Norwich 0 - Arsenal )

Sat, 10th Sep 1994

Teams:

   Arsenal:  Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown, Winterburn, Selley, Schwarz,
             McGoldrick, Campbell, Wright, Parlour
             Subs: Smith (McGoldrick 79), Linighan, Bartram
   Norwich:  Gunn, Bradshaw, Newsome, Polston, Bowen, Adams, Goss,
             Crook, Ullathorne, Newman, Ekoku
             Subs: Sutch (Adams 63), Robins (Ekoku 73), ?

Result  : Norwich               (0) 0   Arsenal               (0) 0
Scorers :  

Bookings: Polston, Ullathorne, Newman,  McGoldrick, Wright, Selley   
          Bowen
Att     : 17768
Referee : R Hart (Darlington)

Ah, the joys of football watching. A nil-nil draw at a wind and rain swept Carrow Road, with the number of bookings easily exceeding the number of goal chances. And I was right in the front row of the stand which meant I got soaked. Still beats doing most other things on a Saturday afternoon though, sad to say. Anyway, an attempt by Graham to shake things up a bit. Merson and Smith dropped in favour of McGoldrick and Parlour, and Selley replacing Jensen, though whether because of injury or form I'm not sure.

Arsenal started off reasonably brightly, with Parlour and Campbell winning a couple of quick corners down the right, and even Steady Eddy having a couple of runs down the left, though with no end result. However with Norwich playing a more solid, defensive game than is normally associated with them, things soon degenerated and there was very little in the way of goalmouth excitement for the rest of the first half. The only real chance I can remember was when Wright jinked his way past Polston on the edge of the area, only to be hacked down. The ball ran on to Parlour, so the ref correctly played the advantage, but Pizza's shot was blocked by another defender. Polston was booked, the first of seven in the match, most of them for fairly innocuous challenges. Both sides had spells of reasonable possession, but without creating much. Norwich probably had marginally the better chances, with Ekoku wafting the best of them over the bar from an angle on the right.

The second half was slightly more entertaining, with the highlight being a commendable effort by Dixon to add to his collection of spectacular own-goals. His header from a right wing cross was superbly timed but unfortunately straight at Seaman, and the keeper was able to hold it comfortably to his midriff. Seaman made one great save when Ekoku bumbled his way past a couple of defenders for a clear shot, and Bowen and Newman both missed chances when reasonably well placed. At the other end a cross from the right caused confusion in the Norwich area which ended with a goal line clearance after the ball had come of one of the Norwich players, I think. Campbell played Wright through on the left to leave him a reasonable chance, but he tried to place his side-foot shot from the edge of the area and misdirected it straight at Gunn. Close to time Campbell manouevred himself some space, but his shot from an acute angle on the right was well blocked by Gunn.

Very disappointing overall. Not much to criticise on the defensive side, with Keown having a good game for a change. The problem is in attack, with Wright still seeming very out of sorts, and Campbell not assuming the responsibility. Parlour did reasonably in the first half but faded in the 2nd and neither he nor McGoldrick really did enough to justify replacing Merson. Selley and Schwarz did well enough in a holding role. Arsenal had a number of corners, mostly from the right, and all but one of Schwarz's kicks went straight into the keeper's hands. To me the Swede is looking like he's going the way of Jensen in his first season here. Perhaps not surprising given that he's not really had a break for over a year - it might be an idea for GG to rest him for a couple of weeks and give Davis a chance to give us a more creative influence in midfield.

Report by Derek Brownjohn

Well lots of changes. Keown still in for Bould, Selley in for Jensen McGoldrick in for Merson and Parlour in for Smith. The rain poured down from the opening kick off as we started the stronger side. This may have been due to the howling gale blowing behind us mind you. Lots of early corners were appalingly delivered by Schwartz. Parlour look the most lively and managed to cut through after Wright was chopped down only for his weak shot to be cleared. Lots of possession not really the hint of a chance. Norwich, who have a scoring record as impressive as ours, looked unlikely to score either. The best chances fell in the second half. A bullet header by Dixon went straight into Seamans midrift. Seaman then saved well from a Ekoku who was clean through. Smith came on for McGolrick towards the end and livened things up a bit. A strong Schwartz run and nice cross was nearly turned in by a Norwich defender, Gunn sprawling on the line. Wright then missed the easiest opportunity. Campbell played him through on the left but as he tried to curle the ball into the far corner of the net he could only really muster a strong back pass. Wright was booked in the seocnd half for a very weak tackle. A Norwich defender was booked for throwing the ball in Keown's face and another for hacking down Wright. McGoldrick also got booked for a blatant body check. I have to say the referee was piss poor as we ended up with 6-7 bookings and not a single really bad challenge. On a brighter note Keown played his best game for ages and Dixon defended well. Unfortunately he also had to be the winger as Eddie played his usual part. Parlour worked hard but tired towards the end. Selley and Schwartz closed down the space in midfield which gave the little time for anything creative. I really would like to see three in midfield for a change. Campbell and Wright were fairly uninspired but it was hardly their fault. The players left the field to a torrent of abuse. How the fuck anyone thinks that helps I've no idea.

Report by Trevor Collins.

Click here for match reports menu page.