We've had the lion's share of possession in the first half without creating many clear-cut chances. Charlton are working really hard to keep us at bay, I think this will tell in the second half. Their penalty was a complete dive by Holland, but what goes around comes around. That's the leveller for Pires against Portsmouth. I was disappointed to see Gilberto in the side instead of Edu and I would like to see him subbed at half-time. He's the weak link in the team at the moment.
Looks like we have two threads on this. Can one of the mods merge them? Also I was following Arsenal radio for a bit, but figured I'll just wait until later to find out the end result. However you can go to Sky Sports, Arsenal, or ESPN.com to watch live text.
1-1 Loads of possession, no cutting edge. Same bollocks, different day. Kanu wastes the best chance of the second half when shooting from on the bye-line instead of pulling it back to one of four waiting team-mates.
Oh well... Can't win every match. I followed the match online via live text. Sounds like not a very thrilling match. At least we got to share the points and didn't take a lose like MANURE.....HAHAHAHA!
Not a thrilling match by any stretch. In the 2nd half, Pires ran out of gas and Freddie never perked up. Was this our killer reaction to the loss in Kiev? I hate when Wenger calls for blood, we always look flat in response. Credit to Charlton for attacking until the end. The last ten or so minutes was wide open, but no one on our side could supply the killer pass. It was the same old show today--Henry was the only one looking to score. DB10 was awful. He hung back in midfield and got knocked off the ball over and over. Our defense looked relatively solid without being intimidating. Paolo di Canio and Jason Euell both worked their socks off. While the penalty was a cheap slap in the face, they probably deserved to score.
i don't care about this at least we got points cuz man u didn't, is anyone else tired of not being about to beat the teams we should be beating? this is what lost it for us at the end of the season last year.
Only seen the 2nd half so far, but, we were pants. Defence was fairly solid, except when Charlton lofted a ball into the middle of our penalty box. We looked like chickens with the heads cut off. A better team would have punished us! We were universally woeful through the middle. After that wonderful goal at 'The Pool' it won't be popular to single out Bob, but for me he is currently our major problem. He is killing us in attack. Every time he gets the ball we grind to a halt. Before his injury he would nearly always take the ball on the run and keep the attack moving forward. It was the trademark of everything good about this side; attacking football that was too fast for opposing teams to live with. Now he either takes the ball stationary or immediately checks back when he receives it, frequently with the result that the oppositon are on him before he's made his mind up what to do! The last few games we have never been slower going forward. At this rate we will be grinding our way to the title George Graham style; one draw and 1-0 win at a time!!! Not that he does much with the ball when he gets it, but Wiltord looked bright when he came on (yes I'll give credit where credit is due). He was at least making runs and providing options - if anyone in midfield cared to exploit them. Kanu was looking for the ball and looked more likely to do something than most of the starters. Lauren has continued to play well. Again not one of my favs, he was more effective than midfield going forward and pretty solid at the back. I don't know if the lack of left side coverage in the England team has affected Ashley's confidence, but, he seems weaker going forward this season. It's like we've caught England's left side virus??? I know the talk has been about the attackers and defenders we can't afford to buy in January, but, the middle is currently where everything is breaking down, and as good as Paddy is his absence should not be this profound??? Come on you Gunners!!!
Re: 1-1 I think it was Bergkamp who wasted a good chance. Henry passes the ball to Bergkamp in the box and instead of shooting, Bergkamp passes it back to Henry. Chance wasted as Charlton clear it out. Would've been nice to get the full 3 points out of it and extend our lead over Chelsea and ManUre. But oh well, a point is a point I suppose.
I actually caught this game on Fox Sports Espanol. I've seen our side play better, but Charlton played well and deserved the point. I haven't heard anyone mention this but Henry's free kick was fantastic. We looked decent in the back, disorganized at times but could not control the ball through midfield. Kanu i think played well, although he's not the most skilled player on our roster he runs his ass off and i heard his name mentioned more than anyone elses listening to the spanish broadcast. Not our best game so i'm happy with the point.
I'm not nearly as glum as you lot this morning. I think that's because I respect Charlton more, especially at their house. They're well organized throughout the pitch and have great team spirit. On our end, Pires is still not on full-steam. Hard to say why but whether he is pulling out of tackles or holding the ball too long he is hurting our attack on that side. Freddy looks like he is still recovering. Dennis looked old(er). Gilberto? Meh... But Henry's mazy runs were brilliant. Parlour was excellent, both in the tackle and when passing. Cole was good in attack, but almost served up a gift with a downward(!) header in our own box. Campbell, Toure, and Lauren were solid...enough that Lehmann had little to do. So I'll take the point and be glad our good start continues.
I got three things from the match... 1.) an utter dive by holland in the box.. it happens in football and i really can not blame the refs decision.. 2.)Henry's free kick is one of the better ones i've seen him hit.. the goalie had that post covered and he still buried it. .what a wicked curve on that ball!! 3.) I thought di Canio was very inspiring for the addicks as he worked extremely hard and the penalty was pure class... thought we really didnt deserve a draw but top of the table at the end of the day~~ phishy~
I agree that overall the defense look solid--except as someone mentioned on the flighted balls over the top, up the middle of the field. From the run of play, two times we seemed very disorganized and nearly gave up what would have been the winning goal--especially the ball served in from the left. Both Campbell and Toure let it run through to Lehmann, who was still on his line. When did Bergkamp get so old? He made some passes out to the flank, but never made the type of move that broke down the defense or opened things up for Henry. To me, Kanu was Kanu. He has some great moves on the ball--he totally jocked the Charlton left back--but then what? So rarely does anything come out of it. (Near post with the keeper guarding the near post!) The penalty was cheap, but we've certainly benefited from similar referee largesse. Finally, what could Charlton's defense have been thinking in the first half allowing Henry to dribble with the ball just outside the 18? Almost a goal on the shot AND the rebound.