(0) 0 - 1 (0) ArsenalReebok Stadium. Tuesday 31st March 1998FA Carling Premiership
Read today's shocking news about Arsenal's future home(0) 0 - 1 (0) ArsenalReebok Stadium. Tuesday 31st March 1998FA Carling Premiership
scorer: Wreh 50
Arsenal:
Seaman
Grimandi Adams Keown Winterburn
Parlour Petit Vieira Overmars (Hughes h-t)
Wreh (Bould 66) Anelka (Platt 85)
other subs: Manninger Garde
sent-off: Keown 65 (second booking)
Another hard-fought 1-0 win to keep the double hopes alive,
and another sending off to make things that little bit harder.
The game got off to a very niggly start, with Bolton in the ascendency. Cox was booked after about 3 minutes, for the first attempted tackle on Overmars of the match. It may have been this fou which led to Overmars being brought off at half-time for Hughes. Bolton had a few chances in this early period. Seaman was troubled by an ambitious Thompson free-kick but Keown was able to clear. Then the same player got in a great cross but Holdsworth could noly direct the header at Seman. Then Thompason again, clear and right in front of goal, header just over the bar. In the latter part of the first half Arsenal started to keep the ball a lot better and created some chances. Anelka had shot over the bar and Petit had a go from a free-kick, rather unrealistically, and it was deflected for a corner. Then Anelka had another chance, but pushed too wide he had a go anyway and Branigan saved. Keown picked up a yellow card for a foul tackle. Arsenal started the second half well. Christopher Wreh was pushed further up alongside Anelka, causing more problems than they'd managed in the first half. Anelka had a shot which went across the face of goal. Then on 50 minutes Wreh hita screamer from 20 yards out, completely out fo the blue, leaving Branigan no chance at all as it flew into the corner of the net. Bolton responded by bringing Salako on for a more defensive player (Todd?). Anelka had another shot over the bar, having got goal-side of the defender to get clear on the keeper for a high through-ball. Seaman was forced to make agood save at the foot of his post from a Frantzen effort. Then Anelka again fired over the bar, having dribbled round a few defenders and created a half-chance for himself. The next chance also fell to the young Frenchman, and his shot weas blocked when he could have passed to Hughes unmarked on his left for a clear chance. With Arsenal looking at least as likely to score another as to concede, the pattern of the game was changed completely on 65 when Keown brought Blake down just outside our penalty area. Second yellow, off he went. Bould immetiately came on to replace Wreh, leaving Anelka alone up front. Frantzen wasted the free-kick. Anelka did well up front from then on, managing to maintain a thrat to Bolton that helped temper the onslaught. But an onslaught it mostly was. Bolton were practically shooting on sight. Seaman had to make a fantatsic save, again from Alan Thompson. A left-foot drilled shot heading just inside the post, someohow Seaman got across to push the ball out with his left hand. Thompson had another chance when he got clear in the box, but he appeared not to want to hit it with his right foot and took it away from goal with his left. Bould picked up a yellow card for a challenge on Frantzen, which I believe means he as well as Keown will have a suspension coming up. On 76 or so Bolton had their first cornerand Seaman made a save from Bergsson after the corner was played back to him coming in on the deg of the area. Then Thompason blasted a dangerously-placed free-kick over the bar. On 90 minutes Thompson again fired over with an overhead scissors kick. Finally a couple fo minutes into injury time Frantzen took a fre-kick from outside the box, left of centre, but hit it straight at the wall and when the ball was played back in Seaman came out confidently to claim it and allow us, at last, to relax. Arsenal have now set a club and Premiership record of 8 consecutive league matches without conceding a goal. Wenger is clearly startign to understand Arsenal traditions: this is our 4th Premiership 1-0 in row! Arsenal are now 3 points behind Man United, with 2 games in hand. see Table. The bad news is: Overmars injury could keep him out for a while (very doubtful for Sunday). Grimandi also picked up a knock, which could limit our options when Bould & Keown are out suspended. I believe that will be the home match with Wimbledon (please correct me if you know that's wrong). It'll also mean trouble for Sunday, as Grimandi would certainly be starting in Dixon's place.
Bolton Wanderers vs Arsenal Tue Mar 31 1998
Result : Bolton (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 1
Scorers: Wreh 47
Arsenal: Seaman, Grimandi, Adams, Keown, Winterburn; Vieira, Petit,
Parlour, Overmars; Wreh, Anelka
Subs: Hughes (Overmars h-t), Bould (Wreh 64), Platt (Anelka 84),
Garde, Lukic
Booked: Keown, Bould
Sent off: Keown (64, 2nd bookable offence)
Bolton: Branagan, Cox, Fish, Phillips, Bergsson, Sheridan, Todd,
Frandsen, Thompson, Blake, Holdsworth
Subs: Johansen (Phillips 86), Salako (Todd 52),
Ward, Fairclough, Taylor
Booked: Cox
Att: 25000
Ref: K W Burge (Tonypandy)
This is getting rather boring. Fourth consecutive 1-0 win, eighth
consecutive clean sheet, 12th league game without defeat, another man
sent off, another resilient defensive performance secures the victory.
Boring Arsenal as they say. And all without Bergkamp and Wright,
Overmars for all of the 2nd half, and Keown for most of it. Lucky
Arsenal as they say.
The absence of Bergkamp and Wright was always going to make this a difficult game to win, and the loss of Overmars at half time coupled with Keown's sending off made it even more so. However, a quite stunning goal from Christopher Wreh gave the Gunners something to hang on to, and they did it superbly despite having only 10 men for the last 25 minutes. It was Bolton who made the better start, looking much the more dangerous in the opening 15 minutes, particularly down the left where Phillips and Thompson were exploiting the large spaces frequently left between Grimandi and Parlour. Early on Thompson surprised Seaman with a fiercely struck daisy cutter from a 25 yard free kick which the England keeper couldn't hold. A Bolton attacker briefly looked favourite to reach the rebound first but Keown was swiftly across to clear the danger. Soon afterwards Thompson again threatened with a lovely left wing cross which found Holdsworth at the far post. He outjumped Winterburn but mistimed his header and Seaman made a comfortable save. Another cross from the left, this time from Phillips I think, also caused the Arsenal defence problems but Todd, I think, put his header over the bar. Gradually Arsenal tightened up and came back into it, and had the better and greater share of possession for most of the rest of the half. Anelka was playing more or less as a lone striker with Wreh in a fairly deep position, and it was the former who had Arsenal's best two chances of the first half. Vieira chipped a clever pass forward to pick out Petit's run into the box, and he knocked the ball square for Anelka who was running at pace into the area. Under pressure from a defender, he hit a first time half-volley and blazed the ball over the bar. Overmars won a couple of free kicks on the edge of the area. Petit's attempt from one of them just deflected wide off the edge of the wall, and Parlour lofted another one to the far post to pick out Adams as he ran in unmarked. The big defender was always stretching to reach it though and hooked a volley back across goal and over the heads of everyone else in the middle. Towards the end of the half another pass forward from Petit picked out Anelka as he ran clear into the area. The pass forced him a bit wide though, and he had to hit a left foot shot from an acute angle and Branagan came out quickly to make a good block. Overmars didn't reappear for the second half, having injured an ankle when he was clattered by Cox early in the game. He was replaced by Hughes and the substitute contributed to Arsenal's bright start to the second period. They might have gone in front in the first minute when a good pass from Parlour picked out Wreh on the left, and he slipped a nice pass forward into the box as Hughes made a diagonal run across. The substitute got the the byline and pulled the ball back across the face of the goal and Anelka running in at the far post looked as though he must score. I think the defender in front of him just got a faint touch though, and Anelka's attempt to stab it home barely made contact. Barely a minute later Arsenal were in front, courtesy of an absolute thunderbolt from Wreh. Petit and Hughes combined well on the left, and the latter knocked a quick first time pass from the touchline in to Wreh's feet as he found some space a few yards out from the corner of the area. He turned on the ball and took a short stride forward before unleashing a shot that rocketed inside the near post and into the roof of the net. Branagan barely saw it. Wreh's double flip in celebration was almost as impressive. Bolton were rocked and for a period afterwards Arsenal were well on top. Anelka should have made it 2-0, running onto a lofted through ball (from Hughes?) his pace got him just in front of his marker, but his volleyed attempt as the ball dropped flew high over the bar. 20 minutes into the half the game changed. Blake and Keown wrestled over a bouncing ball wide on the Bolton left, Blake got away and eventually into the area before falling over under Keown's challenge. The ref consulted his linesman before producing a yellow card followed by red, accompanied by cheers from the Bolton fans, and then awarded a free kick outside the box. Howls of outrage from the Bolton fans. Arsenal immediately replaced Wreh with Bould, and Frandsen blasted the free kick over the bar. From then on it was a concerted rearguard action, though Anelka ran quite a lot on his own up front with occasional support from Parlour. The one decent chance Arsenal had was following a good run down the middle by the young French striker, and with two defenders drawn to him, Hughes made a run completely unmarked into the left side of the area, but Anelka had his head down and tried a shot from 20 yards which was blocked. At the other end Bolton pumped increasingly desperate balls forward, but despite some scares the Arsenal defence held out. Seaman made a quite brilliant save, diving full length to palm aside a ferociously struck angled drive from Thompson, and made slightly harder work of another Thompson free kick which he seemed a little slow to get across to but eventually turned it aside. Apart from those two saves though he wasn't seriously troubled as the defenders in front of him worked like Trojans to deny Bolton any space near the area. Overall a highly satisfying win, though the injuries to Overmars and Grimandi to add to the absence of Bergkamp, Wright and Dixon on Sunday are worrying. Bould's booking means he misses the same game as Keown, against Wimbledon, probably the team against whom a secure defensive aerial presence is most needed.
Seaman 8.0 One fantastic save and some reassuringly safe catches in
the second half more than made up for his one blemish in
the first half.
Winterburn 7.5 The usual effort and commitment.
Grimandi 7.0 Also did his bit, and I think was also carrying an ankle
injury after another late challenge by Holdsworth. I
thought he tended to stand a little too far off when he
was marking the winger though.
Adams 8.5 Another outstanding and commanding performance.
Keown 7.5 Also defended well while he was on.
Vieira 8.5 Another great game, with most of Arsenal's play going
through him in the first half, and covering everywhere
in the second.
Petit 8.0 Also covered everywhere, and some incisive passing in
the first half.
Parlour 7.5 Playing a narrower role in midfield and perhaps not as
prominent in attack as usual in the 1st half, but did
his bit in the second particularly in getting forward to
support Anelka late on.
Overmars 6.5 One of his quieter games recently, perhaps because of
the ankle injury suffered early on.
Wreh 7.0 Seemed a little unsure of his role in the first half,
but started the second a little further forward and did
better, even without that brilliant goal.
Anelka 7.0 His finishing could have been a lot better, but
otherwise I thought he did quite well and did a lot of
running into space.
Hughes 7.5 Did pretty well early on in the second half and then
knuckled down to work hard after the sending off.
Report by Derek Other reports
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