Highbury, Saturday 14th October 2000
FA Carling Premiership
see below for reports, plus our list
of links to reports on other sites.
Preview
- Arsenal team news
Patrick Vieira should return to the midfield after serving a
5 match ban for 2 dodgy sendings off at the start of the season.
Fans of the long-running Dixon-Ginola saga will be hoping that
it's Oleg Luzhny's turn to be rested.
Waiting to hear if Pires will be back from injury, or
Lauren back from seeing his seriously ill father. The latest on
Pires is that he's had a setback with his hamstring, he is very doubtful
for the Villa game although he could be back soon after.
Also there may be injuries from the international fixtures taking place
the previous weekend.
Update Wednesday 11th: Adams misses the Finland game tonight
with an aggravation of his back problem, so must be doubtful for
Villa. There's a good chance he'll be rested anyway, for the Lazio game on
Tuesday. Upson is back in training but not ready to return to the team,
so Stepanovs is an option. But with Vieira and Lauren returning, it may be
that Grimandi is moved back to partner Keown. Luzhny is an option too,
although he's been used more at right back just recently.
- Aston_Villa team news
Our mate David Ginola came off after 20 minutes in Villa's
last game, but says "I am confident that I shall be fit to face
Arsenal".
Villa could be short of 2 defenders by the time the game is played.
Ehiogu is rumoured to be close to sorting out a move
to Tottenham or Boro, while 21yr old Aaron Lescott is off to Hillsborough
for a medical. On the other hand, some reports say that Ehiogu intends
to stay at Villa till Oct 31st at least, since this is when the
European commission is supposed to be deciding the legality of
the transfer system.
update Wednesday 11th: Villa have signed Belgian striker Gilles de Bilde on loan from struggling Sheffield Wednesday. Villa would probably
have bought him outright,
but for the uncertainty about the transfer system. De Bilde could well go
straight into the side at Higbury.
- non-UK TV coverage
- USA: tape-delayed on Fox Sports World and FSW Espanol,
immediately after Setanta's live game (Leicester-ManU). 12 noon EST/9am PST.
Also re-aired 5 hours later. We're also the main game on Fox Sport Net's 2 hour highlight show (check local listings). (thanks for Lawrence for the info)
- For details, and countries not listed above, see the
non-UK TV FAQ
- See also
Highbury, Saturday 14th October 2000
FA Carling Premiership
scorer: Henry 62
Arsenal:
Seaman
Dixon Adams Grimandi Silvinho
Lauren Vieira Parlour Pires (Kanu 80)
Bergkamp (Luzhny 85) Henry (Wiltord 70)
In the first minute, Parlour went on a run down the right,
the chance created by a clever Bergkamp flick on the half-way
line. Henry was well outnumbered in the box, and Ray's cross
was behind him anyway.
Then Merson burst down the middle looking dangerous, but
ran into a brick wall in the form of his former captain.
Pires carried the ball forward down the left, and came in
a bit along the goal-line before cutting the ball back to
Bergkamp just inside the box on that side. He placed a
shot just inside the near post but James was covering there
and got down to save it. The ball came back out to Pires,
and he chipped it goalwards only to see it narrowly
clear the bar.
But Villa started to get a hodl on the game and kept coming
at us, much of the good stuff coming through the Merse.
They had a couple of crosses and corners, one of which led
to a diagonal cross being lobbed towards Seaman's left-hand
post. Southgate was there and he hit it first time, but
Seaman managed to get down to make a point-blank save.
The Villa fans were giving Seaman a lot of stick all game,
and chanting "England's number one" for their own keeper,
which must have been some kind of joke, surely? Actually,
Seaman had a good game, and James looked a little dodgy
at times. No surprises on the goalkeeping front, then.
Anyway, they continued to have the better attacks. Dublin
put a couple of headers wide, and then on 20 minutes
Adams gave a free-kick away
on our left. Merson whipped it beyond the far post where it looked to
have Southgate beaten for pace. But he got a foot up to it at a
stretch and turned it back across goal. It hit the ground and bounced
over Seaman, who did well to get a crucial fingertip on the ball,
sending it where Grimandi could hoof it out of the 6 yard box.
Gareth Barry had a good effort from outside the corner of the
box on their left, which flew a foot or so wide of the far top
corner.
At the other end, Silvinho hit a shot from 3 or 4 yards
outside the box, but it didn't do the bendy thing and
James was right behind it. Even managed to hold on.
Near the end of the first half, Henry got himself booked for
a silly foul on Merson, in safe ground inside the Villa half.
Then there was a beautiful moment involving Grimandi. He'd
challenged for the ball near the goal-line right in front
of the Villa fans, and it ran free, bobbling along the touchline.
Grimandi had a chance to clear unchallenged, but waved his foot
over the ball allowing it run out instead. The Villa fans,
apparently judging it an air shot, jeered. The Arsenal goal-kick
was given, and Grimandi gave the Arsenal fans in the Clock End
a bemused look and a gallic shrug in the direction of the away
fans next door, as if to ask what it was that they were on.
That's how I saw it, anyway. Gilles just gets better and better!
The half ended with a powerful Vieira run down the middle
winning a free-kick in the D. Henry tried a curler but it
clipped the edge of the wall and went for a corner.
Arsenal came out for the second half looking much better.
Silvinho and Pires linked up well down the left, but with
Villa defending deep we were often guilty of overelaborating
as Arsenal tried to break into the box.
Pires got to the goal-line again after build-up play with
Silvinhom, and cut it back a bit near the near post. Henry and
Bergkamp were both there but in a crows of defenders and it
was scrambled clear.
Henry was obstructed in the box by Alpay, after good work from
Bergkamp to play him in. As usual for injdirect free-kicks in
the box, the wall was far too close, but Arsenal constructed a
good chance out of it. They played the ball square to Bergkamp
in the centre of the box, and a gap opened up in front of him.
But he mishit the shot a bit and fired it sideways into the
base of the wall.
Pires broke down the middle and fed it wide to Henry on the left.
It looked like he might take it forward and have a go, but he
took a different option. His cut-back found Bergkamp on the
edge of the box but he scuffed the shot tamely through to James.
Minutes later (on 62), Henry was fed in a similar position down the
right. This time he did have a go, and the low shot went through
Alpay's legs and inside the far corner. James looked a bit of
a prat, but was moving the other way and didn't really have
a chance.
4 minutes later and Arsenal broke from the halfway line. Pires
carried the ball diagonally forward from left to right, with
Bergkamp's opposite run creating space for him. Just as he
was going to break clear, Hendrie pulled him back and over.
The free-kick was given and
Hendrie booked, and there followed a comical few moments as the
Arsenal waved their red season ticket books at the ref. He'd obviously
forgotten that he'd booked Hendrie 10 minutes earlier. That one was
for throwing
the ball at the linesman and general abuse
after Parlour won a free-kick off him - an incident which also saw the ref
implement the 10 yard rule for continued moaning, so you'd have thought
it might stick in his mind. Mind you, this was referee Rob Harris,
notorious for his mix-up in the Tranmere-Sunderland game last
season where a team had 11 men on the field despite a sending off.
We hadn't forgotten the earlier incident though, nor had
several Arsenal players who helpfully pointed out the error, and
off he went. Nothing came of the free kick.
Henry got into the same position as for the goal, but with no-one to
nutmeg James was able to read the shot and threw himself to his right
to tip it round the post. Maybe it was going wide anyway, but he
clearly got a finger to the ball so Henry was understandably
miffed that a goal-kick was given. But by this point I guess no-one
was expecting too much from the ref.
Bergkamp curled a cross in the 6 yard box but with 3 Arsenal players
and some defenders there, no one could get a foot on it as the ball
flashed across ther face of goal.
Villa were lacking bite up front as in the first half, and
failing to control much in midfield too. Gregory tried to change things
by bringing Vassell and Boateng on for Wright and Dublin. Arsenal
brought on Wiltord for Henry, partly to rest the latter for Tuesday perhaps,
but also maybe because he had been a little fortunate to escape a second
yellow on one occasion.
Bergkamp was given offside a couple of times, once he was off, by a mile,
but the second time was very strange. He was motionless, collected the ball,
and then came forward past a defender. No one appeared to be ahead of him
either. Like I said, no-one was too confident in the ref by now.
With 10 minutes to go, a James clearance was headed back by Grimandi from
the half way line, and suddenly Bergkamp was clear on the keeper.
James came out fast and Dennis clipped the ball over him. It bounced
slowly towards goal and Southgate.who hadn't had to lose momentum
avoiding the keeper like Bergkamp had, got there first and hooked
the ball off the line.
A minute later, Pires came off for Kanu. The Frenchman was looking
pretty keen to come off, let's hope it was just the exertion after a spell
out inuured, and not a recurrence.
Kanu had an unusually bad time, with most of his touches failing to
come off. He was put clear by Silvinho one time bu tried to do too
much and was hustled off the ball.
Luzhny came on for Bergkamp for the last 5 minutes. Presumably he went
into defence with Grimandi coming into midfield, but we didn't defend
much for those 5 minutes anyway. Luzhny actually popped up at the other
end a couple of times. He cut the ball back for Silvinho from the
goal-line but the Brasilian fired it low and wide of the far post.
Wiltord was the next to get a one-on-one situation, and James came out
well to block. The ball came back to Kanu who squared for Luzhny who
had moved up into space on the right, The moose hit it like one, blasting
the ball high into the clock end.
We had more chances in injury time. Parlour broke free down the right
and fed Kanu whose shot was blocked by Alpay. Then Wiltord fed Kanu
on the break again, but the nig Nigerian stood on the ball. Maybe he
was bit distracted today - there was a lot of "Kanu Heart Foundation"
stuff going on around the place.
Villa have been on a roll recently, and especially if they can get a bit of
that bite up front (where was new-boy De Bilde today?) they'll continue to be a
hard team to beat this season. They're also the kind of hard-working side that could
accommodate Ginola to good effect when he's back.
Arsenal move into second, with
the table looking familiar.
We're second behind Man Utd, level on points.
report by Rupe.
Other reports
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- Football Grounds frenzy. Wonderful photos of football grounds, with a little info too. Everything apart from
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