By Myles Palmer
Kanoute will play for West Ham tomorrow but he surely cannot do much against Campbell and Keown.
He’s tall, fast and awkward but if he’s coming back from injury he will need a couple of games to find his form. At least.
So I can’t see Kanoute being as big a threat as Defoe, or even the skip-jumping Joe Cole.
So Arsenal will chalk up a record 15th consecutive victory.
Bergkamp is fit, but Gilberto only came back from Brazil today, so he will not play.
I’ve got a funny feeling Aliadiere will get his first Premiership goal tomorrow.
He might even start instead of Wiltord.
Although Toure is bigger and stronger and older. Toure could be a very,very good player-and quite soon.
But Aliadiere is a sharp, quick, skilful lad with good awareness.
A natural. I think he’s a natural.
I think he’s got something that you can’t coach into a striker. If he gets one chance I fancy him to score.
Without Pires, Arsene was always gonna play Dennis more often to provide the assists.
The team needs his vision and passes.
They must be too strong for West Ham, who lost 4-0 at Newcastle on Monday night, collapsing after Lua Lua scored the first goal in 61.
Poor Gilberto has gone from ecstasy to despair in only eight weeks.
He wins the World Cup and takes it back to Brazil and celebrates and then goes on holiday with his family and then signs for Arsenal and scores in the Community Shield and then goes back to Brazil for Big Phil Scolari’s last game.
Against Paraguay in Fortaleza, four hours from Sao Paulo.
The occasion is hijacked by glory-hunting politicians and Ronaldo had not trained for two months, so his performance is a joke. He goes off after 28 minutes or so.
And Brazil lose 1-0 at home to Paraguay! And Gilberto is the man beaten for the goal !.
What a downer for the big shy guy!
But that’s football.
Gilberto will learn to love playing for a well-organised club.
He will never see Tony Blair in the Arsenal dressing room , that’s for sure.
Gooners are grumbling about the price of away tickets.
£32 at West Ham, £38 at Charlton, £40 at Chelsea.
Arsenal charge away fans an average of £21.50.
Compared to most clubs AFC have always been decent to away supporters, not charging them more than home fans.
CHELSEA 2 MAN UNITED 2
Silvestre just gets better and better.
And when Zenden is on form he looks what I always said he was : a fine power player.
He can usually dribble, shoot and cross.
Zenden is strong and brave and ebullient, but not a great craftsman like Overmars.He often gives the ball away a lot.
But when he is playing well, as he is at the moment, he can pass the ball neatly and play like an all-round footballer.
Some good goals!
Zenden puts in a killer free-kick for Gallas to touch in from four yards.
Silvestre picks out Beckham with a 60 yard pass that catches Babayaro ball-watching.
Becks cuts inside the Nigerian and buries it, with a deflection off Desailly’s toe.
But just before halftime keeper Roy Carrol boobs.
He throws the ball out to Lampard, the move develops, ZENDEN plays a one-two with lampard, and hits a cannonball shot from the edge of the box for 2-1 on 45 minutes.
United then play well in the second half.
Van Nistelrooy has a good goal wrongly flagged offside.
Cudicini flattens Scholes after gingernut has kneed the ball past him, but Graham Poll waves play on.
Then Silvestre did what he did so well last season.
He zoomed down the left wing and cut the ball back perfectly for GIGGS to smash the equaliser.
Entertaining game.
JOHN O’SHEA did well against the scary Hasslbaink. Chelsea faded and Petit was peripheral.
Conclusion?
Zenden is a one-man whirlwind but Silvestre is a one-man team.
A goal for France on Wednesday and two assists for man United on Friday.
Tomorrow Silvestre is gonna beat Dwain Chambers at Crystal Palace.
He said,”I’m down in London for the weekend, why not?”
23rd August 2002.