(0) 0 - 0 (0) ArsenalPreviewFrom PA:
(0) 0 - 0 (0) ArsenalSelhurst Park. Saturday 18th October 1997FA Carling Premiership
Arsenal:
Seaman
Grimandi Adams Bould Winterburn
Parlour Petit Vieira Boa Morte
Wright Bergkamp
Half-time reportPalace 0 - 0 ArsenalAn even and exciting match, with chances at both ends. Arsenal has a couple of penalty claims. The first came after Andy Linighan fouled Ian Wright. From the following free-kick Boa Morte appeared to be dragged back as he spun away from the wall but nothing was given. As Palace broke Vieira brought Lombardo down and was booked, prompting Arsenal players to enquire of the referee as to whether he should perhaps have booked Linighan. Ian Wright was the main offender and was booked himself for dissent shortly after - possibly also still going on about the penalty claim. Bergkamp was also givign the ref verbals which is a bit worrying given his yellow card situation (a booking now will earn him a 3 match ban and he'd miss our forthcoming big matches).Right at the end of the half Wright had a double chance, the first being saved by the keeper and the follow-up blocked by Linighan. Wright claim the block was made by Linighan's arm. So it could go either way, but there's good news from elsewhere with Man Utd 2 down at Derby (Sheringham missed pen), Liverpool 1 down at Everton, and Newcatsel losing 3-0 to Leeds. Ex-Gunner Paul Shaw has put Millwall ahead against Watford, with an assist from recent departee Michael Black.
Full-time reportPalace 0 - 0 ArsenalWe were a bit lucky to get the draw in the end. In the last few minutes we probably should have had a penalty given against us. Bould passed back to Seaman when he shouldn't have, and when the keeper found himself chasing Ndah for the ball he barged him out of the way. Both players went down but Seaman was the offender.In the second half Platt came on for Boa Morte, after the Portuguese player had been booked. Parlour was substituted by Mendez. Our best chance fell to Petit, but as he brought the ball forward Wright was coming out towards him and the two of them kind of left it for each other. Bad news - Bergkamp was booked for a foul when he followed through on a tackel and took out a second Palace player. His 3 match suspension starts in 2 weeks which will see him miss the matches against Derby, Man Utd and Sheffield Wednesday. Man Utd came back from 2 down to get a draw and are still 1 point behind us. Blackburn's win over Soton takes them into second on goal difference. Chelsea won and would join Blackburn and ManU on points if they win their game in hand. Newcastle and LIverpool both lost. See the table. Check out the reports on AFCi and the other Arsenal sites.
FA Carling Premiership
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Sat Oct 18 1997
Result : Crystal Palace (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 0
Arsenal: Seaman, Grimandi, Winterburn, Bould, Adams; Vieira, Petit,
Parlour, Boa Morte; Bergkamp, Wright
Subs: Platt (Boa Morte 57), Mendez (Parlour 72),
Marshall, Wreh, Manninger
Booked: Vieira, Wright, Boa Morte, Bergkamp, Grimandi
Palace: Miller, Edworthy, Gordon, Roberts, Linighan, Hreidarsson,
Rodger, Fullarton, Lombardo, Warhurst, Shipperley
Subs: Ndah (Warhurst 69), Bonetti (Lombardo 85),
Dyer, Ormshaw, Zohar
Booked: Linighan
Att: 26180
Ref: S W Dunn (Bristol)
A disappointing and scrappy goalless draw at Selhurst Park on Saturday,
with possibly the most important incident being the booking Dennis
Bergkamp received which means he misses 3 of the 4 league games in
November, including the potentially crucial home match with Man United.
Arsenal dominated the game in terms of possession and had most of the
few chances that were created but, denied a couple of clear cut penalty
claims, never really found any fluency in attack, and for the most part
Palace comfortably held on for the draw which was clearly the height of
their ambitions.
Arsenal started with two changes from the normal team, Grimandi and Boa Morte replacing the injured Dixon and Overmars. Palace fielded five at the back, including Arsenal old boy Andy Linighan, in their ultimately successful attempt to counter Bergkamp and Wright. The opening few minutes were fairly even, with Palace if anything looking slightly more dangerous. Lombardo shot wildly over the bar, and a couple of dangerous crosses from the Palace left came to nothing. Gradually though Arsenal took control and dominated the rest of the half. Adams should have scored from a lovely Bergkamp cross following some typically smart control in the area by the Dutchman, but Wright jumping just in front of the Arsenal captain appeared to put him off, and an otherwise free header from 8 yards ended up being more ball to head rather than head to ball, and Miller made an easy save. Vieira was then booked after Lombardo took a theatrical tumble following minimal contact as Palace tried a quick break from the keeper's throw, and a couple of minutes later Wright followed him into the book in a rather perplexing fashion. Most of the reports seem to claim Wright was booked for dissent, but as far as I recall one of the Palace players fouled Winterburn (I think) about 30 yards inside the Arsenal half. The ref blew up, marched back into the Palace half, booked Wright and awarded Palace a free kick just outside their own area. Presumably it was for an earlier foul which I didn't see, but Bergkamp was clearly outraged at the decision and spent some time talking heatedly to the ref. The match continued and Arsenal continued to press. A beautiful pass on the turn from Wright sent Boa Morte into the area down the left. An early shot might have reaped greater reward, but the winger chose instead to take it on and cross and won only a corner. Then Winterburn picked up a loose ball just outside the area, cut in onto his right foot (no kidding) and fired in what looked like a goal bound shot which was blocked. At the other end Palace had one decent chance when Shipperley broke clear, but his angled shot from just outside the area screwed wide of the far post. Towards the end of the half, Arsenal should have gone in front from the penalty spot. Bergkamp hit a free kick from outside the area on the left which was half blocked by the wall, and as Boa Morte turned to chase the loose ball he was clearly hauled back by Edworthy (I think) who had not one, but two handfuls of his shirt. Quite how the ref, barely two yards away, failed to see it I don't know. Soon after that Arsenal probably should have had another penalty. Wrighty picked up Vieira's pass following a poor Palace clearance and ran on into the area to fire in a low angled left foot shot from 15 yards which Miller did extremely well to get a hand to. The ball wasn't cleared properly and reached Wright again, and from a similar position he hit a left foot volley which was certainly on target before it hit Linighan on the hand. Presumably the ref deemed it accidental handball, but Linighan put his hands up, probably primarily to protect himself, which by any definition is intentional so it seemed a definite penalty to me. The second half was just as hard fought, though Arsenal were a bit unlucky not to take the lead within a minute of the restart. Wright went on a run into the area during which he never quite seemed to have the ball under full control, but nonetheless it broke for him to eventually stab in a shot which had the keeper beaten but ricocheted away to safety off Roberts, who I think knew little about it. The rest of the half was a similar story - Arsenal dominating and occasionally making a half chance without really looking likely to score. Palace barely threatened, apart from one occasion when Warhurst had a chance but hit his shot from just outside the area straight at Seaman. Arsenal's best chance was probably when Bergkamp got away down the right and pulled back a cross. Petit running in should have had a relatively easy chance to hit it home from about 12 yards, but seemed to be put off by Wright turning and briefly making as if to control the ball himself, and the Frenchman in the end lamely mishit a shot straight at Miller. In between times came the real sickener for Arsenal fans when Bergkamp was booked for a seemingly innocuous trip. The ref pointed to elsewhere on the pitch indicating that it was for "accumulated fouls". Strange that Hreidarsson and Roberts gave away numerous free kicks without being booked while I can only recall a couple of other times Bergkamp was penalised. If it had been for "accumulated dissent" it might have been more understandable. Anyway, Bergkamp almost made amends a couple of times late in the game, curling a careful shot from Mendez's pass only inches wide of the post, and almost surprising the keeper with another snap shot from just inside the area. Vieira also had a half decent opportunity when sent clear into the area on the right but his final touch was marginally too heavy and allowed Miller to come out and make a brave block. The final notable incident of the game came when Winterburn (I think) sold Seaman a bit short with a backpass. The keeper touched it past Ndah, but was body checked by the substitute. Seaman did then pull him down to prevent him reaching the ball first, but as Ndah had barged him while on a course at right angles to the path of the ball it was clearly his foul first, and for a change the ref got a decision right despite the home fans screaming for a penalty. Overall, a fairly disappointing performance from Arsenal, though they weren't helped by a referee whose key decisions all favoured the home side. Arsenal had five players booked of which only two were justified in my entirely unbiassed opinion.
Seaman 7.5 Had very little to do.
Winterburn 6.5 A reasonable game, though he uncharacteristically lost a
couple of tackles in dangerous areas in the 2nd half.
Grimandi 6.0 Still looks rather uncertain and too prone to being
caught in possession, though he didn't do too badly
going forward.
Adams 7.5 Typically reliable and commanding.
Bould 7.5 Consistent again.
Petit 7.0 Played reasonably if unspectacularly.
Vieira 7.5 Had quite a good game I thought, though infuriatingly he
again refused to shoot when presented with a decent
chance for a long range effort in the 2nd half.
Parlour 6.5 Not one of his better games this season.
Boa Morte 6.0 Didn't really produce much, and was well marked on the
day by Edworthy.
Wright 7.5 I thought he had a reasonably game overall, and was
unlucky not to score.
Bergkamp 7.5 Seemed in an unusually tetchy mood, though not entirely
surprising given the way he was wrestled and pulled
thoughout the game. Presumably the ref was waiting for
two throws or a submission before awarding a free kick.
Still looked the most likely to produce something though.
Platt 7.5 Did pretty well in the time he was on.
Mendez Didn't really get much chance. A couple of promising
runs.
Other reports
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