Arsenal (0) 0 - 0 (0) Newcastle UnitedHighbury, Saturday 30th October 1999FA Carling Premiershipsee below for reports by: Rupe, DerekPreview
Arsenal (0) 0 - 0 (0) Newcastle UnitedHighbury, Saturday 30th October 1999FA Carling Premiership
Arsenal:
Seaman
Luzhny Adams Keown (Upson65) Winterburn
Ljungberg Vieira Grimandi Silvinho (Overmars 60)
Henry (Bergkamp h-t) Suker
Newcastle came to frustrate us with 3 centre-backs and about
6 other defenders, and it worked. On the other side, Wenger
appeared to go a little far with his squad rotation. Perhaps
more of these changes had been forced on him than we realise.
On a day when a win would have made a particularly big difference, in terms of restoring confidence after Wednesday's diappointment, is was a huge surprise to see Suker and Henry up front. Many of us were calling for Suker's involvement, seeing him as the only out and out goalscorer in the squad, but surely he should be alongside one of the providers: Bergkamp and Kanu. Given that Bergkamp has hit a vein of form of late, and (presumably) won't be travelling to Stockholm this week, why not play him? And why not play Overmars down the left? Two of the three players we were surprised to see on the bench came on in the second half, and perhaps the other (Kanu) would have too, if a knock to Martin Keown hadn't forced Wenger to use up his 3rd substitution. As usual, we had our chances. But sadly, against a debutante keeper, all too few of them were on target. Suker and Winterburn combined well on the left, finishing with a nice cross from Suker to the near post. Grimandi did well to cause enough of a problem there to force a hurried clearance (and a throw to us), but it wasn't the last time we saw Suker supply a nice ball only to find ourselves wishing it was Suker on the end of it. Suker intercepted in midfield and had to chase the ricochet into the left corner. He did well to keep it in, and then cleverly won a corner when it became clear that the options for a cross were limited. Henry's corner was just too high for Adams, jumping clear at the near post. At this stage (20 minutes) Newcastle were playing reasonably far up the pitch, and Arsenal kept trying to break very quickly using the pace of Henry. But the balls forward just weren't good enough, and Newcastle's numbers in midfield were forcing our moves to break down very quickly. Shearer beat Luzhny on our right wing, and carried the ball to the corner. The dangerous looking low cross was cut out by Keown, running back towards goal he blasted the ball high over his own bar. Pistone got his head to the corner but that also went well over. A couple of minutes later Pistone provided the cross. Shearer's header was going wide but deflected off Keown's head for another corner. We broke and a defensive mix-up saw Suker get clear unexpectedly. But his cross was cut out before it reached Ljungberg in the box. On 25 minutes Newcastle should have been given a throw on our left wing (it looked clear to me from 40 yards away) but we came away with it. Vieira was heading goalward and Dabizas hacked him down just outsiede the box on the left (earning a yellow card). Henry took the free-kick, and instead of the expected cross he passed back to Ljungberg whose daisycutter through the crowded box was deflected wide for a corner. This time the cross did come in, from Henry, and Adams met it towards the edge of the box with a (difficult) half-volley which he scooped over. After half an hour Luzhny gave the ball away in the centre-circle, leading to a very dangerous looking Newcastle break. But Winterburn got in a great block and brought the ball out. He passed it to Suker who slipped it on for Henry up the left. He carried it into the box and forced a save at the near post (it may have been heading wide anyway). This time Adams (I think) met the croner with a header, which Karelse dropped onto on the goal-line. A Winterburn cross from the left was flicked on by Henry, and hit the ground near the 6 yard line where Adams was challenging with Marcellino. The ball ricocheted clear but the keeepr got to it before Adams could. As you can probably tell, we were missing Dixon and Parlour down the right. Luzhny did ok but gave the ball away too often and didn't get forward enough. Although Ljungberg is a fine player, he is more prone to wander into the centre (and over to the left wing) than Parlour is, which has a tendency to leave us lightweight on the right. This is particularly true when the full-back isn't being as effective going forward as Dixon would be (although to be fair to Oleg, it's a two-edged sword: he'd probably have had more opportunites to get forward playing behind Ray). On the other hand, Silvinho continues to look good on the left, and combined well with Nige. On 37 mins, after a move bwteen these two, Winterburn found himself tackled and on the ground but still managed to win a throw. And from the throw Silvinho did well to create space for a cross, but then hit it too long. A couple of minutes later Winterburn did a party-trick, with a kind of step-over in mid-air which bought him a bit of time as the defense looke don baffled. With half-time coming up fast, a speculative (some might say "daft") Henry shot was deflected wide for a corner. It came in from our right, to Vieira on the far side, but slipped ubder his boot as he tried to control it. He chased it to the flag and won another corner. This led to the main talking-point of the match, with Vieira'goalbound s header deflected slightly off of Suyker and hooked off the line by Dumas. At the time I though it looked like it had come over the line (more so than Celtic's winner against St Johnstone last week ever did!) but when no-one appealed for it I assumed that it hadn't. TV replays seen later make a good case for the goal, but I have to say they don't look conclusive to me. Perhaps this case isn't a clear argument for the use of replays to decide things like this. If the video isn't conclusive then does it really make the decision easier? Anyway, play hadn't stopped, and the ball came right back in with a chuip into the box for Adams to run onto. Unfortunately he couldn't get the ball to come down and was crowded out on the goal-line by a combination of defenders and keeper. In injury time Silvinho was brought down halfway between the centre circle and the penalty area. It looked too far for a shot but Henry appeared to try one, bneding it goalwards round the small wall. I don;t think it was going to surprise the keeper enough to make it in so it seemed for the best when Adams got in the way on the edge of the box. But the ball bounced clear. Henry was brought off at half-time, apparently he'd picked up a slight knock and was taken off for precaution. But it seeemd just the thing we needed. Bergkamp came on and provided a little extra spark. From the first 10 minutes I remember a dangerous ball into the box which Karelse fell on before Ljungberg could get theer, and a clever back-heel, while Denbnis was being pulled about, which unluckily fell just behind Vieira as he ran into space. But Newcastle if anything came forward even less and so it didn't get any easier to break them down. And we had some scarier moments at the other end too. On 58 minutes Luzhny got to a Newcastle cross coming over the box from their right, and inexplicably his cushioned header was placed right into the danger area. Gallacher was there on the penalty spot but fortunately he wasn't able to control it well enough and Seaman was able to fall on the ball to snuff out the chance. 2 minutes later a break saw Shearer and Keown chasing a ball towards Seaman. Martin got to it first, a few yards otu side the box, and headed back towards the keeper. But there was space for them to catch it first, and Shearer managed to get in front of Keown. Seaman probably would have got to the ball first anyway but it wasn't certain, so Keown put an arm round Shearer's neck to pull him down. The two of them fell in a heap and the ref didn't appear to know what to do. But the linesman saw enough for the free-kick to go their way and Keown to get a yellow card. It could have been worse, as could the frtee-kick. Both Shearer and Speed ran over the ball leaving it for Solano to hit it into the wall. Minutes later Keown was waving to the bench, and Upson came on in his place thus using up the third allowed substitution (Overmars had come on for Silvinho just before the incident). Vieira played a ball forward for Overmars, but it went a long way wide which slowed the break down a bit. Still, Marc managed to get a cross in which Suker appeared to deflect at the near post but there were plenty of bodies back and they got it clear. Our corner was cleared to Bergkamp who tried a shot from just outside the box which he sliced high and wide. Vieira played a nice ball into the box on 75 mins, but Suker was given offside, and Bergkamp was found offside similarly. With Dennis's, he went for a shot anyway, then when the save came back to him he fired home. Lucky not to pick up a booking for that one Den. The last 5 minutes saw a great tackle by Upson on Shearer, and a couple of good Luzhny crosses from the right. The first went clear as none of the srtikers seemed to want to commit themselves, and the second was missed by Suker at the near post. Duncan Ferguson came on for the last few minutes and I for one was glad that was all we saw of him. He caused us problems every time he got near the ball, and we were very lucky at the final whistle. Newcastle were brwaking and the ball had just been played to the right for Ferguson to run onto, clear on goal, as the game ended.
Result : Arsenal (0) 0 Newcastle (0) 0
Arsenal: Seaman, Luzhny, Winterburn, Keown, Adams; Grimandi, Vieira,
Ljungberg, Silvinho; Henry, Suker
Subs: Bergkamp (Henry h-t), Overmars (Silvinho 60),
Upson (Keown 65), Kanu, Manninger
Booked: Keown
Newcastle: Karelse, Dabizas, Marcelino, Dumas, Pistone, Domi, Lee,
Solano, Speed, Gallacher, Shearer
Subs: Ferguson (Solano 90), Maric, Charvet, Hughes, Perez
Booked: Dabizas, Lee
Att: 38106
Ref: Peter Jones (Loughborough)
A disappointing and largely uneventful game at Highbury on Saturday, as
Arsenal failed to shake off the lethargy that followed the midweek
Champions league defeat, and were unable to overcome a Newcastle side
which had come intent only on avoiding defeat. They must take some
credit for their dogged defence, albeit that they needed some help from
a linesman at one point, but Arsenal should still have had enough
attacking power to have overcome them.
The Gunners started with an unfamiliar lineup in attack. Bergkamp, Kanu and Overmars were left (rested...) on the bench, which meant the partnership of Suker and Henry started for the first time. In midfield Arsenal were missing Parlour and Petit through injury, so Ljungberg and Grimandi took over, and Silvinho also started on the left in place of Overmars. The final change was Luzhny instead of the rested/injured Dixon at rightback. As expected Arsenal dominated possession, but laboured to create any worthwhile openings. Henry had an early chance when Ljungberg's run down the middle was stopped but Newcastle's comic attempts to clear resulted in the ball pinballing to Henry's feet just outside the area. He stabbed an instant shot goalwards but it went a couple of feet wide of the near post. It was virtually the last mistake the Toon defence made. Vieira then went on a promising run down the left which was stopped by Dabizas' crude hack which earned the defender a booking. Henry rolled the free kick back for Ljungberg to run in and hit it. His shot was going wide anyway but a deflection off Shearer took it only just wide of the near post. Henry's subsequent corner picked out Adams in the middle but his downward header was straight at Karelse and lacked the power to trouble the keeper. Henry then made himself a good chance on a quick break down the left. A rare Newcastle attack was cleared to Suker and he turned and a good early pass picked out Henry's run down the left. He took it on into the area and turned Dabizas to give himself some space for a shot from an angle. Karelse though made a good save, his faint touch turning it just past the near post into the side netting. Henry was involved again in the "goal" incident just before half time. His corner from the left was headed goalwards by Vieira, the ball took a deflection of a combination of Suker and a defender just in front of the 6yd line, but with Karelse beaten, Dumas hooked the ball off the line. TV replays later showed it had actually crossed the line, but though the linesman was well positioned he ruled it hadn't. Play continued and Silvinho got a foot in to knock the ball back into the box, but it bounced awkwardly for Adams running in and a combination of defender and keeper kept out his attempts to force it in at the near post. At the other end I can only recall one occasion on which Newcastle threatened, when Shearer got away down the left and whipped in a cross. The Arsenal defence was stretched, but Silvinho did well to get back and hook a volley clear from the 6yd line with a black and white shirt closing in just behind him. The second half was similarly tedious, and if anything Arsenal created even less despite Bergkamp coming on at half time for the apparently injured Henry, and Overmars replacing Silvinho after 15 minutes. It was the Flying Dutchman who forced the only real save of the half out of Karelse. Vieira went on another good run through the middle and sent a pass forward which allowed Overmars to run down the left and collect. He checked back and crossed low into the area for Suker charging in at the near post. The Croatian was just too late arriving, but his marker Marcelino (?) did get a touch which sent the ball goalwards. Karelse made a scrambling parry, but the ball bounced out into the middle, and out of reach of Vieira who was following up at the far post. Otherwise I don't recall the Newcastle keeper being seriously tested, and there were only a handful of other moments when Arsenal really threatened. Bergkamp had a bit of time and space when a corner was cleared straight to him outside the area, but he snatched at the volley and sent it wide. Late in the game Luzhny bombed down the right and on a couple of occasions put over a superb cross. The first was cleared at a stretch by the Newcastle defence, but the second seemed to be at a good height for Suker running in at the near post, but he unaccountably left it. Perhaps that's being harsh because it was whipped in at speed and may have been too far in front of him. At the other end there were only two notable incidents that I remember. First Keown chased back to head a long ball back towards Seaman. He didn't quite time it properly, though it still would have bounced safely through to Spunky, but Shearer made a nuisance of himself, first pulling Keown back and then falling over as Keown retaliated by pulling him back. The linesman flagged for a free kick to Newcastle, and there seemed a danger the ref would send Keown off, but instead just booked him. I don't think Shearer would have beaten Seaman to the ball even had he not tangled with Keown, so in the end Keown was unlucky as it was Shearer would committed the first foul. Newcastle's only real chance was given them by Luzhny when he suicidally headed a ball back across his own area. Keown just got to it ahead of Gallacher but played his attempted clearance against the striker. Fortunately Seaman was out quickly and dropped on the loose ball just ahead of Gallacher. Keown limped off with an injury shortly after the Shearer incident to be replaced by Upson, which meant Wenger had used all his substitutes, otherwise I suspect we would have seen Kanu come on during the last 15-20 minutes. It did seem a rather strange decision to start the game with the Suker/Henry combination though, particularly as Bergkamp is not travelling to Stockholm for the game tomorrow. Perhaps he was trying to inject a bit of freshness by using players who weren't involved against Fiorentina, but if so it didn't really work. There seemed a general malaise which only Grimandi and to a lesser extent, Vieira seemed unaffected by.
Seaman 7.5 Only one difficult moment which he dealt with well.
Luzhny 7.0 Looked rather suspect defensively, particularly in
the 1st half, but did well towards the end of the game
going forward.
Winterburn 7.0 Tried as hard as ever, but didn't have quite the same
understanding with Silvinho as Overmars.
Adams 7.5 Tried his best to urge the troops forward, ending up
as centre forward a couple of times.
Keown 7.0 A running battle with Shearer. 5th domestic booking of
the season, so misses the Middlesborough home game.
Grimandi 7.5 Would have been my pick as man of the match.
Vieira 7.5 Did conspicuously make some good forward runs, though
I think he was still relatively subdued.
Ljungberg 7.0 Looked quite lively in the opening minutes, but then
seemed to drift out of it for a long period before
becoming more active towards the end.
Silvinho 6.5 A bit disappointing again I thought, seems to tend to
drift too far infield when he's presumably supposed to
be on the left wing.
Henry 6.5 Only briefly threatened to get into the game, though
he did put over several accurate corners.
Suker 6.5 Also a bit disappointing though he was given very
little in the way of clear openings.
Bergkamp 6.5 One of those frustrating games where he kept
complaining about pushing and pulling by his marker
which the ref never gave.
Overmars 6.5 Didn't really do much to justify his replacing of
Silvinho, and again strangely swapped wings with
Ljungberg in the closing minutes.
Upson 7.0 Looked pretty assured in his marking of Shearer, only
blot was an overly ambitious shot from 40 yards.
Derek
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