West Ham manager Sam Allardyce observes his side during their 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. Steve Bardens / Getty Images / December 28, 2014
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce observes his side during their 2-1 loss to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. Steve Bardens / Getty Images / December 28, 2014

West Ham ‘wouldn’t have lost’ to Arsenal without Alex Song’s disallowed goal, claims Allardyce



West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes his side must not let a "horribly wrong" offside decision derail their promising campaign after Arsenal closed in on the top four of the Premier League with a 2-1 win at Upton Park.

West Ham – who suffered a second successive defeat of the Christmas fixtures after they were beaten at leaders Chelsea on Boxing Day – looked to have got off to a flying start when former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song rifled in a 25-yard effort after just six minutes.

However, the goal was quickly ruled out by referee Neil Swarbrick, who judged three West Ham players – among them Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll – were standing in an offside position in front of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Arsenal recovered to net twice just before half-time through a penalty from Santi Cazorla and Danny Welbeck's close-range finish.

Although Cheikhou Kouyate reduced the deficit at the start of the second half, West Ham were unable to conjure an equaliser, despite plenty of pressure, but also had goalkeeper Adrian to thank for denying Arsenal on the counter-attack several times.

Arsene Wenger’s side leapfrogged West Ham to go level on points with fourth-placed Southampton, whom they play on New Year’s Day.

West Ham are now sixth, but Allardyce is expecting a response when strugglers West Bromwich Albion are the next visitors to east London.

“We have only lost two, not five, and we want to bounce back against West Brom,” said Allardyce, whose side were beaten at home for the first time since August 30.

“I am pleased with the performance, the application, the commitment and the attitude and quality from the players. It is sad for them they didn’t get the result.”

Allardyce continued: “If we’d been allowed that goal, we wouldn’t have lost. We would have kicked on and Arsenal would have found life very difficult.

“I have not spoken to the ref because I don’t see any point in confronting him when you know you’re 100 per cent right and he hasn’t had the visuals. You can’t get anything out of telling him how wrong he’s been.

“Going on what we were told at the start of the season, they got it horribly wrong. He (Sakho) wasn’t in the eye-line of the keeper. He didn’t touch the ball.

“Yes he was offside, but we’ve seen so many of those allowed as goals. I’ve not seen one ‘not given’.

“Can you tell me what is an offside? Now I’m totally and utterly confused and bewildered. There are far too many inconsistencies.’’

Arsenal will again be without suspended forward Olivier Giroud at Southampton, and Wenger accepts the Christmas fixtures have tested a squad already depleted by injury.

“We knew before the game we would have to dig deep because we were jaded, but we did that,” he said.

“When they came back to 2-1, we had five or six chances on counter-attacks that we couldn’t take, but overall everybody did the job very well, from the keeper to up front.”

Wenger added: “It’s vital to re-establish ourselves in the top four. We have done it for 17 years, so we are entitled to at least believe we can do it, but it’s all to do because everybody fights very hard for it.”

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From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

UAE tour of the Netherlands

UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match

THE%20SWIMMERS
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Habib El Qalb

Assi Al Hallani

(Rotana)

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Disclaimer

Director: Alfonso Cuaron 

Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville 

Rating: 4/5

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

Power: 181hp

Torque: 230Nm

Transmission: 6-speed automatic

Starting price: Dh79,000

On sale: Now

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Company Profile 

Founder: Omar Onsi

Launched: 2018

Employees: 35

Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)

Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners

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