In a game we half expected it’s end to end stuff at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon, with Newcastle pushing Arsenal all the way in the first half of their 4th round FA Cup this afternoon.
The Newcastle team looks completely different from the team Sam Allardyce had just a couple of weeks ago, and Newcastle have been unlucky not to take the lead in the first half.
Newcastle have played some great attacking football in the first half and the traveling Toon Army of about 6,000 are singing Keegan’s name, as the team looks like his old Newcastle Entertainers team. They continually are attacking Arsenal, in an end to end game, to the surprise of many.
Smith and Owen have both had chances to put Newcastle ahead but the ball is not going in the net this afternoon. Charles N’Zogbia is having a good game in midfield and the Magpies seem to be combining well, after a full week’s training with Keegan and his staff.
The game has been end to end and the winners of this are the fans in a packed full Emirates stadium of 60,000 – this is how the game was meant to be played.
Eduardo, who had come on for Rosicky nearly beat Given at his near post after 23 minutes, but Given just turned the ball behind for a corner. Fabregas took the resulting corner but Taylor headed well clear.
After 30- minutes Steven Taylor beat the offside trap and was one-on-one with Lehmann as the ball was header over Lehman but also over the crossbar as the ball lands on the top of the net – a great chance missed by Newcastle.
Towards the end of the half Newcastle were all over Arsenal in their half of the field – but then just before the break Shay Given pulled off a tremendous finger-tip save to divert Abou Diaby’s dipping 25-yard strike over the crossbar. Newcastle looked a little dodgy from the resulting corner from Fabregas, but clear their lines just before half time.
That was notice from the Arsenal side that they are still in this game, but the half time whistle blows with the scores still level at 0-0.
TEAMS
Arsenal: Manuel Almunia, Abou Diaby, Cesc Fabregas, Philippe Senderos, Tomas Rosicky, William Gallas (c), Msthieu Flamini, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Justin Hoyte, Theo Walcott
Subs: Eduardo, Alexander Hleb, Gilberto, Lukasz Fabianski, Nicklas Bendtner
Newcastle United: Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Jose Enrique, Claudio Cacapa, Steven Taylor, Nicky Butt, Charles N’Zogbia, James Milner, Damien Duff, Michael Owen (c), Alan Smith
Subs: Steve Harper, David Rozehnal, Kazenga LuaLua, David Edgar, Andy Carroll
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: tbc
The second half should be a lively 45 minutes – and that’s probably a huge understatement.
63 responses so far ↓
1 shirts // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:03 PM
beeb’s reporting Woodgate’s “poised to sign”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/7208601.stm
2 smc894 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:04 PM
Tottenham have had a bid accepted too, so its up to him. Hopefully though.
3 Pete // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:06 PM
He shud come to us, he will wanna stay up north im sure
4 Far East // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:07 PM
is nigel pearson still the ass manager? or is terry mcdermott the current acting ass manager?
5 kelvin // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:09 PM
it’s been a good half so far, we’ve had a few decent chances and could have easily gone ahead with smith’s shot. we’ve had to endure a bit of pressure near the end but we did well. i’m pleasantly surprised with carr’s performance, he’s been solid so far and did well to come across when walcott was through.
6 Sloop Jon B // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:09 PM
apparently the Woodgate has signed- source sounds ropey though. ‘My mate in a pub just got texted with the info!’
7 t-g-w // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:11 PM
NOOOOOO!
8 ObaFan2 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:11 PM
Oh dear
9 Kevin // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:13 PM
not good. cacapa and tayls made a mess of that
10 Matt Lacey // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:14 PM
We can still get something out of this game I reckon. Just one goal!
11 Kevin // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:14 PM
a good keegan team will respond to this situation!!
12 t-g-w // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:14 PM
Oh and the Woodgate deal is on the BBC website so looks like it just needs to be confirmed!
13 Robert from Serbia // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:15 PM
here we go again….
14 yongMalaysia // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:16 PM
poor def by taylor 1-0
15 Pete // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:18 PM
we are getting destroyed now….and nzogbia is unseen! panic defending….
Hope we pick up
16 anti-bbs // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:25 PM
all the the team is good for in the attacking half is asking for the hand ball!
17 anti-barton // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:26 PM
well, if everything else fails – just ask for the handball.
18 Eve // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:28 PM
That’s all right lads come on, it’s only one, go at them again.
19 yongMalaysia // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:29 PM
wish we wil win 1-2
lua-lua sub for zog, zog seen unuseful at mid today…
or sub for butt, poor passing…
20 yongMalaysia // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:34 PM
zog dreaming at center mid, cacapa play good def today
come on, score plzzz
21 Pete // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:36 PM
rozenhal for butt!!! hopefully
22 Mike // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:38 PM
Where is Emre guys? Injured again?
23 tommyy // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:38 PM
noo suspended.
24 ObaFan2 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:41 PM
Great LuaLua
25 Steve_48 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:42 PM
A little too late, need 5 minutes to warm up, only leaving last 5 to make any sort of impact. Should have been on 20 minutes to go really.
26 Mike // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:43 PM
shit, I like Emre, he plays hard and is one of our more creative midfielder…which really isn’t saying much…
Oh well at least we looked to get Woodgate…makes me wonder what we’ll do with all the DC that Pig Sam Brought in
27 AlexW // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:43 PM
f***in hell
28 Andy1 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:43 PM
2 nil.
29 ObaFan2 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Blatant block but nvm, another chance on Tuesday.
30 Steve_48 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Rozy was completely sold at LB, Given had no defence in front of him
Didn’t deserve that either, 3-0 not a fair relection on the overall game
31 Pete // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:46 PM
meh, dissapointed with second half performance.
taylor shudda stopped that, weak from him.
Butt hasnt even existed, terrible player.
Sigh, hope we destroy them at home. Get the fans on the back of arsenal
32 Jinal // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:46 PM
2-0 isn’t that bad. Hopefully we can slot in Woody at the back before tuesday
33 matthewjai // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:47 PM
don’t know what is zog doing……
i miss emre..
34 Eve // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:47 PM
Steve_48, Given, had no defense in front of him..for a change you mean, he most be pissed, plays a bloody good game and his work is yet again undone by sloppy defending or and the lack of defending.
35 Howie // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:48 PM
taylor isnt all thats cracked up to be yet. adebayor is brilliant though. a younger and better drogba.
36 matthewjai // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:48 PM
butt..what the hell
37 Andy1 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Butt own goal. Sell him now.
38 ObaFan2 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:49 PM
lol
39 Howie // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:50 PM
haha sums up butts day. rozenhal better option there at the moment while fayes away
40 Pete // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:50 PM
i stand corrected, butt has been heard of, nice own goal butt, you idiot.
41 yongMalaysia // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:51 PM
poor second half…
zog wasnt suitable at mid, he shld go to wing…
butt play bad passing and good own goal for hislef…
we need a better and creavtive CM
wat a bad game!very dissapointed
anywhere its showed that we really need new exp players…
42 Howie // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:54 PM
it is arsenal lads. what did yee expect. we played well first half. adebayors goal gave them a lift and knocked us back. we have good players and some average. they have good and world class players. thats the difference
43 Magpie4Eva // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Milner is crap… I think it’s time to drop him!!
44 Steve_48 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Better 1st half than 2nd, ran out of steam
45 ObaFan2 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:56 PM
Smudge don’t deserve his pay imo, other than that ul and gg.
Second half we couldn’t keep possession, a little disappointing but hey there’s always next time.
46 Coolsmurf // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:56 PM
like the man utd game, we just shut off after 1st half…
47 evildick // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:56 PM
ah crap, oh well.. time to concentrate on getting to 40 points in the league.
48 smc894 // Jan 26, 2008 at 4:56 PM
We need someone who can give the ball to owen. NOW
49 micepie // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:02 PM
I know it’s a cliche, but we need to focus on the league, not on any cups – at least not this season!
I just want us to survive and regroup for next season.
We need to buy someone really special for mf, maybe two but I can understand KK not panic-buying. We’ve got to get the right one/ones in.
If we can sign Woody that’ll help a lot if he stays fit though. No matter how good Arsenal are, if we can greatly improve at the back it’s going to give our attacking players more faith.
Shame about the third though. Two wouldn’t have seemed so bad.
50 Nomis_jade // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:02 PM
Nicky butt didnt do anything today and still plays these stupid long balls to no one. But smith was worse of all he didnt hold the ball up at all. Didnt win any headers. Zog needs to be higher up the pitch. Its a shame the cup game came first cos i reckon we will ahve learned alot from this game. Never mind, we dint play too bad
51 Gordon d // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:04 PM
The FA should take a good look at themselves Adebayor should never have been playing ,maybe sour grapes on my part.
52 briss // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:06 PM
the first half was supposed to something to build off. Butt played descent the first half but the second he gets a little fatigued he doesn’t do anything with the ball he slows down the game and lets the oppsition get behind the ball and its had to break down arsenal like that. man i hate him sooooooooo much!!! sell him to darlington!
53 Tripp // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:07 PM
Hopefully woodgate will help settle the defense. Get Butt off the pitch. For now play Roz as DM. When the African lads get back we can use Faye as DM or as CM. Woodgate and Faye sounds good to me.
Great teams make you pay for sloopy defending… Arsenal did that today. There were some positive signs though. We showed the right attitude in the first half. Second half we were off balance. We still have players out of position, Zog isn’t ready to be a CM against a side like Arsenal. Butt’s natural position is the bench, so he’s gonna struggle being on the pitch. KK had to start Smith and Butt. They had a run out and didn’t make an impact. Maybe try Carrol unless the Duke is fit. I don’t see Carrol is anything but a stop gap. Yes he played well in the reserves… but it’s the reserves. Smith is probably gonna be our #2 big man for the remainder of the season. When martins gets back he’s gonna play. KK ain’t gonna shell out 100K/wk and have him languish on the bench.
Just learn from the mistakes and lets move up the table. Sod the FAC.
54 Eve // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:25 PM
We played well for 70 odd mins, 2 wee mistakes from the backline cost us, not to mentions Butt’s own goal. Now how much do you think Given wanted to smack Butt at that moment cause I’m guessing a lot. Yet again a good performance by Given is ruined by bad defending,
Given made some smashing saves. The scoreline’s a bit harsh on him.
The defense,
Cacapa played well, Taylor wasn’t here, and who were our other defenders?? LOL!! That says it I think.
The rest of them..Duff had a good game, well he’d a good first half anyway. Was Owen on the pitch?? Well Zog wasn’t.
Oh and Butt, he deserves a special mention, he thought it’d be fun to ad to the scoring. Clearly someone forgot to tell the wee lad that it was the other goal he was supposed to be scoring in to.
But wait like a good first half, a bad-ish second with Keegan, compared to just an entire bad game with Sam, things are looking up. LOL!!
55 Eve // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:28 PM
Briss, that’s not fair on Butt, he did do something today when he got tired, he directed the Arsenal forwards to our box, moved out of their way oh and almost forgot, he scored an own goal.
Sure he made a great contribution today, to Arsenal that is.
56 daiv // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:28 PM
Smith is totally useless. Full stop. No goals in 24 games says it all. Four goals in 7 years clarifies that he should be playing for Hartlepool reserves. Butt is too old and slow. Two dynamic centre mids are urgently required before centre back and forwards. IS OBA worth £100K a week? Mad times. Keep smiling cos we’ll win something one day. I want the league. FAC is for minnows. We’ll lose on Tuesady as well. They’ll try for the whole game then, not just second half. But we’ll beat them next season. Long live the Toon.
57 Steve the Gooner // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:32 PM
What an amazing transformation is just a week. Your team played well in the first half and the passing was something I haven’t seen since KK was there the first time around. (So glad you got rid of ole walwus features)
You ran out of steam in the sceond half and although I’m happy to see Arsenal win, I think the scoreline was harsh and didn’t reflect the game. I wish you the best under KK (My boyhood hero) and I hope he gets a fair chance to turn you back into the club that your supporters deserve.
Good luck and please get above Tottscum in the PL
58 Dan // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:35 PM
BUTT is crap… sloppy passing and absolute faggot in the midfield… i think Fabregas and Flamini are just smiling to themselves…
59 Dragoner // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:36 PM
Just got back, some of you people are being a bit harsh on he lads. Taylor was not bad at all, fair enough he should have blocked that shot,but at least he got there. You cant blame the defence for their first goal either as a ball off the post will disorientate 75% of defenders. Watching the game live it was clear that Zoggy was bad today, but considering he is normally really good we can let him off. At the end ofthe day, If Wenger did decide to rest Adebayor today, we would have drawn, and maybe even nicked a win. He is carrying them right now and we suffered because of his class…oh yeah, and Butt is an idiot.
Also, we need a better striker than Owen, He doesn’t contribute enough to play and he disappears out of games for long periods. We needed Martins or Viduka today to give their defence a bit more of a problem. Also, let us not forget the penalty we could of had.
60 James Oliver // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:41 PM
Nicklas Bendtner must feel mistreated by Wenger when he chooses to play Adebayor no mater how well he did.
We should make a bid for Bendtner he would fit well with Owen I think.
61 Dragoner // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:45 PM
James i think even Bendtner can see why Arsenal choose adebayor, he killed us today, and would have killed tottenham if he had started.
62 James Oliver // Jan 26, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Dragoner i agree but i still feel its disgusting that you can headbutt a teammate and the manager lets it slide. Thats just not right no matter who you are.
I cant see Bendtner staying…
63 ToonRich // Jan 26, 2008 at 6:07 PM
I haven’t seen anything of the game today, but I wanted to comment on the Adebayor situation…I’m p1$$ed off at the FA for not imposing a ban on him – didnt Dyer and Bowyer serve bans for us after fighting on the pitch, there is no different. Also, on the FA…they made a Havant player sit out at Liverpool today even though he served a suspension midweek so he could play at Anfield-yet FA were bollox and told him the midweek game didnt count, give the lad a chance!
Sorry to rant
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