[Archived] Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0

[USABlue]

friedal 6 thought he could have done better for the 1st

363390[/snapback]

I am glad someone else thought so. He offered up the whole goal. invited the shot.

I thougt we played some good stuff yesterday, 3-0 is harsh but they do have some quality don't they. Not too dis heartened.

[SIMON GARNERS 194]

Where there Arsenal fans in the Rovers section anyone who went?.......so claims a fan on another mb.

[Ray-Von]

Im pretty certain that there were two (females) sat behind us. There are usually pockets of home fans in the away section at Highbury, i'm assuming that can't get tickets any other way.

[Rover4ever]

Soccernet's The Insider has another horribly one-sided review of the match.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature?id=350365&cc=4716

Savage is the "Premiership's most theatrical performer "

"No footballer likes to see another cheating in a bid to get a player sent-off, but Blackburn's midfield maestro thinks nothing of it "

yea, I am sure Soccernet's blue-eyed boys: Ruud, Pires, & Ronaldo never dived in their lives. They always

"Savage spent most of the second half lambasting referee Foy about every decision that went against him, but his manager bizarrely rejected the chance to dismiss his first half antics"

Hughes should have knelt down on his knees and asked forgiveness for Savage's playacting

I wouldnt normally care but the fact is that Soccernet is pretty well read throughout the world and such articles may very well create enemies for us among people who have never seen us play

[greggyk]

And some Rovers fans on here fall for this type of media.

tut tut

[thenodrog]

I am very surprised to hear people saying Savage was poor yesterday.  I thought he was one of our best players.  He was everywhere and won us the ball on numerous occasions.  Sure he looked a tit, but that doesn't mean he had a rubbish game.  |Without him in the team, Arsenal would have run us ragged.  He was the only thing in midfield preventing their attacks.

363413[/snapback]

It was just the same with Tim Sherwood mate. Sections of the crowd absolutely hated him despite the fact that he was our captain and one of our BIG players in the Dalglish era. For some reason many people need someone to hate in every team. With some folk it's just their way I guess. Need proof? Get this............ I once went on a prawn sarnie junket to Old Trafford (MU v Spurs in 1997/8) and was absolutely gobsmacked to hear the criticism and jeers that Ryan Giggs got from the Old Trafford 'faithful' ffs! Personally, and with the possible exception of Paul Scholes I cannot think of a better servant of that club over the years.

[thenodrog]

No team loses 3-0 and are 'unlucky'....we were undone by 3 quality goals and had no reply for all our huff and puff.

363311[/snapback]

Exactly. How many times did we see teams match us for effort and commitment both home and away under Dalglish only to go away with sweet FA through the efforts of Shearer who was simply the best striker of his time?

It's still the same........Forget the Fabrigas measured side foot from 30 yards that Brad should really have saved, forget Van Persie's shot out of the blue in the dying moments cos he wont do that again this season, instead just think about the killer goal from Henry on the half time whistle that effectively ended the game and came just as we had played ourselves back into contention, that proved a massive psycological blow. Yet Henry does that self same thing week in week out. Just as another team is pressing Arsenal back he slits their throats. 3-0 flattered Arsenal so don't diss the lads real quality wins matches simple as.

[thenodrog]

I agree that based on yesterday's performance, Rovers are probably just one creative midfielder and a quality striker plus Zura's permanent signature away from being good enough to go away to Arsenal EXPECTING to come away with at least a point.

363387[/snapback]

Now I'd like Zura to sign a permanent deal certainly, but in what way will Zura's signature on a piece of paper change anything to do with his performances to date or in the future?

[stuwilky]

Now I'd like Zura to sign a permanent deal certainly, but in what way will Zura's signature on a piece of paper change anything to do with his performances to date or in the future?

363432[/snapback]

Possibly that if we dont get a signature from him he wont be able to visit Arsenal again as a Blackburn player.

[thenodrog]

we could yet make Europe.

dont forget he said no to a Champions League team this season (Everton). its not as home and dry as any Champs League team, doubt he would join Wigan for instance.

Now lets look at the big teams: Chelsea would they want him? No. Arsenal? Probably not. United? Doubtful. Liverpool? Possibly between all the "big" clubs. Newcastle? Not as long as this regime is in power. Spurs? Hmm...Possibly the biggest worry for us. But he is like Keane and Defoe, so I guess not.

363382[/snapback]

Steady on guys on his performance last week v Man City even Burnley would hesitate to sign Bellamy! Early days yet but I am beginning to wonder if Bellamy has the habit of playing better in the big games?

[den]

It was just the same with Tim Sherwood mate. 

363427[/snapback]

Strange you should say that, Theno.

Now some people will laugh at this, but Baz said to me during the second half that Savage is very similar to Sherwood, in the style of play. Plays the ball simple and is very effective in what he does.

I can see the similarity as well. Savage was the main reason why Arsenal never put rovers under any constant pressure and never dominated midfield.

[thenodrog]

Strange you should say that, Theno.

Now some people will laugh at this, but Baz said to me during the second half that Savage is very similar to Sherwood, in the style of play. Plays the ball simple and is very effective in what he does.

I can see the similarity as well. Savage was the main reason why Arsenal never put rovers under any constant pressure and never dominated midfield.

363435[/snapback]

Think its the hair do then Den?

[den]

Think its the hair do then Den?

363437[/snapback]

I take that as a no then, - you don't see any similarity?

[philipl]

Now I'd like Zura to sign a permanent deal certainly, but in what way will Zura's signature on a piece of paper change anything to do with his performances to date or in the future?

363432[/snapback]

No wonder the world is a strange and terrifying place for you if you misunderstand so much when you read.

The subject of my sentence was Blackburn Rovers, not Zura.

i.e. The current Blackburn Rovers squad

+ a quality striker signing

+ a creative midfielder signing

+ Zura signed permanently

= a Blackburn Rovers side good enough to expect to get points when visiting Arsenal.

PS Both you and den are right about Savage. Most teams visiting Highbury get mauled in the midfield (even post-Viera) and Savage was the single most important reason Rovers turned in such a good performance.

Having said that, Savage lost the ball cheaply at the end of the First Half and two passes later it was in the back of our net. Arguably, he should have been tracking back with Fabregas to stop him getting time and space 30 yards from goal for the Arsenal opener and van Persie skinned both Gray and Savage for that stunning third.

Edited November 27, 2005 by philipl

[Radagast]

Looking at the highlights, I really can't believe we lost this game - or at least that we lsot by three goals. Bellamy looked a constant threat and was unlucky on more than one occasion. It was quite disappointing to see Zura had been dropped.

[WaffleWag]

A less than flattering description of the long haired savage one

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/...ER_Arsenal.html

363415[/snapback]

That article is just crap. When did Andy Reid play for us yesterday?

[philipl]

Andy Reid played in the same game the guy who wrote that piece watched yesterday.

[seahawkdad]

Im pretty certain that there were two (females) sat behind us. There are usually pockets of home fans in the away section at Highbury, i'm assuming that can't get tickets any other way.

363421[/snapback]

Maybe it has to do with price. It looked to me that there were plenty of empty seats on the second deck of the East side.

I could only watch the first half, but Rovers looked quite impressive. Good ball control, crisp passes to feet, and very dangerous going down the right. Other than the goals (isn't this to often the case in this funny old game), we looked to be the better side.

I would, however, have liked to have entertaining football coupled with a win. That would have been the best entertainment of all.

And I agree with those who are taking on Savage for the play acting. It's the kind of crap that turns me off to Mexican League football, and certainly doesn't go over very well here in the States. Other than that, however I do like Savage's play. He plays the destroyer roll very, very well. And did anyone note on that picture of Blackburn players confronting the fan that it looks as if Nelsen is restraining Savage's advance? One more bit of destroying deflected?

But the play acting shouldn't be Rovers' brand of football. What is Savage up to...trying to stain our reputation as 'bully boys'?

Edited November 27, 2005 by seahawkdad

[broadsword]

Strange you should say that, Theno.

Now some people will laugh at this, but Baz said to me during the second half that Savage is very similar to Sherwood, in the style of play. Plays the ball simple and is very effective in what he does.

I can see the similarity as well. Savage was the main reason why Arsenal never put rovers under any constant pressure and never dominated midfield.

363435[/snapback]

Perhaps some similarity, but Sherwood had more going forward, that is for certain.

[Hypo-Luxa]

The basic fact is that the team that converted their chances won the game. That's just as simple as it gets. Yeah we kept pecking away and got close on more than one occasion, but we just couldn't convert. And the fact that Lehmann was the busier of the two goalies just emphasises that. They sliced open our defence three times and made us pay three times. We snuck behind their defence multiple times and converted nowt. Yes I'm happy that the boys never rolled over like some of the other clubs I've seen after going 1-0, 2-0 down on the road, and yes I am happy that they kept plugging away. But I am NOT happy that they wasted so many of the chances that were presented them. When will the team realize that chances are scarce in a professional game and even more so on the road? I was heartened to see that alot of our chances were not far off, but we have to convert SOME of the chances that are presented.

Overall I was happy with their display. Plenty of pluck and plenty of entertainment. The clinical side of the squad needs to improve or else we'll be on the wrong side of more of these kind of games where Rovers were the better of the two teams...

On a side note, it was good to see that Todd wasn't singled out by the ref or by ignorant Arse players. I did hate to see Savage give in to the horrible play-acting display. The sooner he gets home-sick again and sods off to another team the better. I wouldn't mind taking a monetary loss on him. I'm not saying that he's a useless player, but I just hate that play-acting crap style of play. That is why I cannot watch South American footy is because of that type of display. Shameful.

Also was good to see Arsene get shown up by Hughesy. You could just see that Hughes wanted to smack him in the gob, but he settled for knocking the ball out of his hand. Pity, that.

[rover6]

Bellamy has a £6m release clause to any Champs League qualifying team which can be exercised this summer ONLY. Chelsea and Liverpool don't worry me but the Mancs and Arsenal (numerically replacing Berkamp) do give me concern as both are cash-constrained as would practically any other club disrupting the "big 4"- except Newcastle!

363387[/snapback]

I would stop being concerned, Phil, about Arsenal snapping up Bellamy. WHilst, he's probably good enough to play for them, I doubt Wenger would find his personality compatible. Same with Ferguson.

[oakdaleblue]

Where there Arsenal fans in the Rovers section anyone who went?.......so claims a fan on another mb.

363419[/snapback]

Yes there was. One girl was wearing an Arsenal shirt. However, she was at the match with her brother, who was a Rovers fan.

Spoke to them briefly in the pub before the game.

She had her shirt hidden inside the ground, under her jacket.

I cant see what the problem is. Cant you go to a match with members of your family?

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

Highbury - redolent of marble halls, the bronze bust of Herbert Chapman, the oak panelled boardroom, the Grade 2 listed Art Deco facade of the East Stand, and the famous clock in the South Stand, where I was situated with the Rovers supporters yesterday.

On a day when football paid its respects to George Best, I travelled to North London to say a final goodbye to the famous old stadium before two of the stands are knocked down to be replaced with blocks of flats. The new stadium, about half a mile away, is a huge construction, with a roof similar in design to the Stade De France in Paris. Bloody French....

It's not just football that has been seen on the Highbury pitch over the years. Henry Cooper came up against Muhammed Ali in a World Heavyweight title rematch at Highbury in the 1960's - a fight which some of our older messageboard readers might recall. Many years ago, there was also a black and white film called "The Arsenal Stadium Mystery" - where the star player for the opposition is deliberately poisoned.

The mystery for me at Arsenal yesterday was how the hell Shefki Kuqi has become a Premiership striker. He looks like a pub player who is totally out of his depth at this level. Yes, he provides the odd decent flick on, and he shows a willingness to run about - but it's not enough at this level.

He's frankly an embarrassment in the blue and white shirt - typified by a "shot" he had in the first half yesterday from a decent position which ended up nearly hitting the corner flag. The sooner this dysfunctional Kosovan is replaced with a more competent striker the better....

Kuqi wasn't the only one at fault though. At least he tried. I thought Andy Todd was to blame for both of Arsenal's first two goals.

I thought rovers were superb.

I wouldn't use the word "superb" myself Den. I think it was a broadly acceptable performance for the most part, undermined by a lack of clinical finishing and a couple of lapses in concentration for the goals Arsenal scored.

I agree that the 3-0 scoreline was harsh. It flattered Arsenal and wasn't a true reflection of the game. Last season, in one of Souness's last games with Rovers, we also lost 3-0 at Highbury. But this was a better performance in terms of going forward and creating chances. Last season at Highbury we had a demoralised team, lacking in confidence and tactically poor.

Improvement has been made under Hughes, but we nevertheless still lost the game 3-0 yesterday and we have to look at the reasons why.

We got off to a wretched start - caught cold after just a few minutes. From the initial move, Bergkamp was allowed to go past Steven Reid too easily and it was poor defending from Todd on the edge of our box - gifting the ball to Fabregas. Friedel perhaps should have done better with the shot. Three years ago, I think he would have saved it - but it was the lumbering Andy Todd who was mainly to blame for the defensive error.

It could have been 2-0 to Arsenal within ten minutes, but Friedel did well to save Henry's free-kick. On our last trip to London a few weeks ago, we also got off to a wretched start in the opening ten minutes against Chelsea. Away from home we need to be better prepared and concentrate harder at the start of the match.

Later on in the first half, for a period of about 20 minutes, we passed the ball around nicely and created a couple of decent scoring opportunities. Our pub striker Mr Kuqi actually did well to chest the ball down in the box for Pedersen, who should have done better with his shot - which was blocked by an Arsenal defender.

Friedel made a decent save from a shot from Pires, who was allowed to run down the whole length of Arsenal's right hand side far too easily. Pedersen had a mixed game. His corners were erratic and he didn't fully get a grip on the match. However, he did provide a couple of good crosses in the game. His midfield counterpart Emerton was back to his usual frustrating self - doing very little of any note.

Savage - not my favourite player - chased and harried the Arsenal midfield well. Putting to one side his ridiculous playacting, which will do nothing to improve his or Rovers' image, I thought he generally had a good game, breaking up Arsenal's attacking play. Robbie has his limitations. He'll never be a creative player in a million years and he'll never be able to provide the type of incisive defence-splitting passes that Tugay and Berkovic did in their pomp. However, he did do a good job yesterday of putting his foot in at the right moments.

As I said, we passed the ball around nicely for periods in the first half, but it was some rather old-fashioned route one football from Lucas Neill which carved out a couple of chances for the tattooed Welsh chav Bellamy. A long punt from Lucas in his own half found Bellamy in space behind his Arsenal marker. Craig struck a firm shot, but Herr Lehman made a good save. From the rebound, Bellamy's shot hit Toure's head and went out for a corner.

Another long punt from Neill shortly afterwards found Bellamy in the box, but he couldn't manage to control the ball properly. We deserved to go in at the half-time break no worse than being a goal down - but with two minutes to go in the first half, there was some more poor defending.

A fine pass from Pires found Henry on the left-hand edge of the penalty box. But I felt that Andy Todd should have been quicker to spot the danger and intercept the ball. Todd is a carthorse compared with the thoroughbred Henry, and he was too slow to see the danger.

In the second half, we again carved out a couple of decent scoring opportunities. From a Pedersen cross on the left-hand side, Bellamy's diving header grazed the outside of the post. David Thompson replaced the ineffective Emerton for the final half hour, and although Thommo looks a few pounds overweight, he was nevertheless lively - seeing a firm shot saved by Herr Lehman. Later, Thommo had a fairly weak header in the box saved by the in-form German keeper.

With a couple of minutes to go, Van Persie, on the right-hand of the pitch, then went past Michael Gray too easily and struck a fine goal. I saw a few Rovers fans near me clapping Van Persie's strike. It was a fine goal, but it was also poor defending from Gray. At the end of the match, the young Dutchman embraced his old foe Todd.

The difference in the match was the quality of Arsenal's finishing and the lapses in concentration from Todd and Gray. I would feel more comfortable with a defensive partnership of Zurab and Nelsen.

I left the Highbury stadium for the last time on a grey and miserable November afternoon. The weather was crap, the food was crap and the toilets were crap. Maybe the move to Ashburton Grove isn't such a bad thing after all....

Edited November 27, 2005 by Anti Euro Smiths Fan

[Manchester Blue]

I would stop being concerned, Phil, about Arsenal snapping up Bellamy. WHilst, he's probably good enough to play for them, I doubt Wenger would find his personality compatible. Same with Ferguson.

363455[/snapback]

Yes you're quite right of course, Ferguson would never sign a player with a suspect personality like Cantona, Rooney or Keane for example!!

[cn_barlow]

Yes you're quite right of course, Ferguson would never sign a player with a suspect personality like Cantona, Rooney or Keane for example!!

363461[/snapback]

i'm not too sure Bellamy has the same level of ability as those players though