Everton vs Arsenal. 27/09/97

(0) 2 - 2 (2) Arsenal

Goodison Park, Saturday 27th September 1997

FA Carling Premiership

full-time report

Scorers:    Ball 49               Wright 32
            Cadamarteri 56        Overmars 41

Arsenal:
            Seaman
Grimandi  Adams Bould Winterburn
Parlour (Platt) Petit Vieira Overmars (Boa Morte)
     Wright Bergkamp

Not much detail on this one yet I'm afraid.

Arsenal had a bad game, releieved only by a good 15 minute spell at the end of the first-half which saw us going in 2-0 up thanks to goals from Wright and Overmars. The second half was dominated by Everton, particularly at the start, and they equalised thanks to goals from two new teenagers. The 17-yr old Cadamarteri in particular had a very good game.

Wright missed a chance in the second half similar to the one he put away in the first when Bergkamp put him clear, but Everton had their chances to win it too, notably from Stuart. In the end Everton desereved no less than the draw, and so perhaps on a day when Man Utd lost their first match of the season, putting us a point clear at the top as the only unbeaten Premiership side, and Liverpool slipped up 2-1 at West Ham, we should see this as a point won rather than 2 dropped. Let's just hope that the team are back to their best for the UEFA cup tie on Tuesday.

Another notable feature of Saturday's match is the fact that, for the second time running, we came away with no bookings. 3 more like that and Bergkamp and Bouldy will get one knocked off (just in time for the Man Utd match!).

Chelsea beat Newcastle soaking up one of their worrying games in hand. Tottenham's home 0-0 with Wimbledon sees them drop to 13th place.

Rupe.

FA Carling Premiership
Everton vs Arsenal                                     Sat Sep 27 1997

Result : Everton               (0) 2   Arsenal                 (2) 2

Scorers: Ball 59, Cadamarteri 56       Wright 32, Overmars 41

Arsenal: Seaman, Grimandi, Bould, Adams, Winterburn, Petit, Vieira, 
         Parlour, Overmars, Bergkamp, Wright
         Subs: Boa Morte (Overmars 64), Platt (Parlour 77)
               Garde (Vieira 89), Anelka, Manninger
         Booked: 

Everton: Gerrard, Barrett, Phelan, Bilic, Watson, Ball, Grant,
         Speed, Oster, Cadamarteri, Stuart
         Subs: McCann (Ball 70), Thomas, O'Connor, Southall

Att: 35457
Ref: A B Wilkie (Chester-le-Street)

Another scintillating display of attacking football on Saturday, as Arsenal threatened to rout Everton. Shame it only lasted 15 minutes. For the rest of the game the home team, lacking several first team regulars but roused by the youthful enthusiasm of 3 teenagers, out fought and for periods outplayed Arsenal.

Not surprisingly it was Everton who made the better start, and their more zestful running and chasing help them dominate the opening 20 minutes of the game. However, the Arsenal defence weathered the storm reasonably comfortably, though not without a couple of scares. The 17 year-old Cadamarteri got away from Winterburn in the area and whipped in a shot from an angle which Seaman nonchalantly caught above his head. Speed also had a good chance from inside the area, but embarrassed himself by falling over while in the act of shooting.

Gradually Arsenal began to look more threatening. Overmars sent Winterburn away down the left and Nutty put over a lovely cross which was only just nicked away from Wright by an Everton head. Then Parlour went on a surging run down the middle and ended it with a thumping shot from just outside the area which Gerrard did brilliantly to push aside. This sparked a real purple patch from the Gunners, and for the final 15 minutes of the half they threatened to overrun Everton who were probably counting themselves lucky they went in only two goals down.

Bergkamp flummoxed Barrett on the left and sent over a cross which picked out Vieira, unmarked at the far post, but Paddy lashed a volley a couple of feet wide of the post. It was Bergkamp again who finally engineered the breakthrough. Parlour won a tackle in his own half and fed Bergkamp who broke quickly from the half way line before spreading a pass out to Wright making a typical run on his right. Wrighty's brilliant first touch dragged the ball into perfect position with his left foot, leaving him clear of his marker and his second touch stroked it across the keeper and unerringly inside the far post with his right.

For the rest of the half Arsenal were rampant. The second goal was made by a lovely flicked pass from Wright which released Overmars as he made a run into the area. He just beat Gerrard to the ball, touched it past him and continued to knock it into the empty net. More goals should have followed. Overmars sent Winterburn in with a lovely pass, and Nutty's shot from an angle whistled narrowly past the angle of post and upright. Petit then sent Overmars into the area with a glorious pass and his left foot shot along the ground beat Gerrard but went narrowly past the opposite upright.

All highly satisfactory at half time, and as the 2nd half began we settled back to watch further slaughter of the innocents. It didn't quite turn out that way though, as Everton reorganised and were given hope by a goal within five minutes of the restart. Slack defending all round as Grimandi stood too far off Phelan, whose cross picked out Stuart, unmarked at the back post. His header back across goal in turn picked out Ball, unmarked at the opposite post on the 6 yard line. Seaman, stranded the other side of the goal had no chance.

A few minutes later and Arsenal had again thrown away a 2 goal lead, though this time there was an element of luck about the goal. Stuart took a free kick a few yards outside the area, his somewhat mishit shot was blocked by Petit. The ball ricocheted fortuitously to Cadamarteri, and he transfered the ball from left to right before lashing a shot from 12 yards round Bould and past Seaman into the roof of the net.

After that the game could have gone either way. Everton continued to have the greater share of possession and pressure, but Arsenal had as many chances at the other end. Can't remember much detail, but there were at least a couple of occasions when the home side very nearly grabbed the winner. Most notably when Bouldy trod on the ball when moving to make a routine clearance to leave Everton two on one. Fortunately Adams came to the rescue by superbly blocking a pull back to an unmarked player in the area.

At the other end, Wrighty missed Arsenal's best chance having been sent free into the area in a similar position from which he scored the opener. This time however, he seemed to have knackered himself with the run and appeared to trip over his own feet and the ball while in the act of shooting, and the ball dribbled harmlessly out over the goal line, to the derisive glee of the home fans.

Bergkamp had a couple of decent efforts. One shot from outside the area forced Gerrard into a sprawling save, and another was a well struck free kick, but the keeper had anticipated where that one was going and saved comfortably. Bould had a good chance from a corner, but put what looked like a virtually free header over the bar. It was Parlour who missed Arsenal's other decent chance. I think Gerrard came out of his area to clear, but had his clearance half blocked. It ricocheted to Parlour about 35 yards out, and he did the right thing but didn't quite get the execution right, put his first time lobbed volley about a foot over the bar.

Overall it was a pretty disappointing performance from Arsenal, apart from that 1st half spell. For the most part they seemed curiously lethargic, and perhaps there was an element of expecting an easy win as of right rather than earning it. No bookings for the 2nd game in a row on the face of it is a good thing, though I wonder whether a deliberately less aggressive attitude may have contributed to the way Arsenal played. It is a rather worrying trend that seems to have been set away from home, of taking the lead and then giving it away.

Seaman     7.5  A couple of good saves and catches.

Grimandi   5.5  On this evidence, come back soon Dixon.

Winterburn 7.0  Reasonable game again, particularly coming forward in 
                the last part of the 1st half.
            
Adams      7.5  Typical display.

Bould      7.0  Good game for the most part.

Petit      7.5  A reasonable game again.

Vieira     6.0  Possibly one of his worst games for Arsenal.

Parlour    7.5  Again played pretty well, I thought. Particularly in the 
                first half.

Overmars   7.0  Was prominent during Arsenal's purple patch, but 
                otherwise struggled to make an impression.

Bergkamp   7.5  Seemed to be hampered, for a period in the 1st half at 
                least after going down what looked quite a serious knee
                injured, sustained when Bilic seemed to tread on him. 
                Still looked a class apart at times though.

Wright     7.0  Also did well during Arsenal's good 15 minutes, but 
                apart from that seemed a little subdued.

Platt      6.5  Not really much chance to show anything, out of position 
                on the right.

Boa Morte  6.0  As some else said, bit of a headless chicken display,
                though he did have one good run which was only stopped
                at the expense of a free kick.

Report by Derek Brownjohn

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