gunna be a tough, tough game with our unbeaten record on the line! hahahaha gunna be a great game - the last time we see keown in a arsenal shirt *sobs* i hope for a grrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaatttttt turn up tonight player wise - with wright, overmars, gascoigne, beckham amongst the big names mentioned a sell out which is the first i can remember for a testimonial
Beckham just got red carded in the 38th minute tonight. Glad to see that as he'll have a bit more energy to play tomorrow. By the way, I'm almost positive that the last testimonial (which was for Tony Adams) was a sell out as well.
It was a sellout, I actually saw that one. For the last 5 minutes all you heard was "One more year." It was pretty cool as Paddy played even though France didn't want him to, and TA got substituted about 2 minutes from the end handing him the armband. Tomorrow will be cool though, I hope Wrighty scores.
As was Daveid Seamans and Lee Dixon's. Actually most recent testimonials at Arsenal have been a sell out due to the fact everyone gets to see Wrighty in an Arsenal shirt again!! Wonder which side Beckham will play on - England captaining his country, or Arsenal his future club..............
Beckham got a warm reception from the Highbury crowd...too bad Real Madrid wanted to spoil the party. I don't see Beckham staying at Real Madrid. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/headlinenews?id=300992&cc=5901
I like the announcement - Beckham's representatives blamed Real. Oh well, it's good that he showed up regardless. I would think Becks is really pissing the Real execs off. I see him in a Blue Shirt next season. A small chance in the Red & White - part of Beck's trip is to have talks with Chelsea and Arsenal but we'll see what happens. Anyhow, back to the testimonial - looks like it was fun game. Also there looked to be hint's of a Reyes-Aliadiere partnership eh? Anyone who attended the game live. Please post and tell us what you thought of the game!
The game was a perfect ending to this long party weekend. Seeing Ian Wright in the Arsenal colours again is worth the price of admission. Before the kickoff he swapped shirts with Henry... very funny. Too bad he couldn't stick one in the back of the net; he missed an absolute sitter. Lots of flicks & tricks. Final score was 6-0! Some highlights... - Ash scored on very neat back heal. If you remember Zola's goal against Norwich a few years back in the FA Cup it was like that... he was cutting toward the net, the ball was a bit behind him, so he flicks it with his trailing leg right between his legs and into the far corner of the net. - Gazza still has some amazing skills. They say he wants to play again, but I just don't see it happening. Quite a shame he never had his head on straight. - Lee Dixon started at right back. He still looks like he could be playing. - David Seaman was the manager of the England side. - Our 3 Musketeers had to leave after 15 minutes to jet off to Paris for the France v. Brazil game on Thursday. Still, it was very cool that they were there. - Martin did everything he could to score, but it just wasn't meant to be. Edu drew a penalty in the first half and of course Martin took it. He didn't place it too badly, but the keeper guessed right and made the save. Keown actually got to the rebound and got it back on goal, but had a tough angle and it was easily saved. He had another decent chance in the 2nd half on a great through ball from Bergkamp, but the keeper made a great save. - Aliadiare had 2 goals. The first was a typical Bergkamp gem - he put him through 1-on-1 with the keeper with a side foot pass from behind the halfway line and then Aliadiare sidestepped the 'keeper and put it in the open net. The second was an overhead kick on a cross from Reyes. He probably should have a 3rd, but who's complaining. - Reyes got the hat trick in the 2nd half. The first was from another great through ball from... do I really need to say who? The second was a rocket from the edge of the area with his weaker right foot. The 3rd was a nice goal... Keown played a lovely 60 yard ball down the right wing to Overmars (oh yeah, he was there and looking very good), who then cut it back to the trailing Reyes who moved it over to his left foot and put an unstoppable shot in the top corner. - Ian Wright came back on late in the game for the England side to play with his adopted son, Shawn Wright-Phillips. Some funny scenes between the 2 of them when SWP failed to pick him out with a pass and shot instead. - Some nice youngsters to see in there... Senderos at right back and Svard in midfield. Both looked good. I was surprised by Svard's comfort on the ball and general awareness of what's going on around him on the pitch. I know this is not really a game you can judge by, but there was just something about the way he looked... very sharp. Bentley (along with Parlour) played for the England side. - Some conspicuous by their absence... No Wiltord (no surprise), no Kanu (not much of surprise), and no Pennant (Svard was out on loan and was back for this game, but not Pennant... hmmmm). - Nice little feature at the back of the programme with hand written notes from all the guys on the team. Ashley Cole's note: "To The Man. There's only one Keown... Thank God for that!!" - Lap of honour at the end and all that was very emotional. We'll miss him for sure next season. As I said, it was a very nice night and a great finish to the season (I can't believe it's over until next August ). I'll post a link to some pictures once I've had a chance to upload them.
i wonder why tony adams wasnt there! seaman, dixon and winterburn were but no adams! but ******** me what an atmosphere, were u there vavavoom? ive never felt anything like it
Of course I was there. Wouldn't miss it for the world! I was hoping that Adams was going to make an appearance. I was kinda disappointed when Paul Davis came on wearing the #6 shirt. That's when I knew we weren't going to see TA again. Something tells me that it's important to him to never put on the Arsenal shirt again. I'm sure he still loves the club, but given his life, I think he really makes a concerted effort to look forward and not back.
I'm just watching the reply of the game tonight and had to relay what was a very funny part of the game. When Edu drew the penalty, the entire place started chanting for Keown to go up and take it. However, he was very reluctant and had to be coaxed by Bergkamp. After the penalty (and rebound) was saved and Keown had returned to his defensive position at the north end of the pitch, the North Bank started to get on him... "That's why you're a centre half, that's why you're a centre half" Keown just started laughing and then turned round and clapped the crowd. With all the tension of the championship run-in and then keeping the unbeaten streak alive, it's so nice to see everyone lighten up and enjoy themselves.
Great post, Triple V...really helped capture the spirit of the event. I was tryin' to explain the whole concept of a testimonial to a guy I work with, a soccer fan, actually...and I just started laughing. Keown clears nearly $1 million...Beckham flies in and plays for 3 minutes...the sheer talent on the pitch...seeing Overdrive in an Arsenal uni again...the fans in great voice...Henry and Wright together, with each other's shirts. Man that sounds like an amazing time!
The atomsphere was fantastic, i can't get to every game because i'm not a season ticket holder but that games i have been to this season were easily over-shadowed in terms of snoise by yesterday's match. I think the club really need to have a look at the eating plans at AG to allow groups of friends to sit together or have a singing section. The crowd really burst into life in the second half, and the entire Northbank were up on their feet (which is a rarity) to sing "we're the Northbank......", in fact the whole stadium was a wall of noise leading up to Reyes' second goal. Absolutely brillant!
yeah i was in the northbank - that bit was brilliant coz everyone forgot that there was a game on and just got lost in chanting to each other! before lastnight the best atmosphere id ever felt was at arsenal 3-0 spurs game! this just pissed over that!
I agree about the atmosphere, I know there was no pressure on us ....still unbeaten though But I think it was down to the fact that they were all REAL fans, not the champagne supporters we normally get for big games. great to see so many young fans there, just like the old days. Thought the funniest part of the night was when Keown missed the penalty, and the crowd sang ' that's why you're a center half ' great night though and nice to see some old faces.including a much bigger Perry Groves in the half time celebs match.
Highlights from the game: Parlour and Wright wrestling each other to the ground early on. Wright missing a sitter in front of the Clock End and getting a chant of "What the f***ing hell was that?" from the crowd. Winning 6-0! Seeing some old favourites: Wright, Limpar, Overmas, Perry Groves (He's a big lad now!), Dixon, Winterburn, Davis, Thomas. The North Bank and Clock End trying to out-sing each other. It seemed to go on for ages, must have been at least 15 minutes of it. Reyes' hat-trick. Any time Bergkamp is on the field. Wrighty giving Shaun Wright-Phillips stick for shooting and not playing the old man in on goal. Wright and Henry's shirt swap. Getting to see some youngsters: Hoyte, Bentley, Senderos, Svard. Senderos particularly impressed me.