Reading 0 – 4 Arsenal; Cesc “Our type of game makes me feel so happy”
21 comments October 23rd, 2006
Me too Cesc, me too. Our performance yesterday was on a par with those of The Invincibles, and brought with it a fantastic result. You could be churlish and say “it was only Reading”, but that fails to take into account the trouble they caused both Chelsea and Man U. Yesterday, however, they were quite simply blown away.
When the Campbell/Cole/Vieira/Pires/Henry-side of a couple of years ago was regularly turning in performances like this, the key was always an early goal. Arsenal would batter teams right from the first whistle, often leading two or three nil within 20 minutes. This of course forces the opposition to come out, leaving space for devastating counter-attacks. Yesterday we got that early goal, Cesc Fabregas tucking the ball back for Henry to pass the ball into the net after just 58 seconds. The writing was on the wall immediately.
The only surprise was that it took until the 39th minute for us to double our lead, the likes of Justin Hoyte and William Gallas missing good opportunities before Aleksandr Hleb played a neat one-two with Slavic compatriot Tomas Rosicky before blasting the ball into the top of the net: a brilliant goal, and one that proves that Hleb can finish we he wants to.
After the restart, however, he was back to his old ways. After a flowing move orchestrated by Fabregas, Hleb combined with Henry to get free in the penalty area just eight yards out. However, the unselfish Belarussian squared for the on-rushing Robin van Persie to tap in an exquisite third.
A fourth was an inevitability. Another inch-perfect pass, this time from Henry, released Cesc, who rounded the goalkeeper before being clipped by Hahnemann’s gloves. A sending off would’ve served no purpose, and Henry’s powered penalty was punishment enough.
The last twenty minutes saw run-outs for Adebayor, Walcott, and Song (yes, we were cruising that much). Plucky Reading managed to force a few chances, but Jens was equal to the task of keeping them out. At the final whistle, the entire ground applauded what really was a showcase of passing and movement. After a dreary North-west derby earlier in the day, Arsenal had once again proven that they are the most attractive side in the league. The words of Reading’s Steve Copple are simultaneously complimentary yet fair:
“They were fabulous. In Henry and Fabregas, they have the top two players, possibly, in European football, playing right at the top of their game. Their football is more fluid, I would say, than Chelsea or Manchester United’s. It’s pleasing on the eye, and they have a sharp point in Henry, and then you wrap their quality around him. It’s inspirational, I must admit. Big, big respect to the way they played against us.”
I touched on Cesc’s comments earlier, but it must be a real joy to play in this side. The key to our recent success has been a remarkable telepathy in midfield. Arsene says:
“Especially there is a good understanding in midfield now. We are very mobile, and very quick. Fabregas is a great player and he will be greater, I believe – Rosicky is getting better in every game, I am very happy with his performances.”
A huge amount of yesterday’s success is down to the system. We call it a 4-5-1, but it’s certainly more of a 4-1-4-1. Gilberto sits and holds, always available for a pass, whilst Rosicky, Hleb, Fabregas, and van Persie cause havoc ahead of him. Their constant interchanging of positions and inch-perfect passing means that they are a handful for any defence. Henry’s game has changed significantly too: in this system he is able to drop deeper, and play in one of the four runners from midfield, as shown in the penalty incident yesterday.
4-4-2 has its merits, especially at home. But with performances like yesterday’s and the one at Old Trafford, it’s hard to argue against the system. With Julio Baptista still to make a significant impact, it’s no surprise that Arsene won’t be buying in the January transfer window.
Full Carling Cup Preview here tomorrow…
