Henry and Cygan each score a brace as Arsenal bounce back from Sunday?s loss at the Kremlin.
What a crazy match this was. Arsenal were rewarded a penalty kick early in the first half, but since it was Thierry Henry who was fouled, Lauren stepped up to take it. For the first time in his career, it was saved. Fulham keeper Tony Warner was easily man of the match, making not just the stop from the penalty, but also several saves from the run of play. It could have very easily been 10-2 tonight.
OK, so I mentioned that Pascal Cygan scored twice. I bet you didn?t believe me. Well, it?s true! The Frenchman started in place of Phillipe Senderos, who was kindly given a breather after the tough go he had on Sunday. Cygan’s first goal was a brilliant downward header meeting the end of a Dennis Bergkamp free kick. The second was again at the end of a cross, and it took Kolo Toure jumping out of the way to ensure that Cygan?s shot found its? way into the net.
Thierry Henry?s first goal was created by a brilliant pass by Jose Antonio Reyes, who, despite not scoring, was by far Arsenal?s most lethal attacker tonight. Reyes chipped a fantastic ball over the Fulham defense, it was controlled by a great first touch by Henry, who in turn made the best of his chance and drove the ball past Warner.
Henry?s second was his 184th for Arsenal in all competitions, putting him one short of the record currently held by Gunners legend Ian Wright.
We?ll have to wait a while for it to be broken however, as due to this Saturday?s match against Liverpool being postponed as a result of their involvement in the UEFA Super Cup, Arsenal are off until September 10th, when they face Middlesbrough away.
Meanwhile, the draw for the group stage of the Champions League takes place @ 10 AM ET tomorrow, plus, Sp*rs play Chel$ki on Saturday. **AYE CARUMBA**(censored), I mean, who do you root for in that one? It?s like Karl Rove v Drew Rosenhaus - you just hope they beat the crap out of one another.
15 Responses to “Arsenal 4 - 1 Fulham”
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August 24th, 2005 at 7:24 pm
Quote:(Fulham keeper Tony Warner was easily man of the match) ?
I think that Cygan should EASILY get Man of the Match!
But wow, who would have thought Cygan would get two goals in one match.
OUTSTANDING match, had me jumping around the whole 2nd half!
Go Gunners!
August 24th, 2005 at 7:28 pm
Cygan was great, but Warner stopped so many shots that I had to give him credit where credit’s due.
August 24th, 2005 at 7:35 pm
True That, I just find it hard to give props to the opposing team. LOL!
August 24th, 2005 at 7:40 pm
Here we go again. I’m pleased for Pascal to get his goals, it can’t be easy for him to take such criticism but Arsenal did not defend well tonight, and neither did he.
I won’t change my mind overnight, Cygan has no future at Arsenal and will cost us points in the long run.
August 24th, 2005 at 9:04 pm
Danny… give the guy a break for 1 day.
He scored a BIG goal for us tonite.
Kill him TOMORROW on the site. Let him have his day in the sun. Its not gonna happen often!
August 24th, 2005 at 9:58 pm
Ok … I’ve just seen the 2nd and 3rd signs of the appocolyse with Cygan’s goals … (the 1st was obviously Drogba’s knee last Sunday).
One more sign and we should all be preparing to meet our makers whomever he (or she) is.
Trouble is I cannot work out what the 4th sign would be …. wait I’ve got it … if Sp*rs beat Chelski this weekend then we know the football world is going mad !!
August 24th, 2005 at 11:40 pm
“…Sunday?s loss at the Kremlin”
Well Said
I really like that statement because it even alludes to their style of play. Wait until your opponent makes a move. Tactical. Calculative. Not creative. Also applies to their manager. Reactive person.
I don’t like that long break. Who knows when that Liverpool fixture will be rearranged?
Regarding Sat, I know what result I want - Spurs win. I know this result won’t happen. But this is why I want that result.
1) Chelsea need to be halted in their openly announced quest of our 49 game record (Terry thinks they can do it). The worst part is the longer Chelsea go unbeaten, the more tense that Dec game with us will be. As much as I like that 49 game record of ours, I feel the backlash resulting from losing one game after that cost us our season. So I hope the record lasts longer.
2) The gap will be left to 3 points. Not a big thing right now, but still..
3) Man City won’t be beating them this year. No SWP or Anelka.
4) We can’t be bogged down by all the London games. Other London teams need to go at each other….dog fight…Davids come on show what you are made up of…
August 25th, 2005 at 12:23 am
I agree about the break — GAWD it’ll kill me. There was NOWHERE they could’ve rescheduled the Liverpool game to before the 10th of September?!
Maybe Wenger will bunker down on the players and we’ll get things totally ship shape, ready and screaming when the 10th comes to conquer the league. I’d hope so anyway. Still, don’t wanna get TOO many games in hand…
And yeah, I have to say that 4-1 over Fulham was the cure for what ailed me. But, er, Cygan with a brace? WTF?
August 25th, 2005 at 5:21 am
I agree nice showing by Cygan, but the jury is definately still out.
August 25th, 2005 at 8:38 am
I found it very encouraging that Gilberto and Fabregas were not found physically wanting against a team that did NOT allow us possession. Papa Dioup is one of the most imposing players in the league and a couple here (well one) thought Ol’ Fabregas would struggle against this sort of midfield. We’ve played a good cross-section of the league in the last few games so as Seanie B said, hopefully we can deposit that argument in the trash bin once and for all.
Our team looks pretty good, and frankly, it always did, it was only because Henry wasn’t quite with it that we didn’t really function. Last night he was back in the mood and the lift he gave to the other players was noticeable. Reyes was also very good, and the difference he makes to our team in terms of pace is significant, when he’s on form.
Lehmann looks very impressive these days and reading Arsenal.com it maybe looks like Wenger could actually buy an outfield player.
August 25th, 2005 at 8:40 am
My comment above. The anonymous gooner stuff is so annoying!
August 25th, 2005 at 8:51 am
First of all, I can’t hide my pleasure and relief that we’ve picked up 3 points and moved into 4th. Well done to come back, lads. Reminded me of the unbeaten season when there were stretches where we either went 2 up to concede, or one down to come back. I predict we’ll need more wake-up calls like this one in the future to turn on our attack. More men in the box, and therefore, some unexpected heroes. Toure played well again after allowing the chip that saw us go one down, and Reyes, Hleb (LOVE this guy), and Cesc (SO wanted that early scorcher to find the net) all showed something extra.
However, if ever there was an indication that we beat up on a defenseless club, its when Cygan scores a brace. He was somehow invisible last night, with no one picking him up at ALL. Their fault but even so, the score, by all accounts, could have been more like the kind of score seen last season when we beat Spurtz 5-4. Okay, maybe 5-3. But McBride let us off the hook twice. Had we been at the Cottage, this could have looked very different.
I hate to do the balancing of opinion here, but I guess its my turn. Let’s start with Gilberto. Shocker. He looked for all the world like he was on a head full of cough medicine. I’m hoping there was something going on that we don’t know about because he has played better than he played yesterday in his sleep.
Henry. Good on him to show his class and pull within one of Wrighty’s record. But he was given more space than an ocean liner pulling into port. And the T-kissing celebration is very lovely (reportedly a show of affection for his new daughter, adorably named “Tea”) but it got me thinking. We all know how emotional he is, and it wouldn’t surprise me that his experience as a new father has softened him a bit. All the peace talks on the sideline and the warm applause for friend and foe alike - its all very heartening. But if saying that I look forward to when some of the novelty wears off and he regains his mean streak (such as it is) makes me a pr*ck, well then I’m a pr*ck. I’ll send him flowers at the end of ths season. ;^)
And others here have said that Fulham came to play with some kind of 4-4-2/4-3-3. Hugs all around, but shame on them. They can see how we’re being stymied by other clubs, and I can’t imagine they’ve put THAT much faith in McBride, Jensen and Warner. They were at Highbury, for chrissakes! I guess they figured they’ve been working hard, have been a little unlucky, its still early, and we’ve not been lighting the world on fire with our finishing. While its good to see we made them pay the price, I couldn’t help but wonder why they let us put on a show even after being one up. Coleman is surely doomed if he keeps this brave attitude, and will probably be sacked when they fall through the trapdoor to the Championship, hopefully dragging Blackburn with them.
Five yellow cards. FIVE. Against Fulham. Think about that.
I don’t want to end on a negative note, as there was a lot of positive on display last night. Its nice to see Bergy given space so he can be Bergy again. Too often we don’t capitalize on advantage, and the score barely reflected how well we did that. In fact, there were a lot of moments all over the pitch that showed heart, determination and class. And now we’ve got a long break. While that isn’t always a good thing, it will most likely see everyone heal up (Freddie, Reyes has to be hurting today) and allow them to bond over this win.
So a well done to our Gunners, and a big thank you to Coleman and his brave lads. We needed that.
August 25th, 2005 at 8:54 am
By the way, GREAT picture, Mike. If those two signed it, it would have to be one of the rarest celebration pictures in Gunner history. Probably worth more than when Henry finally breaks Wrighty’s record! ;^)
I can’t wait to see if Mr. Wright shows up in the next couple of games to watch Henry do it. What if Chelsea are playing at the same time? Decisions, decisions.
August 25th, 2005 at 11:09 am
I too applaud Fulham, for the way the came out to Highbury and played to win. It is heartening to see that come from a smaller club, especially now that even the big guys like Chelsea, seem to play in such a negative manner.
Fulham were a much better team than the scoreline suggests and at the cottage it may have been a closer game. I wish them good luck and hope that they are able to stick around in the Premiership.
August 26th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
wrighty showing up at the bridge to watch his adopted son on a regular basis just chaps my friggin’ hide it really does. there is something religiously wrong with it, don’t care what you say…
c