Forest: Crossley, Lyttle, Cooper, Chettle, Pearce, Stone, Gemmill, Phillips, Bohinen, Woan, Lee Subs: McGregor (Woan 78), Haaland, Rigby
Result : Arsenal (0) 1 Forest (0) 0 Scorers: Kiwomya 82
Bookings: Lee, Bohinen
Att : 35441 Referee : P Durkin (Portland, Dorset)
Irony is a perfect way to sum up the latest Highbury controversy. This day will stick in many a loyal Arsenal fan's memory as the day that their messiah departed! A few years ago only the lure of European coaching would have even made George Graham think about moving from his beloved Arsenal. What a difference a few years can make or even a day!
Graham would have been proud of his players as they performed admirably to conjure up an impressive victory over Nottingham Forest. It is ironic that on the day Graham was dismissed two of his most recent signings and his most controversial player proved to be the match winners. The goal arrived late but it was worth waiting for, Chris Kiwomya and a rejuvenated Paul Merson linked up superbly with Kiwomya finishing the move with a delightful chip over Mark Crossely. It was new Dutch import Glenn Helder who was the difference between the two sides. The former Vitesse Arnhem player gave both Forest full backs Des Lyttle and Stuart Pearce a torrid time and was well worth the rousing reception an impressive Highbury crowd gave him. It is also ironic that it was Forest's Dutch international Brian Roy who persuaded Helder to move to Highbury!
The atmosphere both inside and outside the ground was subdued and the shock of Graham's departure hadn't yet sunk in amongst the Arsenal faithful. The Arsenal board's statement to the dismissal was that "Mr Graham did not act in the best interests of the club". Graham is to contest their decision but his efforts will be in vein if the FA find George guilty of accepting illegal foreign payments. Graham's statement which followed the end of his 15 year Highbury association was "I deeply regret that this kangaroo court judgement should have been reached in such a hole-in-the-corner way". He went on to say "My record of loyalty and service demanded better treatment. The allegations are nonsense". We shall see!
Arsenal had failed to win at the previously formidable Highbury since October 23, and ever since then the supporters who have followed Arsenal through thick and thin have been less than impressed with the Gunners lack of home success. Many a time they had been jeered off the pitch, but not on this particular night. No inspirational skipper, no prolific goalscorer and no record signing were on view but still Arsenal pounded forward and fully deserved the victory.
It was Helder who was at the forefront of this Arsenal performance creating numerous opportunities for both Merson and Kiwomya. A particular exciting Helder run late in the first half had the Arsenal support on their feet applauding in admiration. The talented Dutch international received the ball near the by-line and was seemingly drifting nowhere close to the corner flag when he cut inside one Forest backtracker and then left England left back Stuart Pearce for dead before pulling the ball back to Paul Merson whose instant shot produced a spectacular save from Crossley. This one player had already created as much excitement in one match than Highbury has seen for a long time and at last the supporters were backing every Arsenal attack with vigour and hope.
It is fair to say that both sides were far from at full strength. Forest with both Collymore and Roy missing found it hard to create many good chances, but typical of Forest they still passed the ball around freely. Their only notable chances were an Ian Woan shot which was high and wide and a fine David Phillips effort which Seaman appeared to have covered but which in the end went just wide. Forest also had a penalty appeal turned down after Steve Stone and Stefan Schwarz had tangled.
Arsenal were dominant and should have had the game wrapped up by the interval. Crossley performed admirably and made a terrific save from Kiwomya who seemed destined to score. Schwarz, after fine build up play, and Merson running at the heart of the Forest defence both came close in the first half and Kiwomya was unlucky on more than one occasion. Helder was a constant threat and produced some deadly runs that had the crowd on their feet. He might not be a prolific goalscorer but I am sure Ian Wright will revel in the service he will provide.
Helder would seem to be an instant hero in the mould of Limpar and Marwood before him. The fans chanted his name and there was an air of fulfilled expectation every time he was involved.
Stuart Houston's actions after Kiwomya's goal personified the relief that the victory brought with a combination of the spirit the players produced. It is true to say Arsenal are far from a championship winning side and are open to all criticism but they are going to have to live without George and they have made a good start.
Over the next few weeks Highbury will have close media attention to see who the likely candidate is to take over this less than easy and high profile job. Names mentioned include Pat Rice, David O'Leary, Liam Brady, Martin O'Neill and Alan Ball. One thing is for sure and that is that should the latter take charge then the Arsenal fans will live in hope that a certain Matthew Le Tissier joins him.
Report by Richard Yershon
With Wright, Adams and Hartson all suspended and several others injured it was a somewhat makeshift side that took the field. McGoldrick and Helder played wide right and left while Merson seemed to have been given more of a floating role so that a lot of the time Kiwomya was the only out and out striker. Balancing that, Forest were also without Roy (suspended) and Collymore (otherwise engaged) so they were also playing with only Lee up front.
The first half was almost entirely dominated by Arsenal. Forest were very unambitious and the result was a fairly muted atmosphere early in the game with little in the way of goalmouth incident. Helder and McGoldrick both got in a couple of good early crosses but with only Kiwomya in the middle they were mostly comfortably dealt with by the Forest defence. Arsenal came closest just after one of Helder's runs had been stopped. Schwarz played the ball back in from the left touchline, Kiwomya let the ball run on to Merson on the edge of the area but his left foot shot while well directed lacked the power to beat Crossley.
Later Kiwomya was a bit unlucky not to have scored following a McGoldrick corner. Linighan challenged for the cross and the ball went forward off him and a defender to Kiwomya with his back to goal on the 6 yard line. He swivelled well to fire in a shot but unfortunately Crossley was well placed just behind him and blocked the shot. Linighan then headed the rebound back towards goal but again Crossley was in the right place and caught the ball.
At the other end Forest threatened briefly on just a couple of occasions. Lee cut in from the right along the edge of the area and attempted to bend a shot inside the far post but the ball bounced safely a couple of yards wide. Then Woan bent in a corner from the right which was missed by everybody, with Seaman under challenge from Lee, and just cleared the far post.
The last 10 minutes brought Arsenal's best spell of the half, sparked off by a superb bit of skill from Helder. One of his corners from the right was half cleared by the Forest defence, Merson I think had a shot blocked and the ball went back out to Helder wide on the right. He beautifully beat two defenders and carried on into the area before cutting the ball back to Merson just inside the area. Merse's shot was goalbound before Crossley, perhaps initially unsighted reacted late but superbly tipped the ball over the bar.
Following that Arsenal poured forward with greater conviction and only desperate last ditch blocks on a couple of occasions stopped them from turning their superiority into goals. Though at the other end Forest almost nicked one just before halftime when Phillips had a snap volley from about 25 yards which went narrowly wide with Seaman beaten.
After the break the Gunners continued to dominate, though the longer the game went on the more it seemed it was going to be another of those nights when the luck wouldn't quite run our way. Helder continued to look dangerous and the most likely source of a goal. A couple of lovely runs into the area on the left might have brought some reward but both times his cut backs didn't quite reach a red shirt.
In the early part of the half Arsenal came closest after a corner hadn't been properly cleared. Dixon played a cross back in from the right to find Bouldy still lurking unmarked beyond the far post. His header back towards the opposite post was deflected over the bar by a defender.
There were appeals from the North Bank for a penalty following yet another scramble in the Forest area. Merson's shot from just inside the area was blocked by a defender with what could have been his arms but the ref obviously didn't see it that way.
There was a period about midway through the half when Arsenal's grip began to loosen slightly and Forest came into the game a bit more. They perhaps should have scored once following a quick break when Gemmill played a diagonal ball into the area from the right which eluded the Arsenal defence and reached Woan about 12 yards out just wide of the far post. With only Seaman to beat he lifted his shot a few inches over the bar.
However, with about 8 minutes left Arsenal finally got the goal they deserved. Breaking forward from the halfway line Merson carried the ball towards the area before slipping a lovely pass inside the defender to Kiwomya making a run into the area on his right. Kiwomya controlled it well but was still quite wide, but with Crossley rushing out to meet him finished beautifully, chipping the ball over the keeper and just inside the far post.
Tumultuous roars of relief all round the ground, and there was as much noise for the rest of the game as we've heard at Highbury for a long time. There was still the worry that things might revert to the usual recent pattern and Forest might get one back. They nearly did about 2 minutes from time and probably had a fair claim for a penalty. Steve Stone broke free into the area and appeared to be held back by Schwarz. However to his credit he stayed on his feet and carried on to get in a shot which was well blocked by Seaman.
The ref played an extraordinary amount of injury time considering the fact that there were no injuries in the 2nd half. Still Arsenal twice came close to snatching a 2nd goal just before the whistle. Jensen was set free in the area wide on the right, but Crossley made a good block from his shot from an acute angle. Then Helder made another good run, getting to the goal line on the right this time, and cutting the ball back to Kiwomya at the near post. He tried to control the ball and then shoot but his volley went a couple of feet wide.
All in all a pretty heartening performance from the Gunners. Helder was outstanding and looks to be just the player we've been lacking for the last couple of years. McGoldrick had a reasonable game and Schwarz looked pretty good again, though Jensen for the most part had one of his more pedestrian games apart from a couple of moments late on. Merson again impressed and Kiwomya, though a bit isolated at times, worked hard and finished well for the goal. The defence weren't tested often but looked pretty solid, though it may have been a different story had Forest been a bit more adventurous or had Roy and Collymore been playing. Linighan had a pretty good game with a couple of important tackles.
Report by Derek Brownjohn