Adebay-cyclekick-or
Apr 7th, 2009 by 'holic
So it was everything we had anticipated, and then some. The nerves kicked in, were settled, and kicked in again. We somehow lost two players to injury against a side that likes to play football like us, but regained composure to level having gone behind.
Earliest blow was Manuel Almunia limping out of a clearance from Rossi in the right-back berth. He tried to play through the twisted ankle and in fairness that didn’t hinder his attempt to stop the Marcos Senna wonderstrike that flew past him on ten minutes.
Commentators who have to fill gaps with inane banter and are expected to apportion blame thought Song could be in two places at once. I was pleased to hear Jim Beglin retract that particular bit of nonsense later on.
It was harsh on Arsenal who played well in the opening half without ever creating a great deal. Villareal were more positive and direct. They had their reward, and they deserved the advantage. Despite that we almost nicked an equaliser, and Cesc Fabregas had a right to be aggrieved at the booking for the quickly taken free-kick that was ruled out by an otherwise competent referee.
By that time a second enforced substitution ensued when Rossi was bundled into Gallas by Song, and the defender’s knee twisted under him. Another complete accident, but the post match diagnosis of knee-ligament damage may make this the last sighting of the French defender in an Arsenal shirt. It would be sad if that were the case.
As much as the hosts impressed in the first-half, so the Gunners lit up the second with a marvellous display. The reward arrived with such speed that the live cameras almost missed a thoroughly deserved, and spectacular, equaliser.
We just saw Emmanuel Adebayor control a falling ball on his chest and hook it into the far corner with a surprisingly deft overhead kick. It needed a replay to highlight the magnificent through-ball from Cesc Fabregas. Shades of the second goal against Manchester City at the weekend.
Cue the entrance of Robert Pires from the bench to a wonderful reception from the visting fans who made themselves heard all night. Big props to you all for a fantastic vocal performance.
There remained a last couple of Senna strikes to worry about in the closing stages. One was deflected wide, the other just missed the target. I would like to see Denilson a lot closer to him at the Grove.
So I should have backed both of the options that appealed to me post-match. I didn’t, nay couldn’t, punt on the draw. Those who did have their reward. I inferred last night that despite all of the different emotions we would go through nothing would be resolved tonight, and that is certainly the case.
Having said that we would only have ourselves to blame if we are not looking forward to another Champions League semi-final next Wednesday. It really is ours for the taking. I’m not certain my poor old ticker will stand it though, because it sure as hell won’t be easy!
22 Responses to “Adebay-cyclekick-or”
Need a couple of pints after that, but good 2nd half!
Still can’t understand Adebayor. He was having a mediocre night, misplacing first-time passes and being offside and suddenly scores a superb scissor kick. He gives me anxiety and heart problems, but he scored a very important goal. Don’t believe his comments about not knowing how he scored, that’s a bit too modest.
Worrying news about Gallas. Didn’t see the game as was in a studio audience for a panel show, so only just home. Will Djourou be able to provide the solidity of that the Toure/Gallas partnership was providing?
I’ll have a a pint of London Pride please.
Hello all.
Agreed Snail. Funny how Gallas has turned things round since losing the captaincy.
Afr,
So harsh on Adebayor. He drove me round the bend with his offsides again tonight, but he held the ball up magnififcently, even with little or no support, and the goal was just magical. Sometimes I think people go out of their way to be critical when it isn’t needed.
COF!
Snail, How the fuck can you justify not seeing that game?
you dont deserve that pint
A largely competent display, if a little bit lacking in the creativity department. I think Toure deserves a mention for another very good game full of enthusiasm, drive and effort. We still tend to give opposition players a bit too much room at times though.
i was cursing ade throughout the game until that magical moment in the 2nd half. the goal seemed to galvanize him and he was playing much better afterwards… or maybe it just seemed that way to me!
i agree we need to mark senna more closely next time around. i thought we would be doing that with denilson and song both in there but it was quite an open game for the start. however its a good experience for two of them to have played against someone of senna’s quality in MF. he is a true craftman in that position. hopefully they both have taken something from this game and go on and become better players.
Good result.After thirty minutes I thought we were in for a pasting.They looked a class team.They out passed us .We just could not get going.Although Walcott looked a danger to them.
They were never going to keep that pace up for the entire game and in the second half we took over.
Toure was excellent.His lack of form early in the season must surely have been down to the malaria he contracted at the African Nations cup.
They shoud not be underestimated but we are in a strong position.
Five to One third favourites to win the Champions league now with Paddy Power.
`Holic how do you get your reports on so fast?
Its ten past twelve and I just calmed down enough to type.
Luckily I found some Tangerine Dream C Ds.
Cheers.
Got to agree that Toure seems back to his old self, which is incredibly pleasing to see.
I still can’t say I like to see Cesc playing so far forward. He doesn’t seem to see enough of the ball and doesn’t really have the time/space to really open up teams – his last 2 assists have both come from when he has had the ball in deeper positions.
But i guess if RVP or Eduardo are fit for the return leg I wouldn’t be surprised if Arsene goes back to a 4-4-2.
villareal coach reckons they dominated the game. did he watch that 2nd half?
Excellent report again Holic. Villareal definitively deserve their reputation for their “South-American” style. I admit they played much better than I thought them capable of. Even if we dominated the second half I wasn’t comfortable at all watching them attacking in the dying minutes. I have high hopes for the return leg with our home support that seems to galvanize our young players (vs Roma) but the victory will have to be earned the hard way.
NoFitState: totally agree on Toure it makes me happy to see him play with so much heart.
Djourou played very well given the circumstances but we will miss Gallas big time if another injury leaves us with Silvestre as the last remaining option. I really feel sorry for Gallas, he’s been playing at his best since his demotion. Hope he’ll recover in time before the final.
Am I the only one to think that our “little” Lukasz had a great game? He made a couple of terrific saves before he could even warm up and looked assured afterwards.
‘holic, looks like i only managed to predict the accurate amount of goals.
I was watching the game with my buddy Pete and we were getting increasingly frustrated with Ade (well yes it might be a bit unfair but it was 3 am in the morning!)
And suddenly a very Dudu-esque goal from a magnificent pass by Cesc.
I watched the replay and had to thank the villareal defenders who closed on him quickly and forced Ade into making an instinct attempt. I don’t know if you agree but recounting previous goals, Ade seems to flourish under a tighter situation. Give him too much room and space, he actually manages to overthink and it did show in some instances last night.
1-1 and we’ll let the lads take it on with a vengeance at the Grove.
pint of cider please.
Ade tries hard to stay ‘right on the edge of offside’ (if you get what I mean). If he was more careful not to stray offside, he’d lose that tiny fraction-of-a-second advantage. He is often penalised wrongly – so was Henry, who was a true master of the art of playing on the edge.
Older gooners like me might remember how infuriating Brian Kidd was. No end of promising moves ruined when he was pulled up by the lino’s flag. But every now and again, he got through and scored, and it was suddenly worth it.
Gallas’ injury is a real shame, as he was finally showing why we bought him. I have no worries over Djourou, though. He’ll be just fine alongside Kolo (great to see the real Kolo back), but any further injuries in central defence would create a problem.
Villarreal were better than I thought, too. I knew they played a lovely passing game – I just didn’t think they’d be able to play their game against us! Let’s not get carried away thinking we’ve done the hard part. They look quite capable of hitting us on the break at our place.
Well in Fin.
Adebayor’s goal was fantastic. Let’s hope he can bang a fair few more in before the season is out and if he does that, then you never know…
We’ll need to be careful to not take things for granted in the next game, as we’ve been wont to do this season. It’s going to be a tough second leg, but 1-1 is a good scoreline to be taking into that game. It’s certainly better than the 2-2 that ManUre are taking into their second leg.
So, lets enjoy last night and worry about the wigan game on saturday before thinking more about Villarreal and the return of Pires to his spiritual home (though he has yet to play at the Emirates)
Last night — no just last night but for the last few 2 months — Toure seems to have found his recovery pace. It was obvious that he wasn’t 100% fit and now that his butt no longer looks like J’Lo’s his game has considerably improved.
Really pleased with the result last night. In the past at 1-0 with two key players down I would have settled for 1-0 and try and make it up at the emirates, but last night I had belief in the side as Denilson and Song seem to have matured in the last month to be reliable first teamers and consitent competitors – they actually seem to believe in themselves now.
@wengerball – Toure was excellent as were Djourou and Fabianaski when they came on.
A good all round performance against a good Villarreal side. I agree with most points raised on here. The major disappointment is the injuries, especially to Gallas. He has been outstanding since his minor blip with the papers. I agree that Djourou is ready to step in but I feel we will miss his experience. We have started to look strong at the back since the turn of the year and to lose two key members is a blow, especially when you look at the fixture list.
All of that said you only need to look at the list of those not available last night so see how the squad is maturing and going from strength to strength. With a fully fit squad who knows what we could achieve. Just look at how the Mancs have crumpled after a few injuries? It was only a few weeks ago that they were going to win all 5 trophies by Easter?????????
Keep the faith……….
After the first few minutes I was starting to get a bit worried, as they seemed in control of the game. Senna`s goal, unstoppable as it was, although at the time I thought he had been allowed too much space, increased the anxiety. In the second half we closed up a bit and adebayor wasn`t so isolated. I was a little surprised that Ade said he was unaware of where the goal was for the overhead kick. In his place I might have said I`d tried to place it, but full marks for honesty. A wonderful result all considering, and we really should finish the business now. The injuries are a problem. I`m not concerned about Almunia as Fabianski seems to have grown in confidence, although Mannone`s presence on the bench for Wigan won`t fill me with excitement. More worrying is the loss of Gallas for the season, as while Djourou has performed well, he has picked up a few injuries in his time, and the sight of, for example, Song deputising for him, doesn`t inspire confidence.
Is there are a more pessimistic commentator in the galaxy than Wee Lulu MacSparry? I picture him sitting there in the box holding his black mic’, wearing his long tailed undertakers coat, funereal black tie and topper, hearse parked outside the stand, ready to top himself at any moment. Fabianski comes off the bench, cold, nervous as a bag of beans and within seconds makes two great stops.
MacSparry: “Didnae do a verra good job wi’ the first wan but the second wis a wee bit better wis it no?” Take the cyanide pill, Lulu. Give us all a laugh and a big cheer up, son. Stop worrying, tomorrow may never arrive.
And what about Fat Pat and Little Brian in the Setanta studio at half time? Which asylum did they find that duo in?
Thought the Gunners played well overall and superbly in the second half. Contrary to Fat Pat and Little Brian, I thought that Song and Denilson were immense. Alex ran a marathon and broke down a score of moves. Denilson is beginning to look as much like Cesc as Cesc.
I think we’ll do OK in the return. I fancy Robin and Eduardo to feature up front then.
“Didn’t see the game as was in a studio audience for a panel show” no less. “Round The Horn” was it then, Snail?
Would I Lie to You, BtM?
Have finally watched the match and have to say that our second half was immense. When Walcott finally gets his range back, we will be a serious threat. Not too sure that many teams will cope with us when we have two flying wingers fully fit and on form. Whatever happens his season, then next season bodes incredibly well.
It’s technically Friday so I’ll have a pint of Tanglefoot and a Jameson chaser.
How much more bad luck will we get with injuries????? Starting to get the raging zig with it all. Just as we start to get players back we go and lose a load more.
A pint of Old Thumper please, with a pint of Old Thumper chaser…..