Well…it’s here. The moment of truth. The time when the men are separated from the boys. A ground where AC Milan does not lose. The San Siro is a cauldron where bigger and better teams than the current Arsenal team have floundered. The crowd are Dementors who will administer “The Kiss” (Hope you’ve read Harry Potter). In short to stop the pointless flapping about..its going to be very tough and a big big thing if we go through without an Eboue dive.
I discussed the tactics last time round so I don’t think I’ll go into that much depth tonight. I’m thinking AC Milan though for a minute — Is Clarence Seedorf really such a big loss? Yes experience wise maybe but if Milan are going 4-4-2 with Inzaghi and Pato up front with Kaka just behind the loss is pretty much negated because it will be a diamond then with Kaka at the apex,Pirlo and Ambrossini just behind and Gattuso sweeping up just behind them. The diamond if Milan play it almost certainly means that the full backs have to get forward else it surely will be too narrow. However if Nesta is fit then he will partner Kaldhze in central defense and Maldini is not going to bomb forward from left back too many times regardless of all his other extraordinary skills. If Nesta isn’t fit and Jankulovski plays then it changes the equation.
As for us…the return of RVP to the bench is highly highly positive and I hope this sparks big Ade into action and he gets his first champions league goal tomorrow at the San Siro. I’m almost certain AW will play 4-5-1 with Hleb in the hole and against a diamond formation(if it is played) it can be very effective if played properly. Thats because its effectively a 4 against 3 in midfield if you take both Kaka and Hleb out of the equation. That leaves Cesc-Flamini-Eboue-Denilson against Pirlo-Gattuso-Ambrossini.
That’s where the match will be won or lost if at all that formation is played. If Milan do go with a flat 4-4-2then I’m struggling to fit Kaka in a traditional position so he’ll probably roam and someone will “man mark” him in the zones.
Can Cesc turn it on against the Rosinieri? Can he pull the strings like he did in the first leg? He looks absolutely knackered but the great players go through bad patches and perform in the big games. Can Cesc do it? Can Hleb who has also been off form find a needle pass in the 88th minute that will split a miserly Milan defense? Can Eboue NOT DIVE and play a good 65-70 minutes before Theo comes on? Can the Flamster like last time take The Snarl completely out of the game and let Cesc dictate the play? Can Senderos forget that unlucky own goal and watch Pato’s runs? Can Clichy play the offside trap against the wily wily old fox Inzaghi? Can Almunia pull off a blinder off one of the 3 shots Milan will have on goal? I’m not worried about Sagna and Gallas and probably Flamini because I know they’ll be up for it. I’m definitely not so sure about the rest but hope that they’ll be up for it.
Will Atlas Shrug today(awesome novel)? Will an overbearing ever growing load of expectations be far too much to bear today when we talk on the wily old pros in Italy? Or will they stuff yet another set of pundit’s predictions down their fat mouths.
I think we’ll do it - between 70 and 80…a tight tight game but Arsenal will nick this. Milan will not be able to control the game like they did against Manchester United — they will not be able to slow it down because we ourselves slow it down and play a very similar possession keeping style of football.
AC Milan 0 - Arsenal 1
March 4th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Milan will not be able to control the game like they did against AC Milan — WRONG
Milan will not be able to control the game like they did against Manchester United — RIGHT
March 4th, 2008 at 9:43 am
??
According to the Evening Standard website Emmanuel Eboue replaces Theo Walcott. If the filthy cheat gets sent off or does something equally stupid then Wenger is a complete and utter imbecile and it will be one of the worst decisions of his entire career.
Hopefully that won’t happen. Don’t have much confidence going into this based on current form and history. I am sure we will play quite well, but something tells me it won’t be enough and Wenger will fall down tactically like he does virtually every year.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:10 am
Thats really harsh Danny. You talk as if AW is a total imbecile tactics wise and every manager in the world is 1000 times better than him.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:31 am
It’s time to stand up and be counted. I have a feeling that this game will determine our season. If we go through (remember, we don’t have to win), we will do well in the league. If we don’t, it will affect our league challenge a lot. I know a lot of people (including me) would happily go out tonight if that means securing the league title. But I have a feeling it won’t be that way. Just a gut feeling.
I am not going to predict anything. Will just say that whoever scores first goes through.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:34 am
Is anyone surprised that so many from the Arsenal team have said that they don’t fear Milan, they are stronger and better, etc.? On Arsenal.com itself, I can see Wenger, Flamini, Cesc, Senderos and Sagna. Never before have I seen something like this.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:40 am
I hoping for one of those shock nights where the game is sealed off in the 1st half. Maybe 2 goals by first half due to some sloppy defending by the Rosseneri and the game ending 2-1.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:45 am
4-4-2. If your gonna go down go down with the 4-4-2. Milan will try and camp us in our half and we need to stretch them and turn them over straight away. Our best chance of doing that effectively will be to have two guys up front keeping their backline honest. I would go with Bendtner and Adebayor.
4-5-1 is self-defeating formation to start the game with. Okay, we might have a bit more defensive cover than with the 4-4-2 but if we can’t find an outlet then Milan will keep regaining possession and they will find a way through eventually. If we play 4-4-2 and our strikers can hold the ball and keep possession, Milan can’t score. It’s that simple.
That’s where I feel Danny is coming from. He thinks Wenger is going to play 4-5-1 and sit on his hands all night and hope for divine intervention i.e Hleb scoring from his free role. I share that potential frustration as we will be playing into Milan’s hands with all that chess match bollocks.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I dont get it. Why is 4-5-1 negative? We’re not Wigan or Bolton and we don’t play the 4-5-1 in a negative sense at all. The only time a 4-5-1 is a flop in Arsenal terms is when we start hoofing long balls out to Adebayor and bypass our midfield. If that doesn’t happen then I like the 4-5-1 a lot.
And really its not that we’re that bad at keeping posession either. People talk as if Milan are going to strike us out without a fight. Starting Bedtner in the San Siro is a disaster; same with Theo it might be too much for them. If Dudu or RVP had been fit them maybe..just maybe. Else no…its an even bigger gamble than “divine intervention”.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:05 am
“I can definitely see Arsenal scoring but I cannot see Milan scoring twice - and that would be enough to send the Gunners into the quarter-finals.”
This is Lee Dixon’s remark of the match. And it sums up how I feel.
The obssession of the talks of 451 being “negative” to me is so so naive. Formation is DEAD. You can play a 451 and still be very offensive. You can play a 442 and still be negative. It’s not the formation that decides whether a team is offensive or negative. It’s the general approach of the team. So far, I have not seen too many matches Arsenal set out to DEFEND. Has anyone?
A lot of teams when they play 451 they had 10 players behind the ball, and that’s clearly not the case of Arsenal. Even with 451, from time to time, we only left two players (CBs) at the back. So what’s all the fuss about?
March 4th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Do not fear Alexandre Pato. He is a good player but not expetacular as italian press used to say. Here in Brazil, on Internacional FC he played a good soccer, but i think the media overloaded him…
March 4th, 2008 at 11:08 am
It won’t be too much for Bendtner. He is a regular for Denmark and he is not afraid of standing in six yard box and poking one in regardless of venue. Walcott is more likely to go into hiding. If Bendtner plays shit it won’t be because of nerves.
4-5-1 acceptable if the players have a positive mental attitude and are flying high in confidence. However Arsenal are nowhere near that at the moment. Our midfield players are too static and Hleb is playing too deep to be the supporting striker. I’m telling you, if we play 4-5-1 Ade will be too isolated and he hasn’t exactly got a golden touch to control whatever service he gets on a consistent basis.
4-4-2 simplifies the game and does not require eye of the needle passes. Simple balls down the channel will suffice with two up top. We need to play vertical passes and play as high up the pitch as possible so our defensive idiosyncracies are not exposed near the 18 yard line.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Well lets agree to disagree. Time will tell..hope we go through … whichever way apart from an Eboue dive.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am
AC MILAN (0) VS ARSENAL (2)
*** 1ST GOAL - F4
*** 2ND GOAL - A25
March 4th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Everyone is saying Almunia will start. Did I miss something?
Also, a quick question for everyone: Most likely Walcott will come on for Eboue at some point in the second half. But if AW brings on a striker late in the game as well, should it be van Persie or Bendtner?
March 4th, 2008 at 11:49 am
How can the game be too much for Bendtner and not for Diaby? I am not saying we should play 4-4-2, but I do understand where the detractors of 4-5-1. Like Andez says, it’s all about the players.
Starting with Eboue and Diaby, it’s difficult to see where the goals are going to come from. Only Ade and Cesc spring to mind. I guess the strategy would then be to hold on to 0-0 till the 70 min or so and then bring on Walcott or Bendtner or RvP. It pretty obvious that these three have a lot more chance of scoring than Eboue or Diaby.
March 4th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
so the thinking is a sort of 4-4-1-1 with diaby out left, eboue right, and hleb in the “hole”?
much as i like the way hleb plays when he’s in that role, the wingers hardly inspire confidence. how i wish we had rosicky.
March 4th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I don’t even think Diaby should start Nip. I’d much rather prefer Denilson although some people will be quick to shoot it down. But yeah ..it probably wouldn’t be too much for Diaby because he has played in big games before. Still his performances have been average at best recently so I’d much rather go with Denilson instead.
Overall I think formations are a whole bit of overhype. It hardly matters specially with Arsenal unless we start to go route 1 for 75 minutes. That time ..it is a problem as Ade is overworked. With a fluid 4-5-1 on the ground we are brilliant to watch and hardly defensive. I’m 100% with Andez on this ..– Read Aston Villa away first half.
Lastly I wonder if RVP is a dummy by AW — present just for fear value but will not play.
March 4th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Anyone else feel that when Hleb plays just in front of the midfield, he and Cesc cancel each other out?
March 4th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
interesting RvP question, LDE. though i can’t imagine if we’re down 1-0 with fifteen minutes to go and looking offensively listless that he wouldn’t throw on the dutchman.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
It’s a bit naive to think that a 4-5-1 Arsenal are going to constantly be playing in Milan’s half and passing the ball around with verve. We may do that for a 25 minute spell but there is going to be long periods where Arsenal are defending their own box and they will be hoofing the ball up front. In other words, they will be bottling the game again like they always do when a team puts heavy pressure on them and commits players forward. You think Clichy, Senderos and Sagna will be playing into Fabregas when we’re under pressure? No chance. It will be big humps upfield. That is why we need two forwards up front to hold up the hoofs from defence. Otherwise the ball will keep coming back with interest.
I agree with the statement that players need to play well for formations to work properly but formations by themselves do make a difference. We played like complete shite at Goodison and would we have scored those first two goals if we were not playing 4-4-2? No, we wouldn’t have. Having that extra player on the shoulder gave us two goals.
It’s better to play 4-4-2 and make this a higher scoring game so the away goal comes into play.
March 4th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I hope we play just like we did at home.
4-5-1 is better in my opinion. I agree with Andez, its not negative at all. It is what Wenger prefers in the CL, and with less options due to injury, I would be shocked if he went 4-4-2.
It is more about the players… and how they perform, than about the formation.
If we play well, we have a chance, if we play like we have been, we will be drubbed all over the pitch.
If Eboue got the red last match, why is he in this one again?
March 4th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
As Mazza says, it’s all about having a positive mental attitude. Arsenal will not have that playing 4-5-1 - immediately the onus is on defending rather than attacking. The idea that 4-5-1 makes a team more defensively secure is nonsense if the tactic is not implemented properly - remember Man Utd 4 Arsenal 0?? We played 4-5-1 that day too and defended like arseholes.
I’m not sure Arsenal even have the players to defend that way - we’re an offensive team and should play to our strengths. If Milan are so old and slow, what’s the problem playing 4-4-2? Why do we need 5 midfielders?
If Arsenal were 1-0 or 2-0 up from first leg, then fine, play 4-5-1, maybe the players would prefer to defend their lead and will do it with confidence, already confident after a positive result. But right now they will go there jittery after 4 ineffective results on the trot. The psychology of the players does not bode well for this game at all, and I believe it’s better to force the team into attacking Milan with 2 up front, force them into being positive mentally.
The only reason I think Arsenal has a chance is because Milan’s home form is wretched and they are struggling to score goals. They can talk all they like but their results this season show that there is no way they can be confident. That’s another reason why we should play 4-4-2, because being passive will encourage them and encourage their supporters.
For me, Arsenal’s can win if they play exceptionally well - but will probably have to put in the performance of the season - or if Milan have a stinker we have a chance - but they’re players are probably too experienced to play all that badly.
I think it will be a close game, but in the last 10-15 minutes Clichy, Senderos or Almunia will fluff up and it will be all over. Still, I am going to enjoy the game and keep my fingers crossed for a surprise.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
How many results have you got wrong over the last 2 years with that kind of a prediction Danny? How may times have pundits been made to look absolute jerks with our performances?
You’re not trying to understand - Arsenal do not play the 4-5-1 with a Paul Dickov - Emile Heskey type player up front else we might have bought someone like Zigic instead of Ade who does just what a 4-5-1 is traditionally supposed to be for.
Big games in the CL are very much like derbies — form is of no consequence; only there’s more money at stake. I don’t think Arsenal’s dirty form will count at all. We might lose ; it won’t be because we were poor ; it’ll be because Milan played well. The same is true vice versa so I hope that when we win you’ll come out and complement us and not say something like “Milan are old and tired”. That will be disappointing.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
@Stag: EBoue got the red in the league. Doesn’t roll over to the CL.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Eveyone keeps talking about our poor form… three draws and one loss in our last four games. Big deal, Milan have drawn five of their last six games in Serie A. Do you think that will affect them? No!! And it won’t affect us either. This is the Champions League. The players know what is at stake; they will show up to play, and they will play to win.
March 4th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
We might win because we play brillianty, we might win because Milan played like a bunch of old farts, we might lose and play brilliantly, we might lose and play pathetically. I will give my honest and true assessment after the game - like I always do, for what it’s worth.
I don’t think you can wipe out 12 years of Champions League misery under Wenger as if it never happened. With some of the teams he has produced we really should have done a lot lot better than get to 1 final under him and never past the quarter finals in all those other years.
The one time Wenger made the final was when he was forced to deviate tactically through injury. He stuck with 4-5-1, even when it was a nonsensical formation in certain games, like Villarreal. A crappy team with one good player who we just sat back and let walk all over us. Had we been positive we would have walked that semi-final, instead we needed Lehmann to bail us out like he did in practically every round up to the final.
Of course I get things wrong, I get things right too - whenever I give a negative prediction I hope I am wrong.
I don’t think Wenger is tactically naive, I know it. And if Arsenal win tonight that won’t make him any less tactically naive - he’ll need to prove that to me over along period - not one game.
Tonight would be a good time to start getting things tactically right though - we have a great team, but small details matter at this level and we need all the help we can get on all fronts.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Arsenal’s approach is more like a 4-2-3-1 than a typical 4-5-1.
442 or 451, the only difference is how the attacking partnership lineup - if we have two strikers who work well together, go with 442. like Dennis and Henry.
if currently we can’t find a proper partner to pair with Ade, then a 4231 formation (or some would insist it’s 451), with 3 attacking midfielder behind the out and out striker Adebayor, it would give us another alternative offensively.
lot of European sides play with 4231 as well (or some would say 451). best example Barcelona. they are an attacking side. by all mean they could have play Henry as an out and out striker in a 442 as well. but they stick with 4231, or 433, or 451 (whatever, it’s basically the same thing to me).
Fred brought up a point long ago - with Premiership, lot of teams play 442, cos u don’t really need much TACTIC in the EPL, it’s all about power and pace.
but in Europe, they like to play a more calculative game. they don’t just hoof the ball up front and let the forwards run on to it. So if u r going to play a 442, u need two striking partners understanding each other well. Or u would end up having two strikers isloated from each other, while the midfield couldn’t control the game.
in short, 442 is a much DIRECT approach, best suit for teams who bypass the midfield with their atttack. just hoof a long ball into box and see who’s got the lady luck on their side.
451, or 443, or 4231 whatever, it’s more about a thinking game. with 3 attacking midfields behind the main striker, and 5 men dropped back to control the midfield, it’s best suit the teams who like to PASS the ball.
March 4th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
holy shit, kalac is a giant of a man. reminds me of the undertaker on WWF. game on boys
March 4th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Adebayor needs help upfront. I can’t see him beating that defense.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
this referee is a FUCKING cheat………why a yellow for hleb?????
March 4th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Bizzare Officiating!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Fuck this shit.. Fabregas almost had them there
March 4th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
every single time a milan player falls its a free kick … so now we are battling the opposition and ref. like it wasnt a tough game before hand.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
ade should go to the bloody center and stop fooling around on the left….this is the same crap henry used to do.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Is this the same Henry who scored 186 goals from out there?
March 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Flamini has completely owned Kaka.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
there is nothing in a game made my blood boil more so than seeing the referee and lineman so RUBBISH.
and Diaby, for God’s sake, is he playing a friendly? if he can’t make an impact down the left, that i can understand. but for pete’s sake at least work a bit harder.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
no, the henry who decided to go to the left wing in some matches - even though he was the LONE striker. adebayor is no henry, so there is not even hope of magic from him.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Right on Andez. I was about to say the exact same thing. I’ve never seen a more casual player.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
WTF!! Diaby has been an utter waste of space! Infuriating! We really should be ahead in this game! I just hope we are not left pondering on what could have been after at the end of coming hour! Very good pressure for the boys though. Just hope we can carry it into the second half and win this!
March 4th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
This is the first game all over again. We better make our superiority count by scoring when we are on top. Otherwise, we are going to regret it. Diaby and Eboue are doing nothing. All goal scoring threats are coming from Ade and Cesc, both of whom are off form and missing when they should do a lot better.
Can’t agree more with the ref. It should have been a penalty against Hleb. All 50-50s are going Milan’s way.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
That was not 50-50 that was was penalty plane and simple
March 4th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
we are playing better than i thought we would from the opening minutes…..but i think the lone man up. nesta and maldini are eating him alive so he has pitched tent on the leftwing.
god, if only we can get a goal first! its pray and hope time!
March 4th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
but the first half as a team sign is encouraging for us. not many teams could go to San Siro and took a game to them like that.
and the longer we be able to keep AC Milan defendng, the crowd will become OUR 12th man. u can be sure they will jump on Milan’s back. and the longer it remains 0-0, the less they dare to come out and attack, we score one goal they r as good as game over.
so the first 15 mins of 2nd half will be crucial.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
yeah, it’s 0-100, a straightforward PENALTY.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
We’re playing nice stuff but we’re never gonna score unless Fabregas gets one from 20 yards.
We have to work our ass off to get a chance and Milan do one pass and we are are at sixes and sevens.
Our players are going to get mentally fatigued and be unable to keep up the technical level required to boss the game. Milan will take over after sixty or so minutes.
Adebayor is a handful but he also continues to frustrate. Same goes for Diaby and Eboue. They can’t sustain things long enough to get the breakthrough.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
That call on Hleb was ridiculous - first to deny a foul ON HIM and then to book him.
The ref was favouring Milan early, but after that stupid call he obviously feared his error and has evened up a bit and gave Arsenal a silly call.
Sevilla goals incredible.
We’re playing well. Ade is becoming too left-sided this game, and we have no one central with strike ability. Senderos really helped repel their aireal threat on the first 20mins.
Great strike by Fab. Hopefully that pumps his confidence.
Nothing in this.
At times it looks like Diaby should run harder, dunno why he doesn’t. Despite this, he has had a lot of involvement. Eboue was annon until later in the half. It wouldn’t surprise me if he scored a goal.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Agree with you 100% Andez 15 minutes will be crucial. I see Milan coming out all guns blazing.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
of cos Mazza we had to work hard to get our chance, cos we weren’t the team packing our own penalty box.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I meant to say - can’t agree more about the ref. Not with him.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Diaby is just so slow.
March 4th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Eboue - Useless in all ways possible
March 4th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Time to start thinking about subbing with an eye towards penalty kicks…
March 4th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Good… Walcott is coming on… Eboue’s toss performance may be forgotten if things work out.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Now… Do you bring RvP in, and if so, who goes off? Hleb?
March 4th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
FABREGAS!!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
wow…never expected that half shot to make it to the back of the net
March 4th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Just when i was starting to doze off. Please hold that lead. We dont need penalties
March 4th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
YES!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
Can’t have penalties any more.
I think Kalac was unsighted. Who cares!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
ole.. ole… ole.. ole..
March 4th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
That’s it. We are through. Our tactics/strategy worked perfectly!!!!
YESSSS!!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
nice play by walcott to get ade through. if that was eboue i doubt he would have chased the ball
March 4th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Start the Bus!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Cesc! Adebayor!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I was among those who feared that we will regret not finishing top of the group. Let me be the first to admit that I was wrong. Now on, it’s anyone’s game. This should turn our league season as well.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
ade!!! excellent!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Cesc! Adebayor! Just had to keep us scared by waiting until the end.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
And the Seville game has gone to extra time. 3-2 in both legs. Amazing. That would have been us if we had finished first in the group.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
It was such a thing of beauty that it brought a tear to my eye and a shudder to my loins.
Hurrah for the Arsenal!
Well done lads, well done.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
What odds we are drawn against ManU again? Although history says we must face Henry again.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
THE END OF THE ROAD OF OUR CL CAMPAIGN? ENJOYING OURSELF WHILE WE CAN?
KEEP WRITTEN US OFF, KEEP WRITTEN US OFF, KEEP WRITTEN US OFF!!!! I WANT YOU TO!
We didn’t just beat AC Milan, we totally OUTPLAYED them!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
Milan were shit, but Arsenal were excellent too. Arsenal could have bottled it in the end, they looked to be waning - but finished the job off big time. This is a MASSIVE boost to the players, now anything is possible with Van Persie, Toure and hopefully Rosicky back soon and confidence restored.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Yeah yeah, now all a sudden Milan was SHIT???!!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
TWO NIL IN THE SAN SIRO
March 4th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Even though it wasn’t necessary, that throat slash goal from Walcott to Adebayor is a huge psychological boost for both those players, especially the latter. He needed to get back on the scoresheet. And maybe we can start killing off games a little sooner in the future.
Suddenly, everything feels possible.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
What a cross by Walcott. A few goals and a big assist. Let’s hope the boy’s season gets only better.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
What a day to put your shooting boots on!
What a game!
YYYYYYYEEAAAAHHHH!!!
Up the Arse! Kiss the Crest! Believe!
PS: I hope this will catapult the team to greater heights in the league. Outstanding performance. First English team ever to beat Milan in Italia!
FABRECLASS!!! FABRECLASS!!! FABRECLASS!!!
Sorry, I am bit excited! Wooooooooooooooooooooooo
March 4th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
They were shit Andez. Pirlo and Ambrosini were diabolical. They were passing to Arsenal players all night, even when under no pressure. But that doesn’t detract from Arsenal’s excellent performance. Thoroughly deserved to win.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
i’m right there with you jestanley
Two Nil in the San Siro!
I can’t believe we ended up scoring on such an impossible shot by Cesc, especially after all the wasted opportunities from closer in over 2 legs…i guess thats what keeps us coming back to the sport
WE JUST BEAT THE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE BOYS!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
danny, i fucking KNEW it……..once we beat them it will be because they are shit………but YET when the draw was made u said it was a definite DEFEAT to them. what a joke comment.
remember milan DONT even bother competing in the league?
remember they rest their players for the league?
yeah they didnt have seedorf, but we didnt have rosicky or van persie either so please!
tell me which team wants to draw us at this point?
March 4th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
The match itself was a classic. A very good performance from Arsenal, that I bet even the biggest critic can’t deny it. And Cesc’s goal fittingly capped a well-deserved victory for the Gunners.
I feel great because AC Milan had an outstanding defence. And if we beat them by a deflected goal or something I bet they would feel gutted. Beaten by such a great goal by Cesc I think they could only hold their hands up and admit - the BETTER team win.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
all is forgiven
March 4th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
“we’re never gonna score unless Fabregas gets one from 20 yards.”
Mazza is a prophet! Though he came up short estimating the yardage.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Yup their performance may not be excellent, but couldn’t it possibly because we DID NOT ALLOW THEM TO? How many teams could keep KAKA as silence as like that in two legs?
And BEFORE the match, sure hell i didn’t hear too many ppl calling AC Milan a SHITTY side?
Give the boys credit, and no BUT please.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Chino #13, I hope you put money on your prediction. Score and scorers! Wow!
Mazza #20 “It’s a bit naive to think that a 4-5-1 Arsenal are going to constantly be playing in Milan’s half and passing the ball around with verve” Did you see the posession stats? I think Arsenal were constantly playing in Milan’s half and passing the ball with verve. LOL. Thank God for Wenger’s naivety.
Too good a night for recriminations and anymore pointing at the Negative Nicks. Let us all enjoy the result AND the performance.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Errr Fred, stop being an ass. I never said it was “a definite DEFEAT”. Read my post from earlier “For me, Arsenal’s can win if they play exceptionally well”, which we did. Milan were still rubbish though, only a fool could deny that.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
ofcourse you will feel flustered and make mistakes when the likes of flamini are snarling at your feet ALL match.
the late part of the game was supposed to be milan’s strength and our weakness.
after the first 25 minuts, cesc and flamini OVERRAN their midfield and shut down kaka.
massive victory.
its written though………we will meet barca for sure!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
whatever danny, whatever!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I’m with Andez… not many teams could shackle Kaka for two matches like that. What a great team effort.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
another major positive for me is the fact that adebayor and fabregas scored and broke their drought.
this was a MAJOR european test and we passed it in flying colors. we do still have some strength deep down.
now to tear wigan a brand new one!
March 4th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
we got in Kaka’s head as well..has anyone ever seen him have an outburst like the one that got him a yellow today? i don’t get to see him much but he never seemed that type of player to me.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
wow.
what a magnificent effort… with so many chances in BOTH legs to put this team away, I was very worried they would get a fluke goal, and we’d lose, even though we were far far superior to them on the pitch.
BUT… these guys GOT IT DONE. Came out and beat AC Milan at the San Siro. Totally outplayed them in BOTH matches of the tie.
Absolutely deserved the victory on every level.
MAGNFICENT.
They should be saluted for playing the football we all love, and with the heart and determination of a lion.
Made every Arsenal supporter in the world proud tonite.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
What you understand Fred is that even though Milan were rubbish, if Arsenal were rubbish we probably would have lost. So it’s very important we played the way we did and took advantage of them.
Almunia (7) Solid game
Sagna (8) Kaka diddled him a couple of times but generally speaking bossed his position
Gallas (8) Leaders performance, gives confidence to everyone
Senderos (7) Made usual errors, but did some good things too
Clichy (7) Came forward a bit rashly at times, but never really caught out
Eboue (6) Asshole, could have got sent off rolling around like a knob as usual
Fabregas (9) Supreme passing and back to being a goal threat
Flamini (9) Titanic performance. Make no mistake, he was simply awesome in the tackle.
Diaby (6) Good first half, nice and tidy, kept attacking moves flowing - waned in 2nd half, probably tired.
Hleb (8) Almost back to his best. Definitely wasn’t a penalty though.
Adebayor (8) Excellent, held the ball up brilliantly, caused the defenders grief all night then assassinated them
Subs
Walcott (7) Did well, but then with his pace you’d expect him to rip them apart in the last 10 minutes. Cool cross for the goal - hopefully he will take over from Eboue soon.
Gilberto (5) Only had 4 minutes
March 4th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Fred, one more positive is - Theo’s confidence is picking up game by game, bit by bit. Not a big leap forward, still, he’s improving. good to see that.
honestly, personally i still place Premiership as our number 1 priority. with CL u can never tell. like a few years back when we broke into final, one sent off, everything u had done before were thrown out of window. so let’s just enjoy every victory as it comes.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Arsenal shut me right up.
Fred, fair play you were right. Same with all the other people who thought we could win.
For me, Milan’s performance was irrelevant. I thought they would be poor. But with them it’s all about the pyschological barrier. They’ve NEVER been beaten by an English side at the San Siro. Phenomenal effort from the team.
At least I got the Fabregas scoring from long distance prediction right!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
eventhough diaby and eboue were ordinary… still we completely dominated the midfield… gatusso the guy who bullied ronaldo last yr.. was licking our boots… and pirlo and kaka were also kept silent…shows how massive cesc and flamini were….
excellent result for the season… yahoooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
my MOM was once again Flamini. his improvement this season just so unreal. even more so than Adebayor. because of his CONSISTENCY.
i gotta admit even when i was defending him in previous seasons, to the most i thought he would be an useful squad player, definitely not a player we can live without. The way things going, Arsenal may not be the same team without him.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Atlas shrugged is most certainly not an “awesome novel.” Aesthetically, it’s pretty wretched and is written by a right-wing ideologue.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
What an AWESOME game and result. Arsenal outclassed Milan save for a 10 minute stretch early in the first half. Arsene Wenger is the MAN! For all those who called him a “tactical imbecile” and maligned him with other similarly baseless and imbecilic statements, please have the grace not to post your critical crap for at least a week. This one is to savor. The first English team to beat Milan in the San Siro and it’s Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Awesome! I just left the Fox & Hounds (Studio City) virtually throwing the tables around!
I was encouraged by the first half. Then we dipped before we rallied for our - by now, traditional - stellar finish. Did you know we score a third of our goals in the last 12 or so minutes?
Write us off at your peril.
Fave moment: Kaka’s little tantrum throwing the ball onto the ground - what no toys left in the pram? Flamini and Cesc certainly did a job on him tonight.
Milan weren’t particularly menacing in the last third, but defensively they were certainly well organized. It really did take an unsighted pot shot to break the deadlock. But the second goal was sweet indeed.
Let’s hope this kickstarts our league revival too, with VanP coming back.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Mazza: Kudos to you for post #96.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Danny, I love your ratings, how come you didn;t have one for the Aston Villa game. Anyways, enough with the niceties. Are you fucking kidding me, I guess next you will be saying if Seedorf had played they would have won. If they were so experienced, how come they didn’t bring their A game, I mean it doesn;t get any higher than this. Arsenal totally outplayed them both home and away, and this is not the first time , a youth team have done this to AC Milan. Ajax did the same to them in 1995. So bro check urself
March 4th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Then, out of nothing, Fabregas won it with a superb solo goal. The Spain midfielder picked up the ball, sidestepped Gennaro Gattuso and drilled a 25-yard strike into the bottom right corner.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Music to my ears!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
yes. Wenger the tactical imbecile!
LOL!!!
It was about the PLAYERS stepping up and playing with a pride and passion that were missing against United, Birmingham, and Aston Villa.
They played the same hard fought … everything on the line style, as the first leg at the Emirates.
When we play like that… obviously, we can compete with any team in the world. IF… we finish off just a few more of the obvious chances, we would have embarrassed AC Milan in both ties.
Gotta LOVE IT.
What a great day.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
great great performance goes right up there with the 5-1 thrashing of inter, the 1-0 at madrid and the 2-0 against juve…excellent stuff
as a side note good on mazza@ post #96
March 4th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
That was one to savour. What a prediction by Chino@3 he got the scorers and scoring order right as well. I expected from our first leg performance we would be more than able to win this one, but a score draw would have been more likely. I was nervous at first Milan started brightly as if they were up for it and confident themselves.
However this team is forever exceeding expectations. Managed to shut the negative ones up, Mazza you can be so depressing, how about a bit more optimism in future! MOTM for me was Cesc excellent both offensively and defensively he was enormous today a real monster. In fact I think everyone played well apart from Eboue, Diaby was no more than adequate but again a great performance by the lads.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
@Groovehouse-103: Do you disagree with my ratings then? What’s the beef? Not every team you beat plays well - Arsenal were brilliant, but Milan’s passing was shocking even when they had time and space.
Forget Seedorf, how do I know how he would have played - just saying what I saw on the pitch. The league table doesn’t lie, and Milan are not at their best this season - they only won 2 of 10 home games in Italy. Surely that gives you a clue that they’re not all they’re cracked up to be this year.
Arsenal have beaten better teams in Europe than that - but we still had to perform, do the job - it was never going to be easy. I applaud them for that and was delighted with the win! It was massive for so many reasons, for the rest of the season and also for the future of Arsenal football club - this young team hasn’t even fucking started.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
GREAT CALL MAZZA. YOU’RE A LEGEND !!!!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
I look at Milan’s approach at the beginning of the game, it’s clear they wanted to attack and grab the goal.
as usually the away team would have a mental block, dare not to come out and attack as much.
i bet Milan thought Arsenal would be playing this way - soak up the pressure and try to hit Milan at break.
AW’s game plan caught them out cold. Arsenal tried to attack from the first minute. Who on earth would play this way AWAY? Imagine what Jose or Rafa would do?
and it works. big time.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Why all the arguments?
We just beat the holders at the San Siro!!!
Flamini is the man, all over the pitch doing whatever it takes to win, hopefully the club has their checkbook ready.
What a great day!!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
RED AND WHITE !!!
RED AND WHITE !!!
RED AND WHITE !!!
RED AND WHITE !!!
RED AND WHITE !!!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I figured that this game was going to go one of two ways. Either Milan would tire and Arsenal would win in the last 10 minutes or it was going to go into extra time and Milan would pull it out. I have to admit, I was leaning toward the latter and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to be wrong.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
@ 102: i second that. in the end it never really matters who is right or wrong - especially on a forum - most important thing is that the arsenal won - and its pretty much our “biggest” win in europe.
awesome thing is that we didnt even need to bring on Van Persie!!! walcott might be a trump card in these european games - coming in the last 10 minutes to shake things up.
flamini is MOM. not only did he check kaka, he was all over the place - unlike say mascherano who was completely dedicated to kaka.
flams should get that new contract ASAP.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Yet again we respond, and against the mighty Milan who are strong where we are not (in experience, defence and big-name reputations) .
We outplayed them over 2 legs, in both legs and they had no response.
The belief that will now course thru this sides veins will be unbelievable. That in itself will not win us a trophy but itis about the incremental, piece by piece this team is developing into a frightening prospect. Just look at the way Adebayor harried and pushed around the most formidable defence in Europe - by himself!! Look at the combination and maturity of Fabregas and Flamini - they absorbed Milan’s initial pressure and then turned up their own.
We are so much more resilient than any other Wenger team. Senderos was important today - well played, it made me wonder how we would have gone with Toure during the aerial peppering Milan gave us in the opening 20mins.
I said a couple of good results and the sun will come out again!!
March 4th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Absolutely delighted
Just an amazing performance. Flamini was amazing in his tackles and how he managed to edge out Kaka on a few occassions.
Cesc’s goal reminded me of the one he got against Juventus in 2006. Against Juve, his shot also nestled in the bottom corner but I don’t think it was from as far out as this one. Ade finally gets a Champs League goal. Great timing. And even Senderos and Eboue had great chances to score a goal as well.
Arsenal’s two late goals were around the same time that Liverpool got that their 2 goals against Inter. So does that mean Liverpool will now get a 0-0 result next week?
Looking ahead, I rather get a European team than one of the English teams. Because I rather separate the domestic battles vs Euro match-ups. But this is going to be Arsenal’s massive 2 week coming up, shades of the 2004 fixtures again:
April 1 or 2: Champions League Quarter-Final 1L
April 5, Sat League game vs Liverpool
April 8/9 Champions League Quarter-Final 2L
April 13, Sun League game away to Manchester Utd
March 4th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Nah Danny T, I’m a fan of your ratings, I generally agree with them, I think you call it as you see it. I just took it issue with the Milan was shite comment, cos I think it takes away from the fact that Arsenal totally outplayed Milan
March 4th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Suck it in guys, this is the best of european football. To outplay and out-manouvere the greatest european football team in their backyard is what it’s all about.
Forget Real Madrid, AC Milan are the team I aspire for Arsenal to emulate. They are not unethical footballing show-ponies, they are the real deal. Year after year they mix footballing excellence with savvy management that yields on-field success. Our on-field footballing MO may be a little different but if in 10 years people compare our success to Milans I think we’ll all be very happy.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
I keep looking at CHINO’s apparent prediction and can’t help feeling it may be a hack by the man.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
@ sachin: the great thing is that liverpool, Man U and chelsea will still be in the CL and FA ……so they will still have LOTS to worry about as well.
it was especially crucial that Man U got through today. bodes well for our title hopes. i just pray we dont meet an english team! that would be terrible.
as it is the quarterfinalists are:
arsenal
barca
man u
chelsea *
madrid *
schalke *
liverpool *
fernebache
and we can meet any of them - even those from our own groups and country.
to be honest i dont care who we meet as long as its not english opposition.
PS: so much for finishing top of your group!!!! fenerbache knocked out porto and i am almost sure that they would have “PSVed” us as well.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
simply put, we boody did it!!!
the season is far from over lads, but how many people would have counted us out of the PL if we had lost today? i would say most people! now we get a win that can definitely have a big impact on the morale for this team that frankly we can no longer call “young”! after the first 20 mins, when milan had the better of the opening stage, we absolutely dominated and we did it with class, about time cesc came up big in a big game and ade opens the count in the CL to boot. amazing!
this should be the push we need for the last 3 months of the season, and with RvP, Lil Mozart and Kolo coming back to strenghten the side, i really like our chances to do something this year, mos def!!!!!!
March 4th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
What a great game to watch. I was really hoping for RVP, but the guys played well.
Cesc truly stepped up, as did Flamini.
Theo getting tripped up, and pushing forward to add “salt to the wound”, was great.
I don’t think Ade had a good game at all.
I hope the momentum carries on to the league. Will be great.
March 4th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
That was absolutely brilliant!!
Agreed that Flamini was MOTM — he and Cesc dominated the center, with some help from Hleb, tbs.
I usually feel extremely nervous during big matches like this — by the 20th minute I felt extremely confident — Arsenal’s utter committment was plain to see, and the away goals rule like a petronis…..~L~
Another point that gave me confidence was the lack of stirkers in the red jerseys — Inzhagi has scored once this year, twice last year in Serie A (!)
This feels like a real turning point in the season. We accomplished so much with a team missing three world class starters, now set to return. Certainly Eboue, Diaby, and Senderos deserve a nice spot on the subs bench! I’m also really encouraged by the progress of Theo and Bendtner. Both are starting to learn their individual strengths within the context of the team.
I’ve got to say that I’m salivating over an Ade RVP partnership. I know the injury risk, the adaptation time, etc, but this could be an extraordinary improvement in our team, in time for the wars ahead.
Cheers!!
March 4th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
I’ll be watching the game again tonight, a classic.
There is a real risk with Adebayor that our expectations become unrealistic. The guy gets through a mountain of work and leads the line in a fashion that we’ve never seen under Wenger. It is no coincidence that this is the most alround footballing side that Wenger has produced.
Tonight he again carried our hopes singularly on his back. Hleb, as wonderfully unique as he is offers zero goal threat. Eboue can barely shoot on target. Diaby offers infrequent moments of goal strike. And Flam and Fab had their hands full battling the Milan midfield. So it was wholly up to Adebayor to trouble the Milan defence and tire them out - and he did.
When assessing his game you’ve got to acknowledge our line-up, the opposition and the way the overall games goes. I felt at times he was too left-sided but once again his overall contribution was immence.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Absolutely amazing. My throat is bleeding and raw from all the screaming I did. And I watched it off of my DVR.
AMAZING!
March 4th, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Awesome. Absolutely wicked result. It was nice to see the whole team get stuck in. At times it wasn’t the prettiest passing (lots of people slipping over-guess the pitch was wet) but the commitment and determination was obvious to all. It adds another dimension. GREAT GREAT RESULT. Need to take that kind of mentality into the league now and keep on winning
March 4th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Great game overall. A speculative start, but the boys stepped it up. A lot of heart in the team today. I felt we shocked Milan off the field with our endurance and willingness to keep pushing forward. Sloppy to start with, but fought for balls in 50:50s. Milans passing became very sloppy.
The lads kept their cool and took their moment. Ade caused a lot of trouble for Milan, but was surrounded by defense most of the time. Happy to see Theo play and play well. I think a good run of form and Theo is going to be amazing the boy has the raw material, just needs the confidence and judgement ( which is quite a lot)
On another day we could have lost our cool and surrendered, but the boys did it. I feared a manu performance after the first 15 min. But we weathered the early storm and remained cool under pressure.
Would have loved Sendy to have scored, well at least for Milan
Still a long way to go, but this was a victory we needed. We needed it to bury our FA cup performance, we needed it to wake ourselves up, we needed it for Eduardo, and we needed it to remind the premier league and ourselves that we are far from done this season and we are far from our peak.
PS my 5 and a half month old daughter said Arsenal today right before i watched the game. It was more like Arnal, but i will take what i can get. Been singing her terrace songs since she was one day old. They make her smile and laugh like nothing else. Perhaps she knew something i didnt.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Ade and Cesc were our only two realistic goal scoring threats in the starting eleven. How nice of both of them to duely oblige. I was particularly worried about Cesc after his relatively easy miss in the first half. This result could be the springboard for the rest of the season. I still feel that the league should be our priority, but being involved in the CL and beating a giant like Milan can only do our confidence good.
We need RvP, Rosicky, Bendtner and Walcott fit for the rest of the season. These 4 need to assist Ade and Cesc in the goal scoring department.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
@ Fred 121: Why dont you want to meet English opposition at all? I agree with you, i’d like to avoid Chelski and ManUre (though I think we’d have a 50-50 shot at beating the latter), but I’d take Liverpool any day! To be honest, other than Chelski and ManUre, I don’t fear anyone at all in this contest. We just beat the Champions of Europe, so theoretically we’ve got what it takes to beat anyone in European competition.
March 4th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
Can we please get Hleb’s yellow card rescinded? It was ridiculous.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:26 am
I too would prefer to avoid English opposition. For one, they are stronger than the other teams (Barca, Real/Roma, Schalke/Porto and Fener) and secondly, games against them will be more draining (as they will be played in EPL style) and thirdly, it would just muddle up the league fight (remember 2004?).
March 5th, 2008 at 12:29 am
Arsenal keep amazing the supporters and trashing the pundits. A well deserved victory for a young hungry team.
Arsenal did to AC Milan what they did to Real Madrid and Juventus and that was run those teams off the pitch. AC Milan knew from the first leg that Arsenal were a young bull that they would struggle to contain and had no hope of staying with for 90min. AC Milan came out hard in the first 20min and shot their wad and they were done for all intents and purposes and on the ropes for the remaining 70min. Wenger described AC Milan’s play as “slow then quick”. That’s accurate but Arsenal didn’t slow down (like teams in Serie A do) and we were faster than AC Milan’s “quick”. I absolutely love the fact that Wenger’s Arsenal got their tactics right against the veteran laden champions who thought the CL were their birthright.
Now Arsenal must show their maturity and take the game to Wigan and get the 3 points. Anything less would be criminal on the back of this excellent win.
Just remember this: ManU v. AC Milan=AC Milan. Arsenal v. AC Milan=Arsenal.
For Eduardo.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:03 am
@ 130: nah, liverpool are not good opposition in the CL at all. first, even playing a supposedly “weaker” PL team is bad news……….remember chelsea in 04?
next, they play the fast, physical style of the EPL. something i would rather we dealt with in the EPL alone.
next, liverpool have this “magic” about them in the CL, remember how they defeated chelsea twice in the CL.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:08 am
Yeah Nipuna, I want to avoid the English teams for the last two reasons you mentioned. The Champs League quarter finals are in between the league games against Liverpool and Man Utd. So I especially want to avoid those two teams and also Chelsea because that would bring back that 2004 season set of fixtures. Those 2 weeks in 2004 was a bit too much to handle. No matter what Fergie says, his team have never ever had to deal with such a tough fixture packed week of games as Arsenal did in 2004 and now appear to have in 2008.
Fred #121, And given the easy games they have, Man Utd and Chelsea will keep progressing in the F.A Cup as well. Here’s hoping that Boro can atleast make Man U work a little. But Liverpool are out of the F.A Cup and the Champs league is all they have to play for, no matter what their captain says about improving in the league.
I want to see that Seville-Fenerbahce game in full as it seemed to have some cracking goals. I saw highlights of Seville’s first two goals and Keita scored a screamer, even better than the one he got against Arsenal. But both legs contained plenty of goals and from what little I saw, fast flowing football.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:10 am
Major major moral booster. Hopefully Cesc will continue to score and get his confidence back. This could be another turning point for Arsenal.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Anybody remember who gave the magnificent pass to Walcott which lead to the second goal? I think it was Flamini. It is not easy to give the MOTM award in such a game. I would give it to the whole team for their organization. Only Diaby and Eboue were found wanting at times. Diaby’s early miss is an example. He had so much space on the near post yet contrived to miss by shooting at the far post. Eboue’s miss in the second half was equally poor. He got nowhere near the goal from such close range. That’s why it’s important for Bendtner, Walcott, Rosicky and RvP to contribute more in terms of goals.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:15 am
Sachin, the first two goals Seville scored was due to disastrous goal keeping. Nothing to do with screamers. The commentator on the channel I was watching even hinted that the GK might have been bribed.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Sachin, I wish I could have seen the Fener-Sevilla tie as well. I didn’t see any of Leg 1, or the regulation of Leg 2 (my friends and I streamed the extra time from SOP after the Arsenal game ended, but everyone was beat by then). I always hate PK’s.
The real crime is that ESPN are showing us fucking Chelski tomorrow, the most boring team on the planet, when they could show Roma at Madrid. Roma (and the old Parma) are the one Italian team I enjoy watching.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:17 am
ManU and Chelsea are the only challengers to our league hopes and both are involved in the FA Cup. The more they progress, the more games they have to play. Although the kind of teams left in the FA Cup, it won’t be too much effort.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Walcott made the 2nd goal… speed and determination by the youngster.
With Milan’s tired old legs, he was perfect to come on, and get Eboue off at that point.
If Liverpool maintain their advantage, there will be 4 TEAMS from England in the Final 8 of the CL.
There is no contest as to the best league in the world. It is the most watched too, and it should be… its easily the best football for supporters to view. Its very entertaining for the most part.
I don’t care who we play in the Final 8.
I’d LOVE to draw the Turkish side. It would be nice for a change to NOT have to go the hard route every step of the way. There is no easy route in the CL, but there are less difficult ones. If things go the normal way, Chelsea will get the Turks.