Arsenal (1) 4 - 1 (1) Everton
Highbury, Saturday 21st April 2001
FA Carling Premiership
See below for list of links to reports on other sites.
Ljungberg 21
Campbell 24
Grimandi 54
Wiltord 65
Henry 86
A subdued day at Highbury, neither set of fans really got going and the
first half had a real end of year feeling. Arsenal had the upper hand for
much of it, but in a somewhat typical way only managed one shot on target
in the first 45 -- Ljungberg squeezing his shot under Gerrard in the
Everton goal.
I thought that the goal might set Arsenal going, but it had the opposite
effect, Arsenal all but stopped until half time, and Everton were able to
equalise almost straight away. A ball was lobbed over the defence to
Campbell who from my terrible position (other end of the pitch) looked
offside, however noone has picked up on this so I guess someone must have
been playing him on. Seaman made a tackle, but the ball fell kindly to
give Campbell a second chance and he took it well. Kevin got a warm
welcome from the Gunners' fans.
Apart from that the first half was entirely forgettable.
The second half was much better. Arsenal attacked from the kick off and
put Everton on the back foot. We did our usual trick of wasting free
kicks in good positions (Wenger must practice these, so why do none of
them seem to work? Every other club can make a free kick on the penalty D
look dangerous, so why can't we?). On one of these Henry, who would
probably have been through, was clipped by Xavier who got booked for
it.
On 54 minutes we forced a corner, but optimism wasn't high -- we'd taken
5 corners in the first half without getting a shot on target -- and I was
surprised when Pires picked out Grimandi who headed in to make it 2-1.
After that we did wake up and started to look a lot better. Wiltord was
especially becoming a handful. All of the mistimed runs, and misjudged
passes of the first hour began to click into place. Wiltord's goal was a
beauty -- Vieira played him in, Wiltord turned to lose the defender and
placed the ball in the top right hand corner perfectly. (There was a
nasty moment when I thought it was going to bounce out rather than in
though.) Just before that he'd forced a fine save from a similar shot.
Moreover we were even beginning to get more bodies into the box: not only
two strikers, but often midfielders and defenders too. A real revelation!
Xavier clattered Cole right in front of me. It looked nasty, and
definitely warranted at least the yellow, which he was given, his second
of the game. Apart from that it wasn't a nasty game, and the ref on the
whole did alright. The linesman on the North Bank half was a bit dodgy
tho'.
Then came the really strange bit: when a pitch invasion led to Nyarko
being subbed off. Can't help but feel Walter Smith ought to be showing
more support for his players.
The final goal by Henry was well taken. The ball was played in by Vieira
and Henry unmarked in the area finished well, lifting the ball round the
keeper. Maybe the goal with lift his confidence for the final run in.
The crowd was already oozing out before that goal however. Seems that
there was some lingering effect from the 'Boro game.
So what do we need to do in the final 4 games? Simply put we need 9
points to guarantee second place, and there are so many chasing clubs
thats what we need to be sure of a top 3 finish too. Hopefully by the Cup
Final we will only need to win 1 of the 2 remaining away games after it,
but I have a feeling that the end of season is going to be stressful.
report by Mike Pitt
Preview
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Useful links for travelling fans
- ArseWeb's highbury pages, including ticket info, getting to the ground, etc.
- AwayFans.co.uk. Stadium reviews and info. Maps, traffic reports, pub lists, info on disabled/wheelchair provisions, etc. Conference teams as well as Premiership and Nationwide.
- London football Arsenal page from
a site focussing on info for fans from abroad wanting to get to matches (tickets,
travel, accomodation, etc).
- From the Terrace. Each team's section includes a page on their ground, with directions. Premiership, Nationwide, and Scottish.
- AwayGuide.net. Directions, maps, pub guides. All Premiership and Nationwide league teams.
- Football Ground Guide. Lovely site, loads of info, pics, diagrams, etc
- Football Grounds of England. With capacities, record gates, and pictures.
- Football Grounds frenzy. Wonderful photos of football grounds, with a little info too. Everything apart from
glitzy new grounds, and no Premiership ones. Might be handy for Cup games, and
certainly nice to look at!
- FanZone.
Information for travelling sports fans. directions, car parks, eateries,
pubs, blah-de-blah....
- Our own Highbury pages for useful info for Arsenal's home games.
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