|Home | Latest News | Comment | Interact | Search | Links
|
Leicester 0 Arsenal 3
What's the betting Lee Dixon had a quick curry at his Midlands based curry house. He was here there and everywhere, in a turbo charged performance which won him Sky's Man of the Match Award. With eight out, Arsenal dominated this morning match, with goals from Grimandi, Dixon and Overmars. In the end it was embarassing for Leicester, who had not lost at home all season. Arsene Wenger put Silvinho in midfield, along with Grimandi, Petit and Overmars, with Henry and Kanu up front. Kanu played deep. When Upson was injured in the first half, Vivas filled in at centre back. his experience making up for his lack of inches. Leicester changed formation five times according to Matt Elliot, in the middle of the second half, playing a 3-4-3. Instead of over-playing, which according to some Arsenal commentators had done for the team in the first 20 at Tottenham, Arsenal set their stall out to defend from the off. And hit Leicester on the break. Lee Dixon was the where it mattered most, as Lennon fired in a goalbound header. Dave Seaman only wants one player on the line. Alex Manninger prefers two - and this could well have saved a goal. And who knows, the points as well. Adams displayed some skillful attacking, winning a corner. Grimandi rose with Heskey, and managed to gain leverage with his arms, to maintain the height advantage. Adams performed a perfectly legal 'basketball block' on Flowers, and, Bob's yer L'oncle, Grimandi had netted his first Premiership goal for nearly two years. Lee Dixon popped up to fire a shot just past a post. And then Kanu set up Overmars with a delicate chip to run on to, but he fired just wide. Leicester, hadn't really played like Leicester in the first half. Was it that they didn't like the morning kick off? Martin O'Neill, being Martin O'Neill obviously re-motivated them at half-time. Immediately Izzet went on a dangerous run, which saw Manninger pull off a great save. Another attack down the left, saw the ball deflect off Winterburn's head to Arsenal supporter Andy Impey. Was his subconcious love at work when his first touch went ten yards ahead of him, with an open shot at goal. Surely not? Whatever, it was the turning point. Henry, who had a quiet first half was seeing more of the ball, and fed out on the left, he toyed with Savage, who left far too much room goal side, and ran inside, sending in a low cross, which Lee 'turbo-charge' Dixon, managed to touch. The ball deflected past Flowers. Arsenal now had the skill on the ball, to wait for Leicester to press and pick them off with fast counter attacks. Petit, performed a copule 'one man band' counters, even though he was short of full match fitness, at the end of one executing a back heel flip inside; the other a shot into the side netting. Hughes came on for Silvinho, and slotted in on the left, as if he hadn't had an unhappy spell at Fulham. And he served up a precision pass for Marc Overmars to hit first time and slot home. It was embarassing now. At one point Marc Overmars ran right to left beating six or seven players, before setting up Kanu, for an exceptional snap toe poke, which went narrowly wide. Never on a football field, have I seen so much power generated by so little movement. Exceptional. And this was the man the Guardian had down as having a virus, and unavailable. Adams was just imperious, not only in his defending, but his 'offensive' disrtibution and leadership. Grimandi, definitely Monsiour Under-rated. He has developed an Arsenal grit, and although he gets booked too often, has worked himself into being an invaluable squad member. Well done Gilles. Overmars, back to his best. A thorn on both wings today. Great news for Arsenal. Should have made more of scoring opportunities today though. Henry quiet first half, but showed his versatility too on the right wing. Could turn out to key player of the season. Kanu, interesting that the tabloids hint it is a contractual dispute, while the broadsheets say a virus. Nevertheless, something isn't quite right there at the moment. Petit, just having him on the field makes Arsenal a better team. Another giant performance, even though he doesn't look match fit. Dixon, the older he gets, the more energy he seems to have. Those black rings under his eyes are deceptive. Is this the fruition of Wenger's work to develop a strong squad capable of challenging for three or four major trophies? Could well be. Leicester, after all were fifth before the game started. It must be heartening for Wenger, and all at Arsenal, when players such as Seaman, Keown, Vieira and Bergkamp are out, to put on accomplished internationals, and even leave Suker on the bench. What-is-more with Stephen Hughes back and Graham Barrett, now pushing for a first team place, the age profile of the squad is coming down. Arsenal learned that playing football, is not necessarily the way to win away. And that defence aligned with counter-attack, might be the best policy, at times. Wenger:"It shows we have a strong squad. Some players are improving from game to game. Even when we have our backs to the wall, we can still win." He said that when Arsenal scored the first goal, it gave them more space. And he remarked that Thierry Henry was settling in well, and that he works hard for the team. "Henry and Overmars have great pace. The balance of the team is back again. Before the start, Arsenal were six points and thirteen goals better than at the same sstage last season, even though they'd only had two clean sheets in 14. Wenger said that in the past two seasons, Arsenal had had fantastic runs towards the end. And that as the league was more open this year, it was good to build up points earlier in the season. Martin O'Neill said:"Arsenal played well. We played poorly. We never got up in the morning. It was not the real Leicester. "Arsenal were fantastic, sharp - a quality side. We were'nt allowed to play. We were well beaten." |
|
|