Arsenal vs Manchester Utd 4th Nov 95

Arsenal (1) 1 - 0 (0) Manchester Utd

Highbury, Saturday 4th November 1995

Teams
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Bould, Winterburn, Keown, Platt,
         Helder, Merson, Bergkamp, Wright
         Subs: Hartson (Wright 79), Jensen, Bartram 

Man Utd: Schmeichel, Neville, Bruce, Pallister, Irwin, Butt, Keane,
         Cantona, Giggs, Scholes, Cole 
         Subs: Beckham (Scholes 64), Sharpe (Butt 64), McClair (Irwin 81)

Scorers:  Bergkamp 14

Bookings: Merson                        Neville, Bruce, Beckham
                                     
Att     : 38317
Referee : P Durkin (Portland)

A highly entertaining game at Highbury on a perfect autumn day last Saturday. A bit too exciting perhaps, for those of a nervous red and white disposition, as United threw everything forward in the final few minutes. But in the end, despite Man U having at least an equal share of possession and at times passing the ball about superbly, it was Arsenal who had the better strikes at goal and Schmeichel who was forced to make the more spectacular saves.

Both teams were much as expected, with the only change to the Arsenal lineup being the return of Platt in place of the injured Parlour. The opening ten minutes saw both sides coming close without finding the killer touch. A break down the right by Wright ended with a cross which was just cleared from in front of Helder by Neville, while at the other end it was United who were possibly the more threatening. Adams misheaded a clearance up into the air, Scholes got his foot to it just ahead of Seaman and lobbed goalwards where Adams again headed clear. Giggs picked it up and dribbled into the area before laying it off to Scholes whose cross-shot was too far in front of Cantona and whistled harmlessly past the far post.

Another threatening Man U move ended with a Butt cross just eluding Cole, before Arsenal hit back with the goal that won the game. Dixon found Platt out on the right on the half way line. He spotted Bergkamp making a run towards goal and chipped a pass forward into his path. At that point Irwin was winning the race but completed muffed what I assume was an attempted back pass. Bergkamp got in front of him and deftly touched the ball past Schmeichel and just inside the post. Match of the Day later showed that Denise had, erm, cleverly clipped Irwin's heel as they chased the pass which may have contributed to the mess he made of the back-pass.

The rest of the half was pretty even. Cole had the ball in the net but was ruled offside, and a few minutes after his goal Bergkamp again went close. A good combination between Wright and Dixon resulted in the latter playing the ball in to Bergkamp on the edge of the area, and he produced one of his trademark shots, forcing Schmeichel into a superb save, managing to push the ball away as it bounced just in front of him.

Irwin came close to redeeming himself with an angled shot from outside the area which whistled only a few feet past the far post, and towards the end of the half Cantona began to get into the game, twice putting Cole in through the middle. The first time Bould was a bit lucky to get away with a tug on the striker as he turned to shoot, and Seaman comfortably saved. A second quick break resulted in Cantona finding Cole in a lot of space but as he shaped to shoot from just inside the area, Adams came flying across to challenge and forced him to hurriedly shoot straight at Seaman.

At the other end though, it was Schmeichel who was still having the more difficult saves to make. Wrighty intercepted a pass out of defence and took it on to the edge of the area where he attempted a chip which the keeper was forced to palm over for a corner. Wright should really have passed to Platt who was charging up unmarked on his left. Another forward run from Platt almost resulted in a goal. A clever move between Wright and Bergkamp ended with Pallister hurriedly heading out of the area but straight into Platt's path. He snatched at the shot from 20 yards though, and it screwed well wide.

The second half was characterised by consistent United pressure, particularly in the final 15 minutes, but with Arsenal looking just as likely to score on the break. The first heart-stopping moment came when Giggs made a run down the left and clipped in a short cross for Cantona. His volley actually hit Cole, but from the resultant scramble it was to his feet that the ball broke and he was left clear for a left foot shot from the six yard line. Fortunately Winterburn somehow got back and made a superb block.

Meanwhile at the other end, Schmeichel was forced into the save of the match, following a lovely Arsenal move. Platt played the ball forward to Bergkamp who carried it forward to the edge of the area, and held it before releasing Merson who had made a run down the outside. Merse angled in a short chipped cross and Wrighty leapt and twisted to direct a superbly placed header just inside the far post. Somehow Schmeichel got across and stretched a long arm out to turn the ball round the post.

As United's efforts got more desperate Ferguson replaced Butt and Scholes with Beckham and Sharpe. Soon after he'd come on Beckham picked up a loose ball following a corner and made space for himself with a short dribble across the area. Fortunately Bould made another great block, but Giggs picked up the rebound, got past Dixon and crossed hard and low across the 6-yd box. Seaman made a great stop, and got a kick in the head during the resultant scramble as Arsenal eventually cleared.

Seaman made another timely interception not long afterwards as Cole played a nice ball in for Cantona to run onto. The French deity miscontrolled it though, and Seaman's rush was perfectly timed to save at his feet, while at the other end Helder went close after a run and shot from just outside the box.

As we went into injury time United pushed forward ever more desperately and Arsenal could have snatched another goal on 3 seperate occasions. Cole beat the offside trap but was beaten to the ball by Seaman who calmly passed out to Winterburn. He in turn passed forward to Hartson (on for Wright) and a lovely quick exchange of passes with Bergkamp made space for him to release Merson making another run in space down the right. He had to stretch to reach the ball before the defender, checked back but then continued his run into the area before chipping an angled cross/shot over Schmeichel and against the far post. The ball eluded Platt, running in at the far post but fell to Bergkamp about 10 yards out. He seemed bound to score but somehow Neville got his body in the way.

As yet more Man U attacks broke down there were yet more close calls at the other end. A Schmeichel hoof forward was cleared to Merson on the half way line, and with the keeper well out of goal his 50 yard shot looked to be heading goalwards but was marginally underhit to allow Schmeichel to leap and catch the ball just inside the area. Then another quick break involving Bergkamp, Platt and Keown released Hartson for a run and shot from the edge of the box which went a couple of feet past the post with Schmeichel beaten. Eventually, after several minutes of frantic whistling from the home crowd, the ref blew for time.

Unusually for an Arsenal - Man U game, it was relatively good tempered and clean. The first booking didn't come until a few minutes into the second half, when Neville hacked Helder away at the same time as the ball. I think Merson followed him into the book seconds later after he'd caught Giggs' heels as he went past, because the ref just happened to still have the card in his hand and had forgotten about it when he put his arm in the air to indicate the free kick.

All in all quite a satisfying performance from the Gunners, even if they were forced back for large parts of the second half. Even then Rioch's attempts to get them to keep the ball on the deck showed through, as they consistently played the ball out of defence, rather then resorting to the simple hoof. Time to pay tribute to the back four here, who have amazingly been together for over seven years now. They were all quite magnificent on Saturday. Winterburn, who up till now I have pinpointed as the weak link, was outstanding with two or three great last ditch blocks and tackles, and had easily his best game of the year.

Up front, Bergkamp had another good game and the front four all combined well. Helder was a bit quieter perhaps, but partly because United seemed to consider him dangerous enough to put 2 or 3 men on him each time he got the ball. I would guess Rioch threw on Hartson in place of Wright, partly for his better defensive and ball-holding ability, and partly to give him a taste of things to come, with Wrighty suspended for the next three games. It will be interesting to see how Arsenal do with Bergkamp having to get used to Hartson (presumably) instead of Wright.

report by Derek Brownjohn.

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