By Myles Palmer
Don’t blame Peter Schmeichel for not holding that Wiltord cannonball.
Edu won the free-kick and eventually scored from it and there were elements of luck about the goal.
The Brazilian risked a kick in the stomach and Kachloul’s boot WAS high as he played the ball.
And ref Steve Dunn gave Arsenal a free-kick when he might have waved play on.
Since Thierry Henry was not playing, three Arsenal players gathered round the ball. It was indirect, so Bergkamp rolled it to Wiltord, who hit a thunderous low shot which bounced just in front of the keeper.
This was one of those very rare occasions where I disagreed with Andy Gray’s call blaming Scheichel. I don’t think Buffon or Toldo or Canizares would have held such a vicious shot.
Vieira knows how hard Wiltord hits the ball, so he realised that Schmeichel was not going to hold it.
So Vieira spun off the end of the wall, followed up, slammed the rebound at the Dane – and the ball squirted up for Edu to sidefoot into an open goal, a very easy chance for a player of his skill.
The game was a bit like the 2-0 win at Newcastle.
One goal was from a free-kick, the other from a fabulous piece of skill to beat the last defender.
Bergkamp-Campbell at St James’s Park was followed by Edu-Pires at Villa Park.
The lesson of the game is this : Don’t let Thierry Henry monopolise the free-kicks from now on.
Henry is very wasteful. He might be, statistically, the least productive free-kick taker in the Premiership.
But he carries on taking everything – corners, free-kicks, penalties.
Sylvain Wiltord has his critics. And I’m one of them.
However, Wiltord has two virtues as a footballer : a very hard shot and perseverance.
Arsenal have not used his shooting power on free-kicks.
But they should from now on. Because nobody can hold his rocket shots and thge ball will often be loose and begging for a tap-in.
They can score more goals from rebounding free-kicks like that.
Ljungberg, Edu and Vieira should be running in for every rebound from now on.
18th March 2002.