Newcastle 1 Arsenal 1
Adebayor gave Arsenal a flying start with a fine goal in 4 minutes.
But they couldn’t sustain it because Eduardo and Gilberto were passengers.
Eboue crossed perfectly to Adebayor, who chested the ball and smashed in a classic centre forward’s goal from ten yards. That spectacular strike rocked Newcastle and silenced the stadium
Diarra was excellent, winning balls, passing well, picking up a yellow card but avoiding a second booking in his best game so far.
He proved to be a playmaker as well as a ball-winner. He can use it and make things happen. As I always suspected when I first saw him at Chelsea, this lad is one helluva footballer. Without his Herculean efforts at St James’s Park, Arsenal would have lost. Diarra kept them in the game.
Arsene Wenger said, “I feel a point is maybe a fair result. We are a bit frustrated because we were 1-0 up. It was a typical winter game in Newcastle. They fought for every ball, they were in a crisis. And that crisis made it difficult for us.
“We had a great spirit and great resilience, but we did not create enough going forward tonight – we did not find our fluency. Technically we were not at our best tonight. We were not quick enough to find the right ball and the right pass.”
The manager might have brought on Bendtner for Eduardo at half-time, as he had been peripheral to the point of invisibility.
Instead of doing that, he switched Rosicky and Eduardo, but in 54, when Rosicky and Adebayor broke down the middle, two against one, Adebayor stupidly ran three yards offside, so Rosicky could not pass to him.
Rosicky had to turn back into four Newcastle players who were chasing him and he flapped his arms in despair as the move broke down. Replays showed that there was no point in the move where Rosicky could have passed to Adebayor, who crossed the half-way line before the ball, taking himself out of the game. Having run offside when he should have slowed down, Adebayor didn’t bend his run to get back onside. That was pathetic and amateurish.
Anelka would not have run offside, Torres wouldn’t, Drogba wouldn’t, Tevez wouldn’t. The Czech was visibly frustrated because he figured that if they had scored and made it 2-0, Arsenal would have won.
From that point on, after that bungled breakaway, Newcastle took over and dominated, and the goal they scored on the hour had been coming for ten minutes.
Eduardo lost the ball on the left, right back Habib Beye crossed, Smith headed on, and Martins dummied to deceive Sagna, allowing Steven Taylor half a yard to hit a low shot that went in off the post. No blame to Almunia on that one.
Arsenal improved when Bendtner came on for Eduardo (67) but when three minutes of injury time were added it looked as if Newcastle might even win the game.
A 1-1 draw reminded us that football is about players. If Hleb had played, Arsenal would have won.
Eduardo was hopeless in two positions. He is clever touch player and a superb finisher but he looks like a lightweight playing in the wrong league. Arsene has said we will see the best of Eduardo after Xmas but I now doubt that.
Gilberto was also poor. He held Arsenal together last season and scored 11 goals but this season he hasn’t played, and he’s demoralised, and this game did not suit him.
I did a report on Newstalk 106, Dublin, as a guest of Eoin McDevitt and Ken Early.
Eoin : “Myles Palmer joins us on the line now, I wanna ask you about the man-of-the-match decision – Alan Smith, a rugged kind of a player ?”
Myles (ironically): “Alan Smith did well, he didn’t maim anybody. Joey Barton didn’t maim anybody, so they both did well, didn’t they?”
Ken : “They tried though ! Do you think Alan Smith sums up everything that’s wrong with British football?”
Myles : “I do, actually. And that’s why he was bought by a manager who sums up everything that’s wrong with British football.”
Ken : “Is that what you think of Sam Allardyce?”
Myles : “Well, it’s long-ball, it’s elbows, it’s neanderthal. He’s got a backroom staff of 24 people doing scientific analysis and fitness and nutrition, but it’s still long-ball and flick-on, most of it, isn’t it?”
VERDICT : Newcastle had some great chances and deserved to share the points.
Aston Villa had watched Arsenal in the first half but Newcastle did not make that mistake. They pressed high up the field and that was how they equalised after Barton won the ball off Eduardo by the touchline deep in his own half. Both goals came at the same end, both from right wing crosses. Referee Mike Dean had an excellent game.
NEWCASTLE (4-4-2): Given; Beye, Rozenhal, Taylor, N’Zogbia; Geremi (Viduka 77), Butt, Barton, Emre; Martins, Smith. Subs not used: Harper (gk), Enrique, Emre, Edgar.
ARSENAL (4-4-1-1): Almunia; Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy; Eboué, Gilberto, Diarra, Rosicky; Eduardo (Bendtner, 67); Adebayor. Subs not used: Lehmann (gk), Denilson, Song, Walcott.
Today I’ve been sent a YouTube video called Hitler : Arsenal clinch fourth place.
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