Borehamwood vs ArsenalBorehamwood, Friday 14th July 2000FriendlyAfter the disappointments of last season and the on going Edu-gate saga it was a relief to get the oppotunity to see Arsenal in action again for the first time since Copenhagen, all be it a fairly depleted side and at a ground that can only be described as the opposite of the Nou Camp. From the a glance of the team sheet it looked like being an interesting scouting exercise into a new signing and a whole handful of young hopefuls...Here's how Arsenal lined up: GK - Manninger DR - Dixon (capt) DL - Cole DC - Grimandi DC - Luzhny MR - Lauren MC - Lincoln MC - Vernazza FC - Barrett FC - Aliadiere ML - Harper Subs: GK - Stack - Weston - McGovern - Pennant - Kuffour - CanovilleSo what unvailed over the course of the 90 minutes? As expected right from the kick-off Arsenal had pretty much all of the possetion but Boreham Wood were giving 110%. Graham Barrett started very brightly showing his incresingly distinctive 'Barrett Turn' (if you get a chance to watch him you'll see what I mean!). It was also encouraging in the first few minutes to see our new signing Lauren playing on the right but being able to deliver great passes with either foot! Also worth mentioning that the new kit looks pretty eye catching! After almost constant pressure from Arsenal Luznhy broke forward and had a crack at goal that sailed over, the first of many wayward shots! Boreham Wood's best early chance came from a wayward Grimandi backpass that Manninger did well to hoof clear! Moments later Cole got caught trying to play himself out of trouble but Lauren got back to help it away. Soon after Luzhny moved forward again for another pop at goal but again his shot was wayward. At the back Manninger seemed very vocal which was a good sign after the few mix up's he was involved in last year! Ashley Cole was moving up field at any oppotunity and it was good to see Harper sloting back to fill in when ever needed. Cole has a really similar style to Silvinho and it seems he'll make a great backup to the Brazilian. Arsenal were all over Boreham Wood for the first 30 minutes with Boreham Wood only able to break when players for Arsenal were caught upfield. Lauren and Barrett both had good shots but they were either saved of wide. Paulo Vernazza was tackling competitivly and had a crack at goal after some good play by Harper. It's really noticeable how much close control the Arsenal youngsters have, a really welcoming sign. After 30 minutes the score was 0-0 and you could sense Arsenal settling into a rhythm of shooting wide! Aliadiere had a curling shot at goal that went just wide. Shortly after Luzhny went on one of his trademark runs darting all the way from defense and running for the goal, he was full of running. His eventual shot was well charged down after the Arsenal attack seemed to be watching his run rather than supporting it! Vernazza had another great tackle that lead to a shot from Aliadiere but yes you guessed it over yet again! Boreham Wood counter attacked but yet again they were halted by the determined Vernazza who was getting stuck in, as much as is possible in a friendly. Lincoln, Barrett and Vernazza all had further chances but all went wide. So at half-time the score was 0-0 with Arsenal out shooing Boreham Wood by about 20 shots! Arsenal defiently needed to work on the quality of the shooting in the second half. Two changes at half time saw Wenger add a lot of pace to the attack. Kuffour replaced Aliadiere and Pennant replaced Barrett. Arsenal did lose a little shape with Pennant playing as a right sided attacker and Kuffour lacking a physical presence. Dixon forced an early corner and lincoln took a pop at goal that hit the press photographers rather than the back of the net! Kuffour was full of tricks, he was so desperate to dribble past players he'd end up dribbling around them 2 or 3 times and eventully out foxing himself! An early oppotunity led to Pennant crossing from the right but since no midfielders were forward there was nobody to challange for the cross. Arsenal were looking like a side out of ideas! The ball fell to Lauren about 10 yards inside the Arsenal half, his control left him and Boreham Wood took full advantage of Arsenal's defence being caught on the hop and with a pretty decent shot from Selby it was 1-0 to Borehamwood! Really it was no surprise since Arsenal had been wasting so many chances! Pennant took an oppotunity to get straight back at Boreham Wood but his run was too selfish and he got crowded out and only managed a weak shot. Arsenal looked pretty shaken. Dixon was blasting commands at his team mates most noteably to Lauren "get at them" but I think he didn't understand since he played a ball across the pitch! Arsenal made a straight swap which saw Grimandi replaced by McGovern, he's a tall lad with a great team spirit about him. Soon after Lauren moved well and enabled Lincoln to get a good shot away that was very well saved. Pennant ran into the box crossed to Kuffour who dummied to Lincoln who's shot was charged down by the 9 man Boreham Wood defense! One minute later Kuffour tricked and turned his way on the left delivered a beautiful ball and at last someone had gotten forward! Lauren! Debut goal! 1-1 Lauren took another shot right after the restart but it was just wide. This lad has a great number of assets! McGovern got caught out by a long ball but did well to challange back and play the ball away. Weston was brought on for Lincoln and Luzhny moved to right midfield with Lauren slotting into the centre. Luzhny was shouting at every oppotunity for a through ball to run on to! You could see his frustration building up. At around the 75th minute Canoville replaced Harper and Stack replaced Manninger in the Arsenal goal. Stack is a great character but has a scarry habit of standing way outside of his goal! Pennant made a few runs and even tried for a penalty but no luck this time. Both teams seemed to settle for a draw at this stage. With about 3 minutes to go Boreham Wood had an injured player and their physio ran on, she looked pretty dangerous herself! Dixon took the oppotunity during the stoppage to sign a few autographs for the fans. In the 90th minute Boreham Wood had their first corner of the game it led to a shot that was well saved by Stack. The game faded out and the final whistle blew with the score 1-1. Not as exciting as last year's 6-1 but none the less still a useful run out for the players. My Man of the Match was Lauren. He looked very hungry and showed great talent both on and off the ball. Adding the equalising goal for good measure. Also looking impressive was Vernazza, let's hope he gets his break soon! All the young players showed a great level of close control and a good level of team work. It was still unmistakably Arsene's Army even without Seaman, Adams, Keown, Silvinho, Parlour, Petit, Viera, Henry, Kanu, Bergkamp, Overmars, Pires and Edu (fingers crossed!). Let's hope that at least 2 or 3 of the youngsters on display tonight get an oppotunity to shine wearing the red and white in more prestigious surroundings. Other reportsYour reports
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