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fgl
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Henry plays down altercation with Kirkland
Arsenal 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Barclays Premiership
Emirates Stadium
Sun, Feb 11, 2007, 4pm
By Richard Clarke
Thierry Henry has dismissed his altercation with Chris Kirkland as “funny”.
The Arsenal captain exchanged words with the Wigan keeper when Fitz Hall turned the ball into his own net with nine minutes to go at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
It brought the scores level at 1-1. Before that, Henry believed Kirkland had been time-wasting to protect his side’s one-goal lead. Tempers flared temporarily but, at full time, both players were happy to leave their argument on the pitch.
“Kirkland started to waste time from the first minute on,” said Henry. “I do not know if you can call that fair play or not.
“It was one of the games where I ran the most because I wanted to get the ball back from him. There was a funny side to it. We were laughing about it but, at the same time, it was a bit annoying aswell.
“He just said to me: `Come on Thierry what do you want me to do?’ and I said: 'Yes, but not from the first minute’. I don’t know how many times he went from right to left and left to right. Jens did it once and he took a yellow.
“However at the end of the game it was fine. I shook Kirkland’s hand and said ‘I’m sorry but I have to say you kind of wasted time from the first minute’.”
Arsenal 2-1 Wigan Athletic
Barclays Premiership
Emirates Stadium
Sun, Feb 11, 2007, 4pm
By Richard Clarke
Thierry Henry has dismissed his altercation with Chris Kirkland as “funny”.
The Arsenal captain exchanged words with the Wigan keeper when Fitz Hall turned the ball into his own net with nine minutes to go at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
It brought the scores level at 1-1. Before that, Henry believed Kirkland had been time-wasting to protect his side’s one-goal lead. Tempers flared temporarily but, at full time, both players were happy to leave their argument on the pitch.
“Kirkland started to waste time from the first minute on,” said Henry. “I do not know if you can call that fair play or not.
“It was one of the games where I ran the most because I wanted to get the ball back from him. There was a funny side to it. We were laughing about it but, at the same time, it was a bit annoying aswell.
“He just said to me: `Come on Thierry what do you want me to do?’ and I said: 'Yes, but not from the first minute’. I don’t know how many times he went from right to left and left to right. Jens did it once and he took a yellow.
“However at the end of the game it was fine. I shook Kirkland’s hand and said ‘I’m sorry but I have to say you kind of wasted time from the first minute’.”
Henry labelled football's disingenuous genius
Posted to the Web: Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Thierry Henry has it all. He is charming, urbane, intelligent, good-looking and obscenely talented. To many, he is the nicest man in football. So why has his behaviour become so infantile? Henry is football’s disingenuous genius. His conduct yesMonday, when he goaded Chris Kirkland after Arsenal’s equaliser against Wigan, a reaction to Kirkland’s timewasting, was reprehensible in the extreme. As well as being embarrassingly undignified— this was Wigan at home, not the Champions League final, for heaven’s sake- it was also the second time Henry has pulled this stunt in recent weeks, having done something similar to Manchester United’s Gary Neville. There are some things you just do not do on a football field, things that shatter the sense of fellowship, however slender, that should always permeate a sporting contest: spitting, going over the top -and goading someone who has just conceded a goal. It is one of football’s unspoken laws: schadenfreude is not for sharing.
Goalscorers often say that, in the 10-second window after scoring, they do not know where they are; that they lose it completely. The same applies to those who concede. If scoring a goal is comparable to sex, then how can we qualify conceding a goal? Like coitus interruptus? Like seeing your loved one in an intimate pose with another? What is irrefutable is that, with the exception of serious injury, it is the worst, most numbing sensation that can be experienced on a football field and as such the sufferers should be afforded some respect. That 10-second window is a no-go zone, a line you do not cross. Henry’s antics were the football equivalent of trying to start a fight at a funeral.
The unacceptable nature of Henry’s behaviour is confirmed by the paucity of precedents. John Aldridge scrubbed Brian Laws’s hair after the latter had scored an own goal in the replayed FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989; a year earlier Nigel Winterburn screamed deliriously in the face of Brian McClair after McClair lashed a last-minute penalty over the bar at Highbury. That was the catalyst for an antipathy between Arsenal and Manchester United that peaked at Old Trafford 15 years later when Martin Keown decided to inform Ruud van Nistelrooy that he had just missed a last-minute penalty, just in case he hadn’t realised.
It is frequently said that, because Henry is one of the world’s best players, he does not need to resort to such juvenile behaviour. That is irrelevant: it would be equally repugnant coming from Robbie Savage or Joey Barton. But everybody seems surprised by Henry’s no-more-Mr-Nice-Guy attitude. In reality, these antics are nothing new; Henry has always been a politician off the field and a law unto himself on it. In 2001 he had to be physically restrained from having a pop at the referee Graham Poll after a defeat to Newcastle.
Last May he made a complete fool of himself during and after the Champions League final, missing the sort of one-on-one he usually puts away in his sleep and then blaming the referee for Arsenal’s defeat during a farcically irrational rant. And he is prone to rail against diving one minute and feel his legs turn to jelly the next.
Even allowing for that, the incidents are becoming alarmingly commonplace. This season he has been an intoxicating concoction of brilliance and petulance. After the World Cup, one French team-mate referred witheringly to Henry’s “enormous melon”. He then went out of his way to try to undermine Arsène Wenger after being left out of the match against Spurs in December, before appearing on the touchline to celebrate Emmanuel Adebayor’s opening goal in a gesture so excruciatingly self-serving, so transparently phony, that even a teenager would have baulked at it.
Since then we have had the incidents with Neville and Kirkland. As the likes of Roger Federer, Andrew Flintoff and Tiger Woods have shown, greatness in sport is defined by so much more than performance.
Perhaps all this is a manifestation of Henry’s frustration at his decision to reject Barcelona in May, the angst of a man who erroneously chose to stay in an increasingly loveless marriage and now has no way out. Perhaps he is the rich man’s Matt Le Tissier, a big fish who does not have the bottle or inclination to jump into a bigger pond, and resents his weakness. Perhaps he is just getting old and grumpy.
Perhaps it’s just the way he has to be. The cliché goes that, if you took the fire from Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney’s belly, they would not be the same player. The same arguably applies to Henry’s arrogance. But that does not mean we should excuse it. Henry has spent years trying to change the perception that he is a big_game bottler. Yesterday, he nailed the one about him being the nicest guy in football once and for all.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/sports/february07/14022007/sp514022007.html
Finally someone realises how class-less Henry is.. wahaah.. nice read for both Arsenal fans and Arsenal haters
Posted to the Web: Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Thierry Henry has it all. He is charming, urbane, intelligent, good-looking and obscenely talented. To many, he is the nicest man in football. So why has his behaviour become so infantile? Henry is football’s disingenuous genius. His conduct yesMonday, when he goaded Chris Kirkland after Arsenal’s equaliser against Wigan, a reaction to Kirkland’s timewasting, was reprehensible in the extreme. As well as being embarrassingly undignified— this was Wigan at home, not the Champions League final, for heaven’s sake- it was also the second time Henry has pulled this stunt in recent weeks, having done something similar to Manchester United’s Gary Neville. There are some things you just do not do on a football field, things that shatter the sense of fellowship, however slender, that should always permeate a sporting contest: spitting, going over the top -and goading someone who has just conceded a goal. It is one of football’s unspoken laws: schadenfreude is not for sharing.
Goalscorers often say that, in the 10-second window after scoring, they do not know where they are; that they lose it completely. The same applies to those who concede. If scoring a goal is comparable to sex, then how can we qualify conceding a goal? Like coitus interruptus? Like seeing your loved one in an intimate pose with another? What is irrefutable is that, with the exception of serious injury, it is the worst, most numbing sensation that can be experienced on a football field and as such the sufferers should be afforded some respect. That 10-second window is a no-go zone, a line you do not cross. Henry’s antics were the football equivalent of trying to start a fight at a funeral.
The unacceptable nature of Henry’s behaviour is confirmed by the paucity of precedents. John Aldridge scrubbed Brian Laws’s hair after the latter had scored an own goal in the replayed FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in 1989; a year earlier Nigel Winterburn screamed deliriously in the face of Brian McClair after McClair lashed a last-minute penalty over the bar at Highbury. That was the catalyst for an antipathy between Arsenal and Manchester United that peaked at Old Trafford 15 years later when Martin Keown decided to inform Ruud van Nistelrooy that he had just missed a last-minute penalty, just in case he hadn’t realised.
It is frequently said that, because Henry is one of the world’s best players, he does not need to resort to such juvenile behaviour. That is irrelevant: it would be equally repugnant coming from Robbie Savage or Joey Barton. But everybody seems surprised by Henry’s no-more-Mr-Nice-Guy attitude. In reality, these antics are nothing new; Henry has always been a politician off the field and a law unto himself on it. In 2001 he had to be physically restrained from having a pop at the referee Graham Poll after a defeat to Newcastle.
Last May he made a complete fool of himself during and after the Champions League final, missing the sort of one-on-one he usually puts away in his sleep and then blaming the referee for Arsenal’s defeat during a farcically irrational rant. And he is prone to rail against diving one minute and feel his legs turn to jelly the next.
Even allowing for that, the incidents are becoming alarmingly commonplace. This season he has been an intoxicating concoction of brilliance and petulance. After the World Cup, one French team-mate referred witheringly to Henry’s “enormous melon”. He then went out of his way to try to undermine Arsène Wenger after being left out of the match against Spurs in December, before appearing on the touchline to celebrate Emmanuel Adebayor’s opening goal in a gesture so excruciatingly self-serving, so transparently phony, that even a teenager would have baulked at it.
Since then we have had the incidents with Neville and Kirkland. As the likes of Roger Federer, Andrew Flintoff and Tiger Woods have shown, greatness in sport is defined by so much more than performance.
Perhaps all this is a manifestation of Henry’s frustration at his decision to reject Barcelona in May, the angst of a man who erroneously chose to stay in an increasingly loveless marriage and now has no way out. Perhaps he is the rich man’s Matt Le Tissier, a big fish who does not have the bottle or inclination to jump into a bigger pond, and resents his weakness. Perhaps he is just getting old and grumpy.
Perhaps it’s just the way he has to be. The cliché goes that, if you took the fire from Steven Gerrard or Wayne Rooney’s belly, they would not be the same player. The same arguably applies to Henry’s arrogance. But that does not mean we should excuse it. Henry has spent years trying to change the perception that he is a big_game bottler. Yesterday, he nailed the one about him being the nicest guy in football once and for all.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/sports/february07/14022007/sp514022007.html
Finally someone realises how class-less Henry is.. wahaah.. nice read for both Arsenal fans and Arsenal haters
fgl
Well-known member
Ljungberg and Hleb back in the squad for Bolton trip
Bolton Wanderers v Arsenal
FA Cup Round 4
Reebok Stadium
Wed, Feb 14, 2007, 8.05pm
By Richard Clarke
Freddie Ljungberg and Alex Hleb have recovered from injury and are named in the Arsenal squad for the trip to Bolton on Wednesday.
The Swedish midfielder has been absent with a hamstring strain for nearly two months while the Belarus winger picked up a similar problem in the Carling Cup Semi-Final first leg on January 24.
Johan Djourou is available despite suffering a nasty bang on the nose in the 2-1 win at Wigan on Sunday. However Mathieu Flamini is out with an ankle problem. Wenger will leave out Jens Lehmann and Thierry Henry but, aside from that, Arsenal will be at full strength.
“I will rest Lehmann, because Almunia plays, and Henry,” Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Tuesday afternoon. “But everyone else will play.
“Djourou is available. Freddie Ljungberg and Alex Hleb are back in the squad for Bolton but Eboue and Gallas are still not ready. Flamini is out with an ankle problem.”
Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to see the full video interview on Wednesday morning. In it, the Arsenal manager talks about: the fallout from the Wigan game, accommodating the FA Cup in a hectic schedule, whether the Bolton bogey exists, Nicolas Anelka and the form of Gael Clichy.
10/1 - Tomas Rosicky to open the scoring against Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers v Arsenal
FA Cup Round 4
Reebok Stadium
Wed, Feb 14, 2007, 8.05pm
By Richard Clarke
Freddie Ljungberg and Alex Hleb have recovered from injury and are named in the Arsenal squad for the trip to Bolton on Wednesday.
The Swedish midfielder has been absent with a hamstring strain for nearly two months while the Belarus winger picked up a similar problem in the Carling Cup Semi-Final first leg on January 24.
Johan Djourou is available despite suffering a nasty bang on the nose in the 2-1 win at Wigan on Sunday. However Mathieu Flamini is out with an ankle problem. Wenger will leave out Jens Lehmann and Thierry Henry but, aside from that, Arsenal will be at full strength.
“I will rest Lehmann, because Almunia plays, and Henry,” Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Tuesday afternoon. “But everyone else will play.
“Djourou is available. Freddie Ljungberg and Alex Hleb are back in the squad for Bolton but Eboue and Gallas are still not ready. Flamini is out with an ankle problem.”
Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to see the full video interview on Wednesday morning. In it, the Arsenal manager talks about: the fallout from the Wigan game, accommodating the FA Cup in a hectic schedule, whether the Bolton bogey exists, Nicolas Anelka and the form of Gael Clichy.
10/1 - Tomas Rosicky to open the scoring against Bolton Wanderers
fgl
Well-known member
imcorn - the Henry article... no doubt written by the many anti Arsenal spin doctors in the market to sell papers, etc....
Referances were made to many AFC past players ... what about OTHER team examples or the events leading up to them? It's a veiled aticle to say the least...
I glad Henry doesnt go around maiming players for life like Roy Keane...
we all know what some Manu U players do as well ... so.... it's like pot calling the kettle black...
Other than that..its just a storm in a teacup
Referances were made to many AFC past players ... what about OTHER team examples or the events leading up to them? It's a veiled aticle to say the least...
I glad Henry doesnt go around maiming players for life like Roy Keane...
we all know what some Manu U players do as well ... so.... it's like pot calling the kettle black...
Other than that..its just a storm in a teacup
yellowStrat
New member
wooit....
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!!
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!
WHEN THE REDS GO MARCHING HO HO HO!!!!!!
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!!
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!
WHEN THE REDS GO MARCHING HO HO HO!!!!!!
distorted_soul
New member
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED,
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED,
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED,
AS THE REDS GO MARCHING ON ON ON!
:twisted: <---- RED DEVIL lol
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED,
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED,
AS THE REDS GO MARCHING ON ON ON!
:twisted: <---- RED DEVIL lol
killinghall
New member
It's 4:22a.m. and Adebayor SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:lol:
:lol:
killinghall
New member
Ljungberg SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
killinghall
New member
ADEBAYOR SCORES AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!
killinghall
New member
ARSENAL ARE THROUGH!!!!!!!!!!
Who needs penalties?
And Bolton are cheats, what with Campo sticking a leg out and diving! I'd like to see Fat Sam condemn such an antic.
Who needs penalties?
And Bolton are cheats, what with Campo sticking a leg out and diving! I'd like to see Fat Sam condemn such an antic.
fgl
Well-known member
Match Report
FA Cup Round 4
Reebok Stadium
Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 8.05pm
Bolton Wanderers1Meite 90
Arsenal3Adebayor 13, 120, Ljungberg 109
By Richard Clarke
Bang goes the Bolton bogey.
Arsenal have endured some torrid afternoons at the Reebok Stadium but, on Wednesday evening, they produced a performance of guts and determination win a simply incredible FA Cup Fourth replay.
The deciding goal was struck by Freddie Ljungberg 13 minutes from the end of extra time. The Swede, returning from two months out with a hamstring injury, raced clear after excellent work by Jeremie Aliadiere and steered a wonderful shot into the far corner of the net.
Emmanuel Adebayor’s deflected shot had put Arsenal ahead in the 13th minute and, right until the final seconds of normal time, the visitors looked like they were going through.
Even when Gilberto missed a penalty midway through the second half and Adebayor sidefooted a simple chance against the five minutes from time, they seemed set to cling on.
However in the dying seconds Abdoulaye Meite scrambled the ball in from close range to send the tie into extra time.
Ljungberg’s goal seemed to finally extinguish the life from Sam Allardyce’s side. But much of the drama was still to come. In the dying minutes, Tal Ben Haim was sent off for his second booking and Julio Baptista managed to miss another spot kick and then Adebayor added a third goal.
It was a mad. mad night of football. But the end result sees Arsenal march into the Fifth Round. They now play Blackburn on Saturday at Emirates Stadium.
With games coming thick and fast, Wenger had already said he would rotate his side. As a result, Jens Lehmann, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas were left at home. The fit-again Ljungberg only made the bench but Alex Hleb was restored to the right-hand side of midfield. Gilberto filled in centre back and Johan Djourou was moved to right back. Abou Diaby and Denilson were paired together in central midfield.
Bolton started the bravado their record against Arsenal merited but, for once, Wenger’s men wrestled the initiative from them almost immediately.
In the eighth minute, Rosicky tricked himself enough space to fire a snap shot just wide. The Czech midfielder would go on to have a fine half but his part in Arsenal’s 13th-minute opener was cursory.
Hleb, Denilson and Adebayor combined on the right then Rosicky’s miscued flick deflected off Ivan Campo for the Togolese striker just outside the area. If that sounds like fortune had already favoured Arsenal then more was to come. Adebayor’s shot deflected off Stelios then bounced up and over the stranded Jussi Jaasklainen.
It was proving to be an open game with Arsenal breaking at lightning speed. One such foray in the 25th minute saw Rosicky curl a low cross to the far post. It found Baptista rushing in but the Brazilian made a horrible hash of his effort.
Bolton were struggling to get going. For once it was they who were trailing to Arsenal at the Reebok and, in the first half-hour, they did little to bring Almunia into the action. At the same time they were terribly troubled by the visitors’ counter attacks.
Baptista’s low shot and Gilberto far post header suggested more goals were coming from Arsenal. However Bolton were bound to stir at some point.
The moment arrived two minutes before half time. Andranik Taymourian’s goalbound shot hit Stelios on the edge of the six-yard box. The Greek midfielder recovered, collected, swivelled and thumped a rasping shot against the post. The ball rebounded high into the area and sat up nicely for Abdoulaye Meite to volley goalwards. His connection was solid and goalbound but Gilberto threw his body in the way to block.
Arsenal broke immediately and, for a fleeting moment, Baptista had a sight off goal in the area. But the striker hesitated and the chance was lost.
Every one of the 3,000-strong visiting support knew there would be a reaction from Bolton in the second half. It arrived after only a minute.
Tal Ben Haim’s free-kick flicked off the head of Diaby and Almunia had to make a fine low save to his right. Two minutes later, the Spanish keeper pulled off a better stop when Stelios sprang the Arsenal offside trap.
Despite having a team-mate in space on the far side of the area, the midfielder surprisingly decided to try and around Almunia. The former Celta Vigo stopper stretched to make a super save.
Seconds later Baptista bustled through on the left of the area however, opposite to Stelios, he decided to square when shooting would have been the better option.
The chance continued to come; it was turning into a classic FA Cup tie. In the 55th minute Diaby broke clear on to Clichy’s pass but could only prod lamely at Jaaskelainen. Then, after Campo hit the sidenettting, Arsenal would have the perfect opportunity to double Arsenal’s advantage when Ben Haim clipped Baptista as he charged into the area.
Gilberto stepped up but sidefooted his effort high over the bar.
The miss buoyed Bolton temporarily but, as time ticked on, they began to get more desperate. In the 78th minute they piled forward for a corner and nearly paid for their gamble when Arsenal broke clear and Baptista smashed an effort.
With five minutes left, Arsenal looked assured of a second when Adebayor pounced on Campo’s error, sprinted clear and rounded the keeper. The goal was gaping but the gangly striker managed to hit the inside of the post and the ball bounced out to safety.
Deep into injury time it did not seem to matter? then Bolton scrambled home an equaliser.
Keeper Jaaskelainen had rushed up for one last corner. Diouf floated it to the far post, Campo nodded it down and Meite steered it home from three yards out.
It seemed 180 minutes would not be enough to separate these two sides. Another 30 would be required.
Bolton bossed the opening stages of extra-time. In the 97th minute, Gilberto flicked Diouf’s cross against his own post then just before the break, Gary Speed’s header was saved by Almunia on the line.
However it would be Bolton’s last opportunity of the night. Ljungberg’s goal finally tipped the balance of the tie decisively in Arsenal’s favour.
After that the game went a bit crazy. Ben Haim was sent off, Baptista missed a penalty after Anelka fouled Adebayor and the Togolese striker scored a breakaway third.
A surreal finish to a smashing game.
FA Cup Round 4
Reebok Stadium
Wednesday, February 14, 2007, 8.05pm
Bolton Wanderers1Meite 90
Arsenal3Adebayor 13, 120, Ljungberg 109
By Richard Clarke
Bang goes the Bolton bogey.
Arsenal have endured some torrid afternoons at the Reebok Stadium but, on Wednesday evening, they produced a performance of guts and determination win a simply incredible FA Cup Fourth replay.
The deciding goal was struck by Freddie Ljungberg 13 minutes from the end of extra time. The Swede, returning from two months out with a hamstring injury, raced clear after excellent work by Jeremie Aliadiere and steered a wonderful shot into the far corner of the net.
Emmanuel Adebayor’s deflected shot had put Arsenal ahead in the 13th minute and, right until the final seconds of normal time, the visitors looked like they were going through.
Even when Gilberto missed a penalty midway through the second half and Adebayor sidefooted a simple chance against the five minutes from time, they seemed set to cling on.
However in the dying seconds Abdoulaye Meite scrambled the ball in from close range to send the tie into extra time.
Ljungberg’s goal seemed to finally extinguish the life from Sam Allardyce’s side. But much of the drama was still to come. In the dying minutes, Tal Ben Haim was sent off for his second booking and Julio Baptista managed to miss another spot kick and then Adebayor added a third goal.
It was a mad. mad night of football. But the end result sees Arsenal march into the Fifth Round. They now play Blackburn on Saturday at Emirates Stadium.
With games coming thick and fast, Wenger had already said he would rotate his side. As a result, Jens Lehmann, Thierry Henry and Cesc Fabregas were left at home. The fit-again Ljungberg only made the bench but Alex Hleb was restored to the right-hand side of midfield. Gilberto filled in centre back and Johan Djourou was moved to right back. Abou Diaby and Denilson were paired together in central midfield.
Bolton started the bravado their record against Arsenal merited but, for once, Wenger’s men wrestled the initiative from them almost immediately.
In the eighth minute, Rosicky tricked himself enough space to fire a snap shot just wide. The Czech midfielder would go on to have a fine half but his part in Arsenal’s 13th-minute opener was cursory.
Hleb, Denilson and Adebayor combined on the right then Rosicky’s miscued flick deflected off Ivan Campo for the Togolese striker just outside the area. If that sounds like fortune had already favoured Arsenal then more was to come. Adebayor’s shot deflected off Stelios then bounced up and over the stranded Jussi Jaasklainen.
It was proving to be an open game with Arsenal breaking at lightning speed. One such foray in the 25th minute saw Rosicky curl a low cross to the far post. It found Baptista rushing in but the Brazilian made a horrible hash of his effort.
Bolton were struggling to get going. For once it was they who were trailing to Arsenal at the Reebok and, in the first half-hour, they did little to bring Almunia into the action. At the same time they were terribly troubled by the visitors’ counter attacks.
Baptista’s low shot and Gilberto far post header suggested more goals were coming from Arsenal. However Bolton were bound to stir at some point.
The moment arrived two minutes before half time. Andranik Taymourian’s goalbound shot hit Stelios on the edge of the six-yard box. The Greek midfielder recovered, collected, swivelled and thumped a rasping shot against the post. The ball rebounded high into the area and sat up nicely for Abdoulaye Meite to volley goalwards. His connection was solid and goalbound but Gilberto threw his body in the way to block.
Arsenal broke immediately and, for a fleeting moment, Baptista had a sight off goal in the area. But the striker hesitated and the chance was lost.
Every one of the 3,000-strong visiting support knew there would be a reaction from Bolton in the second half. It arrived after only a minute.
Tal Ben Haim’s free-kick flicked off the head of Diaby and Almunia had to make a fine low save to his right. Two minutes later, the Spanish keeper pulled off a better stop when Stelios sprang the Arsenal offside trap.
Despite having a team-mate in space on the far side of the area, the midfielder surprisingly decided to try and around Almunia. The former Celta Vigo stopper stretched to make a super save.
Seconds later Baptista bustled through on the left of the area however, opposite to Stelios, he decided to square when shooting would have been the better option.
The chance continued to come; it was turning into a classic FA Cup tie. In the 55th minute Diaby broke clear on to Clichy’s pass but could only prod lamely at Jaaskelainen. Then, after Campo hit the sidenettting, Arsenal would have the perfect opportunity to double Arsenal’s advantage when Ben Haim clipped Baptista as he charged into the area.
Gilberto stepped up but sidefooted his effort high over the bar.
The miss buoyed Bolton temporarily but, as time ticked on, they began to get more desperate. In the 78th minute they piled forward for a corner and nearly paid for their gamble when Arsenal broke clear and Baptista smashed an effort.
With five minutes left, Arsenal looked assured of a second when Adebayor pounced on Campo’s error, sprinted clear and rounded the keeper. The goal was gaping but the gangly striker managed to hit the inside of the post and the ball bounced out to safety.
Deep into injury time it did not seem to matter? then Bolton scrambled home an equaliser.
Keeper Jaaskelainen had rushed up for one last corner. Diouf floated it to the far post, Campo nodded it down and Meite steered it home from three yards out.
It seemed 180 minutes would not be enough to separate these two sides. Another 30 would be required.
Bolton bossed the opening stages of extra-time. In the 97th minute, Gilberto flicked Diouf’s cross against his own post then just before the break, Gary Speed’s header was saved by Almunia on the line.
However it would be Bolton’s last opportunity of the night. Ljungberg’s goal finally tipped the balance of the tie decisively in Arsenal’s favour.
After that the game went a bit crazy. Ben Haim was sent off, Baptista missed a penalty after Anelka fouled Adebayor and the Togolese striker scored a breakaway third.
A surreal finish to a smashing game.
killinghall
New member
Yeah, again Arsenal's passing was just - what's that word again - SUBLIME!
- Status