[Archived] Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0

[philipl]

Feeling pretty flat apart from not being able to forget the rather dirty looking lady who anchored the French TV coverage of the game. The French have MGP and Toogs v Fulham as the Premiership's 3rd and 4th best goals of the season so far BTW.

We didn't look like getting a point but 3-0 is a travesty of a scoreline- but not as outrageous a result as the Newcastle game. We had more attempts on goal and shots on target than the hosts.

Good points:

- we knocked it around really well and we certainly quietened the Arsenal supporters in the bar.

- Bellamy again looked a class act

- Best game for a while from Reid.

- MGP, Savage, Emo had decent games

- Thommo looked sharp when he came on.

Bad points:

- Todd should not be playing in place of Zura

- We missed the class Tugay would have given us.

- Gray is a bit vulnerable to lapses of concentration again

- Was it 8 corners we had? Anyway 7 were rubbish

- Kuqui isn't the guy to unpick a top class defence, particularly when Sol Campbell is even bigger and uglier than he is

- Reid's shooting was a lot more adjacent than it sometimes is but did he actually get one on target?

- Ref was a bit of a homer. Reid's booking was a nonsense and the Arse got freekicks for fouls which weren't given when Rovers were fouled.

- We now have the joint worst against goals record in the Prem.

[den]

- We now have the joint worst against goals record in the Prem.

363328[/snapback]

4 clubs have conceded more goals Philip. - 16 teams have played less games.

1 Chelsea 13 11 1 1 31 7 24 34

2 Arsenal 13 8 2 3 22 10 12 26

3 Wigan Athletic 13 8 1 4 16 10 6 25

4 Manchester United 12 7 3 2 19 12 7 24

5 Tottenham Hotspur 14 6 6 2 16 10 6 24

6 Bolton Wanderers 12 7 2 3 14 11 3 23

7 Liverpool 12 6 4 2 13 8 5 22

8 Manchester City 14 6 3 5 15 12 3 21

9 West Ham United 12 5 4 3 16 11 5 19

10 Charlton Athletic 13 6 1 6 17 18 -1 19

11 Middlesbrough 13 5 3 5 18 18 0 18

12 Newcastle United 13 5 3 5 12 13 -1 18

13 Blackburn Rovers 14 5 3 6 15 18 -3 18

14 Aston Villa 14 4 3 7 14 22 -8 15

15 Fulham 13 3 3 7 14 19 -5 12

16 West Bromwich Albion 13 3 2 8 13 22 -9 11

17 Portsmouth 13 2 4 7 11 18 -7 10

18 Everton 12 3 1 8 4 16 -12 10

19 Birmingham City 13 2 3 8 8 17 -9 9

20 Sunderland 14 1 2 11 12 28 -16 5

[krislu]

- Kuqi isn't the guy to unpick a top class defence, particularly when Sol Campbell is even bigger and uglier than he is

363328[/snapback]

Kugi did well for us today, and made space for our other attacking players. I thought he was as good as he has ever been for us, even though that doesn't say much.

Bellamy looks very good, and he is by far our best player. If we can't get some quality players who can pass him the ball and can understand his intellegent style of play, then I'm sure he won't stick around for to long.

We played well today, and the goals they got was pure pure class! Any team would have let in those goals. On another day we might have got something from the game!

Bottom line though, quality always wins in the end. We have two maybe three players in our team which are real quality, they have at least 7-8...

[philipl]

Sorry- missed out the word 'away' when I typed that.

[brfcshabba]

Don't forget we have played the best four if you include Liverpool away from home.

[Bobby G]

To be honest, it was another good performance from us. The result was more than harsh. On another day we could have got at least a point. We knocked the ball around brilliantly and with some confidence and fast one touch passing.

The difference was that we were not clinical, whilst Arsenal's superior quality in the finishing department told.

Bellamy was brilliant again, and I was quite impressed with Reid too. MGP looked better in the flow of the game than he had for a long long time, but his set pieces were awful.

Savage's defensive side of the game was good, but his offensive side had a lot to be desired for.

Biggest bonus for me, Thommo looked good when he came on for Emo.

I am disappointed with the 3-0 scoreline, but I believe if we put the level of performance we have had against Arsenal, and Chelsea against most other teams, then we will beat them. The question is can we replicate these performances?

[tcj_jones]

First 20 minutes Arsenal looked like one of the best teams in the world and they were runnign circles around us. Fabregas, Henry, Pires, Reyes and Ljundberg are all good flair players, able to go past pretty much anybody. They are an exciting team to watch with world class players. Add to that Gilberto, Bergkamp and Van Persie and you are facing one of the world best attacks.

To come back into the game the way we did in the first half after such a strong start from Arsenal deserves credit. We managed to stop them playing for a long stretch and their second goal was slightly against the run of play. The difference between the teams in the first half was that they had the quality to score, whereas we didn't. Although we did have a bit of bad luck with a few cleared off the line.

In the second half they seemed to set out to defend and we had the vast majority of the possession. However, we just could not make the kliller ball. Nevertheless the team played extremely well in the second half. Their third goal was entirely against the run of play and a 3-0 scoreline flattered them somewhat.

I thought Savage was our MOTM. Superb running and tackling throughout and was instrumental in holding Arsenal back in the first half. I thought Reid was also good in the centre and attacked well in the second half.

I also thought that Thompson looked very good when he came on and full of confidence. Very promising as I thought Emerton was average again today. Thommo apart, today showed that the only outfield player with real class in our team is Bellamy.

And a final thought, was it just me or did Cygam do the most blatant push in their penalty area in the first half? I couldn't believe my eyes when it wasn't given.

Edited November 26, 2005 by tcj_jones

[1864roverite]

cant be too disheartened about Rovers display especially listening to McClintock, who is forever red spcectacled when it comes to Arse.

3-0 sounds harsh, but if you dont put your chances away thats what happens against the top clubs.

back to reality now with a cup game then two more than winnable home games.

looks like the cup match at Charlton will be interesting as Rovers are not playing that badly whereas Charlton have now lost 4 on the spin, includign a pasting at Ewood.

[SAS]

i thought we played very well and were very unlucky to come away with no goals

the fair result would have been a draw judging on chances, but they had the upper hand in finishing

the scoreline did not reflect the game

i was happy with thommos performance when he came on, i thought he was a bright spark

Edited November 26, 2005 by slater_scott

[greggyk]

Just watched the game on football first. And i must say, we were so unlucky we played Arsenal when every time they shot-they scored. That wont happen every game for them. Arsenal had 3 chances(well, 2 as Van Persie's goal was just amazing) and scored all 3.

Rovers had 6 or 7 half chances that on another day, could have easily gone in. (such as the last time we beat Arsenal at Highbury).

I felt every Rovers player played well, especially Bellamy,Reid,Sav,Pedersen(apart from his corners) and Thommo was great in the last 15mins.

[Rovermatt]

Just saw Fabregas's goal. And Henry's. And Van Persie's.

Awesome. That's the difference.

[Exiled_Rover]

We won't be keeping hold of Bellamy for very long.

[joey_big_nose]

Personally I cannot understand all the people who are doom and gloom about this.

In every department we matched Arsenal today apart from finishing. We defended well, passed well, created chances, held on to the ball. The difference was that Arsenal has one of the top 5 players in the world (and one of the best of all time) playing at the very peak of his ability, and a squad rammed full of attacking talent which we can only dream of.

We are not expecting to win the premiership. These are games we will lose if the opposition is playing at the top of their ability.

If we play this well against teams in our bracket we will beat them. Those are the important games. Today we did our best and played very well but were undone by some sublime finishing.

Lets kick on.

That said two changes need to happen- Zurab for Todd and perhaps give Thompson a start next time (although he did look like he was carrying a bit of weight). I was very impressed at how he responded to the challenge. I thought his career at Rovers was over.

If we can scrape the cash together for another top striker (someone with height and technique would be ideal, although Kuqi was not too bad today) and a creative midfielder (come on petrov!) we will turn into a very very good team. I do recognise that funds are limited though.

Looking forward to the next game.

ps.

We won't be keeping hold of Bellamy for very long.

personally I think he looked very happy today despite the drubbing. If we can finish in the top ten, keep hold of Hughes (this is crucial!) and look like we are steadily improving then I think we stand a real chance of holding on to him.

If we don't I would expect us to make a decent profit.

Edited November 27, 2005 by joey_big_nose

[Exiled_Rover]

He has a clause in his contract that if a Champions League team comes in for him he can go for £xm (an amount I'm not too sure about). With his performances this season he must be on the wish list of most top teams.

Having said that I agree he does seem happy here, but the draw of more money and European football probably would be too much for the lad.

[Bobby G]

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.

[Manchester Blue]

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]

That's a very black & white way of viewing things and ignores the match completely. Of course i'd rather we were 'lucky' and got something but in the cold light of day I can look back and be pleased at the chances we created ad the football we played, that's what I paid for and that's what I got.

Incidentally I don't think we were unlucky just defended badly at times and they were clinical. However to suggest we were huff and puff is rubbish. When the opposition keeper pulls off 3 or 4 cracking saves and defenders block another 3 goal bound efforts you know you have created chances.

Would like to see Thommo given a start on Wednesday based on how he looked yesterday, very promising.

[philipl]

Agree about Thomo starting on Wednesday- would be hard to drop either Sav or Reid but remember we prospered against Charlton at Ewood with Emo having one of his best games for us. Nice problem for Sparky to have.

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!

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.

Exciting times to be a Rover.

Edited November 27, 2005 by philipl

[waggy]

well a brilliant day was had by all,espicially if you were a arsenal fan.we left ewood a shade after 7.30am and arrived back a shade before 10.30pm.had a tour off highbury,all on the family coach will understand that quote,no wonder we all got free tickets we were sat with the arsenal fans!

it was really nice to see taylor and peter warming up with the 1st team squad before the game,they must be introduced sooner than later.as for the match we played very well but did not have a answer when the arse moved up a gear.great to see todd and van rapist shaking hands at the end.

real downer from the game was savage play acting,the sooner he is shipped out the better.

ratings

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

neill 7 best defender

todd 6 strong,reliableand slow

admiral 6 a rock but mesmerised by henry

gray 5 very poor distribution

emerton 5 should have run cygan daft

ried 6 solid and unlucky with a fantastic free kick

savage 4 ###### off

mgp 4 needs dropping

kuqi 5 huffs and puffs but a league to far

BELLAMY 8 star man great pace,please buy him a partner jw

sub

tommo 7 dangerous and looking fit

[Ozz]

 

real downer from the game was savage play acting,the sooner he is shipped out the better.

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Agree Waggy, he made a tit of himself. However, Reyes DID try to punch him and no-one seems to think any thing is wrong with that. If Todd had done it,well I guess most people would have gone ape about Todd the thug again.

[waggy]

Agree Waggy, he made a tit of himself. However, Reyes DID try to punch him and no-one seems to think any thing is wrong with that. If Todd had done it,well I guess most people would have gone ape about Todd the thug again.

363394[/snapback]

reyes flicked his hand out at savaage,contact was made and in the laws off the game was a justified sending off.BUT AND A MASSIVE BUT,lily had gestered at reyes to get up after a heavy challenge,then goes down like a bag of spuds after a flick ogg reyes gloves tosser

[Hughesy]

I agree with Ozzie - If Todd or Savage had done that to say Henry then all hell would break lose, the papers would be back on the 'bully boy' wagon and probably every Arsenal player on the pitch would of had something to say and would of circled the referee.

As for getting rid of Sav - see the tackle he did on Reyes? Spot on! Hard and fair - who else do we have that could fight for the ball in midfield like he does?

[des]

itswas a good game ans 3.0 is harsh, as for savage yes he can tackle, but he lacks pace, two of the goals were down to this. In midfield if you have no pace you will be found out and this is starting to happen with him

[RoyRover]

I saw some of the highlights from yesterday's game and we didn't look like we were ever out of the game. All we needed was to take one of our chances and we could have got a draw. I still think that we need another striker to play up along side Bellamy, because Kuqi isn't up to it. Reid played well and his pace enables him to cover the ground in midfield, which Savage is unable to do. It was good to see Thompson back and hopefully he can challenge Emerton for his place.

[tcj_jones]

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.

[SouthAussieRover]

A less than flattering description of the long haired savage one

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