Arsenal (1) 1 - 2 (0) Manchester UnitedHighbury, Sunday 22nd August 1999. kick-off 4pmFA Carling PremiershipSee below for reports by Rupe, DerekPreview
Arsenal (1) 1 - 2 (0) Manchester UnitedHighbury, Sunday 22nd August 1999. kick-off 4pmFA Carling Premiership
Scorers: Ljungberg Keane
Arsenal:
Manninger
Dixon (c) Keown Upson Silvinho
Ljungberg Parlour Vieira Henry (Suker)
Kanu (Overmars) Bergkamp
Arsenal and Man United once again produced a fantastic match
for the neutral - with plenty of great football in both
directions, loads of passion, and nearly a fight as a bonus.
It's amazing how these 2 teams keep producing games of such
quality. But sadly it was United's turn to dig deep and
squeeze a win out of a match that could easily have gone both
ways. In the end it was the same story as much of last season,
with Arsenal producing more goal chances in our spells of
domination, but failing to put many of them away.
We had an early scare, with Beckham being put clear on the right and whipping in a cross which Manninger did well to smother. Then on 5 minutes Vieira brought the ball out of defence, tricking his way past a black shirt before being hacked down by Keane on the half way line - a challenge which later in the match would surely have brought out the yellow card. The free kick was wasted. Cole blasted a chance well wide a few minutes later but the whistle had already gone for a foul on the edge of our box. It was a nice position for Beckham, just left of centre, but he blasted the free kick into the wall. Shortly after those 2 players combined, with Beckham's free-kick from the right finding Cole's head only for the ball to loop up onto the crossbar. We broke quickly from this, and Henry faced into their box on the left before clipping the ball goalwards with the outside of his foot. But he'd gone too far and from the narrow angle it went straight at the keeper. Now Arsenal were getting into it more after a shaky first 15 minutes or so. Parlour shot a couple of feet wide from outside the area, and then Henry nodded the ball down for Bergkamp, who found his way to the left corner of the box and tried to curl it into the far top corner. Van der wotsit watched helplessly but it didn't bend in enough. Again Henry found Bergkamp, although possibly it was a mishit shot which cut through the defence this time, but Dennis couldn'tquite get to it before the keeper. They broke and a beautiful ball from Beckham for Giggs to run onto beat our offside trap and he should have done better than to shoot wide. But Arsenal were in the ascendancy still. Silvinho and Vieira (who was working hard enough and playing well enough to make up for the absence of his partner Petit) combined nicely on the left only for the Brasilian's cross to come over a bit too long. Bergkamp had another shot, just wide of the far post. On 30 minutes Kanu held onto the ball in the centre and slipped it sideways for Bergkamp on the edge of the box. Phil Neville's watched as his interception looped over his keeper and just fell too long for the og. Silvinho took the corner and played it perfectly to Upson, or rather to where he used to be, as the defender had moved in as the ball was struck. Bergkamp saw another shot go wide, and then Kanu produced one of the moments of the match with an audacious and unexpected blast from distance which the keeper did well to tip onto the roof of the net. Upson was having a great game, and pulled off a superb tackle on Beckham just as it seemed the United man had beaten him and was setting off into our half. Dare I say it - the tackle reminded me very much of Tony Adams. As the half drew to a close United got the upper hand again (relatively speaking that is - it was pretty much end-to-end all through the match). Yorke muscled his way past Keown but Manninger managed to smother his effort, and as we broke Vieira got past Stam in a similar manner only for the whistle to go against him. Then on another break Ljungberg did well not to fall under a bad challenge from Scholes (does he do any other type?), but perhaps regretted not going to ground as his chip across to the free-running Bergkamp was intercepted in the air by Stam (having a very good game indeed, it has to be said). Shortly after, Scholes was booked for hacking Vieira down (again). Not before time, and this one was particularly dumb as Paddy wasn't in a dangerous position - halfway inside our half. Manninger made a couple of good saves in succession, from an angled Dwight Yorke shot and then from the resulting corner. Then on 41 minutes, slightly against the run of play, we were ahead. Dixon picked the ball up inside our half and fed Kanu down the right wing. He came inside and passed to Bergkamp on the edge of the box. Ljungberg was right by him, and started a run into the box as Kanu passed it. Bergkamp saw exactly what was going on and slipped the ball first-time into Freddie's path and the low shot was placed and struck well enough to carry into the far corner despite the keeper's touch. United were rattled, and for the remaining minutes of the half fought a rearguard action to prevent another. Kanu got to the goal-line near the goal and passed it back a yard or two for Bergkamp whose close-range shot was saved well. Then the boots were on the other feet as thanks to some brilliant foot-work Bergkamp kept hold of the ball under pressure from several defenders on the edge of the box then flicked it sideways to Kanu who whacked it on the volley, but straight at the keeper again. The second half started similarly, with Parlour shooting over from outside the area and then VBergkamp having a cross/shot palmed out for a corner. The corner was cleared out of the goal-mouth only as far as Upson who was unlucky to see his instinctive shot come back off the post. But it wasn't long before United were back on top. Ten minutes into the half they had the ball in the net. Beckham crossed from the goal-line on their right, and Cole headed it from the other side of the box, past Manninger to the goal-line where Yorke was on hand to head it home. I couldn't tell if it was going in anyway - if it was then Yorke screwed up because it was his offside position that ruled the goal out. Five minutes later they were level, with a similar goal to ours. This time it was Scholes spiltting the defence with the pass and Keane latching onto it to score past the helpless Manninger. Shortly after, Butt came on for Scholes (who had continued to push his luck atre being booked in the first half). But Arsenal responded well and had a good spell of pressure, controlling the ball in a tight and crowded box for a while but never managing to capitalise on the half-chances that resulted. Changes were expected, but strangely it was Kanu, who was causing all sorts of problems for the United defence, who went off first. Henry wasn't having a great game out on the left so bringing Overmars on for him made sense (almost immediately Neville was shown the yellow card for stopping Marc the only way he knew how). But instead of a straight swap it was Kanu who went off, with Henry moving up front. But before long Henry followed Kanu, with Davor Suker coming on for his first 15 minutes for Arsenal. Suker started brightly, feeding Overmars down the left who in turn set up a chance for Parlour. Then Suker tried a lob from just inside their half (a similar position to the celebrated goal he scored against Schmeichel's Denmark in Euro96) which looked like it would have beaten the keeper but fell wide of the goal. With less than 10 minutes left the game boiled over, as it had been threatening to. Keane tackled Vieira, but raised his boot on the Frenchman very late. Vieira stupidly rose to it and there was some argy-bargy between the pair which probably should have got them both sent off. A melee ensued with most of the players on the pitch involved, although to be fair most of them seemed to be trying to calm down the protagonists, who had been joined by a crazed looking Jaap Stam. 5 minutes to go and Arsenal got the ball off United in our half and started a break. Parlour was bringing the ball out and crossing the field from left to right when he ran into Beckham who took it off him. I think it was a shot from Giggs, but a deflection off Keown took it straight into the path of Keane - running in for rebounds, and he slotted it home. Upson was struck in the face by a Manninger clearance and fell to the floor. We had the ball in a good position and broke up the left. But the ref, seeing the stricken defender, stopped play for treatment. When the ball was dropped back into play Keane sportingly hoofed it deep into Arsenal territory for a throw, and his teammates rushed forward to pressurise so a promising situation was lost. Shortly after this Vieira got away with it again as he gave the ball to Phil Neville for a throw by handing it into the defender's face. Neville made a huge meal of it, but still it could easily have been a booking. The game ended with more controversy. A Bergkamp freee-kick from the right was headed goalwards by Upson (again - popping up promisingly in the box). Van der watsit saved it on the line, but was slow to get his second hand to the ball which was all the invitation Keown needed. From the other end of the ground we thought it was a goal but it soon became apparent that all was not well, and after consulting with the linesman the ref awarded a free-kick against us. Seeing the incident on the news this evening, it did look like the keeper had just gotten both hands to it before Keown struck, so fair enough. While I'm sure that Simon knows more about these things than I (see newsreel), I don't think I'd have been happy if a goal like that had been given against us (although I reserve the right to change my mind after a closer inspection of the replay!). A new chant which I first heard at this match, simply "Thierry Henry" repeated ad infinitum to the tune of "Tom Hark". Very effective and fun.
Result : Arsenal (1) 1 Man United (0) 2
Scorers: Ljungberg 41 Keane 59, 88
Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Silvinho, Keown, Upson; Vieira, Parlour,
Ljungberg, Henry; Bergkamp, Kanu
Subs: Overmars (Kanu 70), Suker (Henry 77),
Vivas, Grimandi, Lukic
Booked: Parlour
Man United: Van Der Gouw, Neville, Berg, Stam, Irwin,
Beckham, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Yorke, Cole
Subs: Butt (Scholes 61), Culkin (Van der Gouw 90),
Sheringham (Coles 77), Curtis, Solskjaer
Booked: Scholes, Berg, Beckham, Neville
Att: 38147
Ref: Graham Poll (Tring)
A typically eventful game between Arsenal & Man United at Highbury
yesterday ended cruelly for the Gunners when they gave away a second
goal to Keane 2 minutes from time, and then had a late goal disallowed.
A first half full of skill and chances at both ends was followed by a
second which was less open, but still contained its share of excitement
including a bit push and shove which now seems ritual between the two
sides.
The first half might have finished 4-3, but started off fairly slowly with the visitors looking much the sharper early on. Beckham tested Manninger in the first couple of minutes with a low swinging cross from the right, but the young keeper claimed it well from just in front of Yorke. Otherwise neither side had a serious goal attempt in the opening 15 minutes, but one feature of the game which did soon become clear was the way Man United had singled out Vieira as Arsenal's key player. They seemed intent on putting him out of the game, either by directly by physical means, or by provoking him to retaliation. First Keane crudely hacked him down from behind as he broke away from the halfway line, and then Yorke clattered him with another horribly late challenge, both normally certain bookings. Referee Poll was in a strangely lenient mood though, and the Red Devils were careful to share round the fouls, though Scholes did later test his patience once too often with another vicious challenge on Vieira. The first real chance came in the 15th minute when Beckham bent in a free kick from the right to pick out Cole unmarked in the middle, and his header crashed against the bar with Manninger watching. It had the effect of waking Arsenal up, and they almost immediately broke down the other end and Kanu's clever lob allowed Henry to outpace Neville down the left and leave himself with only the keeper to beat, albeit from an acute angle. He hit the shot with the outside of his right foot though, and Van der Gouw made a good block. From then on the game became much more open, and chances appeared regularly at either end. Parlour and Bergkamp soon afterwards dragged shots from outside the area wide, and Arsenal had the better of much of the rest of the half. United though had their best chance midway through the half when a brilliant reverse pass from Beckham sent Giggs clear, but with only Manninger to beat he put his right foot shot wide of the near post. Arsenal then had a period of domination. Kanu took an early free kick on the halfway line and his superb pass released Bergkamp, but the Dutch master dragged his shot wide as Neville came across, when a ball across the area would have picked out Henry unmarked at the far post. Another bit of skill from Kanu soon afterwards almost put Bergkamp in again, but Neville just got a foot to the ball and his clearance was a whisker away from being an own goal. Kanu then drifted past a couple of tackles wide on the left before firing in a superb 25 yard shot which was heading for the far top corner until Van der Gouw brilliantly tipped it over the bar. United then had a 5 minute purple patch during which they were denied only by 3 brilliant Manninger saves. First Yorke played Cole through, but the keeper was out quickly to make a superb block. Then Yorke was found in space in the right side of the area, and he fired in an angled shot which Manninger again managed to brilliantly deflect wide of the far post. From the corner Giggs misheaded at the near post, and Manninger made a couple of great blocks at the far post, first from Cole and then from Berg. Soon afterwards Arsenal were in front. Kanu's pass found Bergkamp a few yards outside the United area, and the Dutch master's first time pass was superbly weighted and directed to pick out Ljungberg's run into the area. The Swede whipped his right foot shot across the keeper and into the far corner. Arsenal could have added another couple of goals before half time. First Henry's flickon found Kanu in the 6yd box, and he held off Stam to lay the ball back into Bergkamp's path. The Iceman's shot seemed certain to beat Van der Gouw at his near post, but the keeper somehow got a hand to it to pull off an incredible save. Just before half time, Bergkamp and Kanu combined again, this time the Dutchman flicked the ball brilliantly over a couple of defenders to tee it up for Kanu on the edge of the box, but the Nigerian's volley went straight at the keeper. Arsenal started the second half the way they left off the first. Parlour had a good effort from the edge of the box which flew a foot or so over, and then Silvinho had a good break down the left though his cutback was cleared at a stretch. Kanu's pass then released Bergkamp down the left, and I think he was actually trying to cut the ball back for the unmarked Henry in the middle, but it sliced off the outside of his foot left and turned into a good shot which Van der Gouw did well to tip over the bar. Kanu flicked on Silvinho's resulting corner to find Upson at the far post, but the young defender was stretching and his left foot volley from 8 yards unluckily crashed against the post and out. That in some ways was the turning point of the game. Almost immediately at the other end, Beckham crossed from the right to pick out Cole unmarked at the far post. His header back across was probably going wide when Yorke nodded it in from 3 yards, but he was comfortably offside. A couple of minutes later though, the visitors scored a legitimate equaliser. Vieira flicked the ball over Keane's head only to see it go straight to Scholes whose instant pass found Cole on the edge of the area. He held it up before sliding a well timed pass through to pick out Keane's surge into the area, and the Irishman broke through before calmly slotting the ball past Manninger and into the far corner. Upson had appeared to be covering Keane's run, but pulled up I guess to try and play offside, and was marginally too late. Arsenal almost hit back straight away when a lovely Ljungberg cross from the right picked out Henry at the far post. The Frenchman headed back across goal towards Bergkamp at the opposite post, but under pressure he could only head weakly straight at the keeper. Soon afterwards Arsenal had what looked a definite penalty turned down. Bergkamp tried to get on the end of a pass into the right of the area only to have Berg clearly haul him down by the arm. The whole of the North Bank stood as one and appealed but the ref waved play on. Overmars then came on for Kanu, (Henry moving into the middle to partner Bergkamp) and looked lively for a while, first inducing a crude challenge from Neville which earned a booking, and then combining well with Bergkamp to almost put him in on the left. With less than 15 minutes to go, Suker replaced Henry to big cheers of welcome and soon afterwards tried an audacious 45 yard lob when he spotted Van der Gouw off his line, but it went well wide. About 5 minutes from time, Man United's needling of Vieira finally paid off. A couple of minutes earlier had Beckham earned Parlour a booking with a dive, and now tried to win a free kick on the edge of the box with another blatant dive. Vieira carried on to challenge Keane who went in with his foot up and then had a kick at Vieira afterwards for good measure. The Frenchman reacted by seeming to butt Keane and then shoved him. The ref appeared to have spotted the incident and blew up, and the pair seemed to have calmed down until Stam charged in and indulged in a forehead to forehead confrontation with Vieira, following up by putting both hands round his neck. Everybody else then got involved though I think they were all restraining Vieira and particularly Stam who seemed to completely lose it. Unbelievably the Tring Trigger restricted himself to giving Stam and Vieira a lecture. Arsenal seemed to lose a bit of concentration after that, and it was another mistake in midfield which led to United's winner two minutes from time. Parlour was robbed by Giggs about 40 yards out and the winger ran on to fire in a shot from 25 yards which cruelly deflected off Keown straight into the path of Keane as he made a supporting run, and he again finished calmly, knocking the ball past Manninger with the outside of his right foot. There was still time for more controversy, as in injury time Arsenal had the ball in the net, only to have it disallowed. Bergkamp floated in a free kick from the right and Upson rose superbly to head goalwards. Van der Gouw made another good save, dropping onto the ball and holding it on the line. He only had one hand on the ball though as he tried to make sure the momemtum of his body falling backwards didn't take the ball with him over the line. Keown saw his chance and followed up to bundle the ball into the net, but the keeper had just managed to get his other hand back on the ball and the ref ruled it was a foul after checking that with the linesman that the ball hadn't originally crossed the line anyway. There was a delay as Van der Gouw was treated and substituted, having accidentally caught Keown's knee in the face, but the ref blew full time as soon as the replacement keeper took the free kick. A desperately disappointing result, but overall I don't think it was as discouraging as it might have been. United's winner was extremely lucky, and both their goals resulted from mistakes in our midfield. Bearing in mind that we were without Seaman, Adams, Winterburn, Petit, and for most of the match Overmars, it was encouraging that we had the better of them at virtually full strength for much of the match. The player we really missed was Petit, though I think the defence does lack something as a unit when Adams is missing, despite them playing well individually.
Manninger 8.0 Three top class saves in the 1st half, and didn't
really have much chance with the goals, though he did
a rather peculiar attempted emulation of Schmeichel's
"star" jump for the 2nd.
Silvinho 7.5 Another pretty good game overall, though he did get
caught out of position on occasion. He recovered
quickly most times though.
Dixon 7.5 A reasonably solid game I thought, and generally kept
Giggs quiet.
Upson 8.0 Another superbly composed performance, and unlucky not
to have scored.
Keown 8.0 Superb and uncompromising as ever.
Vieira 8.0 Another great game against United and I thought had the
better of Keane for most of the game. It was a pity
he eventually reacted to the provocation though, and it
was his mistake which led to the first goal.
Parlour 6.5 I've always thought he plays pretty well in the middle,
but yesterday was as poorly as I've seen him play in
the last couple of years.
Henry 7.0 Had some good runs, but his extreme reluctance to use
his left foot means he's too much out of position on
the left wing.
Bergkamp 7.0 The usual nice touches, particularly in the first half,
but one of those games where he became too frustrated
but the close marking of Berg & Stam.
Kanu 7.5 Some lovely touches, though I again thought on occasion
he wanted too much time on the ball, with his marker in
close attention.
Ljungberg 7.5 A much better game, looked a lot more lively and
confident, particularly after the goal.
Overmars Looked quite lively for a while, hopefully he's now
fully fit.
Suker I thought he had some promising inital touches though
he didn't see much of the ball in the final few minutes
Derek
Other reports
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 |