Sep 26
A tremendous effort by the Arsenal tonight. They came out strong and went toe to toe with a desperate Newcastle who HAD to get points. We lost our captain early, then saw more players get injured and Newcastle come back hard. Ended the game with Ljungberg unable to contribute through injury but still on the pitch. Keown and Cole also got banged up.
And yet we managed to find some way to gut it out. An absolutely crucial performance. Well done boys. A remarkably clean game as well. Played like the champions we are tonight. Henry with a brace and Gilberto grabs one in between.
12 Responses to “Arsenal 3 -2 Newcastle”
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September 26th, 2003 at 6:36 pm
I was very pleased, especially since it felt like a bit of deja vu from the Inter game, with Newcastle having so few chances but making good on them early.
Dunno what was up with that Hand of God play though, that game out of nowhere and I still can’t really believe it.
September 26th, 2003 at 10:20 pm
well done…
we literally gutted out a win that we desperately needed to get…
the concern now is … injuries…
Viera / Cole / Ljunberg… Keown too…
we have NO depth… and suspensions looming as well…. where do we turn now??
Wenger commented that if we get suspended the full 21 matches (amongst the 6 players charged), that it would give him the opportunity to play again!!!!!!!!
Scary times….. as Cygan looked dreadful and completely out of sorts… lets hope the injuries aren’t significant…. although Freddie was clearly hurting…
September 26th, 2003 at 11:04 pm
I’m pleased with the win, and the mettle it took to hang on with a team that kept clawing its way back. The opening minutes of the game were especially impressive with the boys simply holding on to the ball and picking their spots. The injuries are a bit of a concern though, but i think (with the exception of freddie and pv4) that as long as their short lived, they may simply balance out the suspensions on the horizon. Let’s just hope the boys from the bench can pick it up when the time comes.
September 27th, 2003 at 2:22 am
I felt the game went pretty well, with the exception that Newcastle answered both of their 2 points way too quickly after we scored our first 2. It looked as if we were way too comfortable after we scored and backed off defensively to let them come back. When you let a team score goals 7 minutes after the first and 4 minutes after the second goal, it shows that they are not to be taken too lightly, which I think the Gunners did considering the trouble Newcastle have been having the the relief that we had when we were in the lead. I was a little disappointed in the last 10 minutes of play, I felt we let them have too many chances at creating plays in the end, but I feel real good about our win, we really needed the 3 points to boost confidence and I’m happy Gilberto got his chance to put a point up. Oh yeah, I would like to know why they kept Freddy in when he was as bad off as he was, limping around like that, he is already accident prone from injuries last year, is it really that important to risk further injury when it is obvious that he is only going to play at the top of his game when he is 100% healthy.
September 27th, 2003 at 10:03 am
I agree we let teams back at us too easily and too often, but I have to be fair. The first equaliser came with in a minute of Vieira going off which clearly dis-oriented us and and lifted Newcastle. You really get the sense(I did and I think commentators as well, anyway)that we have thrashed them right then had he not gone off at that time. No excuses whatsoever on the second, but you clearly see a change in us and them as well after our Captain went off.
September 27th, 2003 at 11:12 am
we had no more SUBS… thats why Freddie was out there… if he were very badly injured, he’d have been taken off… but they chose to keep him on the pitch… a body to clog things up a bit?
Viera going off… shows just how important he is to this team, AND why he is among the BEST midfielders in the world and coveted by the likes of Real Madrid and Man U…
with PV4 playing… we dominated the first 25 minutes… almost playing them off the pitch…
he goes off injured… and its a match… Newcastle has a chance…
this is why Viera is arguably our MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER…. our best player… he controls the match from midfield…
September 28th, 2003 at 5:32 am
Well, what can I say that hasn’t already been said other than damn shame about Vieira, and Ljungberg (who other than Henry is probably my fave player…good thing my friend who just visited England got me one of HIS jerseys ha ha); and it was nice to see GILBERTO~! get some goal action finally.
Boy oh boy, what happened to Toon being one of the main threats to the title eh?
— Geoff
September 28th, 2003 at 10:22 am
Yes… what happened is right!
I really like their line-up….
they have alot of good players..
should be doing much better…… they will
rise up the rungs of the table…. but they may
have created such a big hole….that they are no longer a threat….
September 28th, 2003 at 1:23 pm
Well it’s tragic is what it is. Sir Blobby’s built up such a squad, the kind that’s clawed and fought its way from being a consistent relegation candiate to 2 consecutive top-4 finishes, and it’s all gone to pot so far.
And WHY? At least with Leeds’ fall from grace, the line-up being gutted and 3 managers in 2 seasons is a good indicator, but Toon has no such factors??
Hmmm, almost sound like a Newcastle supporter…
— Geoff
September 28th, 2003 at 11:18 pm
Tragic?
well… I certainly wouldn’t use THAT term!!!
they will get that team going soon….
they will finish top 8 or so…… they have a shot at Europe and even the CL…… they’ve only played 6 or 7 matches… too much talent to NOT succeed…
I like Shearer & Bellamy up front… I like their midfield as well……
me thinks they win their next few matches…
and ease up the table.
September 29th, 2003 at 7:32 am
Newcastle’s start is the same as last year
September 29th, 2003 at 1:12 pm
I concur with both you guys. The quick response to our goals is very worrisome. It happened at Newcastle last year and home v. Man Utd. We definitely should have won the Newcastle game and we were up 2-1 with a half hour left v. Man Utd and should have held out for much longer.
How many top teams who have Euro ambitions give up faster goals?