ARSENAL 4 EVERTON 1
FEATURES
THE ARSENAL AGM - FULL WRITE UP
FIVE REASONS: ARSENAL COULD WIN IN BARCELONA
CARLTON AND ITV UPSET US AGAIN
JEKYLL AND HYDE PLAY THE NOU CAMP
This was the practice day before the Wembley Grand Prix. The mechanics revved up the engine, checked the wheels, filled the tank with pasta, and gave the Arsenal racing car a test run on Saturday afternoon against improving Everton.
The machine stuttered in first gear, had an unexpected pit-stop, and competed half the circuit without looking like a world-beater. Then, suddenly, the Highbury practice laps became fun. You could see the gears mesh, hear the engine purring smoothly, and enjoy a sense of powerful, irresistible acceleration. It was happy motoring all the way to three points and third place in the Premiership.
Referee Steve Dunn should have waved a chequered flag when Kanu scored the fourth goal, rather than blown his whistle.
By 4-45 pm the Arsenal machine was in pole position for the real deal against Barcelona on Tuesday night at Wembley.
Early on, Suker was taking corners on the right, Vieira was surging forward promisingly, but Everton were passing well and working hard.
Richard Gough had a header straight at Seaman from a freekick.
Then John Collins struck a blow in the Scotland-England phoney war that precedes their overhyped play-off.
The goal was the fault of Tony Adams, not Dave Seaman. Adams conceded the free-kick with a challenge on Don Hutchinson that was so late the ball was three yards away.
After 16 minutes Collins hit the ball over the wall and in off the post. Yes, the post. Freeze-frame proves that the shot hit the inside of the post, less than a foot under the bar.
No keeper could have saved it, but Seaman's starting position was debateable. His goalkeeping coach Bob Wilson will probably tell him he should have been more central. But even with Seaman's very long arms, it would have been the save of the decade.
Hutchinson then had a snap shot which Seaman stopped, conceding a corner.
Steve Dunn was refereeing in Martin Bodenham style, letting a lot go, and the game flowed.
Grimandi trod on Hutchinson's foot, but no foul was given. Everton had eight or nine blue bodies round the box. Bergkamp had gone through and shot wide after seven minutes but now he was forced to fiddle around on the ball.
At times it looked strange, as if Arsenal were still deployed to play the football they played when Anelka was there, with longer through passes. The game seemed to need Ljungberg to come on and link with the strikers.
Everton keeper Paul Gerrard comfortably saved a near post cross from Overmars, then a 25-yard shot. The winger was showing Parlourish perseverance, but his final ball was poor.
The crowd had chanted Vieira's name from the start, and it was Vieira who powered forward and showed the way. He hit a thunderous shot just wide of the post after 36 minutes. I thought this one was going to scoot into the bottom corner of the net.
Most of the momentum was being generated by Vieira and Overmars.
Then it was 1-1 after 40 minutes. Bergkamp's free-kick smacked the bar, bounced down, and hit Lee Dixon on the chest. Dixon rammed it home from two yards for his first goal for three years.
The second half was a massacre as Arsenal switched into top gear and overdrive.
Suker brought a decent save from Gerrard with a freekick that curled over the wall, but the shot was nowhere near the postage stamp.
A superb pass by Winterburn just failed to find Overmars. Bergkamp fired wide off a Parlour tee-up.
Adams, joining the attack with typical enterprise, managed to find Overmars, whose low left foot cross was tapped in at the far post by Suker for 2-1. Some thought Overmars had shot, but it looked like a cross on the replay.
Parlour burst inside but did not trust his left foot, toepoking wide with his right. Suker played Bergkamp in for a one-on-one but sidefooted tamely for Gerrard to save, a miss in the Thierry Henry class. Parlour had a rocketing crosshot tipped wide for a corner, Gerrard's second good save.
Arsenal's third goal was pure class, pure power, pure precision.
Vieira took the ball off David Weir just inside the Arsenal half, cruised forward with colossal style and fed Bergkamp on the left. Bergkamp's fast left foot cross was perfection, and so was Suker's control at the far post.
He stunned the ball with his right foot and scored imperiously with his left.
It was clearly the work of a specialist goalscorer.
If a Martian had been sitting in the directors box, watching his very first game of football, he would have realised that such precision was the work of a supreme technician.
The Croatian is a predator whose movement is always calculated. When the ball is on the other side of the field, 60 yards away, Suker is asking himself: How can I get a goal out of this?
Suker had provided a world class finish to a world class move. Maybe Arsenal's best goal of the season.
By now we had realised that Arsenal are a high-tempo team or nothing.
The first half had started lethargically, but the second half was dynamic.Suker had scored decisive goals in the 54th and 61st minutes.
Stylish power football had overwhelmed Everton in exactly the same way that it did when Arsenal won 3-1 at White Hart Lane on May 5th.
Silvinho came on for Overmars (64), Kanu for Bergkamp (68) and Ljungerg for Parlour (75). Remarkably, all three made significant contributions.
Silvinho backheeled cleverly to Winterburn, whose fierce shot was parried away by Gerrard, then produced some trickery and a terrific shot which skimmed the bar from 20 yards.
Keown kept it interesting in the 91st minute. He brought the ball downfield from the D, playing a one-two, then found Ljungerg on the right. The Swede crossed neatly and Suker's cushion header set up Kanu, who blasted an unstoppable shot for 4-1.
Arsene Wenger came in looking happy, and I was itching to ask three questions.
Q:"Was that your best second half performance this season?"
"Yes, it was maybe the best half, if you consider the defensive and offensive performance.Because we didn't give any chances away, and created many chances. But that was the consequence of the first half. Because Everton had a very quick start and a very good start. We had a slow start, and we had to battle to get back into the game, and after 25 minutes I thought that slowly we got on top of them. And we were always going up the whole game, and they were dropping their level in the second half.
"They couldnt sustain the pace they played at in the first 30 minutes."
Q:"Is Overmars getting close to his best yet?"
"Yes. I took him off to rest him a little bit because he will be an important player on Tuesday night. I think he has found his pace back. It's the first time I've seen him as strong in the second half as in the first. For a long time that didnt happen."
Q:"Vieira, the fans still love him?" Not only the fans love him, I love him as well. I was pleased. If you looked at the papers in the last two weeks you'd think he was a super-gangster. So to realise that he's a normal human being again is good. I think he went into the game, and he didn't lose his fighting edge, but he was controlled. I've spoken with him, but not a lot. We will speak about that whole situation when we have more time. He was away with the national team, came back and he needed to work hard because he didn't play last week.Sometimes the best thing to do when you're down is to work hard.
Q:Wenger agreed that Barcelona might be vulnerable to a high tempo. "But it will be much more difficult to get the ball back.So maybe we will lose more strength in winning the ball back than we had to do today. That could give us less physical resources when we have the ball. Of course, if we could sustain such a pace for 90 minutes it would give them a problem.
Q:Suker? "He's a box player. If we create the chances, he'll put them in.
PA reporter Bill Pierce asked about Dennis Bergkamp, who has not scored for 12 games.
"You could see today that it has an effect on him, and his confidence, especially his chance one on one with the keeper. He's desperate to score goals.He is in good shape physically, and he's very close to his best again.
"He was out for such a long time last year that it took him some time to get back to his best. It was the first time I've seen him sharper again. He will score soon."
Myles Palmer 17/10/99