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April 20th, 2006
Judging by the reaction of Sky TV and their assorted pundits, you would’ve thought we’d lost last night. We didn’t. We won the first leg of the semi-final of the Champions League, one nil. Apparently, this wasn’t good enough for some. Needless to say, it was for me.
It wasn’t as spectacular a performance as against Madrid or Juve, but Villareal were a better side: better organisation and better discipline, if not better players.
The goal was a toe-poke from Kolo Toure after good work from Henry and Hleb. It was his first ever goal at Highbury, and it’s great that he managed to get one before the old ground closes.
Beforehand, we could’ve had another, only for Thierry Henry’s strike to be incorrectly ruled out for offside. However, this was evened out shortly afterwards when they should’ve had a penalty for Gilberto’s clumsy tackle. It was Gilberto’s only mistake in an otherwise flawless performance.
Second half was a bit of a non-event. Bergkamp and van Persie were introduced late on to try and grab a second, but as you now know, we didn’t. Don’t let this throw you. 1-0 was an excellent result. Anything-0 would’ve been good. If we score out there, they’ll need to get three against a record breaking defence with an astonishing 9 consecutive clean sheets in the Champions League.
I haven’t written anything for a while because my internet is well and truly buggered. Click here for a report on Dennis Bergkamp day and the 3-1 victory over West Brom that ensued.
Spurs on Saturday. Massive, massive, massive game. Must win.
Will win.
Probably.
April 13th, 2006
Let me get something straight: I really rate Adebayor. The headline doesn’t do him justice. He is a good, powerful striker who is more than capable of scoring 15 goals a season for us. When you consider he is only 21, he’s a fantastic prospect.
However, the kid must be beating himself up this morning, because last night he missed two absolute sitters.
The BBC called his cock-ups “atrocious”, and it’s hard to argue with that. He started the game well, showing a great touch to play in Henry for a fantastic goal, and was generally putting himself about. But then the misses.
The first? A good header from Ade on the halfway-line started a blistering counter-attack, which ended with Henry squaring to Adebayor, three yards out, to tap in and make it 2 nil.
Or not.
Come the second half, and this time he missed a free header from four yards, somehow glancing it wide. As Arsene said, “You don’t miss chances on purpose, but of course he is very disappointed”.
And then their goal. A set piece that was defended awfully, and Lua Lua headed in. Apparently we were marking zones. Perhaps it would’ve been better to mark Lua Lua. He scores more often than zones do.
Even after that Johanne Djourou should’ve netted a winner, but his header had a touch of the Adebayor about it.
Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t play badly. Considering that the likes of Alex Song (don’t say I didn’t warn you) were on show, we played pretty well. Arsene even believed “We should have won by five”.
It means that fourth place is now out of our hands. We have to win all our games, including beating Spurs, and hope Man U do them in too. Which is quite possible. They’re only Spurs, after all.
Don’t get on Adebayor’s back. At this moment in time, he is by far the best partner for Henry. Just look at our goal last night.
But whatever you do, don’t ever look at his misses again. You might just shed a tear.
April 12th, 2006
Is that why he left the likes of Campbell and Reyes out of the squad entirely, with Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg on the bench? Perhaps Harry Redknapp got it right when he suggested that Arsene saves his best sides for the games he thinks he can win. At this stage of the season, an injury to any of the aforementioned (perhaps with Sol excluded) could be disastrous. A fairly innoccuous defeat to Man U might be worth it if it means winning the rest of our Premiership games.
It was a strange match. For the first 20 minutes, we bossed it, looking like the side who’d beaten Real and Juventus. But then we tired very quickly, and the early enterprise of Fabregas and Hleb diminished rapidly.
On the day, the difference was that they had Wayne Rooney, and for a large portion of the game we didn’t have Thierry Henry. Rooney scored one and created a second for Park, but it was no disaster.
We didn’t play badly at all, and it’s important that we don’t get on the players’ back for losing one game after the way they’ve performed in recent weeks. Neither should Arsene be blamed for resting Thierry – there’s obviously a long-term plan to all this.
Tonight it’s Portsmouth away, and a vital game in hand. Expect Sol Campbell to come in, with up to six other changes making it an unfamiliar side. Let’s just hope we’re on Song…
April 7th, 2006
His Arsenal contract extension is described by Arsene as “done”, whilst Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann yesterday named him as the number 1 goalkeeper for the World Cup.
For Jens, it’s great news on both fronts. For Arsenal, he’s been absolutely superb this season, and it seems remarkable to think that just over a year ago he was dropped in favour of Manuel Almunia. This Lehmann seems markedly different, with levels of concentration we have never seen from the 36 year old before. In my humble opinion, he has been the best goalkeeper in England this season.
Being the goalkeeper of a nation hosting the World Cup is also a major honour, especially when you’ve ousted Oliver Kahn, who won the Golden Ball for the best player at the last World Cup. Victory is made all the sweeter by the fact that Kahn is, for want of a better word, a knob.
Looking ahead to Man U on Sunday, and there is no new injury news. With our fixture schedule becoming ever more congested, rotation will begin sooner rather than later. However, not just yet. As Arsene puts it, “When will I rotate? Who will I rotate? I don’t know. I’m not inclined to change too much for Sunday.” Campbell’s future, however, looks a little more secure, with Arsene insisting that he “will not buy a centre back”.
Sol Campbell may have to wait for Wednesday’s match away to Portsmouth to make his arguably undeserved return to the first team. One man who will come back into contention is Emmanuel Adebayor, with Arsene keen on deploying a 4-4-2.
So it looks like we’re going for it. Should be exciting, if anything.
April 6th, 2006
Nil nil it was. Another fantastic performance from the new Arsenal team allowed us to ease into a semi-final against Villareal without too much trouble. The onslaught we were expecting from Juventus never really arrived, or at least was kept at bay by an oustanding defensive display – the young back four ably assisted by the experience of Jens Lehmann and Gilberto.
Indeed, if any team looked like scoring, it was us. Thierry Henry thrice went close, whilst an in-form Freddie Ljungberg could’ve had a couple. Even Alexsandr Hleb had a shot.
In both legs, we were the better side. In the first, Cesc Fabregas was the star. Tonight, it was a real team effort. Though if any individuals ought to be picked out, it’s the two centre-backs, Toure and Senderos, who were there every time Juventus launched a characteristic long-ball. Sol Campbell is right to be cautious about regaining a first team place.
Three British sides have failed to beat Villareal this season, including Manchester United. But it’s not the toughest tie we could have had. With Milan and Barcelona facing off in the other semi, we’re certainly on the right side of the draw.
Our form in the Champions League has been beyond belief – especially defensively. Last night we kept a record eighth clean sheet in a row. Phenomenal.
Cesc Fabregas get’s it right when he lauds Arsene Wenger’s bravery: “At a big club like Arsenal with a big manager, it is always difficult to believe in young players. But he did and we have to thank him for what he is giving us.” He’s absolutely right. A few months ago, it was hard to see Wenger’s vision for the future of this team. But he’s proved everyone wrong again, turning a number of rough-diamons into the finished product, with spectacular results.
Tempting though it is, it’s not worth even thinking about a potential Champions League Final yet. Or even to Villareal. We have a massive game against Manchester United on Sunday.
I bet they’re worried.
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