vs ArsenalFlorence, Tuesday 14th September 1999UEFA Champions League, first group stage, match 1Preview
Result : Fiorentina (0) 0 Arsenal (0) 0
Arsenal: Manninger, Luzhny, Winterburn, Keown, Adams; Vieira, Grimandi,
Ljungberg, Overmars; Bergkamp, Suker
Subs: Kanu (Suker 60), Henry (Bergkamp 81),
Malz, Silvinho, Upson, Vivas, Lukic
Booked: Vieira, Keown, Suker, Ljungberg
Fiorentina: Toldo, Repka, Padalino, Pierini (Adani 83), Di Livio,
Rui Costa, Cois, Heinrich, Chiesa, Batistuta, Mijatovic
Subs: Taglialatela, Fircano, Rossitto, Balbo, Bressan, Amoroso
Booked: Pierini, Di Livio, Toldo
Att: 40000
Ref: Hellmut Krugg (Germany)
Didn't go to the match, so the following is based on the TV coverage on
the big screen at Highbury last night. It was a match Arsenal could and
should have won. The Gunners totally outplayed Fiorentina virtually from
start to finish, but missed 3 gilt-edged chances to have taken the 3
points the performance meritted. The most obvious of these was the
penalty 10 minutes from time. Overmars played a lovely pass into the
area which Ljungberg raced onto, touched past Toldo only to be brought
down by the keeper. He should have been sent off but the ref only
produced a yellow card, and Toldo profitted from the decision by diving
his left to save Kanu's weak effort from the spot.
Arsenal's best other chance came 10 minutes into the game, and it was again Overmars setting up Ljungberg. The flying Dutchman streaked away down the left and played a lovely ball across goal to find the Swede running in unmarked at the far post. Ljungberg tried to sidefoot home from about 10 yards but put it in the direction Toldo was already diving when it would have been better to send it back the other way, and the keeper was able to make a great save, and the ball dribbled just wide of the post. The 3rd clear cut chance came in the 2nd half when Overmars' corner reached Adams unmarked at the far post. The great man brought the ball down beautifully with his right foot, but then with his left poked the ball over the bar from the corner of the 6yd box. Overmars was on fire in the opening 20 minutes, beating his man (usually Di Livio) seemingly at will. The Italian should have been booked early on when he hauled Overmars back by the shirt when Overmars was clear, so was lucky later on when the ref did eventually book him for yet another foul on the Dutch winger. Arsenal worked some good positions, notably when Ljungberg and Suker got to the byline on the right, but on both occasions there was no-one in a position in the middle to take advantage of the crosses. At the other end Fiorentina did get a bit more into the game in the latter part of the half, but the only real threat they produced came when Rui Costa' s cross from the right found Mijatovic climbing above Luzhny at the far post to get in a header. Manninger was equal to it with a brilliant save, and he and Keown then combined to block Batistuta's effort from the rebound. Arsenal should have been given the chance to take the lead right at the end of the 1st half. Bergkamp ran onto Suker's pass into the area and nudged the ball beyond Pierini's attempt at a tackle, and went down under the challenge. The TV replay showed it was a pretty clear penalty but the ref bottled it. Arsenal carried on the same way after the break and continued to dominate the game, though there was a 15 minute period towards the end when the game became quite stretched and the home side looked quite dangerous on the break. Mijatovic though spurned their best opportunity when he produced an outrageous dive on the edge of the area, when if he'd carried on he'd have probably got on the end of Batistuta's return pass. One TV replay also appeared to show Luzhny handling the ball in the area, but I'm not sure what the circumstances were. On the whole though Arsenal continued to look the likely winners, with Vieira and Grimandi controlling midfield. Ljungberg had a good effort from the edge of the box deflected just wide, Vieira sent a similar attempt a few feet wide, and then later went on a superb run into the area, beating a couple of players before getting in a left foot shot which flashed just wide. Kanu replaced Suker 15 minutes into the half, and missed what looked a reasonable chance with a header over the bar from a corner. Later he brilliantly fashioned himself a chance with an amazing drag back which totally flummoxed his marker, but was stretching a bit and his left foot cross-shot flashed across goal and past the far post. Overall it was a superb performance from Arsenal, just that reluctance to put the ball in the net detracting from it. There is a rather ominous similarity to the start of last season's campaign when we totally outplayed Lens but came away with only a point to show. We then played what might have been seen as the group's weakest team (Panathinaikos then, Solna now) at home, then the strongest team (Kiev/Barcelona) away, etc. I think the squad is much stronger this year, though I might become a bit worried if the score next Weds is 2-1... The following should be taken with an even larger pinch of salt than usual. Not always easy to identify players on the big screen...
Manninger 7.5 Looked pretty solid overall, and made one great save
when he was needed.
Winterburn 7.5 As solid and combative as ever, though I thought he
looked a bit hesitant going forward.
Luzhny 7.5 I thought he looked a bit lumbering at times, but
overall did a good job.
Adams 8.0 Superb again, and didn't let the antics of the
Fiorentina forwards ruffle him.
Keown 8.0 Also did a great job, despite a running battle with
Batistuta.
Vieira 8.5 Immense in midfield, despite picking up a booking for
a rather silly challenge, albeit with a huge
over-reaction by Mijatovic.
Grimandi 8.0 Again supported Vieira well with some great tackling
and covering.
Ljungberg 8.0 Seemed to be everywhere at times and was always busy
and perhaps the player most eager to get into the box.
Overmars 8.5 Was quite brilliant in the first half, probably as well
as I've ever seen him play. Less obvious in the 2nd
though I think that was partly because Fiorentine
reorganised to cover him.
Bergkamp 7.5 Didn't think he was quite firing on all cylinders,
though his passing kept Arsenal moving forward.
Suker 7.0 Worked pretty hard without getting much in the way of
clearcut chances.
Kanu 7.5 Came on and looked as good as usual for the most part.
If only...
Henry Looked pretty lively and bothered Fiorentina with his
pace during the last 10 minutes.
Derek
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