Real 0 - 1 Arsenal
First of all, let me say this. I was so damn proud of our players. Amazing!! Speechless!! We defended and counterattacked like the good old unbeatable Arsenal. They could have come up and play with fear but NO, they were enjoying themselves. This young bunch of players had no fear for the galacticos. One of my best moments as an Arsenal fan. Not that Real are THAT amazing as they got beaten very often in their league but considering the fact that we were playing with such a young squad. And who was that little boy who dominated the midfield like a veteran would? His name is Cesc Fabregas, you better remember that!
'Kay, now let's try to look at it more objectively.
Having watched the first half, and TH's goal, it was obvious that these are two teams that play football with almost similar style. Short passes, one touch passes. Technique over physique, speed over strength. Lovely to watch. Of course Real has Beckham who adds variety to their attack with his crosses and deadball mastery.
In that game, Real have at least two players who can do wonder: Robinho and Zidane.
Arsenal have one: TH.
But Robinho was attacking the wrong side of Arsenal. On the right flank, we had the excellent Eboue and Toure, much much stronger than Flamini and Senderos. Robinho couldn't do much against our two Ivorian towers.
Zidane was also very much subdued by our compact midfield. Gilberto was for once visible and did his duty well in covering the gaps. Cesc was up and running, passed the ball around with confidence. He is not as good as Leo Messi but he is definitely a very very very very good player.
TH's goal may not have happened had he played against Liverpool. Gerrard won't trail behind like Guti and Carragher won't give TH space the way Sergio Ramos did. But it was still not easy at all. You can see his determination as he worked his way to the box. He had no intention to look for foul, pass to someone or whatever. From the moment he started that run, his only intention was to put the ball behind the net. Now if only we could see that kind of TH in every match.
Reyes was tormenting Cicinho but he still lacked in his finishing. Freddie did really really well. I thought he was working really hard to prove that he is still good enough for Arsenal. I have no intention to belittle our players' performance but you got to realize that they could play that well only because we were given so much space by Real. They weren't half as compact as Chelsea or Bolton. I think there isn't a team in this world who can afford to give Arsenal that much space without getting themselves punished. We had so many clear cut chances that 0-1 score was in a way, unfortunate.
Defensive wise, it is clear now that we have got Lauren's replacement. Did you see Eboue's energetic run as he brought the ball into the opponent's half? Magnificent. Flamini was doing really well to cope but I see him as the next Grimandi, a great squad player. Great to have Kolo back. He was majestic!
How we wish that we are playing against such technical team every week but the truth is we are going against yet another bullish team come this Saturday. Let's not talk about the second leg. There is important mission for us and that is to overtake the 4th position.
'Kay, now let's try to look at it more objectively.
Having watched the first half, and TH's goal, it was obvious that these are two teams that play football with almost similar style. Short passes, one touch passes. Technique over physique, speed over strength. Lovely to watch. Of course Real has Beckham who adds variety to their attack with his crosses and deadball mastery.
In that game, Real have at least two players who can do wonder: Robinho and Zidane.
Arsenal have one: TH.
But Robinho was attacking the wrong side of Arsenal. On the right flank, we had the excellent Eboue and Toure, much much stronger than Flamini and Senderos. Robinho couldn't do much against our two Ivorian towers.
Zidane was also very much subdued by our compact midfield. Gilberto was for once visible and did his duty well in covering the gaps. Cesc was up and running, passed the ball around with confidence. He is not as good as Leo Messi but he is definitely a very very very very good player.
TH's goal may not have happened had he played against Liverpool. Gerrard won't trail behind like Guti and Carragher won't give TH space the way Sergio Ramos did. But it was still not easy at all. You can see his determination as he worked his way to the box. He had no intention to look for foul, pass to someone or whatever. From the moment he started that run, his only intention was to put the ball behind the net. Now if only we could see that kind of TH in every match.
Reyes was tormenting Cicinho but he still lacked in his finishing. Freddie did really really well. I thought he was working really hard to prove that he is still good enough for Arsenal. I have no intention to belittle our players' performance but you got to realize that they could play that well only because we were given so much space by Real. They weren't half as compact as Chelsea or Bolton. I think there isn't a team in this world who can afford to give Arsenal that much space without getting themselves punished. We had so many clear cut chances that 0-1 score was in a way, unfortunate.
Defensive wise, it is clear now that we have got Lauren's replacement. Did you see Eboue's energetic run as he brought the ball into the opponent's half? Magnificent. Flamini was doing really well to cope but I see him as the next Grimandi, a great squad player. Great to have Kolo back. He was majestic!
How we wish that we are playing against such technical team every week but the truth is we are going against yet another bullish team come this Saturday. Let's not talk about the second leg. There is important mission for us and that is to overtake the 4th position.
posted by phoenix chix at 10:39 AM
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