By Myles Palmer
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Arsenal 2 West Ham 0
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Ljungberg 77, Kanu 80
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HALLELUJAH!
Arsenal are keeping clean sheets and scoring from crosses !
Six clean sheets in seven game since they lost to Juventus reserves in Turin.
The only goal conceded in those seven games was a penalty by Sheringham (after that Poyet-Seaman collision) in a 2-1 win over Spurs three weeks ago.
Three crosses in four days.
Vieira cross, Keown knockdown, Ljungberg goal against Ipswich.Grimandi cross,Ljungberg header, saved, knocks in the rebound, 2-0, thanks very much !
I said it wouldn’t take 68 minutes to score but it took 77 last night because West Ham played well, especially Michael Carrick, the midfielder Arsene likes so much.
The vibrant, enterprising Kanoute was robbed when Ashley Cole kicked his shot away AFTER it had crossed the line.
The force is with the Arsenal now.
And so is the luck, as we saw when Festa’s own-goal sent them to Crdiff.
Yes,the Kanoute “goal” was lucky, but think of all the “offside” goals Henry has had wrongly disallowed by linesmen this season, as in the Sunderland game.
Lungberg beat four Hammers in one early run but David James was on him in a flash. Excellent goalkeeping !
It was a much more open game that the last two, but Arsenal were jittery. With so much at stake, who wouldn’t be jittery?
Eventually,a majestic pass from Bergkamp (who else?) released Freddie(who else?) and this time he beat James neatly.
Then the indefatigable Freddie crossed from the left and Kanu miscued his volley into the ground but it bounced in for 2-0.
No surprise that Freddie is grabbing goals. We know he has the drive and bottle to score the first goal in big games. And the stamina to score the first in 68 or 77 if it takes that long.
Alex Ferguson was right.He said Arsenal could have a blip.
They had it against Middlesbrough and Ipswich, when they didn’t play as well as I expected.
The other team makes it very difficult for you sometimes – that’s football. But Arsenal won both those games.
That was the blip, Alex.
You’re watching the team that has played the best football in the country go four points clear of Liverpool and it’s still out of your hands, pal, because you are five points adrift now.
And we were SO sorry to see your boys held 2-2 by Leverkusen at Old Trafford last night.
Will United be 100% focused at Ipswich on Saturday, with a big, big Tuesday night coming up in the suburbs of Cologne?
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ARSENAL (4-4-2): Seaman —Lauren,Keown,Adams, Cole—
Parlour,Vieira, Edu(sub:Kanu, 64min),Ljungberg(sub: L Dixon 90)—Henry,Bergkamp(sub:Grimandi).
Subs not used:Jeffers, Wright.
Booked: Edu,Vieira.
WEST HAM (4-5-1):James —Ian Pearce, Repka,Dailly, Winterburn —Schemmel(sub: Labant,17 ),Lomas,Carrick, Joe Cole, Sinclair—Kanouté(sub:Defoe, 73).
Subs not used: Shaka Hislop, Potts, Garcia.
Booked: Carrick, Lomas.
Referee: Steve Dunn.
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Remaining Premiership fixtures
ARSENAL:
Monday April 27: Bolton (a)
Wedneday May 8 : Manchester Utd (a)
Saturday May 11 : Everton (h)
LIVERPOOL:
Saturday: Tottenham (a)
May 5: Blackburn (h)
May 11: Ipswich (h)
MANCHESTER UNITED:
Saturday: Ipswich (a).
May 8: Arsenal (h).
May 11: Charlton (h).