Arsenal (3) 4 - 1 (0) SunderlandHighbury, Saturday 15th January 2000FA Carling PremiershipPreview
Arsenal (3) 4 - 1 (0) SunderlandHighbury, Saturday 15th January 2000FA Carling Premiership
Scorers:
Henry 3, 71 Quinn 47
Suker 28, 32
Arsenal:
Seaman
Dixon (c) Keown Luzhny Silvinho
Parlour Petit Vieira Ljungber (Malz 30)
Suker Henry (Barrett 84)
A special award today to the stupidest Arsenal fan
of the day.... walking up to the ground at 2:45 I
realised I'd left my season ticket at home. One
very helpful taxi driver later and I was back at
the gates having got to Hackney and back and only
missing 18 minutes of the match. So a big ArseWeb
thank you goes to the driver of black cab #86162!
He was even willing to let me off some of the fare
but as it turned out I just had enough.
As we sped down Balls Pond Rd, my radio was telling me that Arsenal were boosted by the news that Petit had shrugged off his flu. But Gilles Grimandi had it, and although he'd been out to warm up earlier he'd decided at very late notice that he wasn't up to it. So Oleg Luzhny was partnering Martin Keown in central defence. What I don't know is whether Luzhny had been drafted in off the bench or if he'd been in the original line-up, at right back. We were also boosted by the return of Ray Parlour who had an excellent match down the right. Freddie Ljungberg started on the left but got injured early on. h elimped on for a while before being brought off for Stefan Malz, who I thought had a much better game on the left than last time. Within 20 seconds of the start we had our first chance. Vieira intercepted and Suker put a ball over the top for Henry to run clear on the keeper Sorenson. Sorenson did well to come out and save. Then apparently the ref ran into the Sunderland midfielder McCann. Both stayed on their feet. Hardly newsworthy, you say? Perhaps, but the ref was one Paul Alcock, not known for his steady pins. 3 minutes in (just coming up to my house now) and Arsenal take the lead on the break. Henry had the ball just outside the corner of the box on our left. Steve Bould was between him and the keeper and he let Henry go to the right. Just inside the box and Thierry drove it much too close to the keeper. But Sorenson appeared rooted to the spot and the ball flew in off his arm, which had hardly moved. Can't say much about the next 15 minutes except that it was still 1-0 when I run up to my seat, just in time to see a great Kevin Phillips effort from 30 yards or so fly narrowly over the bar (looked like Seaman might have had it covered though). We broke down the right and the ball came to Suker on that side of the penalty area. He might have tried to hit it first time but it was on his wrong (right) foot and the defender did well to prevent him getting it on the left. Shortly after, a fantastic bit of skill from Suker in the centre circle as he stretched to control the ball facing our own goal. It looked like he'd failed but with the ball high up in the air he reached up with that left peg to flick the ball sideways into space for Petit. Manu brought it forward before trying a diagonal ball into the box for Henry, but it was too casual, and cut out easily by Bouldy. Then a ball was played upfield to Henry just outside the box a bit to the right of centre. He brought it down and lobbed a square pass to Suker on the other side of the box. He pulled it down and chipped it beautifully over both his marker defender (who hadn't yet made up his mind whether to challenge) and Sorenson, going into the net off the far post. It was a breathtaking piece of skill of exactly the type we dreamt of when Suker was signed. Took me right back to Euro96, and the only shame was that it wasn't Peter Schmuckel in goal! Minutes later and the game was as good as over. The Sunderland defender Butler (I think) tried to shepherd the ball out of play over their goal-line just inside the box on our left. But Henry had other ideas and got a foot round to keep it in. He brought it forward and when Sorenson left his goal to come over to challenge, slipped it back to Suker who passed it into an empty net from near the penalty spot. Sorenson and others made a bit of a fuss, presumably thinking either that the ball had gone out or Henry had fouled in keeping it in. Seeing the replay on the big screens it didn't look like either had happened. Maybe Sorenson was trying to save face, because there were defenders in the area so he was probably as culpable as Butler. If he hadn't left his goal it wouldn't have been quite so straightforward for Henry and Suker to see the way to the net. The first action of the second half saw Sunderland win a corner off of a decent Luzhny interception on the left. The corner was cleared to the far side but it came back into the crowded box, now from Sunderland's left, and made its way thorugh for Quinn who made no mistake, poking the ball past Seaman from point-blank range. Sunderland had more of the second half but never looked a lot like scoring again. Whereas the pace of Henry, the skill of Suker, and the determination of the returning Parlour made us always a threat on the break. In defence Keown was back to his best. Seaman had a very good game too, always looking the boss of his area and coming to claim a lot of balls which might have caused problems with lesser keepers. He's been getting a lot of stick recently, and people have talked about a lack of saves made. But it's worth remembering that part of the difference with a great keeper is that they often snuff out the threat of danger early on. Seaman did a lot of that today. Petit had a blast from the left side of the box after being set up by Suker. Then Mazl went on a good run down the left. he got to the goal-line and with Suker and Henry pullign the defence in to the near post he hit a clever cross back and over to the far side where Dixon (and Parlour) had been left unmarked. But Dixon's first touch took it too far in front of him allowing a defender to get across. still, Lee forced a corner off him. We had a moment of doubt after 12 minutes of the half when Schwarz's diagonal cross from their left beat everyone and bounbced across goal and out. Seaman scrambled across and I thought thatin the end he'd left it, but the ref must have seen him get a finger on it because a corner was given. The corner came across the pitch and a shot came in from their left which was blocked in the box. we broke with Henry down the left, he cut back inside the defender and slipped the ball forward for Suker whose shot was well blocked by the onrushing Sorenson. We were given a free-kick just in front of the centre circle. I don't know why but the Sunderland players weren't happy about something and crowded round the ball and ref. One of them appeared to throw the ball away and Dixon ran over to retrieve it. He looked in such a hurry I was worried that he was losing it but quickly saw my error as he pointedly placed the ball down again to take the free-kick. Still the Sunderland players milled around, and Stefan Schwarz was lucky, afrer persistently not letting the kick be taken, only to get a talking-to from the ref. Shortly after, we won another free-kick out on the right wing. Petit floated it to the far side where Vieira rose unchallenged, his classy header coming back out off the far post. 20 minutes into the half and another break saw Henry down the right, crossing to Suker on the left. But he was stretching for it and Davor could only hit it high and wide. Then Parlour was instrumental in another fantastic move from defence into attack. Ray started it in fact, comign back to rob Quinn of the ball on the edge of our box. He passed wide to Dixon and powered upfield to get ahead of lee down that right wing. He received the ball and quickly hit a square cross to Henry on the right of the box whose first-time shot (under challenge) forced a good save at the near post. Luzhny and Phillips got in a tangle on the goal-line which resulted in a corner (probably should have been their free-kick). Seaman came to the near post to punch the ball emphatically off of Quinn's head. Then Bould was found dozing as a Sunderland free-kick came into the box toward shim. Dixon got the ball off him and slipped it to Parlour. Up the right wing again and again to Henry this time he was one-on-one and probably should have done better but again Sorenson came out to make the save. Silvinho nearly got caught on our goal-line in the way that Butler had been in the first half. He was trying to shepherd the ball out but Quinn came to challenge for it and did well, as Silvinho ended up putting a foot on the ball as it went over the line. It might have been our free-kick as the legality of Quinn's challenge was debatable, or a corner, but never a goal kick to Arsenal which was what was given by the linesman (who surely ought to have had as good a view as anyone). Just under 10 minutes to go and Henry got his second and Aresnal's fourth. Dixon played the ball up to him, just outside the right hand corner of the box. Steve Bould was in attendance, goal side of Henry who had his back to goal. The ball bounced past them, on the infield side, possibly brushing Henry's shoulder as it went past. It looked like the chance was lost but quick as a flash Theirry span round the other side of Bouldy and picked up the ball goalside. He raced into the box and drilled it past Sorenson into the net. A few minutes later, mindful presumably that Graham Barrett is our back-up for Suker and Henry for the next few games, Wenger brought im on for Henry. Unfortunately he didn't see much of the ball in the 9 minutes he was on the pitch. Petit passed forward nicely for Suker but Bould got a crucial good touch on the ball to put it safe. Phillips camne forward onto a through ball and looked to have beaten Keown for pace. But Martin found an extra spurt and got a challenge in to put it out for a corner, which Seaman punched out for another. This one came across field for Gray whose cross came off Vieira and Silvinho's head for yet another. This time a near-post flick on from a stooping Niall quinn came to Bould in the goalmouth. But it hit him in the midriff and he didn't have time to react, the ball bouncing safely back out. So, today Sunderland's run of bad luck continued. First Man Utd equalise thanks to a free-kick that shouldn't have been. Then Wimbledon score thanks to a free-kick (and sending off) that should have been but wasn't. Then Tranmere win with too many players on the pitch. Today, Sunderland were unfortunate enough to have to play the Arsenal. report by Rupe.
ps. Thanks to Matt Moore for pointing out that I could have got a
replacement ticket by giving the box office a £50 deposit.
Although I didn;t have that much on me it would have been quicker
to nip to the bank and back. I hope there isn't a "next time",
but if there is I won't have to miss quite so much.
Result : Arsenal (3) 4 Sunderland (0) 1
Scorers: Henry 3,81, Suker 27,32 Quinn 46
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Silvinho, Keown, Luzhny; Petit,
Vieira, Ljungberg, Parlour; Suker, Henry
Subs: Malz (Ljungberg 31), Barrett (Henry 83),
Hughes, Winterburn, Manninger
Booked:
Sunderland: Sorensen, Makin, Bould, Butler, Gray, Summerbee,
McCann, Roy, Schwarz, Phillips, Quinn
Subs: Williams (Makin 61), Kilbane (Summerbee 71),
Marriott, Rae, Craddock
Booked: Makin, Roy
Att: 38039
Ref: Paul Alcock (Halstead)
The absence of Bergkamp, Overmars, Kanu and Adams made this a difficult
looking match for Arsenal, particularly when Grimandi withdrew from the
starting lineup suffering from flu, just 20 minutes before kick-off.
However, to balance that Petit, himself expected to be missing with flu,
did start, Arsenal also welcomed back Ray Parlour from injury, and once
the match started made light work of racing into a half-time 3-0 lead
with some sharp finishing. When an early goal in the 2nd half threatened
a come-back from Sunderland, any fears were soon squashed and Arsenal
could ultimately have added more than the one further goal by Henry 10
minutes from time.
The first half was a slightly strange affair in that Arsenal scored from the majority of chances they created. One good chance that the Gunners missed came barely 20 seconds after kick-off. Vieira won an aerial challenge in midfield and nodded the ball forward towards Suker, who turned well on it and then knocked the ball over a defender to find Henry running clear of the rest of the Sunderland defence into the area. His early right foot shot across Sorenson didn't have enough pace to beat the keeper though, and he dropped to his right to make a good save. There was a moment of concern as Henry stayed down injured, just what we didn't need - our only available striker for the crunch Man Utd game injured - but fortunately after some treatment he rejoined the fray. A couple of minutes later he showed no ill effects as he put Arsenal in front. Ljungberg knocked a loose ball forward from 20 yards inside his own half to find Henry running into space down the left. Bould was covering, but Henry checked back onto his right foot and cut into the area before unleashing a blistering right foot shot from just inside the area. Sorenson seemed to have it covered but appeared to misjudge the pace of the ball and it flew off his right arm and into the top of the net. Sunderland recovered well from the early setback and the next 20 minutes or so were fairly even, though neither side seriously threatened a goal. Phillips caught Seaman a bit flat-footed with a tremendous 30 yarder which was only a foot or so too high, and also had another 20 yarder miss by a similar amount. Sunderland's most dangerous moment was probably when Quinn's pass found Summerbee running into space in the right side of the area, but Silvinho, possibly caught slightly out of position, recovered well to get in a superb last ditch tackle which averted the danger. At the other end Suker had a good chance when a lovely diagonal chip forward by Petit found him running into space in the right of the area, but the Croatian tried to switch the ball to his left foot instead of shooting with his right and allowed a defender get to a foot in. However, not long afterwards he made amends with a quite brilliant goal which put Arsenal 2 up. There seemed little danger when Henry superbly controlled a long punt forward by Seaman and flicked the ball wide to Suker who was lurking just outside the left hand corner of the box. He chested the ball down and as it bounced up hit a stunning left foot volleyed lob which arced in a perfect trajectory over the stranded Sorenson and into the net via the far post. Highbury erupted, and 5 minutes later had another goal to celebrate. Malz had just come on to replace the injured Ljungberg, but it was the Sunderland defender Butler who lost concentration. He tried to shepherd the ball over the goal line, only to be cleverly dispossessed by Henry who evaded Sorenson's desperate attempt to redeem Butler's error. Henry then rolled a simple pass into the middle to find the unmarked Suker who had a simple job of knocking it past Bould into the otherwise unguarded net. Suker might have completed his hattrick a few minutes later when he turned a bemused defender 3 times in the right of the area. Three was one too many though, because having spurned the chance to shoot with his right foot, his final attempt to put it on his left turned him back into more defenders. He eventually knocked the ball back to Dixon but the full back's shot was blocked. Sunderland rallied after half time, and helped by an early goal threatened for a while to get back into the match. In the opening minute Arsenal defended sloppily and conceded a couple of corners, the second of which wasn't cleared properly and reached Gray on the left. He curled back in a cross which Bould tried to flick on. I don't think he actually got a touch but confused Malz just behind him and the ball deflected off the German and fell perfectly at Quinn's feet. Seaman came out and spread himself but Quinn knocked a left foot shot past him and into the corner of the net. For a few minutes Arsenal struggled to regain control, and there were one or two moments of concern as Sunderland threatened to get a second, most notable when another diagonal ball in from the left eluded everybody and had Seaman scrambled across his goal as the ball bounced narrowly wide of the far post. Gradually though the Gunners did re-exert their grip on the game, and proceeded to play some lovely fluent attacking football. Early on Luzhny's charge forward was stopped, but Malz did well to pick up the loose ball and hold it up just inside the area before laying it square for Petit whose whipped first time shot fizzed a few inches over the bar. The best move of the game was a fast and beautiful break from one penalty area to the next. Parlour picked up a half cleared corner on the edge of his own area and took it on towards the halfway line before passing out to Suker on the right hand touchline. The Croat held it up a moment before playing it on to Dixon who was charging on down the touchline on the overlap. The full back in turn played it forward to find Parlour continuing his run into space on the inside, and he then passed a first time low ball across the area to find Henry running in at the near post. Under challenge (and possibly having his shirt pulled) by a defender the striker still managed to whip a shot goalwards, but Sorenson was equal to it and pulled off a brilliant save, parrying the ball past the post. Henry had another good chance when Parlour again found him running into space clear of the defence with another good pass, but Sorenson came out and spread himself well to make a great block. Another Henry break, down the left this time almost unhinged the door to goal, but as he cut back into the area towards goal the ball ran away from him and he was baulked by a couple of defenders. The ball ran on through to Suker, who swung at it with his left foot as Sorenson came out to meet him, but I don't think he made contact and the keeper was able to make a scrambling block and eventually held on to the ball. Another good break by Parlour down the left then almost created a goal for Malz at the far post, but the German was always stretching to meet Parlour's ball across the 6yd box and couldn't quite get his foot round a volley and the ball bounced down and wide of the post. Arsenal came even closer to a goal when Petit curled a free kick into the area from wide on the right hand touchline to find Vieira losing his marker about 10 yards out. He thumped a header back across Sorenson with the keeper helpless, but it crashed against the far post and back out to safety. Finally, 10 minutes from time Arsenal did get a deserved 4th goal. Dixon played a ball forward from the halfway line towards Henry who was being marked by Bould a few yards outside the area. Not sure whether Henry intentionally dummied an attempt to take the ball high up on his chest or whether both he and Bould misjudged the bounce, but anyway Henry reacted quickest and ran round Bould to leave himself clear with only Sorenson to beat, which he duly did, stroking a right foot shot under the keeper's dive and into the net. Arsenal might have added further gloss to the scoreline when Malz broke free down the left, but with Parlour completely unmarked at the far post he perhaps delayed his pass across the area slightly too long, and Parlour had to check his run. However Dixon by that time had come charging into the area and took Malz's pass on his chest. The ball ran slightly away from him but his still managed to get in a shot which a defender just managed to block for a corner. Overall a highly satisfactory game and performance from Arsenal, with the key being the success of two key partnerships. I think this was virtually the first game this season in which we've seen Petit and Vieira both at something close to their best, and they totally dominated midfield. Suker and Henry also linked up well, and seemed to have a good understanding, particularly in the 1st half. Keown and the stopgap Luzhny also did pretty well, keeping Quinn and Phillips fairly quiet.
Seaman 7.5 Looked a little leaden-footed for one of Phillips'
long range efforts, but made some good catches and
punches and otherwise had little to do.
Dixon 7.5 Solid and enthusiastic as ever getting forward. Have
to admit I still prefer him at right back to Luzhny.
Silvinho 7.5 Looked pretty good again, apart from being tested a
couple of times early in the game by Summerbee.
Otherwise had little to do defensively and was
relatively quiet going forward.
Luzhny 7.5 Did pretty well overall, with one particular last
ditch tackle in the first half standing out. Seems to
me two of his best games for Arsenal have been at
centre half...
Keown 7.5 Also coped pretty well with Quinn and otherwise looked
back to form and fitness.
Petit 8.0 For the first time since his comeback looked close to
his best and untroubled by the knee. He did get
himself rather needlessly wound up in the 1st half
though.
Vieira 8.5 Another majestic display by the main man. He's also
added getting on the end of free kicks in the area to
his game this season, and now looks Arsenal's only
player likely to score from dead ball situations.
Ljungberg Looked quite lively for a while, but was hampered by
the injury for 5 or 10 minutes before coming off.
Malz 7.5 Did pretty well overall I thought, certainly his most
impressive performance thus far.
Parlour 8.0 Would hardly have known he's been out injured for 6
weeks, superb game particularly in the 2nd half.
Henry 8.5 Probably his best game for Arsenal, scored 2, made 1,
had a hand in the other and consistently troubled the
Sunderland defence.
Suker 8.0 His first goal was worth the admission price alone,
and he otherwise had a good game, particularly in the
first half.
Barrett On for 10 minutes but the only time he got a touch of
the ball he was flagged offside.
Derek
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