Arsenal (2) 5 - 1 (0) MiddlesbroughHighbury, Saturday 20th November 1999FA Carling PremiershipPreview
Arsenal (2) 5 - 1 (0) MiddlesbroughHighbury, Saturday 20th November 1999FA Carling Premiership
scorers: Overmars 26, 61, 78 Ricard 68
Bergkamp 40, 49
Arsenal battered Middlesbrough again today. It was one of those days
when everything clicked, and the only surprise at the end was that we
failed to match April's 6-1
scoreline.
Result : Arsenal (2) 5 Middlesborough (0) 1
Scorers: Overmars 26,61,78, Ricard 68
Bergkamp 40,49
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Grimadi, Adams; Petit, Parlour,
Ljungberg, Overmars; Bergkamp, Kanu
Subs: Upson (Grimandi 50), Vivas (Dixon 71),
Suker (Bergkamp 75), Henry, Manninger
Booked: Adams
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Gavin, Vickers, Cooper, Festa, Juninho,
Ince, Gascoigne, Fleming, Deane, Ricard
Subs: Stockdale (Vickers 13), Mustoe (Stockdale h-t),
Campbell (Juninho 75), Beresford, Armstrong
Booked: Ince, Festa, Deane, Gascoigne
Att: 38082
Ref: Neale Barry (Scunthorpe)
Arsenal bounced back from recent disappointments in emphatic style on
Saturday, the 5-1 scoreline hardly doing justice to the scintillating
display of football in a match which was even more one-sided than the
6-1 win at the Riverside in April. Marc Overmars had scored his last
league goal in that match, and in this one he at last showed a true
return to form with a hattrick. Significantly his fellow Dutch master
was also right back at his best, and the pair of them destroyed
Middlesborough.
Arsenal were perhaps helped by the visitors being understrength, notably lacking Pallister and Ziege, and also by the fact that they didn't come purely to defend, as so many teams do. However, in the opening few minutes they were forced to as the Gunners started at a blistering pace, penning 'Boro back in their own half with a series of attacks. Overmars in particular was lively down the left, even putting over a couple of good crosses with his left foot, though Arsenal suffered the perennial problem of having nobody on the end of them. Boro were also forced to reorganise quite early, Vickers going off to be replaced by Stockdale. He was given such a torrid time by Overmars that Robson switched him with Fleming from the left, but the latter didn't fare any better, and Stockdale was eventually replaced by Mustoe at half time as 'Boro reorganised again, from 5-3-2 to 4-4-2. Petit went close to the first goal with a 20 yard free kick which Adams had won with a rampaging run forward, his shot curled delightfully over the wall but just cleared the bar and landed on the roof of the net. It was Overmars who had the first shot on target that I can recall, a trademark cut in from the left and near post shot which Schwarzer did well to turn aside for a corner. And it was from another trademark made in Holland move that Arsenal went in front midway through the half. Bergkamp played a brilliant and perfectly weighted pass inside Stockdale with the outside of his right foot for Overmars to race onto, clear of the defence. Schwarzer came out to meet him, but the flying Dutchman cooly lifted the ball over the keeper and into the net. Arsenal were now even more rampant. A delightful return flick by Kanu sent Parlour into the area wide on the right, and he struck a tremendous shot from an acute angle which smacked against the far post and out to safety. I think Schwarzer may well have just a hand to it too. It was Petit's turn next to shake the frame of the goal with a 25 yard shot of astounding velocity which crashed against the right hand past and also out to safety. Ljungberg should have scored next when another beautiful flick by Bergkamp sent him in on Schwarzer, but the keeper was out quickly and Ljungberg lifted his shot just over the bar. Five minutes before the break Arsenal did get the 2nd goal their efforts deserved, and it was all Bergkamp's own work. After Juninho had apparently taken the ball off him just outside the Boro area he tackled back and turned both the Brazilian and Ince to leave himself in space about 25 yards from goal. He took one further touch before curling a superb shot beyond the reach of Schwarzer and just inside his left hand post. I don't recall a Middlesborough attack worthy of note in the 1st half, though admittedly my memory was a little more clouded than normal due to sleep deprivation and excessive alcohol consumption the previous night. I may also have been bewildered by the sheer number and variety of Arsenal's attacks, particularly in the 2nd half as Middlesborough gradually became more demoralised. The visitors did have some noteworthy efforts on goal in the 2nd half, though mostly through needless generosity in the Arsenal defence. Early on Adams gave the ball straight to Deane a few yards outside the Arsenal area. The striker took it on and hit a powerful shot from just inside the area which beat Seaman but bounced over off the crossbar. Vivas later also gifted the ball to an opponent just outside the area, and it was a mistake by Upson which let in Ricard for Middlesborough's consolation goal. He let the ball bounce across his body which allowed the striker to steal in behind him and run through on goal. The Colombian still did well though to get past Adams and then beat Seaman at his near post with a well-struck left foot shot. The half otherwise was virtually one-way traffic. Arsenal went 3 up five minutes in when Ljungberg fastened onto a loose ball just inside the Boro half and played a lovely instant pass through the square defence for Bergkamp to run onto. He outpaced Gavin to leave himself with only Schwarzer to beat, which he did, cooly sliding the ball past the keeper and inside the far post. The fourth goal came via a penalty when Bergkamp's attempt to backheel a volley back towards Kanu struck Festa on the arm. The ref, perhaps harshly, judged it deliberate and pointed to the spot. Bergkamp passed up the opportunity for his hattrick, and Overmars took over despite Kanu apparently wanting to take it. Schwarzer superbly pushed his shot onto the post but the rebound fortunately went straight back out to Overmars and he knocked it back into the opposite corner of the empty net. The 5th arrived courtesy of 2 substitutes. A deep cross from the left by Suker which picked out Vivas at the far post and the Argentinian knocked it back for Overmars running in to stab a left foot shot from 10 yards into the far corner of the net. In between times and afterwards there could have been several more. Ljungberg shot straight at the keeper when well placed 16 yards out, and Bergkamp had what looked a goalbound shot inadvertently blocked by Kanu. Schwarzer made superb saves from Suker and then Winterburn as both were put in for shots from an angle on the left, Ljungberg and Kanu just failing to get on the end of the rebounds. Even Adams joined in the fun just before time, linking with Suker and turning a couple of defenders in the area as he tried to walk the ball into the net before eventually having his shot blocked. Overall a wonderfully enjoyable game and performance from Arsenal, with the only minus being some slackness in defence, caused I suspect mainly by complacency. It was the first time this season that Arsenal have put together 90 minutes of cohesive attacking, and as such was easily the best display of the season.
Seaman 7.0 Little to do, though the harsh might judge him
culpable for being beaten at his near post.
Dixon 7.5 Got forward well in the 1st half, little to do in
defence.
Winterburn 7.5 Also had little to do defensively, and because
Overmars was in such form, perhaps less conspicuous
in attack too.
Adams 7.5 Apart from a couple of parks football blunders as
commanding as ever and enthusiastically got forward.
Grimandi 7.5 Very solid and calmly controlled game.
Petit 8.0 Close to his superb best, and Overmars does benefit
from his presence. A little worrying to see him
feeling his knee towards the end though.
Parlour 7.5 Had a pretty good bustlingly energetic game in
midfield.
Ljungberg 7.5 Another good game, particulary in the first half.
Overmars 8.5 Comfortably his best game of the season, right back
near his best.
Bergkamp 8.5 Also back on top form, the original Dutch master.
Kanu 8.0 Full of tricks, particularly towards the end when he
was really taking the piss. Didn't quite run for him
in the area though.
Upson 6.0 Looked somewhat shaky. I was expecting to see him
start and was a bit disappointed when he didn't, but
comparing his and Grimandi's performances, Wenger
made the right decision.
Vivas Did pretty well going forward, but some dodgy moments
in defence.
Suker Looked pretty lively with some nice touches though he
spent a lot of time wide on the left.
Derek
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