Arsenal vsHighbury, Saturday 17th October 1998FA Carling PremiershipPreview
Result : Arsenal (1) 1 Southampton (0) 1
Scorers: Anelka 34 Howells 67
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown, Winterburn; Hughes, Vieira,
Parlour, Overmars; Bergkamp, Anelka
Subs: Wreh (Parlour 81), Bould, Mendez, Garde, Manninger
Booked: Overmars
Southampton: Jones, Lundekvam, Monkou, Benali, Warner, Oakley,
Hughes, Howells, Ripley, Bridge, Ostenstad
Subs: Hiley (Warner 34), Le Tissier (Oakley 66),
Moss, Beattie, Gibbens.
Booked: Hughes, Monkou, Howells, Le Tissier.
Att: 38027
Ref: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees)
One of those games where Arsenal did everything required except put the
ball in the net more often than the opposition. For the first half and
most of the second the Gunners played some superb football, constantly
stretching the Saints' defence, but ultimately couldn't find enough of a
killer touch in front of goal, though the ref's resolve to not award
penalties under any circumstances was also partly to blame.
Arsenal started off very brightly and in the opening few minutes a couple of superb long passes from first Adams, then Keown to Overmars on the left wing provided a heartening example of the transformation Arsenal have made into a total footballing side under Wenger. On the first occasion Adams' pinpoint pass allowed Overmars to outpace the Southampton defence, but unfortunately he was also too far ahead of his own team, and his ball across the face of goal evaded everyone. Keown's long ball was equally accurate but more floated, and allowed a couple of defenders time to regroup and crowd Overmars out. Hughes was also sweeping some superb long passes left and right, one of the former putting Winterburn in down the left. His cross looked dangerous but was nicked off Anelka's head by Lundekvam at the expense of a corner. Anelka's pace was posing serious problems for the Saints and looked to have earned Arsenal a penalty when he raced clear of Monkou onto Winterburn's pass into the left side of the area. The big Dutch defender slid in from behind to comprehensively take out Anelka, leaving the ball to continue unmolested on it's way over the goal line. Winters took the cop-out option and gave a corner. Southampton were rarely getting out of their own half, though on the odd occasion that they did they caused one or two moments of alarm in the home defence. Early on there was an almighty scramble in the Arsenal area with the ball ping-ponging about as Adams and Dixon blocked goalbound shots, until eventually Dixon managed to hack clear. A Saints attack down the right also gave Mark Hughes a half chance, but he mishit a first time shot from just outside the area and Seaman saved easily. Meanwhile Arsenal were still regularly carving out openings at the other end, and almost as regularly the ref was turning down penalty appeals. Overmars was denied a goal by a brilliant save from Jones, the Dutchman cutting in from the left to fire in a shot from the edge of the area which deflected wickedly (I think off Anelka, so it would have been interesting to see who claimed it). Jones, already committed to diving one way, reacted brilliantly to thrust out a leg and deflect the shot over the bar. Anelka's second penalty appeal looked equally convincing. Bergkamp's pass sent him racing clear into the area, Warner came across to try and intercept but got there way too late and his intervention sent Anelka spinning to the ground. Looked a pretty certain penalty but the ref this time gave a goal kick. Not long afterwards there was a 3rd strong appeal for a penalty when Winterburn clipped a ball forwards into the area, and Oakley stuck out his left arm to stop it. It was a clear handball even from my seat at the other end of the ground, but again Winter was cold to appeals. Presumably he ruled it accidental, but it looked to me as though the defender's arm made a definite movement towards the ball. At the other end Southampton did briefly threaten when Ostenstad beat the offside trap, but Keown got back brilliantly and forced the striker wide. Ostenstad did eventually turn him, but by then other defenders were back and he was crowded out. Arsenal eventually did take a deserved lead soon afterwards. Anelka chested a pass down to Bergkamp and set off towards goal in expectation of a return pass which duly arrived, perfectly weighted to allow the young Frenchman to get in front of Lundekvam. He confidently despatched a right foot shot, angled across the keeper and inside the far post. At half time it seemed we could all settle back and watch the one-sided display continue, which indeed it did. But as the catalogue of missed chances grew ever larger, so did the anxiety about the fact the Arsenal were still only one goal in front. In the opening minutes of the 2nd half, the extent of Arsenal's domination was illustrated by the two fullbacks popping up in the opposition area at the same time. Overmars played a lovely little pass down the left to put in the overlapping Winterburn, and he pulled the ball back for his opposite number as Dixon charged into the area. Under pressure from a defender though, he skied a left foot shot over the bar. A more clear cut chance arrived soon afterwards. Overmars was fouled just outside the area on the left, and Bergkamp chipped in the free kick to pick out the unmarked Hughes on the 6yd line. Somehow he put his header over the bar, though to be fair there was a strong blustery wind which probably made balls in the air difficult to judge. A lovely move then made another good chance for Winterburn this time, as I think Bergkamp played the final pass which allowed Nutty to burst through on the left with only Jones to beat, but the keeper again did well to beat out his shot from a fairly acute angle. Another superb passing move then manufactured another chance for Anelka, but he was again denied by Jones with the save of the match. Overmars passed to Vieira, who in turn laid the ball forward into the area to find Anelka in space on the right, and his shot was bound for the back of the net until Jones displayed unbelievable reactions to somehow get his right hand to the ball. Even Anelka applauded the save. Still Arsenal came forward. Overmars went on a brilliant diagonal run from inside his own half on the left all the way to the edge of the area, beating about 3 players on the way. He briefly seemed to have a chance to play in Anelka on his right, but instead chose to continue and had to hit a hurried shot from the edge of the area which he snatched at and it flashed wide of goal. Then another sweeping move down the left ended with a superb cross on the run from Hughes which Anelka had to stretch somewhat to get on the end of, and he couldn't get any direction on the shot. Midway through the half Le Tissier trundled on to a huge cheer from the way fans, and proceeded to repay their faith and stun the home fans by laying on the equaliser a minute later. Overmars gave the ball away attempting a needlessly ambitious first time pass to Winterburn, and Hughes picked up the loose ball and fed Le Tissier who was quick to spot Howells' run into the area and fed him with a precise pass. The former Spurs midfielder cooly slotted home past Seaman as the keeper rushed out. Arsenal were shocked, and as the clock ticked closer to time their efforts to regain the lead became more laboured, and we knew it just wasn't going to be. There were still some close calls though. Parlour broke through on the right and did well to hook the ball across the face of goal. Adams failed by inches to get on the end of it at the far post and seemed to be complaining to the ref that Monkou had held him back. Vieira went on one of those surging runs of his but ended it with a shot which sailed high and wide. Wreh came on in the final 10 minutes, but Arsenal had pretty much run out of ideas by then and their last decent chance to get the win they deserved came a couple of minutes from time when they were awarded a free kick just outside the area. It took the ref well over a minute to get the Southampton wall far enough back, which included a lecture for Mark Hughes for encroaching. When he did get them back close to 10 yards they then shuffled forward a couple of yards as he turned to march back to his position, and Bergkamp's attempt to curl a shot round the wall and inside the near post went wide. An extremely frustrating result given the balance of the match, but overall I thought Arsenal played pretty well and could only really be criticised for a certain amount of complacency and lack of ruthlessness in the final third of the pitch. It's also not often that you see no less than 3 cast-iron penalties turned down. Between them, MOTD and Sky showed all three and they all looked pretty clear cut to me. The sky reporter did claim that Monkou had got a faint touch but I couldn't discern it on a single viewing and even if he did he went through Anelka to get it. Anyway, enough whinging, just some apprehension about Wednesday. With Vieira suspended and Petit very doubtful we're going to have to start putting away more of those chances.
Seaman 7.0 Didn't have a difficult save to make, and made a
couple of good catches from tricky crosses, but he
seemed a touch slow in coming out for the goal.
Dixon 7.5 Another pretty good game, got forward well again.
Adams 7.5 Little to do defensively, spent most of the last 15
minutes in the Saints half.
Keown 7.5 Solid and dependable again.
Winterburn 8.0 With little to do at the back, charged forward as
enthusiastically as ever.
Parlour 7.0 Relatively quiet game for him. I suspect if Ljungberg
had been fit he would have been saved for Weds.
Vieira 7.5 Also comparatively quiet apart from a running battle
with Hughes, who persistently fouled him.
Hughes 7.5 Played very well, particularly in the first half and
is certainly at least Petit's equal creatively, but
defensively he has some way to go to match the Frenchman
Overmars 8.0 Again consistently dangerous with plenty of running
with the ball. Picked up the first and probably only
booking of his Arsenal career for diving.
Anelka 8.0 Confidently and consistently caused Soton problems,
though in common with most of the others he faded
towards the end of the 2nd half.
Bergkamp 7.0 Some lovely touches again, and looked close to his
best during the first half, but got more frustrated as
the game wore on.
Derek
It appears that Highbury is now the favourite place to parade your talents these days - apart from alternative versions of 'Swan Lake' at Hillsborough - starring Paul Alcock in the lead part. This season we have been privileged to have been treated to an amazing selection of unfit, myopic and incompetent officials who arrive at Highbury with the sole intention of trying to deny us a fair crack at the whip, even if we are pasting the opposition at the time. Of the three clear penalty claims that we had in the first half, only one of them was a 200% (copyright A Wenger) penalty, the others were probably only about 150% clear cut. To continue the thread, only one of the late, through the achilles tendon area (copyright S Bould '88-'94) tackles on S Hughes and Vieira was punished. Something really has to be done about the way in which officials are recruited and brought through the ranks to Premier League level. If we are treated to Professional Referees next season, we may end up with the same idiots running the game at the tune of £50k + a season ! This is no excuse for a jaded performance in the second half, not surprising really considering 75% of the first team squad where plying their International credentials over the previous ten days, but ultimately no excuse for not putting the game beyond doubt after the first sixty minutes or so, due to a lack of the 'killer instinct' that we have seen in the first part of this season. Some argue that we need to spend £x million on a striker to spice things up when the goals aren't coming. My message to all of you is 'DON'T PANIC'. It's only mid October remember and there is a very long way to go. We are playing some decent football but we just need to be a bit more decisive when we are cruising a game, rather than getting lazy and letting it slip. To those of you who aren't happy with the teams displays so far - keep the faith, this was always going to be a difficult season after the incredible highs of last year. It is important to back the team, and the Manager when things aren't going as well as they could. Please remember that we have a man in charge who we should trust 110%. By the way Arsene, if you read this report, sign the contract extension asap and apply to become a referee when you retire as a Manager when you are about 75 years old. You will still be fitter and have better eyesight, glasses and all at this age compared to the shambles in black, blue stripes or whatever it is they wear these days ! Other reports
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