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30 JANUARY 2005Mike Riley: extends arm; awards Arsenal penalty
Arsenal 2 WOlves 0
In the end it was one of those ‘I saw Jensen score’ moments. Having already turned down three penalty shouts (one very dodgy, one decent and one the most blatant spot-kick you’ve ever seen), he eventually pointed to the spot, bringing his arm out in what looked the most pained awarding of a penalty known to man. In the North Bank, people hugged, pinched themselves and reached for their mobile phone cameras to record the moment.
Then suddenly reality set in: Henry wasn’t gonna take it because he’d been fouled, second choice Bob was off the pitch, as were Lauren and Ashley Cole. So Patrick Vieira had one of those moments where really we should have been praising him for taking responsibility as captain. But instead I for one, mindful of his previous penalty efforts, was wondering if a Paddy spot kick was covered on the life insurance. Admittedly I was way back in the North Upper but still the fear was there.
And then he strode up, kept his head down and side footed the ball into the corner of the net. And credit to the guy – up until then he’d been crap but this was a top penalty. From then on there was really very little even Mike Riley could do to stop us. The cobwebs of the first half were shook off, Wolves tired, Michael Oakes in their goal remained outstanding and eventually Pires (who’d replaced Reyes), Henry (who was no longer going through one of his ‘I’m gonna lose it in a minute’ phases) and Freddie (who was as ever still running) combined delightfully to ensure our place in the fifth round draw.
A few observations: Eboue looks very good, in particular going forward. Henry’s ‘goal’ (when he intercepted the ball when Michael Oakes kicked-out) technically should not have stood according to the BBC. And Wenger agreed. But bollocks to that – they were dead lucky. On the penalties the boss said the first two didn’t look certain, which whilst it may be technically true, is hardly the point with Riley in the middle.
And how on earth he couldn’t give the Reyes one is beyond me. Sure, he dawdled and should have slammed it home long before the foul. But that’s nothing to do with Riley. The defender put his arm across Reyes, pulled his shirt and brought him down. It was not only a penalty but a red card.
Playa ratings are back and available by clicking on ‘Wolves’ on the right hand side.
29 JANUARY 2005Pre Wolves update
Not too much news this morning ahead of our FA Cup fourth round game against Wolves, who will seak to become the first lower division side to beat us since Wenger came to the club in 1996.
The game's got a little added spice because of the Wenger-Hoddle relationship (though I can't help thinking that saying Hoddle would make a good coach shows a little bit of very un Wenger like misjudgment). The most significant news around the game is that it looks like the vast majority of the first team will play - including Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. It's something of a move away from previous seasons' policy and in particular the far more proactive approach to resting players for cup games that he had previously hinted he would take this year. Did we not know better, it would almost seem apt to suggest that the success of Jose Mourinho's policy of giving top players at least a bit part role in cup games to keep them in the groove of playing hasn't gone unnoticed in N5.
Expect Cygan to get a run out ahead of Tuesday, with Senderos back on the treatment table and Kolo suspended for his elbow to Shearer's back. Anyhow, in other news Edu might not go because Arsenal and Valencia are still haggling over the fee. The good news is that one way or another this whole thing has to end on Monday when the transfer window closes. And that really is just about it. It looks like I'll be going to the game today so there's a fair chance of an update including playa ratings after tonight.
27 JANUARY 2005A new goodplaya, goodbye Edu, Truss fuss and Toure banned
So a big thanks to the little sister for opening my emails, translating them into readable English and posting them on the site whilst I’ve been away. She even took the liberty to add in an update about Jermaine Pennant going to Birmingham at the bottom of one of my posts. Sadly her piece of crack journalism was undermined by her making the naïve error of using Arsenal.com as a source for Arsenal news. The official site was going through one of their “Dennis Bergkamp to retire” moments (anyone remember that?) and hastily withdrew the Pennant report the following morning. Normal service (on goodplaya not arsenal.com) should now resume for all of about three days until I emigrate to Newcastle next week and start work.
I forgot to mention last week that Arsene did us the courtesy of providing the first ‘goodplaya’ of 2005. It came when questioned about the nature of a replacement for Edu. “If you say a big signing means big money then no, if you say a big signing is a good player then yes.” Like all the other goodplayas, it will be fed into the random goodplaya quote generator at the top of the page. Which pleases me.
Anyhow, I’m annoyed to see Gunnerblog has beaten me to taking the piss out of Arsenal.com’s disturbing obsession with what they call the Truss. It all started in a series of photo captions accompanying pictures of the building work and the Truss’ (sp?) now have their own article. Heaven forbid the day ever arrives when they replace this high priority Truss stuff with talk of trivial matters such as ticket prices.
On which note, the very worthy AISA are claiming some kind of victory in the campaign to ensure we don’t all end up paying the same kind of prices as the ‘ordinary fans’ (© Keith Edelman) splashing out up to £150 a game for Club Level seats. If they’re right, it would be a big and very welcome victory. For what it’s worth, my theory is still that they’ll have to introduce some kind of tiered pricing to fill the ground for the shitter Premiership games.
Elsewhere, Kolo has admitted his misconduct charge and will miss the next three games, including United on Tuesday. I think it fair to say that the man who will be most pissed off about this is Kolo himself, an absolute professional booked only once all season who will be shocked that he allowed his discipline to slip for a moment.
As for the incident, we can’t really complain but at the same time Arseblogger is quite right to point out that an incident such as the Van Nistelrooy one deserved greater punishment. In a way the Kolo incident was probably no different to a thousand others Shearer has either received or dished out in his career. An elbow here, a jab there used to be an integral part of any great tussle (see Keown v Hughes, Mark). I for one never got too upset when I saw two big guys slugging it out like that. It’s when the likes of Van Nistelrooy start going into tackles with both hooves showing that you start risking players careers and something has to be done.
It’s also looking more and more likely that Edu will end up at Valencia by the end of the transfer window (ie early next week). I for one don’t really know the ins and outs of the situation so all I’ll say is: good luck. I don’t really buy the line about him owing Arsene Wenger anything. Sure we helped him out when he needed it, but don’t make the mistake of thinking it was an act of charity. And how many of us would think: “Oh no, I won’t move jobs because I couldn’t face hurting my boss.” If he’s getting paid more elsewhere then good luck to him – he’s got a 15 year career at best and would be an idiot not to make the most of it. There’s also the point to be made that he’s achieved a fair bit at Arsenal and that going in the peak of his career to the La Liga champions doesn’t exactly sound too stupid.
As for owing us the supporters, he always gave his best, tackled hard, seemed to care and shouted long and hard at the ref who sent Sol off against United in April 2003. He never shamed us with his behaviour on the pitch and from most of the things I’ve read about him, he’s also apparently a pretty nice guy. So good luck to him – he’ll be missed but as he only knows to well, life moves on.
26 JANUARY 2005Why SKY had every right to sack Rodney Marsh
Rodney Marsh the pundit was always excellent value. Lively, punchy and quirky, Jeff Stelling said Marsh was the soul of the excellent Soccer Saturday and as ever, Stelling was spot on. Furthermore, for all his outspoken views he spoke far less crap about Arsenal than a hell of a lot of other pundits.
I agree with those who say that what he said on SKY on Monday night was not flagrantly racist in the way Big Ron was when he slammed Desailly last April. And I also don't think SKY had to sack Marsh. But let's make one thing clear: in similar circumstances a million other firms would have done the same and we wouldn't be saying the world had gone mad. Had Rodney Marsh been a business salesman rather than a football pundit and had he made the comments at a business dinner in Bangkok as opposed to 'Your on SKY Sports', no one would contest that he'd clearly left his company firmly in the shit.
But the fact is that though Rodney Marsh doesn't negotiate SKY's business with Asia, he's one of their most public faces. And make no mistake: word will have got back to Asia that he was publicly joking about last month's Tsunami disaster. It doesn't matter that the actual joke was pretty tame. Besides the fact that it's completely untranslatable what he actually said will be ignored. He made the joke full stop.
The reality is SKY don't need one village idiot ruining the substantial business relationship they enjoy with the East. So dispensing with Marsh might cause a dip in Soccer Saturday ratings but the health of SKY's Asia relationship dwarfs anything he can provide.
And let's be clear here: SKY have no great moral obligation towards Marsh. He's not even a teacher, a doctor or a surgeon who’s made one slip in a career of otherwise unblemished service. Like many millions of other people, he's an employee in a company and like many millions of other people his employment can be ended if he's found guilty of misconduct and bringing the company into significant dispute, as he clearly has here.
And though this may bring me into conflict with another blogger whose site I admire: let's not tack the political correctness gone mad tag onto this. The fact is that SKY quite rightly stood by Frank McLintock when he made an accidental reference to a controversial book title that was subsequently changed. The fact is that the joke probably would seriously offend a fair few people not just in Asia but also in the UK. And the fact is that we'd be in a pretty strange society if we laughed at what Big Ron said, thought Prince Harry a loveable rogue and openly filled our TV time with jokes about disasters just a month old that have shattered thousands of lives not just in Asia but in Europe too. Just because every firm and every D list celebrity now knows that they can boost their PR by 'doing something for Asia' doesn't negate the atrocity of it all.
I can't speak for other countries but it's worth saying a little something about the people in the UK who have so much to say in their newspapers about political correctness gone mad and so little about racism. They include the likes of the Daily Express, a mass selling newspaper owned by Richard Desmond. The same Richard Desmond who, when he met executives of the Daily Telegraph last year (at a time when a German company had opened negotiations to buy the title), started a bizarre routine of goose-stepping round the boardroom, making heil Hitler salutes and forcing his fellow Express executives to sing Nazi songs.
24 JANUARY 2005We used to watch football played like that.
Aston Villa in October was the last time. And funnily enough the side that day was identical to the 11 who took the field against Newcastle. Sure, Almunia and Flamini were drafted in, but the point is that Wenger started with four forwards on the pitch - Henry, Bergkamp, Reyes and Pires. It destroyed Aston Villa and it destroyed Newcastle.
We hadn't even played a minute when Touré hooked a dangerous ball clear and fifteen seconds later Matthieu Flamini almost opened his Arsenal account. It was a brilliant flowing move that involved everyone at least once except for Almunia, Sol and Lauren. I thought: we used to watch football played like that. With the exception of Vieira's beautiful goal in the absolute stinker of a performance at Anfield, this was the first time in months we'd seen Arsenal shred a defence like only a Wenger side can.
Full playa ratings should return next week, but briefly: Almunia looked much more comfortable than as of late. Lauren looked very solid whilst Kolo and Sol looked like the defensive colossi we've missed in recent weeks. Cole struggled early against the height of Ameobi but he got better and attacked well.
Paddy was clearly much better than he has been - even if he was a little lucky not to get booked before he did. Flamini had an excellent game and whilst he continued to only do what he's capable of, he showed that he's capable of a lot more than I for one thought he was. He showed very quick feet in midfield and got forward to very good effect on a couple of occasions.
Pires was much better and on the left Reyes was excellent. The golden touch seemed back in his boots and he went past defenders at will. Henry was dangerous and came very close to his first goal in 2005.
As for Dennis, I'd come to the conclusion a few hours before the game that this should probably be his last season. But he was a revelation yesterday - the gel that brought the team together, the oil in the Arsenal machine.
We could have won by more - but there's something very gratifying about a well-deserved 1-0 victory. And after Arsene said before yesterday's game that we play better football than Chelsea, the team made sure it didn't come back and hit him in the face.
In other news, Jermaine Pennant has been charged with drink driving after being stopped in Aylesbury. It bears no comment other than to say Pires might find himself playing a few more games on the right if Freddie doesn't get himself fit.
Finally, in one of the strangest articles perhaps ever written on football, Tony Cascarino has used his Times column to insinuate that Arsene's slight nudging of the rules governing transfers is equivalent to when Cascarino's Marseille bribed opposition players to deny Wenger's Monaco the French Championship. Yeah.
Update: Pennant is to go on loan straight away to Birmingham, for the rest of this season.
17 JANUARY 2005Press unbiased in Fergie/Wenger incident and do we put too many forwards on?
Only kidding.
Bet you didn’t know that when Fergie was reported as getting a little heated whilst talking about Wayne Rooney at a recent press conference he didn’t just send Dictaphones sprawling (as reported by every paper) but also used the word fuck 17 times in a matter of minutes (as reported by none of the papers).
Now don’t get me wrong: I couldn’t care less what language he uses. But there’s a wider point to be made when none of the papers were willing to even mention it, despite making extensive reference to Ferguson’s mood. Obviously nothing to do with previous experience. (This time I’ve actually included the link.)
On which note, Wenger noted on Saturday: "What I don't understand is that he [Ferguson] does what he wants and you (the press) are all at his feet." So in an attempt to prove him wrong, we get the following in this morning’s papers.
Rather than question the sanity of a man responsible for one of the most bizarre, unseemly and in parts quite clearly factually wrong outbursts seen in football in years, The Telegraph chose to focus on the fact that: ‘Wenger was indignant at the latest revelations by Ferguson but significantly did not make an official denial when given ample opportunity to do so after his team's 1-0 defeat at Bolton on Saturday night.’ All of which came as something as a surprise seeing as the very same Arsene Wenger also said: "I have always been consistent with my story and told you nothing happened in the corridor.”
Meanwhile, the Independent are furiously tossing themselves over their successful landing of an exclusive interview with the great man. And they might as well be tossing him off as well so biased is the piece. We do however learn one interesting thing: “United never actually sent that fabled "dossier" to the Football Association detailing tackles by Arsenal players they considered punishable.” Which basically means Ferguson has been running around for the last few months accusing Henry of something he clearly didn’t do, whilst not having the balls to actually do anything about it. And somehow according to the Inde this gives Ferguson the moral high ground.
Bizarre.
Which is not what can be said for this piece on Arsenal-Land, which says exactly what I was going to about our young players. Like Tony Adams, I’m not one for transitions (see 97-98 video) but one quite hefty loaf of comfort we can take from the current situation is that the young players that have come in have all shown, without exception, that they’ve got the talent to play for Arsenal.
Van Persie may still be rawer than sushi, Reyes having a dip and Senderos still haunted by the ghost of Igor but they, along with Hoyte, Fabregas, Flamini, Pennant, Eboue and in my opinion Aliadiere too are all quality players.
One other thing I forgot to add yesterday was about the choice of substitutions on Saturday. I know there’s a certain logic in throwing on extra forwards when you’re losing. But we’re so attacking anyway that I can’t help thinking we just end up losing balance with Pires pushed into central midfield. I would have preferred to see Clichy come on for Cesc and either Reyes or Dennis to have replaced Van Persie, with the other coming on for Pires or Freddie later in the game. Just my opinion.
16 JANUARY 2005Bolton, our defence, Paddy and injuries
United won. Thanks to terrible goalkeeping. Chelsea won. Courtesy of a very dodgy penalty. We lost. To Bolton. To Sam Allardyce. And deserved to lose. And didn’t even score out customary goal. And I sat through almost all of it getting progressively more miserable.
It was the kind of weekend where you start retracing your steps of the previous 24 hours to see if anything you did could have brought bad karma on the club. For my part, I wish to apologise for ordering seafood that unknowingly to me would subsequently die a painful death by being placed live onto a barbecue. I feel a heavy burden. And on that note I think the idiot responsible for sending us out in blue yesterday should apologise too. Forget the absurdity of even having a blue kit – there was no need to change out of red yesterday. I know other sites have picked up on this previously and I don’t want to hijack their very legitimate cause, but something has to be done about what is the most repetitive suicide note in history.
Don’t get me wrong by the way – we weren’t unlucky and Chelsea and United probably deserved their victories. What was so painful was seeing the chasm between their standard of defending and ours. Smertin may have almost knocked one into his own net, Terry did shank one clearance and Brown got sent-off. But these were two individual errors in what otherwise was an expertly managed Chelsea backline.
I agree with Arseblogger that Almunia is a problem but don’t think Jens and the non-existent confidence the backline have in him is the answer. I would buy Van Der Sar. Because he only plays for Fulham we forget what a first class track record he has in club and international football. He’s a serious keeper, with serious credentials and the kind of guy who could kick our defence back into shape (more of that just below).
I also agree Paddy’s had a poor season but don’t think its because he’s not trying and wouldn’t single him out for criticism. It’s the first significant bad patch of form the guy’s had in eight years at the club and rather than lack of effort being the answer, I just don’t think he’s been disciplined enough in his play. Too often he’s played with the looseness of a winger who can happily afford to lose the ball in attacking positions. The up side of this looseness has been three good goals for our captain – the down side has been defensive lapses.
My criticism (and I may be going out on a limb saying this) also extends to the rest of the back four and that includes Ashley Cole, it includes Kolo Toure and it includes Sol Campbell. The simple fact is that too many second rate strikers have looked like world beaters recently when they’ve come up against our defence – and this can’t just be blamed on Lehman, Almunia and Vieira. We’re simply not a well-drilled unit at the moment and haven’t been for almost the whole of this season. If George Graham had a grave, he’d be spinning in it right now.
All that said, I also think we’ve been so unlucky with injuries this season that retaining the title would have taken a minor miracle anyway. The fact that 17-year-old Cesc Fabregas has already played 26 games this season tells its own story. And great as he is, he’s looking tired and in need of a well deserved rest at the moment. We’ve badly missed Edu and Gilberto, just as Chelsea would badly miss two out of Lampard, Makalele and Tiago. We’ve also had Cole, Lauren, Campbell, Vieira, Flamini, Bergkamp, Ljungberg and Reyes all out for significant periods. With a limited squad these injuries are a heavy burden to shoulder.
15 JANUARY 2005Desperate Fergie kicks bucket on eve of Wenger tribute
On the weekend when Arsene is to be recognised by the nation’s journalists (no really) for his contribution to English football, it all appears to be too much to take for the increasingly deluded Alex Ferguson, who in an immaculately timed interview has given the perfect example of the green eyed monster.
It’s an exclusive with Glenn Moore of the Independent, which says a lot. Not about Moore, who writes with far more neutrality than certain colleagues in the Murdoch press, but about the difference between Ferguson and Wenger. Whilst one is being honoured for the courteous way in which he always treats the press (Wenger doesn’t have favourite journalists or give exclusive interviews), Fergie is spilling his soul to one of the few he still considers to be on the right side of him – sending a clear message to the BBC that exclusive interviews come to those who say nice things about him. (Reminder here in case one is needed).
Ferguson claims Wenger’s behaviour after the Old Trafford game in October to have been a “disgrace” and claims he wants to set the record straight. "In the tunnel he [Wenger] was publicly criticising my players, calling them cheats. I was told about this when they came into the dressing room, so I went out into the tunnel and said to him: 'You get in there and behave yourself, leave my players alone'.”
Well, let’s be honest Fergie, they were. Rooney may be English but he can still cheat. And so did Van Nistelrooy, who Fergie admits: " could have damaged Ashley Cole with that tackle. He could have given him a serious injury and he knows that.”
And then in another delve into delusion he says: “Ruud couldn’t believe it when he saw it on video. He's not that kind of player.” Err, yeah.
Going back to the tunnel incident, he then says: “"He came sprinting towards me with his hands raised saying: 'What do you want to do about it?' He was standing right there.” Which is surely worthy of a 12 game ban itself.
And then: “To not apologise for the behaviour of the players to another manager is unthinkable. It is a disgrace. But I don't expect Wenger to ever apologise." What the fuck is that meant to mean? Is he talking about the Arsenal players? The United players? Does anyone know? Does he know? Nutter.
Followed by: "In the boardroom David Gill [United's chief executive] and David Dein [Arsenal's vice-chairman] agreed nothing would be said by either club," Ferguson said. "Then in the ensuing weeks all you got was a diatribe from Arsenal about being kicked off the pitch and all that nonsense. David Gill phoned David Dein three times to complain about this but nothing was done.” That’s funny, because all I seem to remember is more and more anonymous leaks coming out of Old Trafford and more and more Murdoch journalists telling us how ‘senior Old Trafford figures’ were apparently ‘so shocked’ about Arsenal’s behaviour.
It goes on. "Now the return is coming round [1 February] and they will come out with another diatribe.” On which incidental note, he continues: “I don't expect Wenger ever to apologise for anything - he's that type of person - but I would have expected Arsenal Football Club to have written to David Gill apologising for their players' behaviour.” Seeing as Fergie’s apparently so fond of apologies, what would he consider more worthy of an apology? Spilt soup on a jacket or a career threatening tackle? Still want an apology?
As we know, Fergie went through the game frame by frame on video afterwards. Whilst he admits Horseface’s tackle was bad, he neglects to mention Rooney going down quicker than he would on a 45 year old gran. Whilst defending Ruud as not that kind of player, he does however add: “Neither would you say Henry was the type to be violent but he could have seriously injured Gabriel Heinze when he kneed him in the head.”
He continues: “We reported that but the FA said, 'It is more than 48 hours after the game, we can't do anything'. The reason the FA did nothing was because anyone with a brain cell could see it was a complete accident. Rather than heap ridicule on an old man, your complaints were gently ignored and left to one side. Crikey, even the Times didn’t think anything of the incident.
He then recalls our previously poor discipline, before admitting it has improved. But he adds: “Yet they are now seen as paragons of virtue. To Wenger it never happens, it is all some dream or nightmare.” Well over the past 12 months we have had the best disciplinary record in the league – not a single red card. And as for Wenger never seeing it, find me another manager who has admitted his side’s last four red cards (Lauren, Vieira, Keown and Cole) were all deserved.
Then even more bizarrely he continues: “People forget he was done for manhandling a referee [fourth official Paul Taylor in August 2000]. He got a 12-match suspension [and fine of four weeks' wages] wiped out to a [£10,000] fine [on appeal, the charge having been downgraded].” Err, no people don’t forget.
But the Bridgewater four were “done” for murdering a paperboy. They didn’t do it. People forget that there was a similar case involving fourth official Peter Taylor at the time in which again he was found to be using a wee bit of invention in his complaints.
It’s takes someone really, really special to make my preferred non-Arsenal champions a club who would be nothing were it not for millions of pounds of ill gotten Russian oil money. But Fergie, you’ve managed it.
(Reminder here in case one is needed).
10 JANUARY 2005Race to be next Arsenal right back kicks off
The race to be the next Arsenal right back started against Stoke on Sunday. Emmanuel Eboue looked strong, composed and good going forward in an impressive debut. Justin Hoyte will provide the competition. Defensively, he looks sound but whether he can match Eboue's attacking ability remains to be seen. Certainly, we know Wenger likes his full-backs to get forward. I've no idea what all this means for Lauren.
Elsewhere, I was shocked by the grief Ade Akinbyi gave Toure and Senderos. Whenever any kind of punt came towards the striker there was panic in our defence. Behind the lumbering pair, Lehman had the look of a broken man.
Clearly a proud man and probably a bit arrogant too, he looked shocked to be playing second fiddle to an unknown from Spain. And the old uncertainty that had plagued the defence when he was in the side previously was there for all to see. It's not that he's a bad goalkeeper. He's actually a very good one, if clearly not in the class of the all time greats.
But the problem is that in the current Arsenal side his presence provokes panic. Like when Fabregas and Lehman went to sleep and allowed the Stoke player to almost score with a hooked effort that Clichy cleared off the line. Or when Akinbiyi hit the bar and the ball seemed to bounce around our box for an eternity afterwards. It may not even be Lehman's fault but why he isn't currently first choice is clear for all to see.
Elsewhere, Cesc, Paddy and Pires lived a slightly bizarre existence. In the world according to Arsene they should have been rested for the game. But such are our injury problems in reserve, there was simply no other option but for them to play.
Pennant did alright and certainly offers something different. He appears to be lacking a little bit of confidence at the moment (understandable in light of the lack of a new contract offer) and as a result his decision making is sometimes a bit off. Certainly, I'd offer him another year, though I agree there's no harm in making him work for it.
Up front, it was fascinating to see Reyes and Van Persie together for the first time. For quite a whilst it had looked as though Arsene would sign one or the other. I wonder what changed his mind. Is it possible he thinks Reyes' best position is as an eventual successor to Robert Pires? Or does he simply see both of them as part of the post Bergkamp forward line?
I thought they combined reasonably well seeing as it was a first attempt and Reyes was coming back from injury. Certainly the important thing was that at no point did they appear to look like left-footed clones with too similar games. Which is important.
8 JANUARY 2005What actually went wrong in last season's FA Cup?
I forgot to mention a couple of things in Tuesday's update. The first was Roy Keane's very deliberate kick to the head of a prone Spurs player. I'm amazed it hasn't been followed up, as it was far worse than other recently punished incidents.
Personally, I've absolutely no time for Keane. He bemoans the odd act of unsporting behaviour whilst continuing on his own personal assault course that included trying to end another player's career. He also bemoans the lack of atmosphere at games - forgetting the only reason the prawn sandwich brigade are in Old Trafford is to fund his own multi-million pound existence. He reeks of hypocrisy.
The second occurred late on during the Chelsea v Boro game. Though the game was not shown live on the UK, ESPN in Asia repeated it in full after our game. With about eight minutes to go Frank Lampard fell under a challenge from Ray Parlour that was as non-existent as Dietmar Hamann's on Paddy at Anfield. Cynics would say he was trying to cheat to get Parlour (who had already been booked) sent off.
Of course these cynics wouldn't ever be heard in the UK because as we all know, only foreign players dive.
In other news, Arsene has said that he should have rested more players in last year's FA Cup semi-final so that the side were fresh for the visit of Chelsea three days later. I can't help thinking this to be a case of the boss being stubbornly refusing to acknowledge where he really went wrong and inventing a new explanation.
Despite having conceded a later equaliser to United in the league the week before, we were a side full of confidence on a fantastic run and seemingly dragging ourselves towards a possible treble based on a combination of great football, resilience and sheer adrenaline.
Then Arsene dumped Henry and Reyes to the bench and brought in Dennis and a patently unfit Aliadiere for the United game. We may have controlled most of the game in any case but you can't help thinking a full strength Arsenal side would have brushed aside United's half-decent outfit.
And so we would have gone into the Chelsea game supremely confident, our first team still undefeated domestically, a fourth consecutive FA Cup Final spot secured and a large Premiership lead under our belts. Instead the side that had seemingly endless belief was suddenly shaken, Lehman made his most costly error in an Arsenal shirt and the European dream was as dead as the treble dream.
Arsene says it was because the players were knackered after the physicality of the United game. I can't help thinking it was because he was arrogant enough to think we could beat them with our second string attack. If not, why didn't he start Henry and Reyes, get the game in the bag as he clearly thought the side capable of and then give then bring on the likes of Aliadiere?
And had it been the United league game that had come three days before Europe would we not have seen the full side? Certainly, I can't think of an instance of players being rested for a league game prior to a European match.
Just my opinion.
6 JANUARY 2005Big players have poor games
Waking up at 2:45am to watch footie is never wise. Waking up at 2:45am when you're being collected at 7:30 the following
morning is stupid. And waking up at 2:45am when you're trying to get over jet lag is very stupid.
Thoughts on the
game: Give City credit - they were good all over the park. For us, Henry, Pires and particularly Paddy didn't have the big
games we needed from all of them with so much youth in the side. Having started well, Paddy was particularly poor. Once
again Cesc ran the midfield and knackered or not knackered he still looked easily our best player and was unfortunate to be
taken off. Senderos did well too. And Cole had his best game for weeks.
On the injury front, you have to feel a bit
for Arsene. Of the 23 players who made up the first team squad at the start of the season, nine are currently on the
treatment table. Clearly, this makes things very, very difficult with the size of squad we have. As for Chelsea, their run
shows no sign of abating. We know they can beat almost anyone now, like we could last season.
When we dropped points
it was not really because we were playing a particularly good team. Instead poor performances and lapses in concentration on
our part were to blame. Chelsea will have a bad spell - the question is whether it will be early enough in this season to matter,
too late to matter or whether it will come early next season. We shall see.
01 JANUARY 2005 23:44GMTExcellent goals in Valley victory + playa ratings
An excellent win in a difficult away game. In keeping with current fashion, Charlton started with five in midfield and just one up front – and for much of the first half it worked. We started with Hoyte in for the injured Lauren, Cesc in for Flamini who didn’t even make the bench, Van Persie again up front in the continued absence of Reyes and Dennis and Clichy replacing Pires on the bench.
The home side enjoyed the majority of the early chances, though that said none were complete sitters. And despite not really playing well, we managed to get ourselves a goal when Van Persie fed Paddy who did well to find Freddie in the box. He span and shot low and hard past Kiely. It took a deflection off a Charlton defender but was probably going in anyway.
The Charlton equaliser was a stunner – a 35 yard driven free-kick by Talal El Karkouri on the stroke of half time. Cole and Fred did their best to block it but it somehow went through them and swerved past Almunia who didn’t have a prayer.
When the teams came out for the second half it was us who took the game by the scruff of the neck and within three minutes we’d regained the lead. It was a beautiful move involving great feet from Van Persie, a stunning flick by Cesc into the feet of Freddie and a great right footed finish by our number eight.
From then on it was relatively plain sailing for the Gunners, with the exception of a goal from Jerome Thomas scored after the offside whistle had gone. Henry then saw a free kick cleared off the line from an identical position to the one he scored from last year. Our third came from a long punt by Almunia, a misdirected back header from a defender and an awesome first time left footed finish by Van Persie who fired across Kiely.
It was an excellent second half performance after a bit of a dodgy first period. All three goals were expertly taken and none involved either Henry (who didn’t look entirely fit) nor Pires. Hoyte did a good job of keeping Jerome Thomas quiet and rather than grinding out a win from a poor performance it felt like we’d really deserved the three points.
The bad news is that Sol could be out for about three weeks with a twisted ankle. He sat out the final ten minutes – giving Senderos his Premiership bow. The Valley’s a nice stadium – but £45 for away fans is an outrage – particularly when some home fans get tickets for £17.
Playa ratings to the right.
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Latest playa ratings:
v Wolves (2-0) - NEW
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bamboozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
For December 2004 updates click here.
Welcome to the redesigned goodplaya.com. The new version covers everything from the beginning of December forwards and is much like the old version, except it's perhaps a little easier on the eye. The blog still appears in the middle, links to previous posts to the left, playa ratings above (click on the relevant team) and links to good sites on the tab on the far left. Any goodplaya submissions (instances of Arsene using the phrase 'good player') or any other correspondence is most welcome. The email address is up the top. Enjoy.
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