The Daily Express have missed the point, after Arsenal fans jokingly tweeted Match of the Day on Saturday to complain at the Gunners’ omission on the show despite not even playing.
Despite Arsenal not playing on Saturday, Gooners took to Twitter to playfully have a dig at Match of the Day host Gary Lineker after he posted the show’s running order on Saturday.
No Arsenal? So bias 😂😂😂 (yes I know they didn’t play today)
— Geebz (@Geebz14) December 9, 2017
No mention of Southampton, Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, City or United. And they say MOTD isn’t biased….
— Tomi Pärnistö (@Paarnaar) December 9, 2017
Arsenal aren’t even on the list?! What a joke #CampaignAgainstArsenal
— 〽️ (@k3ttl3s) December 9, 2017
As you can tell, the Tweets were meant in jest and not as a genuine dig at the BBC show. Not that you can tell that by reading the Express’ headline, which insinuates that Arsenal fans are genuinely that stupid that they’re harassing Gary Lineker for not covering a match that hadn’t even happened yet.
The report even says the tweets are a joke but obviously that’s not the first part of the piece people read.
Last week, Match of the Day presenters Alan Shearer and Ian Wright were on the receiving end of online abuse after criticising Arsenal for their 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester United despite having 33 shots.
https://twitter.com/alanshearer/status/937689627657424897
Fans accused them of being biased, which in turn resulted in both ex-players lashing out via their personal Twitter accounts.
https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/937597738056933376
Judging by the response to my apology it seems to me that some of you have used this incident to have a go ! You’re the ***** you’re the reason we are a laughingstock on here .To the AFC fans who I love and have shown me love,you’re the reason I love Arsenal with all my heart.
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) December 4, 2017
Therefore, this weekend’s jibes at the show are obviously a tongue-in-cheek nod to that drama.