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Saturday, September 29, 2007
Rob's The Man
A lone goal by Robin van Persie against West Ham secured three points for Arsenal to keep the team on top of the EPL table.
Recent encounters against the Hammers were notoriously known to result in unfavourable endings to 90 minutes for the Gunners. But with the brand new belief and spirit in this Arsenal squad, resilience and strength were given new meanings.
Although on away grounds, Arsenal did not wait long before launching into the first attack of the game. In the first minute of play, Robin van Persie released Abou Diaby brilliantly with a precise pass from midfield. Adebayor shaved the shot wide after gathering a great pass from Diaby.
Not only were the current Gunners impressive, a former was too. Fredrik Ljungberg played against his former club for the first time and had West Ham's first sights on goal. Climbing onto a neat backheel pass from Dean Ashton, Ljungberg went up against Almunia. The Spanish keeper kept his cool and got there before Freddie, but even if the latter had scored, it wouldn't have counted as he was flagged offside.
West Ham's afternoon was made colourful by Ljungberg and Ashton, who were probably the only two Hammers who had decent attempts on goal. Ashton's first came in 9th minute when he got the better of Senderos, but he only managed to send his shot skyward.
Away fans didn't have to wait long to witness and celebrate a great goal in this London derby. Adebayor held the ball well in the right side of the box in the 13th minute before sending it wide to Hleb. The nimble midfielder lofted a testing cross into the six yard box, searching for Van Persie. Always one to get into a good scoring position, Van Persie arrived at the opportune moment to head the ball past Robert Green. The moment was extra joyous for me as SF picked me up and gave me a quick spin in merriment.
The glory of the goal was perhaps marred by an outrageous challenge on Alex Hleb by Noble. Crashing into Hleb in the 28th minute, Noble only received a yellow card for his brash attack. Hleb had just returned from a knee injury and looked to be in agonising pain as he was stretchered off and replaced by Emmanuel Eboue.
In a post match interview, Wenger said that while nothing seemed to be broken, Hleb's leg looked very bad and was battered and bruised from the knee down.
The unrelenting Gunners refused to be intimidated by the style of play. Going on the offense often and creating havoc in midfield, chances continued to come Arsenal's way. The most notable efforts were perhaps from Mathieu Flamini for the rest of the first half.
Flamini is part of the new Arsenal outfit that has been outstanding so far this season. And Flamini's determination and play is enough example of the change in the team. Now well established along Cesc Fabregas in midfield, the Frenchman is without a doubt the most industrious player in most matches.
Battling through midfield, he charged at every ball and appeared magically to intercept oppositions' passes. Also never one to be afraid trying his luck outside the box, Flamini got away two long range shots in the first half, but the heroics of Robert Green kept the Gunners' lead at one goal at the halftime whistle.
Never a team to sit back on a one-goal lead, Arsenal begun their quest for a second after the restart. Less than ten minutes into the second period, Robin van Persie swung a looker into the woodwork. To be fair, Green probably got his fingers to the ball before it chinked off paint from the crossbar.
West Ham played a better second half than the first. Dean Ashton's 57th minute free header could have levelled the game if he'd directed the ball either side of Almunia, but he nodded it straight into the keeper's hands. Ljungberg placed one past Almunia two minutes later, but celebrations were halted as a controversial offside flag was up to disallow the goal.
At the other end, Adebayor and Van Persie showed why Arsene's first-choice partnership would work. Besides winning balls, providing through passes and scoring goals for the team, the pair played off each other splendidly. A 63rd minute one-two between the Togolese and Dutch would have increased Arsenal's lead had Adebayor's shot packed more power.
Aside from Robin's early denial by the crossbar, Clichy's attempt in the 73rd minute was the most exciting point for me. Meandering well into space, Gael Clichy fired a crackling shot. Robert Green's hands must have stung after, but he did well to turn the attempt away. Shame. I was hoping so badly to see Clichy's first goal for Arsenal.
Dean Ashton had two good headed attempts on the Arsenal goal within six minutes of each other. The first was saved by Almunia and the second was cleared off the line by Robin.
And so Arsenal continues their majestic start to the season. Robin van Persie's fine header won the game and his intervention late in the game prevented the Gunners from dropping two points. However, it was the whole team who made it possible. What's fantastic is that the players all know it as they thanked and congratulated each other before applauding their stentorian fans for another Premiership win.
For player ratings, please visit Arsenal Singapore.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Rob's The Man
A lone goal by Robin van Persie against West Ham secured three points for Arsenal to keep the team on top of the EPL table.
Recent encounters against the Hammers were notoriously known to result in unfavourable endings to 90 minutes for the Gunners. But with the brand new belief and spirit in this Arsenal squad, resilience and strength were given new meanings.Although on away grounds, Arsenal did not wait long before launching into the first attack of the game. In the first minute of play, Robin van Persie released Abou Diaby brilliantly with a precise pass from midfield. Adebayor shaved the shot wide after gathering a great pass from Diaby.
Not only were the current Gunners impressive, a former was too. Fredrik Ljungberg played against his former club for the first time and had West Ham's first sights on goal. Climbing onto a neat backheel pass from Dean Ashton, Ljungberg went up against Almunia. The Spanish keeper kept his cool and got there before Freddie, but even if the latter had scored, it wouldn't have counted as he was flagged offside.
West Ham's afternoon was made colourful by Ljungberg and Ashton, who were probably the only two Hammers who had decent attempts on goal. Ashton's first came in 9th minute when he got the better of Senderos, but he only managed to send his shot skyward.Away fans didn't have to wait long to witness and celebrate a great goal in this London derby. Adebayor held the ball well in the right side of the box in the 13th minute before sending it wide to Hleb. The nimble midfielder lofted a testing cross into the six yard box, searching for Van Persie. Always one to get into a good scoring position, Van Persie arrived at the opportune moment to head the ball past Robert Green. The moment was extra joyous for me as SF picked me up and gave me a quick spin in merriment.
The glory of the goal was perhaps marred by an outrageous challenge on Alex Hleb by Noble. Crashing into Hleb in the 28th minute, Noble only received a yellow card for his brash attack. Hleb had just returned from a knee injury and looked to be in agonising pain as he was stretchered off and replaced by Emmanuel Eboue.
In a post match interview, Wenger said that while nothing seemed to be broken, Hleb's leg looked very bad and was battered and bruised from the knee down. The unrelenting Gunners refused to be intimidated by the style of play. Going on the offense often and creating havoc in midfield, chances continued to come Arsenal's way. The most notable efforts were perhaps from Mathieu Flamini for the rest of the first half.
Flamini is part of the new Arsenal outfit that has been outstanding so far this season. And Flamini's determination and play is enough example of the change in the team. Now well established along Cesc Fabregas in midfield, the Frenchman is without a doubt the most industrious player in most matches.
Battling through midfield, he charged at every ball and appeared magically to intercept oppositions' passes. Also never one to be afraid trying his luck outside the box, Flamini got away two long range shots in the first half, but the heroics of Robert Green kept the Gunners' lead at one goal at the halftime whistle.Never a team to sit back on a one-goal lead, Arsenal begun their quest for a second after the restart. Less than ten minutes into the second period, Robin van Persie swung a looker into the woodwork. To be fair, Green probably got his fingers to the ball before it chinked off paint from the crossbar.
West Ham played a better second half than the first. Dean Ashton's 57th minute free header could have levelled the game if he'd directed the ball either side of Almunia, but he nodded it straight into the keeper's hands. Ljungberg placed one past Almunia two minutes later, but celebrations were halted as a controversial offside flag was up to disallow the goal.
At the other end, Adebayor and Van Persie showed why Arsene's first-choice partnership would work. Besides winning balls, providing through passes and scoring goals for the team, the pair played off each other splendidly. A 63rd minute one-two between the Togolese and Dutch would have increased Arsenal's lead had Adebayor's shot packed more power.
Aside from Robin's early denial by the crossbar, Clichy's attempt in the 73rd minute was the most exciting point for me. Meandering well into space, Gael Clichy fired a crackling shot. Robert Green's hands must have stung after, but he did well to turn the attempt away. Shame. I was hoping so badly to see Clichy's first goal for Arsenal.
Dean Ashton had two good headed attempts on the Arsenal goal within six minutes of each other. The first was saved by Almunia and the second was cleared off the line by Robin.
And so Arsenal continues their majestic start to the season. Robin van Persie's fine header won the game and his intervention late in the game prevented the Gunners from dropping two points. However, it was the whole team who made it possible. What's fantastic is that the players all know it as they thanked and congratulated each other before applauding their stentorian fans for another Premiership win.
For player ratings, please visit Arsenal Singapore.
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