Reading 1 Shorey
Arsenal 3 Flamini, Adebayor, Hleb
Arsenal regained the lead for the Barclays Premier League from Manure after registering a comprehensive 3-1 victory over Reading at the Madejski Stadium. It was a difficult match for most of the first half as the home side showed their intent of not letting last season scoreline being repeated.
A superb all around performance saw Arsenal winning 4-0 in style, prompting the Royals to park their bus in front of the goal for this meeting. They managed to hold Arsenal off, until two minutes before the interval when a a flowing move saw Manu Adebayor releasing Alex Hleb on the right side of the penalty area.
The Belarusian player cut back the ball across the goal and Matthieu Flamini who had made a wonderful run into the area was on hand to divert the ball into the back of the net.
Then six minutes after the start of the second half, the visitors went two goals ahead. This time Adebayor found Tomas Rosicky on the left and the Czech player's cutback found Cesc Fabregas who set-up Adebayor, who ended his goal drought with a wonderful placed effort, giving the unsighted Marcus Hahnemann no chance at all.
It was Arsenal 1,000th Premier League goal and the first for the Togolese international since his hat-trick against Derby County earlier this season.
It should have been 3-0 a few minutes later when Adebayor beat Hahnemann and slotted the ball home. Much to his dismay and mine, his effort was ruled out for offside, which replays suggested was an erroneous call by the referee assistant.
But the scoreline did change with thirteen minutes to go. Hleb who scored during the rout last year, found the net again with a superb individual effort. His close control beat two Reading players before tricking Hahnemann with a deft flick before powering the ball home despite the best effort of a covering defender on the line.
Like last year, the match produced a fourth goal, but this time around it was to the delight of the home fans when a lucky bounce gave England defender, Nicky Shorey the chance to put his name on the scoresheet after having hit the post from a free-kick a few minutes earlier.
It ended 3-1 to the Arsenal and that was enough to put them back at the top of the league again.
...
Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Thursday, 8 November 2007
European Champions' League - Matchday #4
Slavia Prague 0
Arsenal 0
In the driving rain in Prague, Arsenal achieved the objective they target for the evening, and that was to ensure qualification to the knock-out round of Europe's premier club football competition.
Against an opponent they thrashed 7-0 a fortnight ago, the Gunners had to work hard as the home side displayed their determination to avoid a similar score-line would not recur in front of their own fans.
With a line-up bearing more resemblance to the Carling Cup side, Arsenal did not get to play their usual crisp passing game due to the continuous pressure by Slavia players who did not let them settle whenever they have possession of the ball.
Instead, it was Slavia who posed more threats to Manuel Almunia's goal with the only attempt on target for Arsenal was a weak header by Manu Adebayor with five minutes of the match to go.
The pairing of Niklas Bendtner and Eduardo did not get much opportunity to breach the home defence which counted on numbers to starve the pair from any space to test Michal Vorel, who was making his Champions' League debut for Slavia.
Alex Song was paired with William Gallas at the centre of defence while Brazilians Denilson and Gilberto Silva were entrusted with the responsibility of being the midfield dynamo. Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott began the game on the flanks, supported by Gael Glichy and Lassana Diarra respectively.
Diarra really impressed me with his display so far and I believe that he is pushing hard for a place in the starting eleven, whether down the right flanks or in the middle of the field. However, the same could not be said about Song, who had a mixed outing.
Almunia continued to impress people and hopefully the blip against Manure would be just that, just a blip on an otherwise good outing so far for the Spaniard.
In the end, congratulations all around to Arsene Wenger who had ensure progress to the next round. Thus he would be able to do more rotation in the remaining Champions League group matches against Steaua Bucharest and Sevilla.
Well done!
...
Arsenal 0
In the driving rain in Prague, Arsenal achieved the objective they target for the evening, and that was to ensure qualification to the knock-out round of Europe's premier club football competition.
Against an opponent they thrashed 7-0 a fortnight ago, the Gunners had to work hard as the home side displayed their determination to avoid a similar score-line would not recur in front of their own fans.
With a line-up bearing more resemblance to the Carling Cup side, Arsenal did not get to play their usual crisp passing game due to the continuous pressure by Slavia players who did not let them settle whenever they have possession of the ball.
Instead, it was Slavia who posed more threats to Manuel Almunia's goal with the only attempt on target for Arsenal was a weak header by Manu Adebayor with five minutes of the match to go.
The pairing of Niklas Bendtner and Eduardo did not get much opportunity to breach the home defence which counted on numbers to starve the pair from any space to test Michal Vorel, who was making his Champions' League debut for Slavia.
Alex Song was paired with William Gallas at the centre of defence while Brazilians Denilson and Gilberto Silva were entrusted with the responsibility of being the midfield dynamo. Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott began the game on the flanks, supported by Gael Glichy and Lassana Diarra respectively.
Diarra really impressed me with his display so far and I believe that he is pushing hard for a place in the starting eleven, whether down the right flanks or in the middle of the field. However, the same could not be said about Song, who had a mixed outing.
Almunia continued to impress people and hopefully the blip against Manure would be just that, just a blip on an otherwise good outing so far for the Spaniard.
In the end, congratulations all around to Arsene Wenger who had ensure progress to the next round. Thus he would be able to do more rotation in the remaining Champions League group matches against Steaua Bucharest and Sevilla.
Well done!
...
Sunday, 4 November 2007
Premier League - Match #11
Arsenal 2 Fabregas, Gallas
Man United 2 Gallas OG, Ronaldo
It was a pulsating match. At 2-1 down and entering the stoppage time the headline of 'Arsenal Unbeaten Run Ends' has been flashing on my minds quite a number of time. However, the gut feeling was saying 'it is not over yet, we will get something in a moment'.
And when the melee in front of the goal was stopped by referee Howard Webb whistle with his hand pointing to the Arsenal goal, my first thought 'that was it, we blew our chance' until I heard the commentators said "he has given it!".
I raised my hands with joy the same way I did when Cesc Fabregas equalised at Anfield last week. The young Spaniard had another influential match in which he scored his eleventh goal in twelve matches so far.
The first half was a midfield battle where both sides shared possession almost equally. But it was the home side that created the most clear cut chance when captain William Gallas's header from a Fabregas free-kick was saved by goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar's legs.
Manu Adebayor headed wide from a Gael Clichy cross while at the other end Wayne Rooney was equally wasteful. However, the England striker played an influential role in nudging United in front just before the half-time whistle.
I thought Alex Hleb was fouled when he went down challenging Wes Brown. But Web did not see it that way and the Cristiano Ronaldo benefited from the decision. With the extra space he managed to deliver a low cross which Rooney and Gallas attacked.
Rooney's effort was heading across the goalmouth until it hit Gallas' hand and the deflection caught Manuel Almunia wrong-footed. Thus the Devils had the upper hand going into the break.
In true Arsenal fashion, the home side came storming back after the second half whistle was blown by Webb. Three minutes later, they were handsomely rewarded.
Despite having not score any goal since his hat-trick against Derby, Adebayor played a pivotal role in forcing Van Der Sar to come out as they went for Manu Eboue's ball into the United's box. The goalkeeper's clearance was snatched by Bacary Sagna who cut it back to Fabregas.
Despite the pressure, Fabregas remained composed before slotting the ball home from two metres out. A lesson learned after the error at Anfield last Sunday.
At 1-1, the match came alive. Both Hleb and Tomas Rosicky had attempts on goal but failed to find the target. With the clock ticking away both managers began to make changes through substitutions.
Alex Ferguson made the first one, replacing Wes Brown with John O'Shea. Four minutes later, Theo Walcott came on for Eboue, a substitution which I felt played a crucial role in United going a head again.
Further substitutions saw Michael Carrick and Louis Saha coming on for Anderson and Carlos Tevez for the visitors. Arsene Wenger decided to bring on Eduardo Da Silva and Gilberto for Rosicky and Hleb.
With seven minutes to go, Walcott failed to track Patrice Evra's run and the French defender drew Gallas and Almunia out. I felt the goalkeeper should have stayed within his goal as a defender was already going for the same ball.
As a result, the goal was left wide open for Ronaldo to tuck in the cut-back from Evra. Three minutes later, Evra nearly became the hero to Arsenal fans as he sliced a low cross from Eduardo just over his bar.
The Croatia striker, who scored twice against Sheffield United in midweek Carling Cup tie was presented with a similar opportunity but this time around his effort was off-target.
Then, with ninety seconds to go a continuous Arsenal pressure resulted in a scramble in front of the visitors' goalmouth. Gallas remained cool and composed when he received the ball at the far post.
His volley had already crossed the line when Van Der Sar palmed it away. Thanks to an eagle-eyed assistant referee who spotted the incident and indicated to Mr Webb who immediately blew and pointed to the centre circle, much to the delight of Gooners all over the world.
...
Man United 2 Gallas OG, Ronaldo
It was a pulsating match. At 2-1 down and entering the stoppage time the headline of 'Arsenal Unbeaten Run Ends' has been flashing on my minds quite a number of time. However, the gut feeling was saying 'it is not over yet, we will get something in a moment'.
And when the melee in front of the goal was stopped by referee Howard Webb whistle with his hand pointing to the Arsenal goal, my first thought 'that was it, we blew our chance' until I heard the commentators said "he has given it!".
I raised my hands with joy the same way I did when Cesc Fabregas equalised at Anfield last week. The young Spaniard had another influential match in which he scored his eleventh goal in twelve matches so far.
The first half was a midfield battle where both sides shared possession almost equally. But it was the home side that created the most clear cut chance when captain William Gallas's header from a Fabregas free-kick was saved by goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar's legs.
Manu Adebayor headed wide from a Gael Clichy cross while at the other end Wayne Rooney was equally wasteful. However, the England striker played an influential role in nudging United in front just before the half-time whistle.
I thought Alex Hleb was fouled when he went down challenging Wes Brown. But Web did not see it that way and the Cristiano Ronaldo benefited from the decision. With the extra space he managed to deliver a low cross which Rooney and Gallas attacked.
Rooney's effort was heading across the goalmouth until it hit Gallas' hand and the deflection caught Manuel Almunia wrong-footed. Thus the Devils had the upper hand going into the break.
In true Arsenal fashion, the home side came storming back after the second half whistle was blown by Webb. Three minutes later, they were handsomely rewarded.
Despite having not score any goal since his hat-trick against Derby, Adebayor played a pivotal role in forcing Van Der Sar to come out as they went for Manu Eboue's ball into the United's box. The goalkeeper's clearance was snatched by Bacary Sagna who cut it back to Fabregas.
Despite the pressure, Fabregas remained composed before slotting the ball home from two metres out. A lesson learned after the error at Anfield last Sunday.
At 1-1, the match came alive. Both Hleb and Tomas Rosicky had attempts on goal but failed to find the target. With the clock ticking away both managers began to make changes through substitutions.
Alex Ferguson made the first one, replacing Wes Brown with John O'Shea. Four minutes later, Theo Walcott came on for Eboue, a substitution which I felt played a crucial role in United going a head again.
Further substitutions saw Michael Carrick and Louis Saha coming on for Anderson and Carlos Tevez for the visitors. Arsene Wenger decided to bring on Eduardo Da Silva and Gilberto for Rosicky and Hleb.
With seven minutes to go, Walcott failed to track Patrice Evra's run and the French defender drew Gallas and Almunia out. I felt the goalkeeper should have stayed within his goal as a defender was already going for the same ball.
As a result, the goal was left wide open for Ronaldo to tuck in the cut-back from Evra. Three minutes later, Evra nearly became the hero to Arsenal fans as he sliced a low cross from Eduardo just over his bar.
The Croatia striker, who scored twice against Sheffield United in midweek Carling Cup tie was presented with a similar opportunity but this time around his effort was off-target.
Then, with ninety seconds to go a continuous Arsenal pressure resulted in a scramble in front of the visitors' goalmouth. Gallas remained cool and composed when he received the ball at the far post.
His volley had already crossed the line when Van Der Sar palmed it away. Thanks to an eagle-eyed assistant referee who spotted the incident and indicated to Mr Webb who immediately blew and pointed to the centre circle, much to the delight of Gooners all over the world.
...
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Help! I Can Get No Satisfaction!
Despite the best effort of to keep the lid closed, it will remain open until our forwards (especially the one from Africa) become more clinical with their finishing.
I have followed Arsenal for a long time and the disappointments every time the results did not go our way were more than compensated by the joy and elations when the did. It was the same on Monday morning.
The way we wrested control in the middle of the Anfield pitch kept my hope going that a lucky break would come our way, especially after 'Lucky' Jaime Carragher again did what he had done at Goodison last week, and escaped from any punishment whatsoever.
Though I must admit that a part of me was willing to accept the match could be the end of our unbeaten run in ALL competitions this season. So, you could just imagine my jubilation when Alex Hleb had the vision to wait before delivering the telling pass that Cesc Fabregas converted into what he referred later as a 'lucky' goal.
At 1-1, the match could have gone either way. Remember a couple of seasons ago when we have tied up the score when a last minute effort from Neil Mellor secured the three points for the home side? I was crossing my fingers hard, praying we would not have to go through the same experience again. Thank God, we did not.
It was a joy to watch Arsenal play right now under Arsene Wenger, but the satisfaction and joy of seeing Arsenal achieving a result was still the same as it was when we did so under Terry Neill, Don Howe, George Graham and Bruce Rioch.
As always, I believe that an Arsenal player would give his/her (Yes, I do support the women's team too) best whenever they pull the famous red and white jersey (or whatever colour the away, third and goalkeeper kit might be) thus they deserve every support from us Gooners.
Though he (the African striker) has become the source of me moaning more frequently recently, I still could not bring myself to say he did not deserve his place in the Arsenal line-up. What I hope is for him to regain his finishing touch or other players could take his spot in the first eleven.
One thing for sure he gave us the joy at Old Trafford last season and I would be certainly keep my fingers crossed again, hoping he would come good again against Fergie's more expensive line-up this weekend.
Go Gooners!
...
I have followed Arsenal for a long time and the disappointments every time the results did not go our way were more than compensated by the joy and elations when the did. It was the same on Monday morning.
The way we wrested control in the middle of the Anfield pitch kept my hope going that a lucky break would come our way, especially after 'Lucky' Jaime Carragher again did what he had done at Goodison last week, and escaped from any punishment whatsoever.
Though I must admit that a part of me was willing to accept the match could be the end of our unbeaten run in ALL competitions this season. So, you could just imagine my jubilation when Alex Hleb had the vision to wait before delivering the telling pass that Cesc Fabregas converted into what he referred later as a 'lucky' goal.
At 1-1, the match could have gone either way. Remember a couple of seasons ago when we have tied up the score when a last minute effort from Neil Mellor secured the three points for the home side? I was crossing my fingers hard, praying we would not have to go through the same experience again. Thank God, we did not.
It was a joy to watch Arsenal play right now under Arsene Wenger, but the satisfaction and joy of seeing Arsenal achieving a result was still the same as it was when we did so under Terry Neill, Don Howe, George Graham and Bruce Rioch.
As always, I believe that an Arsenal player would give his/her (Yes, I do support the women's team too) best whenever they pull the famous red and white jersey (or whatever colour the away, third and goalkeeper kit might be) thus they deserve every support from us Gooners.
Though he (the African striker) has become the source of me moaning more frequently recently, I still could not bring myself to say he did not deserve his place in the Arsenal line-up. What I hope is for him to regain his finishing touch or other players could take his spot in the first eleven.
One thing for sure he gave us the joy at Old Trafford last season and I would be certainly keep my fingers crossed again, hoping he would come good again against Fergie's more expensive line-up this weekend.
Go Gooners!
...
Monday, 29 October 2007
Premier League - Match #10
Liverpool 1 Gerrard
Arsenal 1 Fabregas
Arsenal returned to the summit of the Barclays Premier League after coming back from behind at Anfield. I was having this feeling all week that the meeting with the red half of Merseyside would be a tough test indeed.
Facing Liverpool during their so called 'crisis' would never be just another walk in the park. With their captain Steven Gerrard in a really determined form to restore the belief of a successful season is still within reach, Arsenal would be deemed 'fools' had they under-estimate the home side.
True enough, it was Gerrard who broke the dead-lock in the eigth minute, after Matthieu Flamini had lost possession to the England international. Manuel Almunia made the first of a series of important saves during the match.
The ball found its way to Xabi Alonso who was fould by compatriot Cesc Fabregas right at the edge of the box. A tap by John Arne-Risse was all Gerrard needed to blast the wall past Almunia.
I believe, had the wall did not break immediately after the tap, Alex Hleb would have blocked the effort.
Rafa Benitez certainly had Liverpool in an attacking mode with a 4-3-3 formation but Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin failed to impress.
Arsenal began to take control of the midfield with their usual pass and run football. Unfortunately, the final ball did not fell too kindly for them.
Striker Manu Adebayor is really having a bad spell since starting on a very bright note since the season started. He needs to step-up in order to get the critics off his back. His opposite number
Fabregas missed a glorious opportunity to level the score when he took the the rebound from Manu Eboue on first time, when he could afford to take an extra touch with all the home defenders at sea.
Theo Walcott was brought on for Tomas Rosicky in the 66th minute and he immediately injected a bit of an extra pace to the Arsenal attack.
Peter Crouch who scored a hat-trick in the same fixture in March came on at the start of the second half for Torres who did not make the impact his manager was hoping for. The lanky England striker tested Almunia twice with one of them forcing the Spaniard to make a smart save.
Then Niklas Bendtner and Gilberto Silva came on for Eboue and Gael Glichy. The Brazillian took Flamini's place with the versatile midfielder moving to left-back.
Jaime Carragher was perhaps the luckiest man in football at the moment, especially in the penalty box. Just as it was the same against Everton's Joleon Lescott last week, the England defender pulled Fabregas down and the replay suggested it was a foul and a penalty should have been awarded.
But with ten minutes to go, Arsenal who were looking for the crucial pass finally got it through Hleb. Bendtner was making a run but he strayed too far behind the Liverpool line. The Belarussian waited for just a bit longer before picking up Fabregas who just toe-poked it past Pepe Reina.
The match could have gone either way, with Fabregas hitting the post and Bendtner repeating the same action by Fabregas earlier on the rebound. Captain William Gallas then produced a crucial block on an attempt by Gerrard who had latched on a wonderful lay-off by Crouch.
In the end, both sides shared the spoils though Arsenal perhaps thinking they deserved more from the match than just the single point.
...
Arsenal 1 Fabregas
Arsenal returned to the summit of the Barclays Premier League after coming back from behind at Anfield. I was having this feeling all week that the meeting with the red half of Merseyside would be a tough test indeed.
Facing Liverpool during their so called 'crisis' would never be just another walk in the park. With their captain Steven Gerrard in a really determined form to restore the belief of a successful season is still within reach, Arsenal would be deemed 'fools' had they under-estimate the home side.
True enough, it was Gerrard who broke the dead-lock in the eigth minute, after Matthieu Flamini had lost possession to the England international. Manuel Almunia made the first of a series of important saves during the match.
The ball found its way to Xabi Alonso who was fould by compatriot Cesc Fabregas right at the edge of the box. A tap by John Arne-Risse was all Gerrard needed to blast the wall past Almunia.
I believe, had the wall did not break immediately after the tap, Alex Hleb would have blocked the effort.
Rafa Benitez certainly had Liverpool in an attacking mode with a 4-3-3 formation but Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt and Andriy Voronin failed to impress.
Arsenal began to take control of the midfield with their usual pass and run football. Unfortunately, the final ball did not fell too kindly for them.
Striker Manu Adebayor is really having a bad spell since starting on a very bright note since the season started. He needs to step-up in order to get the critics off his back. His opposite number
Fabregas missed a glorious opportunity to level the score when he took the the rebound from Manu Eboue on first time, when he could afford to take an extra touch with all the home defenders at sea.
Theo Walcott was brought on for Tomas Rosicky in the 66th minute and he immediately injected a bit of an extra pace to the Arsenal attack.
Peter Crouch who scored a hat-trick in the same fixture in March came on at the start of the second half for Torres who did not make the impact his manager was hoping for. The lanky England striker tested Almunia twice with one of them forcing the Spaniard to make a smart save.
Then Niklas Bendtner and Gilberto Silva came on for Eboue and Gael Glichy. The Brazillian took Flamini's place with the versatile midfielder moving to left-back.
Jaime Carragher was perhaps the luckiest man in football at the moment, especially in the penalty box. Just as it was the same against Everton's Joleon Lescott last week, the England defender pulled Fabregas down and the replay suggested it was a foul and a penalty should have been awarded.
But with ten minutes to go, Arsenal who were looking for the crucial pass finally got it through Hleb. Bendtner was making a run but he strayed too far behind the Liverpool line. The Belarussian waited for just a bit longer before picking up Fabregas who just toe-poked it past Pepe Reina.
The match could have gone either way, with Fabregas hitting the post and Bendtner repeating the same action by Fabregas earlier on the rebound. Captain William Gallas then produced a crucial block on an attempt by Gerrard who had latched on a wonderful lay-off by Crouch.
In the end, both sides shared the spoils though Arsenal perhaps thinking they deserved more from the match than just the single point.
...
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
European Champions' League - Matchday #3
Arsenal 7 Fabregas 2, Hubacek OG, Walcott 2, Hleb, Bendtner
Slavia Prague 0
It was a performance befitting a perfect birthday present for manager Arsene Wenger. The French coach celebrated his 58th birthday on Monday and his players delivered a perfect present for him a day later.
There was no live telecast (again!) by the service provider and I had to wake up at 5 in the morning to catch the match. It was certainly worth the effort.
Slavia Prague lined-up with a 4-5-1 formation in an effort to pack the midfield and starve the Arsenal front-line from the services of Cesc Fabregas. However, the source if danger came from another player.
Alex Hleb ball skills is one of the reason Wenger splashed the cash for the Belarussian player. In the 5th minute he was surrounded by two Slavia defenders but still managed to find Fabregas just inside the box.
With his marker losing his footing Fabregas had a clear shot at goal. A wonderful finish by the Spanish youngster saw the ball resting at the back of the net a while later. Arsenal 1-0.
If the home fans were expecting the flood-gate to open, they must be terribly disappointed. Slavia hold their own for much of the match after the goal and posed a threat a couple of times. However, their final ball let them down.
Manu Adebayor was holding the line well and bringing other players into the match but his failure to find the net was causing much concern. Gael Glichy found him twice with wonderful crosses but Adebayor's headers failed to cause much trouble to the Slavian goalkeeper.
Then Slavia failed to clear a corner in the 24th minute. Hleb picked up the loose ball and his stiff shot was deflected by David Hubacek past his own goalkeeper, Martin Vaniak into the net. Arsenal 2-0.
Vaniak then produced a wonderful save with his leg from another Adebayor's header after Theo Walcott had found a bit of space to run into on the left.
Manuel Almunia then justified his selection ahead of Jens Lehmann when he gathered cleanly a shot from the right by Matej Krajcik.
Then four minutes from the interval Walcott starting his first match as a striker found the net for his first goal at the Emirates, which was also his first goal in European football. The 18 year old capitalised on a defensive error which saw Vaniak clearing a suicide backpass straight to the England U-21 player.
He sidestepped the challenge from the goalkeeper and cooly slotted the ball home between two defenders who were closing in on him. Arsenal 3-0.
The Gunners had chances to increase the lead further but Adebayor managed to put his header wide of the goal when it looked easier to score. Then Manu Eboeu came within inches of finding the back of the net from the right.
Then six minutes into the second half, Hleb finally put his name on the scoresheet. A wonderful lay off by Fabregas gave Hleb the opportunity to have a run at goal. He disguised his shot twice, fooling the defender and the goalkeeper into committing themselves before slotting the ball home. Arsenal 4-0.
Four minutes later, Hleb became the provider. He found Walcott who ran with the ball into the box and showed his maturity well beyond his years by finishing with his outstep that went in off the far post. Arsenal 5-0.
Adebayor, despite missing a host of chances in front of goal continued to play an important role
for Arsenal. He found Fabregas in the 56th minute but the Spaniard's attempt was blocked.
Then two minutes later Hleb found Adebayor with a crisp pass. His nifty footwork took him from his marker and his pass found Walcott at the edge of the box. This time the England youngster laid it into Fabregas' path. The Spaniard finished off the move with his second touch. Arsenal 6-0.
Wenger made a wholesale substitution in the 61st minute with Gilberto Silva, Tomas Rosicky and Niklas Bendtner coming on for Matthieu Flaminini, Hleb and Adebayor. A serious injury at this juncture would force Arsenal to play with less than eleven men.
Almunia then made two wonderful saves to ensure his clean sheet after defensive errors by the Arsenal defence gave opportunities to the visitors to have a shot at goal.
Every Arsenal players were trying to assist Walcott to get his first hat-trick in Arsenal colours. Gilberto found him with just ten minutes to go but somehow Vaniak redeemed himself with a wonderful instinctive one hand stop.
Then in the 82nd minute Rosicky's effort hit the bar from a rebound after Vaniak had saved a shot from Walcott again. Four minutes later Walcott was presented with another opportunity by Fabregas, who himself was also looking for a hat-trick. However, he lost his composure and sliced his shot away from goal.
Then with just two minutes remaining, Eboue found Bendtner who used his physical presence to run past the defence and his pace to beat Vaniak to ball which left him with an open goal. He did not miss to record his first goal in European football. Arsenal 7-0.
I wish the match would not end until both Walcott and Fabregas found their third, but it ended anyway with me feeling very, very much elated and looking forward in cautious manner to the trip to Anfield on Sunday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARSENE!
...
Slavia Prague 0
It was a performance befitting a perfect birthday present for manager Arsene Wenger. The French coach celebrated his 58th birthday on Monday and his players delivered a perfect present for him a day later.
There was no live telecast (again!) by the service provider and I had to wake up at 5 in the morning to catch the match. It was certainly worth the effort.
Slavia Prague lined-up with a 4-5-1 formation in an effort to pack the midfield and starve the Arsenal front-line from the services of Cesc Fabregas. However, the source if danger came from another player.
Alex Hleb ball skills is one of the reason Wenger splashed the cash for the Belarussian player. In the 5th minute he was surrounded by two Slavia defenders but still managed to find Fabregas just inside the box.
With his marker losing his footing Fabregas had a clear shot at goal. A wonderful finish by the Spanish youngster saw the ball resting at the back of the net a while later. Arsenal 1-0.
If the home fans were expecting the flood-gate to open, they must be terribly disappointed. Slavia hold their own for much of the match after the goal and posed a threat a couple of times. However, their final ball let them down.
Manu Adebayor was holding the line well and bringing other players into the match but his failure to find the net was causing much concern. Gael Glichy found him twice with wonderful crosses but Adebayor's headers failed to cause much trouble to the Slavian goalkeeper.
Then Slavia failed to clear a corner in the 24th minute. Hleb picked up the loose ball and his stiff shot was deflected by David Hubacek past his own goalkeeper, Martin Vaniak into the net. Arsenal 2-0.
Vaniak then produced a wonderful save with his leg from another Adebayor's header after Theo Walcott had found a bit of space to run into on the left.
Manuel Almunia then justified his selection ahead of Jens Lehmann when he gathered cleanly a shot from the right by Matej Krajcik.
Then four minutes from the interval Walcott starting his first match as a striker found the net for his first goal at the Emirates, which was also his first goal in European football. The 18 year old capitalised on a defensive error which saw Vaniak clearing a suicide backpass straight to the England U-21 player.
He sidestepped the challenge from the goalkeeper and cooly slotted the ball home between two defenders who were closing in on him. Arsenal 3-0.
The Gunners had chances to increase the lead further but Adebayor managed to put his header wide of the goal when it looked easier to score. Then Manu Eboeu came within inches of finding the back of the net from the right.
Then six minutes into the second half, Hleb finally put his name on the scoresheet. A wonderful lay off by Fabregas gave Hleb the opportunity to have a run at goal. He disguised his shot twice, fooling the defender and the goalkeeper into committing themselves before slotting the ball home. Arsenal 4-0.
Four minutes later, Hleb became the provider. He found Walcott who ran with the ball into the box and showed his maturity well beyond his years by finishing with his outstep that went in off the far post. Arsenal 5-0.
Adebayor, despite missing a host of chances in front of goal continued to play an important role
for Arsenal. He found Fabregas in the 56th minute but the Spaniard's attempt was blocked.
Then two minutes later Hleb found Adebayor with a crisp pass. His nifty footwork took him from his marker and his pass found Walcott at the edge of the box. This time the England youngster laid it into Fabregas' path. The Spaniard finished off the move with his second touch. Arsenal 6-0.
Wenger made a wholesale substitution in the 61st minute with Gilberto Silva, Tomas Rosicky and Niklas Bendtner coming on for Matthieu Flaminini, Hleb and Adebayor. A serious injury at this juncture would force Arsenal to play with less than eleven men.
Almunia then made two wonderful saves to ensure his clean sheet after defensive errors by the Arsenal defence gave opportunities to the visitors to have a shot at goal.
Every Arsenal players were trying to assist Walcott to get his first hat-trick in Arsenal colours. Gilberto found him with just ten minutes to go but somehow Vaniak redeemed himself with a wonderful instinctive one hand stop.
Then in the 82nd minute Rosicky's effort hit the bar from a rebound after Vaniak had saved a shot from Walcott again. Four minutes later Walcott was presented with another opportunity by Fabregas, who himself was also looking for a hat-trick. However, he lost his composure and sliced his shot away from goal.
Then with just two minutes remaining, Eboue found Bendtner who used his physical presence to run past the defence and his pace to beat Vaniak to ball which left him with an open goal. He did not miss to record his first goal in European football. Arsenal 7-0.
I wish the match would not end until both Walcott and Fabregas found their third, but it ended anyway with me feeling very, very much elated and looking forward in cautious manner to the trip to Anfield on Sunday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARSENE!
...
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Premier League - Match #9
Arsenal 2 Toure, Rosicky
Bolton 0
It was good to watch a 'live' Arsenal match again after international break, which brought mixed fortunes to Arsenal players who were involved in getting their country to the Euro 2008 and also the African Nations' Cup in January next year.
Sadly, Robin Van Persie sufferred another injury, this time against Slovenia which would see him out of action for at least a month. The Gunners' topscorer's place was taken by Eduardo da Silva but the Croatian striker struggled to impose himself during the match.
For those who have their case against Manu Adebayor, the Togolese's performance during this match simply provided more ammunitions for them to fire their criticism in his way. The lowest point of his outing must be when he was through with just Jussi Jaaskelainen to beat but his heavy teach took the ball away from goal. Then while trying to re-position himself, Adebayor just simply fell.
Bolton came with a gameplan and stuck to it to frustrate Arsenal for a long period of time. There were several times when the creative players such as Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb found themselves having to deal with two or three Bolton players around them.
But after the interval Arsenal stepped up a gear and the urgency was more evidence in their passing. Manu Eboue could not take the opportunity that came his way in the opening minute of the second half. A mistake by Gavin McCann fed the ball into the Ivorian's path but he simply lashed at it, and it went high and wide.
The introduction of Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott put the visitors under more pressure and began to concede free-kicks due to their physical approach to the match. They were made to pay in the 67th minute when Kolo Toure blasted home from after Matthieu Flamini had set him up after receiving a tap from Fabregas.
Bolton did come out a bit were not able to do much against the back-line of Toure and William Gallas, who resumed his duty as captain. The absence of former Gunner Nicolas Anelka in the Trotters front line could also be a factor why Arsenal defence had it easy this time around.
Arsenal should have been a head by a bigger margin but with chances being wasted, there was always a chance for Bolton to spoil Arsenal's day. A second goal was badly needed.
England youngster Walcott began to show his true capability in Premier League matches. His superb take from a Hleb's pass allowed him to beat two Bolton players and delivered a low ball across the goal which the unmarked Rosicky deflected past Jaaskelainen.
The way the Czech Republic international sneaked past the Bolton defence certainly reminded me of Robert Pires and hopefully he would also be able to emulate the Frenchman goalscoring feat as well as creating chances for other players.
One thing about the Arsenal line-up this evening that could be significant was the decision to keep Manuel Almunia in goal. He was calm throughout the match and did not even react to the foul by Kevin Davies early in the match.
I am sure that Jens Lehmann would have reacted differently had he been playing. The calmness of Almunia certainly helped the defence and this could be a factor which would see the German leaving the club comes January.
But January is still far away and there could be plenty of matches to be played and who knows, we could be talking about the German shotstopper in two months time.
For now, I am quite happy with us being at the top of the table, a position that I wish to be come the end of the season.
...
Bolton 0
It was good to watch a 'live' Arsenal match again after international break, which brought mixed fortunes to Arsenal players who were involved in getting their country to the Euro 2008 and also the African Nations' Cup in January next year.
Sadly, Robin Van Persie sufferred another injury, this time against Slovenia which would see him out of action for at least a month. The Gunners' topscorer's place was taken by Eduardo da Silva but the Croatian striker struggled to impose himself during the match.
For those who have their case against Manu Adebayor, the Togolese's performance during this match simply provided more ammunitions for them to fire their criticism in his way. The lowest point of his outing must be when he was through with just Jussi Jaaskelainen to beat but his heavy teach took the ball away from goal. Then while trying to re-position himself, Adebayor just simply fell.
Bolton came with a gameplan and stuck to it to frustrate Arsenal for a long period of time. There were several times when the creative players such as Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb found themselves having to deal with two or three Bolton players around them.
But after the interval Arsenal stepped up a gear and the urgency was more evidence in their passing. Manu Eboue could not take the opportunity that came his way in the opening minute of the second half. A mistake by Gavin McCann fed the ball into the Ivorian's path but he simply lashed at it, and it went high and wide.
The introduction of Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott put the visitors under more pressure and began to concede free-kicks due to their physical approach to the match. They were made to pay in the 67th minute when Kolo Toure blasted home from after Matthieu Flamini had set him up after receiving a tap from Fabregas.
Bolton did come out a bit were not able to do much against the back-line of Toure and William Gallas, who resumed his duty as captain. The absence of former Gunner Nicolas Anelka in the Trotters front line could also be a factor why Arsenal defence had it easy this time around.
Arsenal should have been a head by a bigger margin but with chances being wasted, there was always a chance for Bolton to spoil Arsenal's day. A second goal was badly needed.
England youngster Walcott began to show his true capability in Premier League matches. His superb take from a Hleb's pass allowed him to beat two Bolton players and delivered a low ball across the goal which the unmarked Rosicky deflected past Jaaskelainen.
The way the Czech Republic international sneaked past the Bolton defence certainly reminded me of Robert Pires and hopefully he would also be able to emulate the Frenchman goalscoring feat as well as creating chances for other players.
One thing about the Arsenal line-up this evening that could be significant was the decision to keep Manuel Almunia in goal. He was calm throughout the match and did not even react to the foul by Kevin Davies early in the match.
I am sure that Jens Lehmann would have reacted differently had he been playing. The calmness of Almunia certainly helped the defence and this could be a factor which would see the German leaving the club comes January.
But January is still far away and there could be plenty of matches to be played and who knows, we could be talking about the German shotstopper in two months time.
For now, I am quite happy with us being at the top of the table, a position that I wish to be come the end of the season.
...
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