Arsenal 2-0 Charlton Athletic
Premiership, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury
Sunday March 2 2003, Kick-off 12 noon
By Chris Harris
Arsenal stormed into an eight-point lead at the top of the Premiership on
Sunday with a 2-0 victory against Charlton Athletic at Highbury.
Francis Jeffers broke the deadlock after 26 minutes with a simple finish
from Thierry Henry's low cross, and Pires nodded in from close range on
the stroke of half-time after Freddie Ljungberg had kept the ball in play.
Charlton worked hard, but they rarely suggested they could extend their
run of five successive League wins. In fact, Arsenal's margin of victory
should really have been greater.
Before kick-off, Arsene Wenger made six changes from the team which drew
0-0 at Ajax in midweek.Four were enforced with Patrick Vieira and Lauren
serving suspensions, Ashley Cole recuperating after surgery and Dennis
Bergkamp nursing a slight calf strain.
With Sylvain Wiltord and Gilberto dropping to the bench, there were starts
for Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Kolo Toure in defence, Ray Parlour and
Edu in midfield and Jeffers up front.
But the biggest news was the return of Ljungberg. The Swede had not
featured in the first team since December 21 thanks to a virus and an
Achilles injury and received a rapturous reception when the line-ups were
announced.
With so many changes, it took Arsenal while to find their stride.
Edu tried to stamp his authority with some fierce challenges and the
occasional moment of sublime skill, but Charlton held their own in
midfield.
With little being created in the opening exchanges, it was no surprise
that the Gunners' first chance was the result of a defensive slip.
A lofted ball forward after 15 minutes took a cruel bounce over the head
of Mark Fish and Henry was on to it like a flash.
His low shot beat Dean Kiely but struck the post.
Arsenal kept possession and Henry produced a wonderful piece of skill to
get his cross in from the left, but Pires' header missed the target.
At the other end, Jason Euell caused problems with his darting runs into
the box from midfield. His low, skidding shot was saved by David Seaman
after nine minutes, and Martin Keown did well to deny Euell another chance
with a timely header.
But that was as good as it got for Charlton before the break and they were
soon chasing the game.
Ljungberg sparked a period of pressure with a surge down the right and a
floated cross. Pires headed down, Jeffers retrieved the loose ball and a
snappy interchange between Henry and Pires gave the latter a shooting chance
six yards out.
The Frenchman fired low but Kiely narrowed the angle well and pushed the
ball to safety.
Charlton were reprieved, but not for long. With 26 minutes on the clock,
Henry turned inside his marker on the left and played a low ball across
the penalty area with the outside of his right boot.
With Kiely stranded, Jeffers came steaming in at the far post to sidefoot
the ball into the net - a typical 'fox in the box' goal and his second in
two Premiership starts this season.
Jeffers' welcome strike opened up the game. Kevin Lisbie forced a smart
save from Seaman within seconds of the goal, Edu flashed a shot over the
crossbar and Parlour forced a save from Kiely after trying his luck from
25 yards.
A one-goal lead seemed inevitable at the interval, but Henry broke clear
down the left and a carbon copy of the cross which led to Jeffers' goal
hit Chris Powell as he came across to cover.
The ball was heading out of play but Ljungberg did brilliantly to flick
it up from the touchline and, as it bounced off the post and back into
the danger area, Pires was in the right place at the right time to double
Arsenal's lead.
Charlton came back from a one-goal deficit to win the corresponding
fixture 4-2 last season, but that hammerblow before half-time proved too
much to overcome.
Claus Jensen, scorer of an exquisite goal in the Addicks' triumph last
season, was the first to threaten at the start of the second half.
He tried to catch out Seaman with a free-kick fired towards the near post
from 25 yards, but the England goalkeeper scrambled across to make the save.
Mark Fish also went close, so close that the visiting fans thought he
had reduced the deficit. They were on their feet celebrating when he
headed Jensen's corner into the side netting rather than the back of the
net.
The Arsenal fans loved it and reminded everyone of the error with mock-
celebrations whenever the Gunners squandered a chance, most memorably when
Sol Campbell surged forward before threatening those in the North Bank Upper
Tier with his shot.
By now, the champions' confidence was high and their play reflected it.
Henry was in impish mood and showed off his full repertoire of devastating
pace and bewildering skill.
Another thrust down the left from Henry also handed Pires his second goal
of the day, but the Frenchman sidefooted wide after his compatriot had cut
the ball back.
Henry himself fired wide with 20 minutes remaining, and shortly afterwards
substitutes Wiltord and Gilberto almost combined to bring the Brazilian his
first Premiership goal.
Wiltord was denied by Kiely after latching onto a loose ball in the box, and
Luke Young's last-ditch challenge stopped Jeffers making it 3-0 after Edu's
shot had been parried.
Henry, van Bronckhorst and Wiltord also tried their luck and failed as Kiely
excelled for Alan Curbishley's team.
The Gunners should have scored more, but Wenger won't mind. After all, the
other title contenders have a lot of catching up to do now.(原文)
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 218.172.129.233