Arsenal (2) 3 - 0 (0)Highbury. Sunday 4th October 1998. Kick-off 3pmFA Carling PremiershipSee below for reports by Rupe, Derek, and Paul.Preview
Arsenal (2) 3 - 0 (0)Highbury. Sunday 4th October 1998. Kick-off 3pmFA Carling Premiership
scorers: Bergkamp 2 (1 pen) Anelka
Arsenal:
Seaman
Dixon Adams Keown (Bould) Winterburn
Ljungberg (Mendez) Vieira Petit (Hughes) Overmars
Bergkamp Anelka
After scoring a good few goals in their recent
league games, I was expecting rather more from
Newcastle. But on this showing it's going to take
a lot of work, and a fair few signings, before
their fans see sexy football played against decent
opposition. Today, they saw sexy football played
against Newcastle.
In the first half they had 1 shot on goal (not on target) and in the second half I think I counted 3 on target. Seaman had a couple of easy low ones to gather at his near post, and made one great save flicking over from Solano's first-time hooked chip (the ball having spun up from a charged-down Shearer effort). But despite having relatively little to do, I thought Seaman looked particularly commanding today and may be coming back to his best. We got off to a promising start with a corner which Keown stooped to head powerfully just under the crossbar. It was unfortunately just too clsoe to Given who tipped it up and out (off the bar?). Adams headed it back to almost the same place and this time Given was able to collect. We had a few good efforts at goal after that. Overmars hit one barely wide, and Bergkamp tried an unnecessary volley in the area when he had ages in which to bring it down (after fantastic play from Petit to set him up). He ended up troubling the corner flag with a woefully wide strike. But Bergkamp broke his duck shortly afterwards. Anelka collected the ball from Petit on the right, a few yards outside the penalty area, and brought it inside before slotting it straight forward through the defence. I guess a couple of them should have got to it before it reached Bergkamp clear int he box. He took it forward and just poked it past Given as the keeper rushed out. With all the media focus on Dennis's (lack of) goalscoring of late, it was nice to see him do the other thing he does best, and give Anelka a tap-in for the second, when Bergkamp could probably have scored himself. A ball over the top had beaten the offside trap and Bergkamp was one-on-one with Given. Anelka was following up in exactly the right place and between them they made it oh so easy. The third was a penalty coming after Badedas brought Overmars down as he was bearing down on goal. The defender was sent off for a second bookable offence, although surely a straight red would have been arguable (never mind, eh?). Given almost got to the penalty which Dennis hit low into the left corner. We should have had another penalty when Anelka was brought down, and then got a possibly dodgy one when Bergkamp fell in the box. He tried the same place but this time Given got to it and denied the hattrick. All the more galling because Bergkamp had done well to put the ball in the net following the foul, only the ref had already indicated the penalty. Good performances all round. Glass on their left appeared to be beaten for pace by Dixon (!). So what's happened to Gillespie? I don't want to knock Dixon and Winterburn but they're not the fastest in the world and given how much we were going forward you'd have expected them to have somehting to throw at us when they got the ball. But almost every time it was a simple hoof up to Seaman, bypassing Shearer altogether. Apart from Given at the back who did well to keep it down to 3, and Shearer up front who did little to worry us but surely could have done more if he'd had any kind of support, Newcastle were made to look extremely average. Solano, who was strongly rumoured to be coming to Arsenal in the summer (and was highly recommended by a Peruvian correspondent) looked alright though and did beat Nutty a couple of times. Hughes came on for Petit after the 3rd goal, the Frenchman having picked up a knock earlier, and Bould came on for Keown, possibly bedding him in for Keown's coming 3 match suspension (pending a hearing this week - the ref from the Wednesday game has refused to overturn the red card hence the appeal hearing). And Alberto Mendez got a rare appearance coming on for Ljungberg late on (but on this showing Ljungberg's got to be picked ahead of him). Rupe. ps. Lawrence writes: I wonder if I could use your website to inform any of my fellow U.S. based Gooners that Fox Sports World will be showing our 3-0 win against the Geordies on the following days and times:- Monday October 5th at 3pm EST/12 noon PST Monday October 5th at 10pm EST/7pm PST Tuesday October 6th at 11.30am EST/8.30am PST Wednesday October 7th at 5pm EST/2pm PST Thursday October 8th at 1am EST/Wednesday October 7th at 10pm PST Thursday October 8th at 2pm EST/ 11am PST Saturday October 10th at 12 noon EST/9pm PST Saturday October 10th at 10pm EST/7pm PSTSo it looks like you'll be able to watch the match pretty much continuously for the next week. Lucky people.
Result : Arsenal (2) 3 Newcastle (0) 0
Scorers: Bergkamp 21, 66(pen),
Anelka 29
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown, Winterburn; Petit, Vieira,
Ljungberg, Overmars; Bergkamp, Anelka
Subs: Hughes (Petit 66), Bould (Keown 72),
Mendez (Ljungberg 76), Garde, Manninger
Newcastle: Given; Charvet, Dabizas, Griffin, Pearce, Batty,
Speed, Glass, Solano, Shearer, Ketsbaia
Subs: Dalglish (Ketsbaia h-t), Albert (Glass 66),
Barton, Gillespie, Perez
Booked: Batty, Dabizas, Speed, Pearce, Albert
Sent Off: Dabizas (66, 2nd bookable offence)
Att: 38102
Ref: M Reed (Birmingham)
It seems Arsenal need to play at home on a Sunday against one of the big
teams to bring out the best in them this season. In a powerful
performance the Gunners regained their zest, in particular Dennis
Bergkamp as he broke his duck for the season with two goals.
Arsenal started the game quickly, and thereafter never really allowed Newcastle into the game. In the opening minutes Arsenal nearly went in front from a corner. Petit's inswinger from the right was met, I think by Ljungberg (though it may have been Keown) and Given was forced into a great double save. His parry of the initial shot was headed back by Adams, and this time the keeper caught it at the second attempt just beneath his crossbar. Soon afterwards Ljungberg had another free header from right wing cross but mistimed this one and put it well over the bar. A few minutes later the Gunners had another good chance. Petit chipped in a diagonal ball from the right which cleared the Magpies defence and found Bergkamp in space at the far post. He tried a first time right foot volley as the ball dropped but sliced it well wide from about 15 yards. The Dutch master made up for the miss 10 minutes later though with a brilliantly taken goal. It was brilliantly made too by Anelka who took a short pass out near the right hand touchline and then cut in towards the middle before threading a lovely pass down the middle to pick out Bergkamp's run across the edge of the box. The Dutchman beautifully lifted the ball away from Pearce's lunge to leave himself with only the keeper to beat, and this he did, hooking the ball past Given from an angle as the keeper rushed out. Less than 10 minutes after that Arsenal went two up, this time with the roles of goalmaker and goalscorer reversed. Overmars cleverly hooked a lob over the Newcastle defence from the halfway line to find Bergkamp beating the offside trap and running clear. He had only Given to beat but unselfishly passed inside to Anelka who was left with the easiest of tap-ins from the edge of the 6yd box. I don't honestly recall any serious threat at the other end in the first half. In contrast the pace of Arsenal's attack was constantly threatening to pierce the Newcastle rearguard, and the Gunners very nearly made it 3 just before half time. Anelka raced clear down the right and fired in a shot from an acute angle. Given made a great block, but the rebound fell to Overmars just outside the area. With an empty net it seemed he only had to get it on target to score, but Dabizas threw himself in front of the shot and pulled off a brilliant block. At half time Newcastle replaced Ketsbaia with Paul Dalglish, and for a period at the start of the second half the substitute helped the visitors get a bit of a foothold in the match. Indeed they actually managed a shot on target 15 minutes into the half, and Arsenal were indebted to David Seaman for a fantastic save. Solano got past Winterburn down the right and his cross was half cleared to Shearer on the edge of the box. Dixon got in the way of his shot but the ball deflected up to Solano who'd drifted into the right of the area. He volleyed goalwards with the outside of this right foot and the ball deflected off a defender between him and Seaman, but the keeper brilliantly adjusted in midair to tip the ball over the bar. At the other end Arsenal were still regularly carving out chances. Bergkamp had another good one, running on to a lofted ball down the middle, but again put his volley from the edge of the box wide. His next chance was from the penalty spot though, and he didn't miss that. It was Overmars who beat the offside trap this time, running clear onto Petit's lovely chip through the middle. He was in the act of shooting when Dabizas' challenge from behind took him (though I must admit I think he took the ball as well 'cos my initial reaction was to bemoan the miss rather than to howl for a penalty - the North Bank is a long way away though). The ref pulled out the yellow card, followed by the red, and Bergkamp slotted the ball just beyond Given's reach. With Newcastle 3 goals down and 1 man down, that was game over, and Arsenal now perhaps got a bit too casual in their attempts to get another goal. Overmars was put through into the left of the area but Given again was out quickly to make another superb block, and then Winterburn popped up in the box, superbly beating a defender before his shot from an acute angle beat Given but whistled inches the wrong side of the opposite post. Bergkamp was then denied his hattrick, first by the ref and then by Given. Mendez played the Dutch master in with a clever pass down the middle, and Bergkamp was chopped down in the act of shooting by Albert. While still grounded he managed to hook the ball over Given and into the net but the ref had simultaneously blown for a penalty. And as everybody might have guessed and Sod ruled, Given again guessed the right way and this time Bergkamp's spot kick wasn't quite as well placed so the keeper was able to pull off a superb save. Still it mattered little, and the chants of "give it to Shearer" were just taking hold when the England striker was presented with a half chance at the other end. However the ball was spinning somewhat and faced with the considerable bulk of the England keeper, Shearer completely missed his kick, to the huge delight of the North Bank. All in all a highly enjoyable game and a satisfactory performance from Arsenal. Particularly nice to see Bergkamp getting back some sort of form and combining so effectively with Anelka.
Seaman 7.5 Had very little to do, but the one save he needed to
make was quite outstanding. Had the entire North Bank
Upper on their feet applauding, which as we know takes
some doing.
Dixon 7.5 Good game, and frequently found space down the right,
particularly late in the game.
Adams 8.0 Another great game. He and Keown kept Shearer and then
Dalglish very quiet.
Keown 8.0 Ditto.
Winterburn 7.5 Typically energetic game though Solano gave him the odd
problem.
Ljungberg 7.5 Had an excellent full debut with some intelligent
passing and running.
Vieira 7.5 Relatively quiet for him, but then he didn't need to
do much.
Petit 8.0 Another good game with some creative passing, and with
Vieira kept midfield firmly in Arsenal's control.
Overmars 8.0 Consistently dangerous again, despite Newcastle's
double marking.
Anelka 7.5 Played very well in 1st half, though faded a bit in the
second.
Bergkamp 8.0 Much more like the old Bergkamp, though there is still
more to come I think.
Hughes Played pretty competently after replacing Petit after
Arsenal's 3rd goal.
Bould Came on for Keown, presumably to give him match
practise should Keown's appeal fail as seems likely.
The legendary back four were thus reunited more than
10 years after their first game together.
Mendez Looked pretty bright in the 15 minutes he was on.
And now a new contributor.... How Ruud Gullit must hate coming to Highbury. His previous two appearances at THOF resulted in....
How he must have wished for a better result this time, but it was not to be. As I took my seat in the Lower West my old friend next to me saw that I was apprehensive and said - "Don't worry Paul, Dennis will get a hat-trick today !" He was nearly right. Today saw the return of Dennis the Menace, getting his foot in, playing those five yard killer passes, little flicks around defenders, and most importantly, scoring goals. The first was beautifully taken, a great reverse pass from Super Nic, a little flick over Pearce's outstretched leg and a nutmeg on the 'keeper. He looked pleased about that one. His second was only a penalty some would argue, but the ball hit the corner of the net before Given had only completed half his dive. If Mike, 'Oh Pat' Reed had only allowed play to continue for five seconds more he would have had his third whilst sitting on his backside, but the 'keeper made a great stop from the resulting spot kick which he'd already awarded. This was a 'routine' match. Newcastle looked a very average side to me, with Shearer totally isolated, his body language saying 'Sell me soon', rather than 'I love the Toon'. We played at half pace for some of the match, only raising the tempo when we needed to. 5 or 6-0 would not have been an unfair reflection on the non-contest. The second goal summed up the afternoon. Overmars' quick thinking ball over the top found Dennis beating their excuse for an offside trap, as Given came out a simple ball to Nic and it's 2-0. Their defence had no organisation, no pace, no spirit, summing up their team. How I laughed as Dabizas attempted to knock the head of the Assistant Referee with the ball for not putting his flag up, and missing by ten yards, and still getting booked. The whole team played well today, even Seaman (!), who made one excellent save and left his line occasionally. The back line was as solid as ever, with Tone and 'Jan Van Keown' (we think he has Dutch ancestry because of those fancy flicks he sometimes tries, and fails with...) making Shearer look very unhappy. Lee and Nigel played well, especially Nige, who the Lower West regulars believe had an iron lung transplant a couple of years ago. When he steamed into the box for a glorious goal attempt late in the game, I just yelled 'Right foot Nige, right foot' - I suppose we all live in hope. I hope I'm as fit as him when I am 34.... Easy game for the midfield. Paddy and Manu dominated as ever, and Hughes carried on the good work. I hope Steve gets a few more opportunities in the first team this year. He is Arsenal through and through, and is an important part of our (bright) future - he must be kept happy. Overmars' continued his life long impersonation of a cruise missile leaving defenders behind for fun and Freddy had a very good full debut on the right - Mr Parlour has some competition there at last ! Nicky had a good match. He is learning the offside rule at last and is using his ever-increasing body strength to good use, bringing other players into the play whenever possible, especially the non-flying Dutchman, who's brilliance is there for all to see. Just remember, form is temporary, class is permanent. Back to 'Sexy Football.' The only evidence I saw of that today from the opposition was as I was walking back to the car. I was approached by two very attractive young ladies in head to toe Toon army gear. 'Can you direct us to Angel Tube station' they asked in their best Knightsbridge rather than Tyne Bridge accents. After I told them where to go (nicely of course) , I added that they didn't sound like Geordies to me. 'Oh no, we're from Chelsea, we changed teams after Ruud joined Newcastle. We love him to bits !' How touching. I hope I don't see too many female Gooners following this example with Gorgeous George and Spurs in the months to come..... Other reports
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