(1) 1 - 1 (1) ArsenalElland Rd, Saturday 9th August 1997FA Carling Premiership
scorers:
Hasselbank Wright
Teams:
Leeds
Arsenal
Seaman Winterburn Bould Grimandi Parlour Garde
Overmars (Hughes) Vieira (Platt) Petit
Wright Bergkamp
Leeds
Martyn Halle Robertson Weatherall Radebe
Hasselbank Hopkins Kelly Ribero (?) Hopkins Wallace
[from the radio]
A disappointing performance but not too bad a result given Leeds' record under Graham. Arsenal had the better of the first half and after having been extremely quiet for half an hour, Wright responded to a wasted chance with a nicely taken goal a couple of minutes later, a floating shot from the left-hand side. Leeds equalised before half-time, Hasselbank takign advantage of a mistake by Grimandi who, according to the commentators, looked uneasy with the physical side of the English game. I thought he was very doubtful for this one anyway after injury. His form couldn't be due to that rather than his innate continental flimsiness, I suppose?
Overmars apparently started well wide on the left but looked out of
the game when he moved inside.
The second half was unentertaining, Seaman had to be on his toes
to keep Leeds out. More of a report coming soon. Meanwhile there's
an AFCi report
already up,with comments from Arsène Wenger.
See also comments on
ANR.
FA Carling Premiership
Leeds United vs Arsenal Sat Aug 9 1997
Result : Leeds United (1) 1 Arsenal (1) 1
Scorers: Hasselbaink 42 Wright 35
Arsenal: Seaman, Garde, Bould, Grimandi, Winterburn, Petit, Vieira,
Parlour, Overmars, Bergkamp, Wright
Subs: Platt (Vieira 63), Hughes (Overmars 75), Anelka,
Marshall, Lukic
Booked: Garde, Grimandi, Vieira, Petit
Leeds: Martyn, Halle, Kelly, Robertson, Radebe, Wetherall, Ribeiro,
Bowyer, Hopkin, Wallace, Hasselbaink
Subs: Kewell (Ribeiro 82), Haaland (Hopkin 83), Lilley,
Molenaar, Beeney
Booked: Bowyer
Att: 37993
Ref: D J Gallacher (Banbury)
Not surprisingly, given the sweltering heat, not the most entertaining of matches but nonetheless I thought not a bad one, particularly taking into account the conditions. A draw was probably a fair result as well, because though Leeds had more possession and pressure, I think it was Arsenal who had the better chances. As expected, Wenger reverted to his preferred formation with four at the back - Grimandi, recovered from an ankle injury, partnering Bould in the middle, Winterburn and Garde the fullbacks. I missed the first 10 minutes and, judging from other reports and the brief TV highlights, one significant incident when Parlour made a good run down the right, only to drag his cross-cum-shot across the face of goal with no other red shirts in a position to profit. The first chance I saw firsthand followed a nice passing move between Bergkamp and a couple of others (Overmars and Parlour? I think) which set up Vieira for a shot from the edge of the box, but he was being closed down quickly and dragged it wide. Leeds then got into the game and posed the greater threat for a period. Wallace glanced a header wide from a Kelly cross, and Bowyer also had a decent half chance running into the left side of the area, but put his effort wide too. Seaman was eventually called into action midway through the half when Hasselbaink (or Jimmy as the name on his shirt said - rather amusing to see all the Leeds fans with Hasselbaink laboriously spelled across their backs) was given a lot of space on the right and fired a fierce shot straight at the keeper which Spunky beat away rather nonchalantly with one hand. Arsenal then had a period where they created the better chances and Wrighty might have gone in with a 1st half hattrick. First a long ball from Grimandi sent him away into some space down the left and he checked back past a defender onto his right foot but scuffed his shot somewhat and Martyn had an easy save. Then Petit combined beautifully with Overmars, sending the winger in along the goal line, and the Dutch debutant cut the ball back into WWW's path. Unfortunately he appeared to completely mistime his first time left foot shot and the ball bounced tamely into Martyn's arms. Hard to tell from low down at the other end but it looked a very good chance. Fortunately shortly afterwards Wrighty had made amends by putting away probably the most difficult chance of the three. I think it was Grimandi again who knocked a ball from the halfway line in to his feet, and Wright produced a typically brilliant turn to get away from Radebe and race into the area. From quite an acute angle on the left he hooked a left foot shot into the far top corner, giving Martyn little chance. The lead didn't last long. A couple of minutes before half time Grimandi headed a bouncing ball weakly out, and Wallace smartly nodded it back into the area to find Jimmy all on his own in plenty of space. The Dutchman (?) cooly picked his spot, slotting it past Seaman and inside the far post from about 12 yards. The second half was fairly even again, with both sides having chances to add to the score. Wright almost profitted from some dithering between Martyn and his central defenders over a long ball, stabbing a foot between them but he couldn't keep the volley down and it sailed over the bar. Soon afterwards he had another good chance when Overmars provided a perfect through ball from the left for him to run clear onto. He chose to hit a first time volley instead of taking it on, and put it a couple of yards wide. Bergkamp then set up probably the best chance of the half. He got free of Radebe on the right and cut back a pass from the byline to Overmars' feet. The winger crashed in a right foot shot which was too close to Martyn, though the keeper still did exceptionally well to beat it out. At the other end Leeds were also threatening on occasion. There was a goalbound header from a corner (by Radebe?) which appeared to be diverted over the bar by another Leeds player. Then Hopkin got away down the right, but there was no-one following up to take advantage of his clever backheel into the danger area. Bergkamp then went on a nice run, cutting in from the left to fire a right foot shot only a couple of feet wide of the far post. A few minutes from time he also appeared to have got clear chasing a Seaman hoof from the back but Radebe hauled him back. With Grimandi having been earlier booked for a similar foul much further out, the only question was whether the ref would pull out a red or yellow card. He did neither and Bergkamp floated the resultant free kick well over the bar. Leeds came close to winning it in the final couple of minutes, first when Wetherall was left unmarked at a corner and headed over the bar. And then when Winterburn was dispossessed while trying to dribble his way out of defence, but fortunately Leeds didn't take advantage. Overall it was perhaps a slightly disappointing performance from the Gunners, but given that there were 3 new players playing their first competitive games for the club I don't think that was too surprising, and a George Graham team is never going to be easy to beat. The defence did look a little shaky on occasion, particularly on the right where Grimandi and Garde were an unfamiliar combination. Afterwards though, I wasn't too dissatisfied with the result or the way the team played, and they can only improve.
Seaman 7.0 Didn't have a great deal to do, but one good save and a
couple of nice catches from crosses.
Garde 6.0 Looked a bit uncomfortable in defence and caught out of
position rather a lot.
Winterburn 6.5 Fairly typical Nutty display, apart from his attempt
late in the game to throw it away.
Grimandi 6.0 Looked as though he wasn't used to the pace of the game,
but still looked a good defender on occasion.
Bould 7.0 Was really the man holding the defence together.
Petit 6.5 A promising start though also a little off the pace at
times.
Vieira 6.5 Not really at his best.
Parlour 7.0 Not a bad game and as usual did plenty of running and
chasing.
Overmars 6.0 Didn't really get into the game, though there was one
beautiful ball to Wright and he was unlucky not to score.
Bergkamp 7.0 The usual touches of class though he never quite stamped
himself on the game.
Wright 7.0 Full of running and movement as usual, only his
finishing was slightly off key.
Platt 6.0 Didn't really have time to do much.
Report by Derek Brownjohn copyright belongs to original author where credited. otherwise © Rupert Ward, ArseWeb MMV ArseWeb is NOT the official Arsenal site. The (excellent) official site is here |