as we've been a similar time, the best stat we could produce was 67% possession. A result like this one is particularly frustrating, marking as it does a fourth consecutive Prem match in which we dropped points. For those inclined to over-react, we'll drop below Tottenham after their win at Norwich. We do have to find a way to fight through the longer-term doldrums that we're in, though. More on that later. For now, get down to the poll and rate the lads' efforts...

Arsenal 2-1 Everton: Vote for Player Ratings & MotM!

Arsenal struck twice off of glancing headers, one from Giroud and one from Koscielny, inside of two minutes to take a lead, but Everton pulled one back on a deflected shot just before halftime. Despite throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Arsenal in the second half, Everton just couldn't find the equaliser. We had numerous chances of our own but just couldn't put our shots anywhere but off-target or straight at Tim Howard. Four minutes of stoppage time gave us a manic sequence in which Howard had to chase the ball around the box before it was cleared, leading to a manic counter that Gabriel snuffed with a sharp tackle on Lukaku. That's where it ended, and Arsenal rise to the top of the Prem table for the first time in twenty months. Give our lads what they deserve in the poll below!