the sbs studio here in australia was full of more passion, mainly over offsides, then the last 30 minutes of the match.
that shot was humourous... i also like jose mari's replacement (franco).. was he even on the pitch? you talk about an absolute lack of striker play from villarreal.
And it’s 1-0 to Arsenal. It leaves the whole thing still open, but after watching this rather poor Villarreal team I feel more confident going to the final with our 1-0 lead than I felt going to the semis with our 2-0 against Juventus. I can see why they are sitting in eight place in their domestic league. We shouldn’t have much of a problem going through. An away goal in Spain should wrap it up but I have a feeling that won’t even be necessary. Arsenal were a bit disappointing for the first half hour, but from then on we played quite well. We should have scored another one or two, and Villarreal never did anything creative. Also, I feel the need to note Villarreal put Spanish football down today with their blatant cheating.
Gil had a great game, but Kolo's MOTM- ran the defense and scored the goal and was impressive on both ends. Great game, Gunners- on to Spain to finish it off, after a little "light work" (and a 3-0 win) this weekend. Only thing that really concerns me is that our captain seems to be taking it easy again. I hope he proves that I'm an idiot for saying that in the next two games.
Re: Gilberto rules There was a (uncalled) hand ball against the VR player immediately preceding the foul. Watch it again, you'll see. Gilberto = MOTM. Hleb was excellent, too. Weird that Lehmann chose to punch that Riquelme free kick instead of catching. He almost punched it right into the back of Senderos's head -- good thing he ducked.
On that note...Bluto started the matchday thread for this game. Time for a new one for a little game coming up next.
Good stuff today! I'm still not feeling fully comfortable that we are safe, but no away goal and a 1-0 advantage sounds good for now. Lehman was great again today. Cesc had good control, but we really didn't play a lot of good stuff up from the mid. Seems like everyone had good and bad bursts today. Defense overall was good. So we will see how the next round goes.
Yes, i think Henry may have not look to have THAT much energy but i think he may have been slightly fatigued. Think about it. He has been playing alot lately. I wonder if he will play on Saturday or be a sub.
I'm I sick in the head or what? Shouldn't I be overjoyed that we won the 1st leg of the Semis of the CL??? I'm pleased, but not insane with joy. We should have scored 1 more goal, then I would been quite secure. Gilberto was great vs. Riquelme and for that GS was my MOTM. Mad Jens made a couple of big saves (2nd); like saving Senderos's bacon by coming waaaaaaaaaaaay outside of his box to kick it out of play.
Two things going into the next leg, both Toure and Flamini are on Yellows. That could be dangerous. That said we seemed to play a decent match, next Tuesday will be interesting.
I think a 1-0 lead going into Saturday's derby before the trip to Spain will keep us in the right frame of mind. If we can get a victory on Saturday it'll boost us even more, leading into the final few fixtures which will be crucial in locking down 4th and hopefully advancing to the CL final.
Re: Gilberto rules That shot came screamin in and I imagine Lehmann was just trying to get it out of the box and not risk a bobble.
shady offsides calls and a few poor shots in the second half. gilberto (top of the box) and henry (left foot, right at the keeper) both had excellent chances that could have been goals. let's have another clean sheet and i'll have my dream final.
I think Cannon is all mixed up. Billy started the last thread, but it was then edited so as not to ruin the 'surprise' that the Gunners beat Juve.
Re: Gilberto rules That's just silly. WHO gave Hleb the ball he slid in for Toure to direct home? WHO put several wonderful crosses from the by-line begging to be touched home? That wasn't Hleb who had a great match, but Hnery who had a wonderful team goal taken down - which WAS Cesc's single biggest contribution but not Henry's. Selling Vieira WAS a mistake that we might have gotten away with. Selling Henry the same way and dismissing the impact would be scandalous management by Wenger and/or the Arsenal Board. And Henry's finishing was terrible? Had a perfectly good goal dis-allowed and very nearly scored a true wonder goal right out of the "Joga Bonita" ads and had maybe two other chances he could have done a bit better with. He could could have done better but wasn't terrible.
Like Wenger said, we played this home tie like a Premiership match. I couldn't believe how much we hounded their midfield. We never let them have time and space on the ball, repeatedly double and triple teaming Riquelme and Sorin. Well done, boys.
Oh, you're always starting something. And now you're trying to do it again!! You Chicagoans are just out-of-control!!