Arsenal vs Southampton. 23/09/95

Arsenal (2) 4 - 2 (2) Southampton

Carling Premiership, Saturday 23rd Sept 1995

(Three reports)

Team: 
Seaman Dixon Adams Bould Winterburn
Keown Parlour Merson Helder
Wright Bergkamp
subs not used:Hartson Jensen Bartman

Them:
Beasant   
LeTissier 
some others, not important really, but Watson & Monkou scored so I 
suppose they're worth mentioning.


Scorers:  Bergkamp 17,68, Adams 23,     Watson 24, Monkou 45
          Wright 73

Bookings: Wright                        Le Tissier, Hall, Shipperly,
                                        Heaney
                                     
Att     : 38136
Referee : R Hart (Darlington)

First Half

Two incidents in the first few minutes. A Soton player strangely clear with only Seaman to beat hit it too close to the keeper. Then a superb move by us on the break, Dixon racing forward and slotting the ball forward for Merse to run onto. He was under pressure from the defender running with him and shot disappointingly wide.

The next thing I remember is two or three incidents with Helder roaring down the left and then messing up. One time his shot had the keeper well beat but was a yard or so wide. The nest one he seemed to scuff it a bit and shot much wider across the fac of the goal, particularly frustrating because a simple square ball would have found Wright in certain-goal territory on his own by the pen spot. I think it was the first of these incidents (or a very similar one later), where from my angle the way the ball came to Helder seemed really odd. I couldn't work out what had happened. The MotD coverage later revealed an outrageous back-header by Bergkamp in the middle of the pitch. One of our guys had lofted it forward from just outside our pen area and BG, tightly marked in the centre-circle, quite deliberatley back-headed it into the path of Helder who had a clear ruin on goal and hit it wide.

So we were pretty excited by how things were going. Particularly the way Helder was tearing the right back to pieces. But at the same time a bit frustrated by the final balls he was coming up with. He was clearly rushing himself Badly.

The next time, however, he took the ball a bit further towards the goal line, and instead of hitting it square and low towards Wright (?) in the centre, as I think everyone was expecting, he lofted it back and over the penalty area to DB. I don't know how he did it but Helder managed to make to ball take approx 5 minutes to reach DB from the time it left GH's foot. The last bit was particularly clever. It stopped dead in the air a few feet from Dennis to give him time to make the perfect shape with his body for a cracking volley, real Roy of the Rovers stuff. Of course, once DB made contact the laws of time came back into effect and the ball accelerated again. Quiet a lot really, and bounced between goalie and defender into the far corner. Others have described the noise and so on. They're right. The papers are full of "you'd have thought Arsenal had won the league, FA Cup and Hokey Cokey Cup all at once" and "they must have heard the roar in Tottenham" etc.

Shortly after we got the second. So typical, so perfect. There'd been another corner just before where the bloke next to me had said "why don't they bring Hartson on if they're going to put the corners in high?" And I'de replied that Hartson wasn't *that* good in the air (something which no-one around me seemed to appreciate judging by the abuse I got), and that with Adams and Bould around you needen't worry about us getting on the end of the corners. So. Bould sanwiched between two defenders on the near post, jostling as usual. They were trying to keep really close but at the last minute he did his "push the guy in front away from you and step back" thing. Perfect flick back and well-I-never it's a goal for Tony. You see him jog up to the penalty area just as the corner's going to be struck and always think "why don't they watch for his late arrival" but if they do, it never seems to work. The goalie got his hands to it but that just meant that his hands went into the net too, the header was so powerful.

Before the crowd had time to settle down Soton had a freekick in dangerous territory, a bit outisde the pen area to the left. Le Tissie went for the far post but Seaman had it well covered. But Watson(?) was there on the pen spot, completely unmarked, and didn't really have to move at all to direct a very nice cushioned header past the wrongfooted goalie. Bollocks.

Then they got their second, only they didn't, somehow. Watson again put clear on Seaman, who came out to meet him, stood up, made himself big and all that and I guess did just barely enough because although the striker pushed it very nicely towards goal just wide enough for Seaman not to have a chance of getting it, Keown came rushing back to push the ball wide at the last moment.

Not long after, a fierce long range shot forced a good save from Seaman. And from the resulting corner they did get their second. It came right across the area to Monkou who rose to lob a looping header back into the far corner. On MotD they thought it might have come off the back of Steve Bould's head which would be really unlucky if true because the trajectory was perfect. Seaman was unsighted by a Soton player right in front of him who, from the TV coverage and stop-frame analysis, looked suspiciously offside when the ball was headed.

Then, from another corner of ours, the ball came back to Merse who'd taken it and he passed it back to Helder near the edge of the box who drove it ferociously but Beasant did well to get his hands up and deflect it up over the goal.

So at half-time the mood was thrilled but depressed. We were seeing some excellent and exciting football but had allowed them back into it and I for one had visions of a goalless second half except for a dodgy freekick slammed in by Le Tiss in the dying seconds. Ever the optimist :-) I was remembering the elation that followed Platt's wondergoal against Forest and the result that followed......

The other thing from the first half, I don't remember how it fitted in chronologically, was a typical piece of sheer stupidity from Wright. He'd gone for a ball into the box and been tackled by Monkou. I don't think it was even a free kick. Wright was incensed though, and while he was lying on the ground Monkou who'd made the tackle I guess, came up and stood over him by his head. I guess Monkou said something or did somehting with his feet that pissed Wrighty off, and he kicked upwards and clearly caught Monkou in the midriff. The ref was not far away and I thought he'd seen it clear enough but he just talked to the two of them and left it at that. There is no doubt in my mind that, strictly speaking, Wright should have been sent off. He didn't even get a booking for this incident which was also lucky seeing as he did pick one up in the second half. The only booking in the first half was for Le Tissie.

Second Half.

Less good a view of the significant action, obviously. I have even less good an idea of the order of events than I do for the first (this is why I don't often write reports).

Wright was put clear by DB (I think) and blasted the ball a little too close to Beasant who was able to parry the ball. But it went up and over the keeper to the right hand side of the goal area where Wright was quickly onto it and, with the keeper on the ground, blasted it again but high and onto the crossbar and out. What a miss! I thought. And I thought it again at fulltime, watching the action on the big screens. But again with the aid of video and the BBC, later analysis showed quite clearly that Beasant somehow had got a fingertip on the second shot, reaching up from his semi-prone position below Wright. The trajectory of the ball is clearly deflected and arther than a miss, this has to go down as an extraordinary double save. Beasant has always been good at this stuff at close quarters, his other speciality being tame shots from outside the area which he allows to bounce through his arms (that's if he doesn't fall over first).

More good action, more end-to-end stuff, but still leaving me with the feeling that we weren't going to break through. As in previous matches Wright and Bergkamp seemd to have an understanding but it kept on just not quite working out. Then Adams got the ball just inside our half and passed it straight forward to Bergkamp, who had dropped deep - just inside their half, on the RHS, and marked. He carried the ball forward, not seeming to mind much about the marker. Carried it forward and into the centre of the pitch, with a defender in front of him. Then he cut back to the right, forward a bit more, a bit more space at last, and CRACK! the ball made a bee-line for the top RH corner where it smashed off the post. For an agonising moment it looked like it had come out again but the reaction of the North Bank, more than the players, made it clear. More noise, hugging, "what a waste of money", "boring boring arsenal" etc (soon we'll be the only people singing that song :-)).

The last goal was Ian Wright all over. He looked to have been put clear but before you knew it there were defenders in front of him. Bergkamp was in space to his left and behind, and there was someone else (Merse or Ray I guess) clear to his right. But there was no space in front of Wright. He went sideways to his left. Checked. Back the other way. Checked. To the left again. Then a back heel back towards the right of goal (all this within little more than a square yard) and a spin through 180 degrees but turning with his back to goal this time. Pushed it forward a little bit. The defender who up to then had been watching, not a clue what to do about all htis, saw his chance and reached for the tackle but, at a stretch, Wright got his foot round it and struck it across goal, through the defence, and in off the far (left hand) post. Marvellous.

After that, there was a great piece of control from Shipperley, bringing the ball down and shooting from distance in one movement, which forced another good save from Seaman.

And finally, right near the end of the second half our star right winger did some typical fancy footwork down by the corner flag to get him past a defender, but then passed to another one. Ah well. It was worth it, as always, for the jubilant chorusses of "Tony, Tony Adams, Tony Adams on the wing!".

All in all, a terrific match. My favourite kind. We had the elation of being two up twice, and it's all the more rewarding having one through the half-time misery of having lost that lead. Many of the crowd around me were voicing their frustration in terms of "come on we can beat this rubbish" but I have to say that I agree with whoever said, earlier, that Southampton were quite good. They'd have beaten most teams in the Premiership with that performance so to have come out, eventually, with a resounding whopping is pretty good.

Bergkamp could have been man of the match even *without* his goals. To be fair to the Mirror they gave him 10/10 (not that common a thing) and their Man of the Match verdict was "no contest". He was complete. Simple as that.

Parlour continued his excellent return to his correct position and has to play there (*when* he plays). I'm not sure he'll be right for every match but I think we could see Merse having trouble. If anyone I'd say Merse was a little disappointing on Saturday, and with Helder being so influential and effective (particularly in the first half - in the second he was much quieter which is either due to Soton sorting themselves out or the fact that the left wing was in the shade in the second half and he might've got a bit chilly out there), and Platt coming back soon (*possibly* for the Chelsea game apparently), Merse might not find his place easy to keep.

This report has been censored for our younger readers.

Report by Rupe.

Teams
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Bould, Winterburn, Keown, Parlour,
         Merson, Helder, Bergkamp, Wright
         Subs: Hartson, Jensen, Bartram 

So'ton:  Beasant, Dodd, Hall, Monkou, Benali, Magilton, Widdrington,
         Maddison, Le Tissier, Shipperley, Watson
         Subs: Heaney (Benali 78), Warren (Shipperly 78), Grobbelaar

Well, I hardly know where to start. A highly entertaining game at Highbury on Saturday which was made all the more special by the manner in which Dennis Bergkamp finally produced the goods. Two spectacular goals were the icing on what was certainly Arsenal's best performance of the season, contributed to in no small part by the visitors who were commendably positive in their approach to the match.

The opening 25 minutes produced some exhilirating attacking from Arsenal, though in fact it was Southampton who should have scored first in the opening minute. A long ball down the Saints right went over Winterburn's head and dropped to the feet of Le Tissier. His ball in along the edge of the area was a bit short for Watson and Merson nipped in to clear but only hit it against Parlour and the ball ricocheted through to Watson on his own in the area. He turned and shot instantly from about 15 yards, but it went more or less straight at Seaman and he was able to save fairly comfortably.

Less than a minute later it was Arsenal who should have scored with a lovely sweeping move out of defence. I think it was Adams who gave a short pass out to Merson who in turn stabbed a first time pass out to Bergkamp. The Dutchman spotted Dixon making a run in space out on the right and lofted a first time ball out into his path. Dixon carried it on into the Southampton half and then produced a nice pass into Merson's path as the latter tore down the middle. An excellent first touch seemed to have set him up for the goal, but his shot from just inside the area whistled a couple of feet wide of the far post.

The following 15 minutes were all Arsenal, with too many shots and chances for me to remember. Helder had a run from inside his own half which ended with a shot from outside the area which also missed the far post by only a couple of feet. Then a lovely headed flick from Bergkamp sent Helder free again, but this time clean through, his attempt to curl a shot with the outside of his left foot went horribly wrong, with Wrighty on his inside also screaming for the pass.

Bergkamp also had a couple of half chances. A shimmy on the edge of the area made space for a shot which went dreadfully high and wide. Then a ball played in, by Wright I think, found him in the 6 yard box to the left of goal. A superb turn fooled Monkou and made space for the shot, but from an acute angle it curled just over the opposite corner. Wright then got free in the right side of the box, and for once elected not to go for goal and tried to lay it back to Bergkamp, but a defender just got in front to put him off.

Finally, the moment we'd all been waiting for. Gathering a quick throw from Winterburn, Helder left Dodds for dead down the left and had time to look up before lifting over a cross to pick out Bergkamp at the far post. He set himself beautifully for the volley, and from about 15 yards it arrowed into the opposite bottom corner. Highbury absolutely erupted with a mixture of relief and delight.

Not long afterwards Wright might have made it two. The Southampton offside trap was sprung to leave him clear, though wide out on the left. With no support down the middle he made the right choice, but his attempt to chip Beasant from a wide position also cleared the bar by a few feet. Southampton then hit back and Maddison forced Seaman into a good save with a shot from just outside the area which the keeper had to push round the post.

Merson's corners had been consistently causing the Southampton defence problems. Early on one was half cleared back out to him, he curled it back in where a defender had to scramble it out from the foot of the far post. It reached Merse again, and again his ball back in was only just cleared for another corner. And it was from yet another near post corner on the left that Arsenal eventually increased their lead. Bould got a clean flick-on, and Adams stealing up late and unmarked crashed his header from about 3 yards through Beasant and into the roof of the net.

The Highbury fans were still rejoicing when Southampton pulled one back barely a minute later. Adams was ajudged to have fouled Watson a couple of yards outside the box. With Le Tissier lining up to take it, Adams then decided at the last minute that an extra man was needed on the wall, which left Watson unmarked on the penalty spot. I'm not sure that Le Tiss wasn't trying to curl it inside the far post, but anyway Watson got his head to it and glanced it past the wrong footed Seaman.

Still Arsenal pushed forward and might have restored their two goal cushion but for Beasant. Another Merson corner was only half cleared back to him and he laid off a volley to pick out Helder on the edge of the box. Lionel caught it beautifully on the half volley and his shot was screaming just under the bar before Beasant reacted superbly to tip it over.

Finally, in 1st half injury time came the sucker punch. Merson slid in to intercept a pass in the Arsenal half, but unfortunately succeeded only in playing into Watson's path to leave him one on one with Seaman. His attempt to nudge it past the outrushing keeper was rolling just inside the post before Keown dashing back, managed to turn what would have been an easy clearance with his left foot into a near thing with his right. However he did manage to push it wide for a corner, which Le Tissier took, and from which Monkou's looping header cleared everybody and dropped just inside the far post.

A bit of sickener, but with the home crowd still buzzing over Bergkamp's debut goal, during the break it seemed only a matter of time before Arsenal went ahead again. And after a scare at the other end when Shipperly did well to get in a shot which was narrowly wide, Wrighty very nearly produced the breakthrough. A clearance was headed back forward by Keown to leave Wright with a bit of space down the middle. Under pressure from Monkou, his volley from 12 yards still required a great reaction save from Beasant. Following up Wright collected the ball, dragged it away from Beasant and twisted to crack a shot from an acute angle about 4 yards out against the bar.

Some sustained Arsenal pressure then finally produced another goal, a wonderful solo effort from Bergkamp which outdid even his first. There seemed no danger as he collected a ball from Adams just inside the Saints half and quite wide on the right. He drifted inside, then accelerated towards goal, jinking first left then right, beating his man twice to make space for a shot. And from about 25 yards the ball bulleted off his right boot and crashed against the post before ricocheting into the net on the opposite side. Highbury erupted once more.

Five minutes later Wright restored the two goal lead with a typical goal. Helder nipped in to intercept a pass in the Southampton half and played it forward to Wright on the edge of the box. He took it on and turned the two covering defender first one way, then another, then back again. As both Helder and Bergkamp stood admiring from good positions, Wrighty ignored them both and lashed the ball past the defenders, across the keeper and in off the far post.

After that Arsenal eased off somewhat, though there was still time for a nice little cameo from Adams. Playing a one-two with Bergkamp he found himself on the right wing and produced a lovely turn to make space for a cross. It wasn't a bad one either, but was headed clear, and Adams then got another big cheer as he raced back to make a tackle on the half way line.

As the chants of "Tony Adams, on the wi-ing" died away, Southampton produced a final flurry as Seaman was twice required to make diving saves to deny long range efforts from Maddison and Watson.

But in the end it was Bergkamp's day as he capped his gradual improvement over the season with a classy overall display and two superb goals. It was a pretty good and exciting performance from Arsenal with the most eye-catching displays coming from Bergkamp, Helder and Wright, and for a change Arsenal's attacking made up for a relatively less secure defence. Wright blotted his copybook somewhat with an over-reaction to what might or might not have been a shove by his old enemy, Monkou and was later booked for dissent.

Keown was presumably in to look after Le Tissier, though he didn't seem to me to be closely man-marking him, instead playing more of a holding role in front of the defence, and in general Keown stood out mainly for being the culprit when Arsenal's attacks broke down. Parlour again did a reasonable job in the middle, and while Merson seemed to have a relatively quiet match in a sort of freer role, it was probably in part because Helder and Bergkamp were in such good form. All in all, it is a formation which does seem to work quite well, though of the players available I'd rather see Jensen over Keown, and Platt when he is back from injury.

report by Derek Brownjohn.

DENNIS SERVES UP DOUBLE WHOPPER

FA Carling Premiership --------------------- Patience is a virtue!, Arsenal have had to wait in excess of 647 minutes for Bergkamp to provide them with a goal and it will be a performance that he and the Arsenal supporters will not forget for a long time. The Dutchman opened his Premiership scoring account with a superbly executed volley after 16 minutes which complimented Glenn Helderms excellent cross.

Bergkamp's first goal left the huge Highbury faithful ecstatic, his second sent them into pure delirium as the Dutch international added a truly memorable goal in which his obvious delight was very noticeable. He commented after the game with typical modesty: 'The first goal was for the team, the second brought me much more pleasure'.

MEMORABLE

Arsenal have been rightly criticised for a general lack of excitement during their opening fixtures, this game however had all the attributes of the match of the season. A reason to explain Arsenal's sudden transition from boredom which surrounded their previous performance against West Ham to Saturday's terrific encounter was their 'all out attack' attitude. When was the last time you saw Tony Adams attempting and succeeding with a Cruyff like turn on the left wing?. Southampton must also take credit as they performed quite magnificently in a memorable match.

The game started at an explosive pace with both sides squandering clear openings in the first three minutes. Paul Merson was the culprit for Arsenal when after excellent build up play his shot failed to trouble Dave Beasant. Southampton's early chance fell to Gorden Watson but the former Sheffield Wednesday striker was foiled by the alert David Seaman.

The opening quarter saw an abundance of chances with both sides making an early impression. For Arsenal Bergkamp shot farcically wide and Glenn Helder matched his countryman's inaccuracy firstly shooting a couple of yards wide from a good position and then ridiculously wide from an even easier position within minutes of each other. Helder linked well with Bergkamp in the latter opportunity and this is the combination that was the most effective throughout the game. Helder, who is similar to his predecessor Anders Limpar in contribution was impressive in patches and his beautifully timed pass to Ian Wright almost opened the scoring. Wright opted to chip Beasant when a run on goal would have been the more suitable option. Beasant, much improved and high in confidence, had to be at his best when Merson teed up Helder but the winger's powerful half-volley was brilliantly tipped over the bar.

Southampton also created chances looking particularly dangerous from set play and their build up was also impressive with Magilton and Le Tissier both productive in contribution and technique. Southampton's problem was lack of width, their most constructive ploy was midfielders running from deep and this led to both Magilton and Maddison finding an opening with the latter's fine shot from distance producing a marvellous save from David Seaman low to his right.

IMMACULATE

The opening goal arrived in the sixteenth minute and it was the Dutch combination of Helder and Bergkamp that paid dividends again. Helder's explosive pace was the key as his fine run saw him glide past Jason Dodd in an almost ghostly fashion. The final ball was good and Bergkamp's volley immaculate. The celebrations were of relief as well as delight, Bergkamp will vouch for that.

Within six minutes Arsenal had doubled their lead and it was a goal you would typically associate with none other than the Gunners. Merson's flighted corner flicked on at the near post by Bould and Adams charging through to head home powerfully. That's three in a week for the Arsenal skipper!

COMPLACENCY

If this was a typical Arsenal goal the action which followed two minutes later was completely the opposite when defensive complacency left Watson unmarked and he connected with Le Tissier's free kick completely unchallenged. A similar occurrence just before half time saw the Saints level. Le Tissier was again the provider as his corner was powered into the Arsenal net by Ken Monkou.

The only forgettable moments in the first half were the continued disagreements between Wright and Monkou carried over from previous encounters, both seemed content on obstructing one another and both were lucky to remain on the pitch after an early confrontation.

The second half started with a real air of optimism and although the first had ended in disappointment the excitement generated had the crowd in good voice. Southampton had an early chance when Shipperley controlled and volleyed wide, but this aside Arsenal were dominant. Frustration was again building around Highbury as Arsenal marched forward unsuccessfully. Beasant foiled Wright brilliantly, then the same player struck the rebound onto the crossbar.

With twenty-two minutes remaining the teams were still level, then enter Dennis Bergkamp. Tony Adams played a simple but effective pass to Bergkamp who had drifted into a deeper position. The dutchman turned, glided towards the Southampton penalty box, made space for himself before unleashing a phenomenal twenty five yard drive which rebounded off the post and into the net.

Six minutes later and the game was effectively over with Ian Wright predictably the scorer. Wright found himself inside the penalty area with an option to pass to Bergkamp, did he?, not on your life!. Arsenal's second most prolific goalscorer was intent on not being completely over-shadowed by his strike partner and he twisted left, turned right and after leaving Richard Hall completely confused swept the ball past Beasant, reward for another all-action display from the volatile Arsenal striker.

Bruce Rioch was delighted with his team's performance and although he hinted his side should not have been so complacent to allow Southampton back into the match, he complimented his strike duo by stating: 'I was pleased with my terrible twins. I don't think I can remember three better goals to win a match. I've never put any pressure on Dennis to score, but I was delighted to see them go in. They were great goals'

Man of the Match: Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal) Bergkamp has threatened a performance of this nature ever since his transfer to Arsenal and with finishing of this quality to add to his outstanding technique Dennis and Arsenal could be in for an unforgettable season.

Arsenal: Seaman 8, Dixon 7, Winterburn 6, Bould 7, Adams 7, Keown 6, Parlour 6, Helder 7, Merson 6, BERGKAMP 9, Wright 8. Subs Not Used: Bartram, Hartson, Jensen. Booked: Winterburn, Wright. Southampton: BEASANT 8, Benali 6 (Warren), Dodd 6, Hall 6, Monkou 7, Magilton 7, Le Tissier 7, Maddison 6, Widderington 6, Shipperley 6 (Heaney), Watson 7. Sub Not Used: Grobbelaar. Booked: Le Tissier. Referee: Robbie Hart (Darlington) 6.

report by Richard Yershon

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