Highbury, Saturday 26th August 2000
FA Carling Premiership
See below for report by Rupe.
Preview
- Arsenal team news
Arsene Wenger has dismissed suggestions that Patrick Vieira might
not play because of a "bad state of mind" following his 2 successive
dismissals. "I always pick my best team", he said, "and Patrick is in that".
Freddie Ljungberg is fit again after a leg problem kept him out
of the Liverpool game, but Ray Parlour is still out and
Alex Manninger has to rest for a wek or more following
a knee injury in training. John Lukic will therefore be
on the bench (Stuart Taylor being on loan at Palace).
Sylvain Wiltord is expected to be at the game, but his signing
has not been completed in time for him to play.
- Charlton_Athletic team news
Charlton new-boy Jonatan Johansson is likely to make his debut,
having overcome a hamstring problem to score for the reserves in midweek.
But several players are ruled out through injury including
Clive Mendonca, Matt Svensson, and
Martin Pringle
- See also
Highbury, Saturday 26th August 2000
FA Carling Premiership
scorers: Vieira 20, 61 Hunt 24, 30
Henry 46, 67 Stuart 58
Silvinho 89
Arsenal:
Seaman
Dixon Adams Keown Silvinho
Lauren (Bergkamp) Vieira Grimandi Pires
Henry Kanu
2 changes from the Liverpool game: Dixon and Kanu
returning for Luzhny and Bergkamp. Dixon didn't have a
great game, but probably still warrants a place ahead of
the Ukrainian. Kanu missed his own chances to score, but
was worth a place. Bergkamp did well when he came on for
Lauren, who didn't have as good a game as Pires on the
other wing.
Keown started our first good chance with a pinpoint long
pass ahead to Silvinho. The Brasilian took it forward and passed
inside to Kanu but, under pressure from a defender in the D,
Kanu got well under the shot.
Then Pires passed forward for Kanu to run onto down the right.
He had support, but got into the box and hit a tame low shot
straight at the Charlton keeper.
And it was Kanu again with the next chance. After some neat
trickery in the box to make space for a shot, he again hit the
shot softly. This time, it was well aimed inside the left hand
post. But the keeper did well to get down and make a diving save.
Pires was involved again moments later, cutting in nicely
form the left wing and playing a 1-2 with Kanu on the edge
of the box. But the Nigerian's return ball was too strong and
came through to the goalie.
Then (on 14 mins) Charlton had their first meaningful moment,
a strong
header in the box saved by Seaman, only for us to be awarded
a free-kick anyway.
Pires came on another good run down the left after a Vieira-like
stretching Kanu tackle in the centre circle, but he missed at the
near post. It was a promising game from the Frenchman, who linked
up well at times with Kanu, Henry, and Bergkamp. If he
can add a few goals he could turn into a fine replacement for Overmars
He was involved in the next 2 moves too. Good work by Lauren on the
right wing created space for Dixon to measure a cross to the far post.
Pires connected well and headed it across goal, but there was no-one
there to capitalise. Then another near-post shot from Pires was saved.
The opener which had been promised with all this good attacking came on
20 minutes, when Kanu slipped the ball through the defensive line
perfectly into the run of Vieira. One-on-one, he dummied with his right
and waited for the keeper to commit, before coolly lifting the ball over
him with his left. Beautiful finishing.
The win seemed so inevitable, and yet within 10 minutes we were behind.
On 24, Pires (I think) lost the ball in the middle of our half as
Arsenal brought it out. The defence just didn't look ready for the counter,
and Adams was out of position as the cross came in from our left,
leaving Keown marking 2. He took the near post, Dixon maybe should
have been picking up the far one but he'd been caught out pushing out.
The near-post striker got a touch ahead of Keown and it came through
to the unmarked Andy Hunt whose shot gave Seaman no chance.
They had another chabce 2 minutes later but the low shot from the corner
of the box was hit straight down Seaman's throat.
Dixon Lauren and Henry combined well to work the ball down the right,
and it was fed through into the box for Dixon to run onto, but again
just a tad too strong.
Again Arsenal lost the ball coming forward and Charlton broke down their
left. A high cross came over towards Hunt and Keown at the far post,
but only the Charlton player seemed to jump for it and his header
beat Seaman at his left hand post.
Adams played a nice ball forward for Henry. A defender got to the ball
first but failed to control it. The ball rolled free just next to Henry
but behind him and unfortunately he didn't see it in time, or he'd
have been clear on goal just inside the box.
Dixon sent in a great cross which Henry's diving near post header
just failed to reach. Then Vieira won a free-kick just outside the D,
a defender deciding the only way to stop Paddy carrying the ball
past was to handle it, and Henry curled it over the wall but inches
wide of the left hand upright.
Adams carried the ball up nearly to the edge of the penalty area,
and with no pressure on him played it straight to a defender. I'd
been wondering about the red and white kit Charlton were wearing,
and half expected one of the sides to come out for the second half
with a changed strip.
Arsenal went in having had much the best of the play, but a goal
down to a team which, to be fair to them, didn't come just to stop
Arsenal playing. And while we're being fair, the ref had a good game
too. There wasn't much trouble and he only felt the need to show one
yellow card (to a Charlton player).
Wenger no doubt asked the team for more of the same in the second
half, and within a couple of minutes of the start we'd pulled
level again. Adams brought the ball forward a bit from the halfway
line and rolled it towards Henry just outside the box to the left.
He flicked it
up as it arrived, bounced it gently off his knee, and then hit a
dipping volley just inside the near post.
All well and good, but 13 minutes in Charlton got another against
the run of play. They broke down our left and 2 close defenders
couldn't stop a cross being whipped in to the near post where
Graham Stuart caught it on the run and blasted it between Seaman
and the post.
2 minutes later we were level again. Dixon advanced down
the right and passed it up the line to Kanu. He played around a
bit with his marker before stepping back and passing square into
the path of Vieira just outside the D. He drove it low inside the
left hand post for 3-3.
We nearly scored again immediately, Henry getting to the
goal-line on the left and pulling it across goal where it was
touched inwards but cleared off the line.
Bergkamp came on for Lauren.
Vieira won another edge-of-the-box free-kick on the
right which Silvinho curled just wide of the right post.
Then Grimandi started a move inside our half. He played it
to Kanu in the centre circle who kept possession while Gilles
continued his run up the right and then fed him perfectly.
Grimandi carried the ball forward and then sent it to the near
post for Henry, who held off his man, turned, and blasted home from
a narrow angle.
Grimandi was the star again moments later, coming up with a crucial
block on Graham Stuart's shot after a few Arsenal errors had created
the danger. Then Grimandi popped up with some nice control on the left
wing, playing the ball past his man and following it down the line
before feeding Bergkamp whose quick cross forced a save from Pires at
the far post.
Newton wasted a good chance to pull it back at the other end,
when a cross came to him in the clear on our right. With a defender
rushing at him he panicked and lifted it well over the bar.
Then Arsenal took the sting out a bit with a lengthy spell of
possession football. It was at least 2 minutes of quick passing,
including some typical Kanu trickery and a shot which was blocked
and came back to us, and finished with a Henry shot just wide of their
right hand post.
Then with a minute to go Vieira squared to Silvinho on the left wing. He
skipped past 2 defenders and into the box, and as a 3rd came in to
challenge he knocked it past the keeper's hand inside the far post.
There was still time for a scare at the other end again, when a cross
was somehow allowed right across the face of our goal. It came back in
for a soft header which looped into Seaman's arms.
report by Rupe.
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