By Myles Palmer
________________
Arsenal 6 Leicester 1
_______________
Referee: Dermott Gallagher
Attendance: 38,007
ARSENAL: Alex Manninger, Lee Dixon, Igors Stepanovs, Tony Adams, Silvinho, Robert Pires (Ashley Cole, 85), Gilles Grimandi (Nelson Vivas, 77), Ray Parlour, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Nwankwo Kanu(Fredrik Ljungberg, 73)
Subs unused: Stefan Malz, John Lukic.
LEICESTER: Tim Flowers, Gary Rowett, Andy Impey, Gerry Taggart(Steve Guppy, 39), Matt Elliott, Matthew Jones, Robbie Savage, Stefan Oakes (Trevor Benjamin, 51), Frank Sinclair, Ade Akinbiyi, Muzzy Izzet
Subs unused: Darren Eadie, Simon Royce, Arnar Gunnlaugsson.
CARLING STATS
The latest stats, issued to reporters before the Liverpool game,included the following :
Player with the most shots : Thierry Henry (69)
Player with the most shots on target :Thierry Henry (36)
Player with most shots off target Thierry Henry (33)
Player with the most offsides : Thierry Henry (45)
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
12 min – Pires makes a superb run, skins Sinclair, goes past Rowett in thebox, but Flowers parries his shot one-handed.
21 min – Pires crosses for a Henry header which Flowers holds comfortably.The cross is slightly too high for Henry to get real power.
35 min – 1-0
Thierry Henry,unmarked in the D,hits a thunderous half-volley from a perfectly accurate outswinging Pires corner.
High-velocity shot bounces, keeper Tim Flower does not move as net bulges.
39 min – Substitution of Steve Guppy for injured Gerry Taggart
50 min – 2-0
Vieira surges into the box, controls Henry’s pass on his left thigh and flicks the ball up over Flowers.
51 min – Substitution of Trevor Benjamin on for Stefan Oakes.
54 min – 2-1
Ade Akinbiyi nets from one yard after Manniger fumbles a bouncing header from Benjamin. This is Leicester’s only shot on target.
56 Lee Dixon crosses, Henry produces a Batistuta power header. But Flowers makes a spectacular one-handed save, tipping it past the post.Probably Henry’s finest header in an Arsenal shirt.
66 min – 3-1
Henry scores a Heskey goal! When Dixon’s lob bounces on the edge of the box, Henry holds off Matt Elliott, controls with right foot,scores with left.
70 min : I write in notebook : 20 left, time for 2 more.
74 min – Substitution of Freddie Ljungberg for Kanu.
75 min – 4-1
Ljungberg hooks in from close range after a Stepanovs header rebounds from post.
77 min – Substitution of Vivas for Grimandi.
82 min – 5-1
Henry, released by a long Vivas pass, shimmies round Flowers to complete his first hat-trick for Arsenal.
85 min – Substitution of Ashley Cole for Pires.
90 min – 6-1
Henry’s brilliant right wing cross bounces, eludes
Ljungberg and Cole, but reaches Adams, who rifles it high into the net with his left foot.
This thrilling, pulverising, adrenalising 6-1 victory is exactly the tonic the Arsenal squad needed after bottoming out at Anfield.
Not to mention the fans, who want to be entertained on a cold day. I’m wearing two pairs of socks.The first half hour is played at a sleepy,jogging tempo, a typical Boxing Day early kick-off performance. At half time I put gloves on for the first time this season. After 80 minutes I
realise my fingertips are freezing.
I go home and tell the family that I cannot remember the last time I had to blow hot air into my gloves.
Caroline, 15, had been at the game.
She says, “I do that every Saturday, Dad!”
27th December 2000.