Sep 23
Arsenal were held at home for more than a half by Sheff U, but managed to put three in (with help from an own goal). Not a great performance really, but what you need and expect against poor opposition - three points.
35 Responses to “Arsenal 3 - 0 Sheffield United”
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September 23rd, 2006 at 3:43 pm
It is indeed very true that in football things changed fast. Merely two weeks ago there were already talks of Arsenal and Liverpool were out of the title race, that United was having their best start of Premiership history… Now all a sudden, Liverpool is 3 points behind United, Arsenal 5 with a game in hand.
West Ham, with their two world-class singings, haven’t collected a single leauge points since they joined, with one of them already linked with a move to Series A. A team relied on their collective spirit at the past now look disoriented.
And dear old Spurs are having a reality check. As i said last season - if after we lost 9 or 10 games in the league last season yet they still couldn’t beat us to Europe (CL), it’s unlikely they would beat us to anything for the near future at least.
Martin Jol’s Revolution? Nothing seems new to me at White Hart Lane. All they have done so far is keep spending big money on over-prized players with no end product to show for. Following the English football for two decades, they been repeating the same pattern again and again.
How much they spent on Jermaine Jenas? Even some Spurs fans been yelling to get rid of him. To think of a couple years’ ago some Aresnal fans actually wanted AW to sign him when he’s available… That’s one great thing of Wenger and the Arsenal board - we would rather to wait for the right players available rather than dragged ourselves into some panic purchases. Time always tell.
September 23rd, 2006 at 3:54 pm
btw, it’s great to see Reading been doing well. Particular when they have a former Gunner boy playing in it - Steven Sidwell. One of my favourite ex-Gunners.
After opted to leave (despite AW wanted to keep him), Sidwell never complained (on how he didn’t get a fair chance at Arsenal), kept working hard, and was voted the BEST PLAYER OUTSIDE OF THE PREMIERSHIP by “442″ (voted by fellow players) in 2005, then won the second place in the same award last season. A hardworking, aggressive, level-headed lad, I hope he and his team continues doing well, apart from playing against us of course!
September 23rd, 2006 at 4:59 pm
That was Stag who wanted to buy Jenas.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:03 pm
The play was pretty good, as against Villa and Boro. Freddie battled well, but sure is not the fastest anymore. I really would like to see Walcott get to come in and use his speed in the last 20 mins or so of games like this. I haven't seen anyone else point this out, but it looks to me like Cesc is in a little bit of a slump right now. I've always been his biggest supporters, but I've never seen so many errant passes as in the last few matches. Had that one moment of brilliance against United obviously. Kolo was great as usual. Jens solid when he had to. Man of the match: Djourou. Rock solid at the back, and always willing to go forward (not always with success though, but had a great run late). Gotta love our depth at CB now! Henry was dismal in the first half, but we all saw how important he was in the 2nd as he was involved in all 3 goals. If Eboue could learn to deliver crosses as he did for the 3rd goal, he would be one of the best RBs in the world. As it is, you never know where the ball is going to go. Baptista looked pretty lost out there. We need to get him 90 mins here and there.
Still think we got the more valuable player in the Cole/Gallas exchange. Not the best LB, but the most versatile and valuable over the course of a long season. Brilliant goal today.
All in all, an OK but not great display, but hopefully getting some goals will do our confidence a world of good.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:37 pm
And well they did! I thought for a moment they were gonna snipe all 3 points from ManUre but alas, the cheeky and disturbingly feminine Twinkle-Toes himself did his part to level the score toward the end. Oh well. I’m still happy.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:42 pm
I agree that Arsenal got the better end of the Gallas/Cole deal, but I disagree with the notion that Gallas is not the best LB. I think he’s absolutely stunning and I couldn’t be happier that he’s now a Gunner. Is he the best in the world? That’s an impossible question. Who’s the best guitar player in the world? There is no answer. But is Gallas one of the best LBs in the world? Definitely. Even the French coach said in an interview I read yesterday that Chelsea are stupid and crazy to have let Gallas go. Oh well; their loss and the Gunners’ gain! I think Gallas is better at going forward, too.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Mazza…
Go Feck yourself!
Show me where I ever wanted Jenas, specifically.
I wanted ANYONE at one point.
But I don’t believe I have ever said, geez… we gotta get Jenas.
September 23rd, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Mazza…
Go Feck yourself!
Show me where I ever wanted Jenas, specifically.
I wanted ANYONE at one point.
But I don’t believe I have ever said, geez… we gotta get Jenas.
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
3 BIG points.
At days end, thats what matters.
Same match as it has been for 2 seasons.
Only, when we manage to score a goal first, thats what happens… the other team needs to come of its shell and venture forward a bit.
We can get our game going when that occurs… and I think that occurs more often in Europe.
I don’t blame Sheffield Utd… they did what they had to, and it worked for a lot of the match. Once the goal went in, there was only one winner, ARSENAL.
Good to see Henry play a bit better.
Freddie played hard, but they stated his recent league record?! 1 goal in his last 29 matches? That is NOT GOOD.
Adebayor. did he play? he didn’t contribute at all.
We moved the ball around at will. Had all the possession. Never really threatened by the opponent… but we scored first. Thats the whole difference.
Aliadiare had 2 more goals in reserves. When does he get his chance?
Good win. Good that United dropped points. But Chelsea is already on top.
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:08 pm
about your cesc comment….are you serious???!!
true, he was not at his last-season-CL best, but he did have quite a game….his movement was wonderful….at one point he turned round and through 4 sheffield players drawing an ovation from the crowd! against man u he was fantastic!
as for the rest, i think u are quite correct.
eboue’s crossing is WOEFUL normally, so i was stunned when his cross didnt end up in the stands, a fluke most likely. he NEEDS to learn how to cross.
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:13 pm
aliadiere scoring goals for reserves doesnt put him over bendtner or lupoli who were breaking scoring records in the reserves last season.
truth be told he wont be making even the bench anytime soon.
we should shunt him off quickly and bring back bendtner. he scored again today.
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Again, I am and have always been the biggest Cesc supporter on the planet, including middle of last season when Stag and the other 'Negative Nicks' (remember them?) said it wouldn't be a big deal if he went back to Spain! Maybe my expectations are too high..? He was good against United, but not as good as some people said, until the last 15 minutes. Today, he was not particularly good. Several passes to the wrong guys. At one point, he was looking to do a simple 10-yard pass to Eboue, but put it way behind him, so Eboue had to sprint back almost to his own corner flag from about midfield.
Anyway, I believe he is one of the top 5 midfielders in the world, but have not been overwhelmed in the last few matches. There's a promising partnership developing between him and Rosicky though…
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:36 pm
What’s the difference between saying you want “ANYONE” and saying you want Jenas? Both are stupid requests.
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:42 pm
football’s a funny game really…
west ham haven’t got a point since tevez and mascherano came in … reports have it that team spirit is absolutely shattered over there. they might end up battling relegation this year!
spurs: useless as ever, no surprise here. their main problem is that they have absolutely NO passers in their team anymore, they are going to miss carrick for a looooong time. long may their problems continue!
liverpool: i think we can take 4 points from them this season! and i think we will take back our rightful place ABOVE them this season.
Man U: still a force in my view, but if u cut out ronaldo and rooney they have problems galore.
so basically barring a miracle chelsea will probably take this season as well.
if i have to throw numbers around i would say its 80 percent likely chelsea take it, 15 percent Man U take it and a 5 percent we get it.
but its interesting that chelsea are still relying on their older players to grind out the wins. ballack and sheva have done f-ck all in the league so far. drogba still seems the main man upfront, while ballack seems a bit lost.
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:44 pm
yep, i surely remember the negative nicks!
how could we ever forget ‘em?! the crazy people!
September 23rd, 2006 at 6:48 pm
hahaha, u are quite right danny!
saying u want “anyone” is actually far MORE stupid than saying you want jenas.
September 23rd, 2006 at 7:17 pm
Well, I can’t be arsed to go through the history files but you were shocked that Arsenal did not take the opportunity to snap up Jenas for ?8 million when he was quoted at ?20 million.
Not being adverse to buying Jenas is wrong. It’s just wrong.
But that comment just summed up the Stag Hysteria after Vieira’s departure. You wanted to buy every player with a pulse.
September 23rd, 2006 at 7:24 pm
It’s all about progress….and I think we saw it today.
This game had the making of the previous disappointments this season…the difference?
Gallas stepped up and thumped home the 1st goal.
The result 3-0, 3 points, and a boost in confidence.
Gallas is a winner…he steps up to the plate.
For heaven’s sake, the guys a CB, but he’s playing LB and he put up his hand and gave us the critical first goal. Inspiring stuff.
The defence is blending really nicely.
Mobility, pace, strength, and attacking threat.
And to think we have options like Sendy, Lauren and Clichy coming back.
I agree Baptista will need a full game soon to start showing what he can do.
Henry looked absent in the 1st half but by the end of the game started to look his old self. And he contributed to all goals.
September 23rd, 2006 at 8:15 pm
I think Cesc’s weakest area now is his shot. It always seems to lack power, sometimes almost like he scuffed it. I think he is a little bigger/stronger this year because he is doing a better job of getting/maintaining possession
September 23rd, 2006 at 11:35 pm
The team is progressing. We saw several firsts in this game
1. break down a team which packed the defence (though it took 65 mins)
2. win at home in the league
3. score more than one in the league
4. get Henry involved in the game and win with him starting
That’s good progress for me. Yes, it wasn’t a great performance and for long periods, I was worried. But we did better than before. That’s important. We need to keep improving and we’ll get to the top.
I expect this result to kick start our (and Henry’s) season. I know the ManU game was critical but if we hadn’t followed it up with a win, all the hard work would have been undone. Remember last season? Win over Real Madrid followed by loss against Blackburn. We avoided that and it shows progress.
With depth in quality, I expect to see rotation this season. I think the back five, middle two and Henry will be permanent. The rest will rotate. We will see different teams in the league and CL. Expect more competition when Baptista is fully fit and Senderos + Lauren return.
I think the title race will be a lot closer this season. I saw all top four teams on Sat. Spurs missed two great chances (including a sitter by Jenas) before Liverpool scored three. Fulham too missed a great chance by Diop before Chelsea scored two. Arsenal were held for 65 mins. ManU were held by Reading. It shows that the big four can drop points. We need to capitalise on that.
September 24th, 2006 at 7:06 am
actually mazza, i remember this time. stagg definitely asked why we didnt get jenas when sp-rs got him for such a “bargain”.
this was last summer, no doubt!
September 24th, 2006 at 7:09 am
yeah, his shots are not that strong, but a lot of his goals are from outside or the edge of the box. like his 2 good goals against zagreb and that wonderful one against juve in the CL last year.
i think mainly he is precision over power.
September 24th, 2006 at 7:34 am
Never seen Arsenal play so many crosses into the box. Is this the plan B from Wenger to beat opponents who pack their defence? Also interesting to see Djourou and Toure starting an attack by bringing up the ball on their own. Must be another tactic from Wenger to overcome the opponents’ defensive scheme. Its refreshing to see some variety in the attacking moves. 3 points and a clean sheet. Job well done! Next up is Porto at Emirates. Should be a good one. Porto are top of the Portuguese league. And they seemed to play well against English teams.
September 24th, 2006 at 10:10 am
I seem to remember hearing that Wenger definitely instructed Djourou to bring the ball up the center more often. Not sure about Toure.
hizurrr…
September 24th, 2006 at 11:32 am
Goal of the season on our third goal.
A normal header.
By Henry - That is what makes it the goal of the season
September 24th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
I think you’re right….I believe Cesc will have not as good a season as last.
September 24th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Not quite sure where your crush on Jeremy comes from? He has had his spell in the first team squad and didn't really impress. Of course then he had a serious knee injury (against ManU, I think in the FA Community Shield) and has not broken into the first team since………..and he won't unless we have multiple injuries up front. He will languish in the reserves and will be sold to the highest bidder…..simple. Frankly, I don't think he's that good. He has pace and some skill but lacks making good decisions at critical times.
September 24th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I agree that the first goal is key……it's sort of like the sometimes elusive first female orgasm….once the first one happens, the second and third are not far behind!!!
September 24th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
will not??
why so? after a few games u have predicted he would have a bad season?
after winning the zagreb away game and the man u game, i think he would have a wonderful and even better season.
September 24th, 2006 at 6:39 pm
I don't really know….I certainly hope he has a stellar season…..just wondering if this year will be a bit of an ebb for him before next season…not sure; I hope he tears it up
September 25th, 2006 at 5:31 am
OK, silly post you may think but remember he has changed boots from Nike to RBK.
He did score on the weekend but only via a header, perhaps there is extra bounce in the RBK?
The cross for the second goal, was actually going no where?
So perhaps he should get a new pair of boots?
September 25th, 2006 at 6:04 am
What boots was he wearing when scoring the penalty against Boro?
September 25th, 2006 at 8:38 am
lucky shot… How hard is it to score a pen.
Being serious for a second, he has been off form.
That does not mean that he is great, far from it, but he is not at his best.
Yes he has scored goals, but he has missed chances he usually scores.
The boots could be a reason…
September 25th, 2006 at 10:20 am
I like Jenas but I didn’t come out and say it (closet fan). I still think he’s a very good player and could compete for a place at Arsenal. He’s technically very good. Just because he’s jammed up one play doesn’t mean he’s suddenly crap. Remeber Henry in the 2001 FA Cup final against Liverpool? He jammed up about a dozen. Does that mean he’s crap? Shite happens, man. What are you going to do?
September 25th, 2006 at 11:40 am
It is certainly possible. You hear all the time about how a pro football or basketball player doesn’t like the new shoes they have to wear and that they need to get used to them. He is high profile enough that his shoes are probably made specifically for him, and it’s possible that Reebok didn’t get them right. It happened to Shaun Alexander last year in the NFL.