Arsenal 1 - 0 Birmingham
Apparently Birmingham's biggest chance happened in the first few minutes which I missed out on. The three ex-gunners did well in their return to the Home of Football. Jermaine Pennant was easily their most dangerous player and I wasn't surprised. The boy has always been a very talented player. The kind of wide player we are missing at the moment. Reyes is our best crosser now that Pennant is gone.
Reyes was playing in Henry's position against Birmingham. His directness and pace troubled Birmingham throughout but his finishing let him down. Maik Taylor has been superb, I agree. His most impressive save was probably the one where he tipped Ljungberg's shot away. Reyed made a great run down the left and made a perfect pass for Ljungberg to shoot. I thought he would score because Ljungberg always scores in this kind of situation. But he didn't. That is probably the bigger miss than the penalty shot Pires wasted away. After all I don't expect much from Pires now that he is only probably 1/4 of his old self.
I always thought we could score before 75th minute and probably nick another one late in the game. I kept my calm until Bergkamp came on. I thought 'Wenger has again made a pointless substitution. It's clear that we are good enough to penetrate Birmingham's defence at the moment. What we lack is the cutting edge. Bringing on Bergkamp wouldn't help. He should've brought Persie in." When he eventually brought Persie in I thought it was a bit too late as Birmingham began to play 10 men behind the ball. But van Persie being van Persie, he has again proven how valuable he is as a super sub. It is amazing how often this boy came out from the bench and scored the winner for us. He can really be a great player. I just hope that he doesn't turn into another Kanu. The winner took some deflection but in truth three points is what we deserve. I don't think Birmingham would've earned anything even if Cunningham wasn't redcarded.
This was a game where Lauren played exceptionally well, much better than Hleb who was obviously out of position. He should've played behind Reyes instead and Ljungberg should roam in his usual right flank. Gilberto fought and tackled well and Cesc was so hardworking that he was involved in defense as much as he was in the attack.
It seems that Cesc-Gilberto and Kolo-Sol will be Wenger's first choice pairings for the season unless he brings in someone else during the January transfer window. The questions now therefore:
How can we accomodate Hleb who is clearly a class playmaker but not a winger in any sense?
How can we accomodate Persie who is now our best finisher?
I don't know the answer to the first question but I've given my answer for the 2nd question. As I said before, Reyes should take Pires' place when Henry plays. And Henry MUST learn how to partner Persie upfront.
Reyes was playing in Henry's position against Birmingham. His directness and pace troubled Birmingham throughout but his finishing let him down. Maik Taylor has been superb, I agree. His most impressive save was probably the one where he tipped Ljungberg's shot away. Reyed made a great run down the left and made a perfect pass for Ljungberg to shoot. I thought he would score because Ljungberg always scores in this kind of situation. But he didn't. That is probably the bigger miss than the penalty shot Pires wasted away. After all I don't expect much from Pires now that he is only probably 1/4 of his old self.
I always thought we could score before 75th minute and probably nick another one late in the game. I kept my calm until Bergkamp came on. I thought 'Wenger has again made a pointless substitution. It's clear that we are good enough to penetrate Birmingham's defence at the moment. What we lack is the cutting edge. Bringing on Bergkamp wouldn't help. He should've brought Persie in." When he eventually brought Persie in I thought it was a bit too late as Birmingham began to play 10 men behind the ball. But van Persie being van Persie, he has again proven how valuable he is as a super sub. It is amazing how often this boy came out from the bench and scored the winner for us. He can really be a great player. I just hope that he doesn't turn into another Kanu. The winner took some deflection but in truth three points is what we deserve. I don't think Birmingham would've earned anything even if Cunningham wasn't redcarded.
This was a game where Lauren played exceptionally well, much better than Hleb who was obviously out of position. He should've played behind Reyes instead and Ljungberg should roam in his usual right flank. Gilberto fought and tackled well and Cesc was so hardworking that he was involved in defense as much as he was in the attack.
It seems that Cesc-Gilberto and Kolo-Sol will be Wenger's first choice pairings for the season unless he brings in someone else during the January transfer window. The questions now therefore:
How can we accomodate Hleb who is clearly a class playmaker but not a winger in any sense?
How can we accomodate Persie who is now our best finisher?
I don't know the answer to the first question but I've given my answer for the 2nd question. As I said before, Reyes should take Pires' place when Henry plays. And Henry MUST learn how to partner Persie upfront.
posted by phoenix chix at 11:02 AM
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