Arsenal (0) 0 - 0 (0)Highbury, Saturday 14th November 1998. kick-off 3pmFA Carling Premiershipsee below for reports by Rupe, Derek, and Paul.Preview
Arsenal (0) 0 - 0 (0)Highbury, Saturday 14th November 1998. kick-off 3pmFA Carling Premiership
Arsenal:
Seaman
Dixon Adams Keown Winterburn
Parlour Vieira Petit Ljungberg (Wreh)
Overmars Anelka (Boa Morte)
After Wednesday's performance, it was just a bit depressing
to the front line of Wreh and Boa Morte finish this game
against the old enemy. But to be fair, it didn't seem as if any
Arsenal striker would ever score on this afternoon.
True to form, we dominated the match totally, but just couldn't get the ball in the net. It wasn't for the want of trying, and shots went goalwards from Overmars, Ljungberg, Petit, Vieira, Adams and Anelka. But when they did go on target, Baardsen always came up with the save (a couple were quite good). I guess we have to credit George Graham for getting their defence organised, but it was done very much at the expense of attacking ambitions. The only real moment of danger I recall was an Iversen shot on the break which really shouldn't have gone straight at Seaman. The power of the shot prevented him from holding onto it, but a bit more composure and a placed shot would surely have done it. Bergkamp was missing, and missed.
Well, the tabloid hacks had to be disappointed on Saturday as Highbury
failed to turn into a "Cauldron of Hate".
Result : Arsenal (0) 0 Tottenham (0) 0
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Adams, Keown; Vieira, Petit,
Parlour, Ljungberg; Overmars, Anelka
Subs: Wreh (Ljungberg 62), Boa Morte (Anelka 79),
Grimandi, Hughes, Manninger
Booked: Winterburn
Tottenham: Baardsen, Carr, Edinburgh, Vega, Scales, Campbell, Calderwood,
Nielsen, Anderton, Iversen, Armstrong
Subs: Sinton (Calderwood 78), Walker, Ginola, Allen, Clemence
Booked: Nielsen, Armstrong
Att: 38278
Ref: A Wilkie (Chester-le-Street)
A draw was really no great surprise on Saturday, the 4th successive
stalemate between the N London rivals, with George Graham returning to
his old club intent only on stopping Arsenal winning. That he did so was
down to a characteristically well organised defence, a keeper who was
equal to anything that did get past his defenders, and a large helping
of luck. Arsenal dominated the game from start to finish and rained in
shots on the Tottenham goal, but ultimately none of them found their way
past Espen Baardsen.
As expected, Tottenham took to the field with 6 defenders, Calderwood nominally in midfield in front of a back 3 with Carr and Edinburgh as wingbacks, again in name only as neither ventured further than the halfway line. Bergkamp failed a fitness test on an injured ankle, but Arsenal were otherwise at full strength. Ljungberg took the Dutch master's place, though in the first half he spent more time on the left wing with Overmars partnering Anelka in the middle. Spurs kicked off and kicked the ball straight into touch, and thereafter Arsenal took control. Early on a neat Parlour flick released Petit for a run which took him from just inside his own half to about 25 yards from goal where he unleashed a drive which skimmed along the grass and forced a full length dive from Baardsen to push it aside. Calderwood nearly inadvertently flicked the resultant Petit corner into his own net but was relieved to see the ball go wide of the far post, and Adams just failed to arrive in time to hook the ball back into the middle. The story for the rest of the hafl carried on in much the same vein. Tottenham defended well and for the most part restricted the Gunners to shots from long range. Overmars was next to try his luck, cutting in from the left to fire in a right foot shot from 20 yards which again forced Baardsen into a sprawling save down at his near post. Winterburn also ran in from the left to hit a well struck shot from a few yards outside the area, which was straight at the keeper this time though he only collected it at the 2nd attempt. Ljungberg was next to draw a good save from Baardsen. Parlour was pulled back as he surged down the middle but the ball ran through to Ljungberg, and he jinked outside Vega before striking a waspish shot from 20 yards which took a faint deflection off the defender and was heading just inside the near post. Baardsen made another great save though, getting down to push the ball aside for another corner. A long ball from Keown (I think actually intended for Parlour) then set up Arsenal's best chance of the half. Anelka got away from Cambell as he chased the ball into the area but it seemed to hold up more than he expected, and he ended up with an awkward knee high volley and it flashed wide of the near post. Arsenal finally did manage to test the keeper from inside the box, at the end of a sweeping move from left to right. The ball went via Anelka and Parlour to Dixon as he made a run down the right wing, and he chipped in a cross which Anelka met with a superb first time volley from around the penalty spot. If it had gone more than a couple of feet either side of the keeper it would have been in, but as it was Baardsen was able to make another great reaction save. At the other end, Tottenham did have one serious attack midway through the half, and in fact probably should have scored. Surrounded by 3 players out on the right hand touchline Parlour gave the ball away, and Armstrong played the ball inside for Iversen as he broke down the middle. Ljungberg chased him back, but his half baked challenge served only to distract Adams as he came across to intercept, and Iversen touched the ball past him to leave himself with a clear run on goal. Keown was closing him down quickly though and the striker hurriedly shot from the edge of the area. It was well-hit but almost straight at Seaman and the keeper made a good save, beating the ball aside. Keown half completed the clearance but the return cross from the right was just too high for Armstrong at the far post and the ball rolled out to safety. Tottenham started the 2nd half with a brief flurry in the 1st minute when a couple of crosses came in from right and left but failed to find a white shirt in the middle. Perhaps frightened by what their new manager might think of such audacity the visitors thereafter withdrew back into their defensive shells and left Arsenal to do the attacking. And this the Gunners did, in fact getting behind the Spurs defence with rather more success than they had in the first half. Early on some lovely quick passing inside their own half ended with a Vieira pass to Petit which freed the midfielder to stride swiftly over the halfway line before playing a pass forward in an attempt to pick out Anelka's run. It was slightly overhit though, and Anelka was forced wide on the right, but a clever backheel teed the ball up for Parlour. He was caught slightly unawares though and Vega managed to block and Spurs eventually cleared to Edinburgh out on their right. He played a loose pass back to Anderton and Winterburn's block tackle near the halfway line won the ball and allowed him to run free down the left and set up probably the best chance of the game. Nutty's cross picked out Ljungberg, all on his own about 10 yards out with plenty of time and space, but his first touch was woeful and the ball got away from him and Baardsen collected. The tiring Ljungberg was replaced a few minutes later by Wreh, and the Liberian's first significant contribution was to swing in a cross from the left which was just too long for Anelka. The young Frenchman chased the ball out wide though and then beat Campbell on the outside to get to the byline before cutting the ball back to Wreh in the middle. His first touch let him down but the ball eventually broke to Vieira about 25 yards out, and his attempt to curl a long range shot into the far top corner was only a couple of feet off target. Wreh did well again soon after when he picked up the ball in the inside right channel and evaded a challenge before feeding it forward to Anelka. The young striker cut in along the edge of the area, and then left Campbell standing with a sharp turn back outside, and he took the ball wide into the area before striking a shot which crashed into the side netting from an acute angle. Winterburn then turned key provider again. A long diagonal cross swung in from the left picked out Parlour all on his own beyond the far post. Baardsen came off his line and it seemed all that was needed was a simple header over him and into the empty net, but Parlour chose to head across goal in an attempt to pick out Wreh in the middle, and the ball went behind him. Parlour and Wreh then combined well on the right and the latter laid the ball back to find Overmars unmarked on the edge of the area, but the Dutchman's shot curled just wide of the far post. Anelka had been struggling for about 10 minutes with what turned out to be cramp, but just before he went off he shook it off for long enough to again beat Campbell on the outside but from more acute angle this time he again blazed a shot wide of the near post. Wreh cut in from the left to fire in another 20yd shot which Baardsen again had to be alert to, plunging down at his near post to push the ball aside for a corner. Winterburn then set up another good chance, chipping the ball over the top down the left for Overmars to run unmarked onto. Baardsen anticipated well though and rushed out to make a great block with his legs as Overmars hit a first time shot from an angle. As full time inexorably approached Arsenal's last chance was due to Tony Adams. He made a characteristic late foray forward, picking out Overmars on the edge of the box. The winger teased Carr before jinking past him to hit a shot from an angle which the covering Scales just managed to block. Adams had continued his run forward though and got on the end of the loose ball virtually on the byline. He tried a flicked shot on the half-volley with the outside of his foot which might well have found the net had Baardsen not again managed to stretch to clutch the ball at the second attempt. Tottenham almost snatched an entirely undeserved late winner when Armstrong flicked on a long ball to find Iversen running on to it and ignoring Dixon's attempts to pull him back. The Norwegian had put Spurs' only other attempt in the half over the bar from 25 yards, and this time from just inside the box he shot wide of the near post with Seaman exposed. Arsenal exerted more pressure in injury time with a couple of corners and a free kick a few yards outside the area. Petit's attempt was deflected wide though, and that was that. Extremely frustrating again, though the performance as a whole wasn't so disappointing. I thought Arsenal played reasonably well and Tottenham must also get some credit for some good defending even if that was all they came to do. By my count Baardsen made 7 good saves, though in fact had he not made any of them you'd have said he'd blundered.
Seaman 7.5 Had only one save to make, though that was a good one.
Dixon 7.5 Again played pretty well I thought.
Winterburn 7.5 Curiously mixed game again - untypically uncertain on
occasion in defence but in the 2nd half Arsenal's best
creator.
Keown 7.5 Not seriously overworked and competently coped with
anything he needed to.
Adams 8.0 Another authoritative game marred only by the one error
Ljungberg 7.0 Did reasonably well again, swapping positions
occasionally with Overmars, but the missed 2nd half
chance perhaps indicative of the 3 games he's played
in 7 days.
Vieira 7.5 Still not quite at his best, but then didn't need to
be for this game.
Petit 8.0 Another highly impressive game, skill and strength in
equal measure.
Parlour 7.0 As hardworking as usual though perhaps not yet at the
peak of last season.
Overmars 7.0 Perhaps not suited to playing as support striker as he
did for much of the game, but I think he's still not
quite got going this season.
Anelka 7.5 Another pretty good game, particularly bearing in mind
he was up against Campbell for the most part.
Wreh I thought he did pretty well with some good touches
and link up play.
Before we all get too upset, let's not ignore the basic facts of this match.....
He, after all, was the man who perfected the technique against more talented sides than ourselves in the late 80's and early 90's. It was almost surreal watching a Spurs side play in almost the same way that we used to when we never had a midfield, or defenders who could play football rather than just hoof it up the park, when we used to rely on the back five, or six, plus Ian WWW sometimes digging out a 1-0 win against superior opposition. We should consider ourselves lucky that we have been watching a team that likes to pass the ball, to be patient in build up, to defend solidly. A few years back we used to dream about an attractive Arsenal side. Now we have it, a few games haven't quite gone our way and the detractors are out, even if the Trophy Cabinet is still bulging from last season. Graham admitted that Spurs are chasing us, that he will not be able to turn them around overnight. The reality is that they have won a very hollow moral victory this time around. If anyone points out to you that they are closing the gap just mention 1961 and the argument will soon end. Wenger knows we lack strength in depth. He doesn't need to be told the obvious. We need a quality front man to play with Nic and Dennis, or to cover for them. Boa Morte hasn't got it - Wreh is only a squad player - Riza is still learning his trade. As I have said before, I think that there is only one forward player that really interests AW - Fowler. He's English, in his mid 20's and would cost a s**t load of money but I would say he's a worthy replacement to Wrighty. I don't agree with buying players for the sake of it - but we need more quality in the squad, otherwise we can kiss the trophies goodbye. I would suggest that most players now accept that football is a squad game these days. There is no such thing as a guaranteed first team place anymore at some clubs, especially in the top Serie A clubs in Italy. I won't go into anymore match details, Rupe and Derek have covered it nicely. All I will say is 'Well Done' to the group in front of me in the Lower West Stand who waved the brown envelopes at GG before the kick-off. Absolutely hilarious. I hope somebody checked that the petty cash was still there after he left for the day ! Keep the faith ! 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 |