http://www.soccernet.com/championsleague/news/2002/0925/20020925afchenry.html Thierry Henry calls for an investigation after he was pelted with debris while taking a corner and subjected to racist taunts. The referee collected coins and lighters as evidence.
Happy or sad? Dammit, I sure picked a hell of a season to move away from my sisters house and into my own place. What with school and all I find it pretty hard to get over to her house and use the cable TV. I'm missing one of the finest teams Arsenal have ever fielded. Bittersweet to say the least.
Fastest Arsenal.com is calling Gilberto's goal the fastest ever in Champs League, eclipsing Alessandro Del Piero's previous record by five hundredths of a second. http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q566139E1
I believe PSV are a quality side and were thrown off by the quick goal. Suddenly they were pushing more men forward to make up the goal and they went further behind. They were forced to leave the defense vulnerable to a counter and got beat up by a superb Arsenal display. If you watched AC Milan and Coruna it ended 4-0 in almost the same fashion. Did the Gunners score 4 goals in all games in all rounds combined last year? Probably not. It sounds like an overall good showing as Seaman stepped up, Cygan and Gilberto show off as the new boys and even Kanu gets in the act. Its good to be a Gunner.
Rather be lucky than good, better yet, both No question this was our most assured performance on the road in the CL to date, but I hesitate to gush about the performance. It was not until the last 10 minutes of the match that we began to move the ball around the pitch with the type of crisp passing and swagger that are the hallmarks of an Arsenal team on song. I thought PSV dominated the first half and we were lucky to go in at half a goal ahead. PSV came out in the second half a bit flat and after a good chance for Sylvia to make it 2 - nil, Freddie put in what can only be described as a half chance with a superb finish. As I said before, the last two goals came from the type of open play that we will need to produce for 90 minutes against the stronger sides. There is a good editorial on the Arsenalamerica site about what makes a great team - talent. I have no doubt that talent is the most important factor, but lets not discount the importance of luck and good fortune in any championship run. Arsenal have been hard done by in the past on their travels in the CL and gave a good (not great) performance today that turned into a romp with a dose of luck.
Well done! High fives to allayouse! http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Photo/competitions/UCL/35420_400X600.jpg
Now, now, don't get silly. We scored 4 against Leverkusen at home. I thought last night that the spine of our team was outstanding. Seaman had a good game in goal, Cygan was excellent when he replaced Keown, Pat dominated the midfield and Henry was brilliant, a threat throughout the game. I know we got the early goal, but I thought PSV were unlucky not to have gone in at the break at least level. Our full-backs were getting skinned all the time and PSV's pressing game stopped us getting our passing rythm together. Whatever Wenger said at half-time obviously worked as we took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half and punished PSV for any mistake they made. Add to the four goals good chances for Wiltord and Gilbert and it could have been a bigger victory. I was glad to see Henry being clinical in front of goal too, his two finishes were real strikers goals. This has possibly been all he has been missing up to now and we need him to take his chances if we are to put in realistic challenges in the championship and Champions League. If Cygan can play like that every week, I can't see Keown getting his place back any time soon. It was a big test to come on early in the game away from home in the Champions League, but he passed it with flying colours. His composure on the ball is something that neither Campbell or Keown have. I've heard he's a bit slow, PSV didn't take advantage of that last night, we'll have to see how he gets on against the likes of Owen, but it was a good performance.
I didn't watch the game, but I watched the goals. On all four, their defense looked pathetic. Guys just standing around hoping someone else will challenge or make a tackle. Not that I'm complaining, but if that's the best defense in Holland than I think it says a lot about their league and the kind of team we played yesterday. It sounded like their midfield played well, but their defense is crap.
Let's also bear in mind that PSV lost defensive anchor Kevin Hofland to an injury just before halftime. From there on in, Arsenal's front 6 were all over the Eindhoven defense.