Arsenal (4) 4 - 0 (0)Highbury. Wednesday 24th September 1997FA Carling PremiershipPreviewKick-off is at 8.00pm. Before the match (starting at 7.45) there will be a "Tribute to Ian Wright": a celebration of the man's new goal-scoring record. We'll be seeing all his goals on the big screens, I should imagine. There's other stuff going on too and the club have actually requested that supporters turn up no later than 7.45. There's a page about it on AFCi. The Mirror are giving away Ian Wright masks outside the ground beforehand. I guess the Sun might have come up with some sort of stunt too.Arsenal are expected to field the same team that started against Chelsea on Sunday. Check out the West Ham site, they reckon they might have injury problems. Latest to join the "doubtful" list are Moncur and Berkovic. See AFCi for match preview (dull). Apparently the number of London derbies is being touted as a reason why it's harder for London clubs to win the League. This is hardly supported by last season's results where our record of 4-3-1 (W-D-L) in London derbies was very similar (slightly better) than our overall record of 19-11-8. Scorers: Bergkamp (12), Overmars 2 (39, 45), Wright pen (42) Arsenal: Seaman Dixon (Grimandi) Adams Bould Winterburn (Platt) Overmars Petit Vieira Parlour Bergkamp Wright (Anelka)Dennis Bergkamp said on Match of the Day that it was the best 45 minutes Arsenal have played since he's been here, and who am I to argue? Dennis put us ahead after 12 minutes. Following a superb long pass over the top of the defence from Petit, he held off the chasing defender and took it close to Miklosko before slidign it past him with his shin. Ok the last touch could have been cleaner, but they don't all have to be goal of the month... We dominated the half, and had only the one real scare when Seaman came for a long cross which went right over the penalty area from the left. He failed to reach the ball and then collided with a couple of players leaving him on the ground as the ball came to a free West Ham player on the right hand side. He passed it square and somehow Lampard managed to miss. Then we took them apart in the last 6 minutes of the half. Bergkamp supplied Overmars and just outside the area he cut inside 2 defenders and hit a precise shot along the ground into the corner of the net. Johnny Hartson had a quiet game (all their players did), but was instrumental in our third goal. From inside our half, he hoofed the ball, in the wrong direction, over half the length of the pitch and out for an Arsenal corner. The ball came out from the corner and, with the chants of "Hartson is a Gooner" still ringing, the 2 Dutch players exchanged casual short passes in the centre of the pitch 20 yards out. Overmars took it forward and passed square to Adams whose flick into the box was handled. Wright penalty: 181. Then at the end of the half Bergkamp again supplied Overmars, after some great midfield work by Petit, winning the ball, and Vieira, turning his man on the touchline and then passing to Wright who gave it to Dennis, Bergkamp slotted the ball through the defence for Overmars to run onto. He took it close to Miklosko and cooly put it under the keeper's body. Dixon had to go off early on, and Grimandi came on and went into the right back position where he acquitted himself very well. Winterburn, who had a fantastic first half, stayed off at half time and Platt came on. He took Petit's place alongside Vieira while Petit went into the left-back position. Again they both did well enough. Anelka came on for Wright halfway through the second half and missed the best chance of the half, heading a Bergkamp cross down into the ground so it bounced over the bar. Bergkamp had a few close shots in the second half, a couple that curled in but not quiet enough to get inside the right hand post, and one chip that just cleared the bar and which Miklosko probably had covered. This result, and Man Utd's draw at home to Chelsea (thanks to 2 Schmeichel errors!) take Arsenal to the top of the the table. Thanks to Graham for pointing out that I'd mis-spelled "Miklosko" as "Ogrizovic" a couple of times in the first version of this report. It's so hard to keep track of all these long East European named ugly goalkeepers. Speaking of ugly, there was much merriment at Dowie's expense last night, mostly focussing on his footballing rather than facial shortcomings. The West Ham fans obviously hold him in high regard. When he was booked in the first half, it was they who were shouting "Off! off! off!". Later on they gave us "we all agree, Dowie is better than Bergkamp" (from the unmajestic piece of Dowie play we'd just witnessed this was plainly ironic). Rupe.
FA Carling Premiership
Arsenal vs West Ham United Wed Sep 24 1997
Result : Arsenal (4) 4 West Ham (0) 0
Scorers: Bergkamp 12, Overmars 39,45
Wright 42 pen
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Bould, Adams, Winterburn, Petit, Vieira,
Parlour, Overmars, Bergkamp, Wright
Subs: Grimandi (Dixon 15), Platt (Winterburn h-t)
Anelka (Wright 65), Boa Morte, Manninger
Booked:
West Ham: Miklosko, Breacker, Unsworth, Ferdinand, Pearce,
Bishop, Lomas, Lazaridis, Lampard, Hartson, Dowie
Subs: Potts (Ferdinand 81), Rowland, Forrest, Hodges, Coyne
Booked: Dowie, Lampard, Lomas, Unsworth
Att: 38012
Ref: P E Alcock (Redhill)
A scintillating display of attacking football, masterminded once again
by the brilliant Bergkamp, simply swept West Ham aside in a 4 goal first
half blitz. There was less goal action but still plenty of beautiful
foobtall after the break as Arsenal eased off and enjoyed themselves
without trying too hard.
The first glimpse of things to come was seen after only a couple of minutes. Bergkamp played a quick one-two with Overmars on the edge of the box before hitting an instant left foot volley which flew a couple of feet over the bar. A few minutes later, his finishing was more accurate. Petit picked out the non-flying Dutchman's run with a superb long pass out of his own half. Bergkamp outpaced Pearce into the area and as Miklosko came out knocked the ball past him with his shin and it rolled inside the far post. Every little touch he makes is magic. After a quarter of an hour Dixon went off injured to be replaced by Grimandi and West Ham then actually had a good spell and made a couple of decent chances of their own. Lazaridis sent over a deep cross from the left which Seaman couldn't reach and Breacker, I think, drove it back into the middle. The ball was deflected up onto Lampard's head, but it came at him quickly and from just outside the six yard box he headed wide. Soon after that Dowie beat the offside trap and collected the ball in the area wide on the right. He chipped over Seaman as the keeper came out, but Winterburn got back brilliantly to hack clear from off Hartson's toe. From then on though it was one way traffic, mainly directed by the Dutch master. In one brilliant little cameo in the area he controlled and then volleyed the ball a couple of times on his instep, before reaching the byline and cutting the ball back with his left foot to present Wright with chance. WWW drove his left foot shot straight at Miklosko. Vieira then went on a fantastic dribble, carrying the ball from inside his own half to the edge of the area before spreading it wide to Bergkamp on his right. The pass drove the Iceman a bit wide but he had time to look up and chip over a cross to the far post where a defender just got a head to the ball to glance it away as Wrighty waited behind him to nod into an empty net. The second goal, made in Holland, duly arrived about 15 minutes before half time. Bergkamp controlled a loose ball on the half way line before threading a pass forward to pick out Overmars run as he sped down the left. The winger took it into the area before checking back onto his right foot and drilling in a shot which beat Miklosko all ends up at his near post. The third goal had in it's origins a rather bizarre incident. Bould dallied on the ball just inside his own half and was dispossessed by Hartson. Bouldy recovered to put in a tackle but was on the ground and Hartson appeared to have time to take the ball away. Instead, for some reason he chose to welly the ball as hard as he could in the direction of his own goal and it sailed out for a corner. Trying out for the Welsh rugby team perhaps. Anyway, following the corner Adams tried to flick the ball through for Overmars on the edge of the area. Pearce blocked it with a combination of chest and arm, and the ref pointed to the spot. A little harsh perhaps, but Wright had no hesitation in stroking the penalty just inside Miklosko's right hand post. Just before half time it was four. A superb move started by a brilliant Vieira turn on the left hand touchline went via Wright to Bergkamp who carefully rolled a perfectly weighted pass through the shellshocked Hammers defence into Overmars' path as he ran in from the left. Into the area, one on one with the keeper, he drew Miklosko before sliding the ball past him and into the net. Seconds before the ref blew for half time Hartson laid out Winterburn with an accidental (to be charitable) flailing elbow, and Platt replaced him for the second half with Petit moving to left back. It made little difference to the shape of the match though, as Arsenal continued their dominance, albeit in a somewhat more relaxed fashion. Bergkamp was usually involved in the significant action. First Petit fed Overmars down the left, he checked back on the edge of the area before rolling the ball along the 18 yard line to Wright who in turn touched the ball back into Bergkamp's path, and his curling shot just missed the angle of post and upright. Soon after that the West Ham defence obviously decided that wasn't good enough and Pearce passed the ball to the Dutchman 10 yards outside the area. This time he tried a delicate chip which cleared Miklosko but landed on the roof of the net. "You're crap Bergkamp, get off the pitch!" yelled someone in the North Bank. Undeterred, he tried again, cutting powerfully in from the left wing past a couple of challenges before unleashing another shot from outside the area which dipped only a foot or two wide of the far post. Midway through the half Wenger rested Wright and replaced him with Anelka, and Bergkamp immediately set him up with a chance, whipping in a cross from the right. The young Frenchman headed it into the ground and over the bar, distracted no doubt by a defender waving a boot in his face. At the other end the West Ham fans jubilantly celebrated a corner and had fun playing keep-ball as it was booted into their midst. Their team did actually make a good chance to get a goal back when Lampard was put through but Seaman stood his ground and made a suberb block. Arsenal saved the best move of the half for the end. Platt played a lovely pass inside the fullback for Overmars to run onto. He looked up before chipping over a cross to the far post where Bergkamp had found some space. He produced another fantastic volley from an acute angle which Miklosko did well to beat away. All in all a highly enjoyable night's football. With Bergkamp, Overmars, Wright, Vieira and Petit all in great form Arsenal produced some irresistible stuff. Let's just hope they can keep it going.
Seaman 7.0 One missed cross in the 1st half balanced by a great
save in the second. Otherwise a bystander.
Grimandi 7.0 Did well enough, though not a natural full back.
Winterburn 7.5 Had another great game (half).
Adams 7.5 A couple of beligerent defensive clearances, and several
typical charges forward in the 2nd half.
Bould 7.5 Also little to do defensively.
Petit 8.0 Even better than on Sunday I thought. The midfield
lacked a little when he moved to left back.
Vieira 8.0 Another great game.
Parlour 7.5 Continued his recent good form.
Overmars 8.0 West Ham were the first to leave only one man on him,
and I think they regretted it.
Bergkamp 9.0 'Nuff said.
Wright 7.5 Relatively quiet again but that's not bad thing when his
strike partner is in such a rich vein of form.
Platt 7.0 Played well enough, notably with a couple of glorious
passes.
Anelka 7.0 Again showed some nice touches and turns. Perhaps
unlucky that he came on when his teammates weren't
trying all that hard.
Report by Derek Brownjohn Other reports
copyright belongs to original author where credited. otherwise © Rupert Ward, ArseWeb MMV ArseWeb is NOT the official Arsenal site. The (excellent) official site is here |