Arsenals best player last night

tred

I cant beleive i am starting this again, after a magnificent 0-0 draw last night.
Henry was magnificent as always. Reyes fantastic. Hleb was very good. But i think hats off to lehmann last night. Id say hes worked his way into the starting 11 for germany now as well. Eboue is some player. Where did he find him, and for pea nuts. Lauren might not make it back into that team. Fabregas solid. and gilberto made one fantastic tackle on ronaldo.
It was great to see Raul congratulating lehmann after the game on the save. If this galactico team breaks up, Id love to see Aesenal have the balls to try and bring Raul to Ashbourton Grove next year..even though i know hed never leave madrid...

Big Nelly

tred wrote:

I cant beleive i am starting this again, after a magnificent 0-0 draw last night.
Henry was magnificent as always. Reyes fantastic. Hleb was very good. But i think hats off to lehmann last night. Id say hes worked his way into the starting 11 for germany now as well. Eboue is some player. Where did he find him, and for pea nuts. Lauren might not make it back into that team. Fabregas solid. and gilberto made one fantastic tackle on ronaldo.
It was great to see Raul congratulating lehmann after the game on the save. If this galactico team breaks up, Id love to see Aesenal have the balls to try and bring Raul to Ashbourton Grove next year..even though i know hed never leave madrid...

Mophead for me even thou I hate to say it

Roddy23

Lehmann played brilliantly again last night. He has been our most consistent performer all season. But my MOTM goes to Kolo toure. The chap was always full of running, and himself and Senderos played exceptional as we knew they would have to. That tackle on Zidane just after Reyes had hit the bar. He's a legend and a future Arsenal captain IMO.

Nalz

I thought Hleb and the keeper Lehmann were the best players on the field for Arsenal last night. Hleb never stopped going, its the best Ive seen him play. Didnt really rate him until last night...

tred

Roddy23 wrote:

Lehmann played brilliantly again last night. He has been our most consistent performer all season. But my MOTM goes to Kolo toure. The chap was always full of running, and himself and Senderos played exceptional as we knew they would have to. That tackle on Zidane just after Reyes had hit the bar. He's a legend and a future Arsenal captain IMO.

Toure was excellent. I shouldnt have left him out..

eirebhoy

I thought Hleb was excellent. Some of his touches were superb.

besty

eirebhoy wrote:

I thought Hleb was excellent. Some of his touches were superb.

His performance last night was streets ahead of anything I've seen him do for Arsenal previously. His touch was fantastic and he can beat a player for fun. If he maintains good form, I think it will signal the end for Pires.

yop

Seems the Arse are more suited to the EC than the PL.

Attacking they were class to watch, don't think that they will win it but it all depends on the draw, if they get Juve in next round they will make semi as they have a very slow defence.

jank

Interesting Article here
http://www.arsenal-mania.com/articles/1269451/A-victory-for-football.html

What was witnessed at Highbury last night was unquestionably one of the finest exhibitions of football seen for a very long time. It didn't matter that there were no goals - the desire to score was enough to remind all who watched the match why we love the game of football.

This was as close to perfection as you can get – the skill, the pace, the passion, the relentless end to end drama. This was two teams who had no desire to cynically defend en masse, hit long balls to big men up front and grind out a result. This was entertainment at its best.

It would surely not be overly harsh to suggest that there was more excitement in those ninety-minutes at Highbury than there has been at Stamford Bridge or Anfield all season? Not a single sixty-yard 'Hollywood ball' to a lone target man was to be seen. Just superb intricate, incisive passing and intelligent running and movement, on and off the ball.

This is what the Champions League was intended for. The world's greatest players going head-to-head, vying body and mind against each other and putting on a performance to relish. We have seen the exit of Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and PSV, teams renowned for their solid defensive play, while we have observed the progression of Barcelona, Arsenal, AC Milan and Lyon, teams regarded as exponents of an attacking game. We even nearly saw an offensive-minded Werder Bremen oust an ever-efficient Juventus. This was the truly the week that football fought back.

This great game has been plagued in recent years by the success of teams who have played what can only be called 'anti-football'. First there was the cynical victory of FC Porto in the 2004 Champions League, then the mind-numbing European Championship win by Greece in Portugal that same year. Last season saw Chelsea, a team with the vast financial resources to buy the world's most talented players, tediously cruise to a Premiership title win, something they are sure to replicate this season. In spite of one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history in the final, Liverpool's European Cup triumph last season was largely based on conservative counter-attack. The ostensibly attacking teams of European football had no retort then, but now the tables appear to be turning.

Arsenal have rightly been criticised for their poor showing in the Premiership this season, yet their performances in Europe have been superb. After watching both legs against Real Madrid, it could be argued that far from being not good enough for the Premiership, they are in fact too good for such a league - a league dominated by one of the most defensive outfits in recent history and generously populated by teams whose essential objective is to prevent goals rather than score them.

It begs the question as to how this Arsenal side would fare in Spain's La Liga, arguably the finest league in Europe, and one in which teams have the space to play football and are not merely frustrated by the opposition. With an attack that is at least equal to Barcelona's given favourable circumstances, offered the freedom regularly denied in the Premiership, would Arsenal rival the team that is widely regarded as the best in Europe?

Both Arsenal and Real Madrid have been discredited for their shoddy backline, though the brilliant attacking moves from each side last night were countered with equally exceptional and organised defending. Neither side needed ten men behind the ball with intent only to stifle attacks and clear the ball as far away from goal as possible. The mindset of both teams here was to win back possession and move the ball dexterously into midfield to create a positive forward move. When called upon in the final few desperate minutes, there was indeed the blood and guts blockade of the goal and the odd hoof clear, but this was out of necessity, not tactic.

The youngsters Arsène Wenger has blooded into his team, albeit prematurely, have been bred to play total football. The primary aim of this game is to create goalscoring opportunities as a team and put the ball in the opposition net. It appears that many teams have focused too much on the opposite, looking first to deny the the opponent the chance to score before worrying about finding the goal themselves. One player who fully promoted this enlightened attitude, and was simply immense all night, was Emmanuel Eboue. Outstanding defensively when Real Madrid were in possession, his hunger to surge forward when Arsenal had the ball was exemplary.

This affirmative outlook is evident in the mindset of each and every one of the Arsenal players. Their instinct is find space and move the ball forward in pursuit of a perfect goal. This is undoubtedly their affliction in the Premiership where the inclination of others seems to be to frustrate and to launch the ball forward at the first available opportunity. For Arsenal, when up against a side with a similar philosophy, it really is a matter of may the best team win.

Unfortunately, the Premiership is unlikely to adopt such a disposition for the sake of pleasing Arsenal, so measures still need to be taken by the club to strengthen resolve and offer a contingency plan for when up against such aggressive, recalcitrant teams. However in the Champions League, Arsenal now have their best chance of winning the European Cup for the very first time.

It will be no small task, but the performance against Real Madrid must surely have given a confidence that against the best attacking players in the world, they can come through victorious without conceding a single goal. While the likes of AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona remain formidable opponents, there appears to be nothing to fear for this embryonic Arsenal side, should they be able to maintain such exquisite performances.

So what better vindication of Arsène Wenger's policy of youth and progressive tactics than to salvage this season with a Champions League trophy? And what better way to win it than by beating Barcelona in a final that would surely be the quintessential advert for the beautiful game?

Says alot about the changing nature of the EPL. Its good to see the more attack minded teams doing better in the CL for once.

Big Nelly

^^^^^ Good article

tred

great article. Eboue was fantastic. I wouldnt be confident they can win the champions league right now, but if we get a decent draw, and have a few heavy weights knocked out by another heavy weight, it could be the difference. when is the draw?

evad_lhorg

hleb for me tbh. didnt show any fear when running with the ball and fooled many of the Real players. pity he wouldnt have a crack at goal though there was a few chances where the crowd were urging him to shooot and they were right to. very good player. Fabregas is also excellent. Played better in the first game though.

marky4

i think fabergas, he is a brilliant midfielser, and only 18, showed some superb touches last night, he and silva ruled the midfield, hleb was brill, very good player, if cole,campbell,and van persie come back arsenal will have a chance in the CL, i would love for liverpool to sign fabergas, good player, can cover for alonso if needed

PHB

The last time I saw a match that good was United against Real Madrid a couple of years ago, it was fantastic

Mossy Monk

Jens Lehman for me was exceptional again

Hleb i thought had a shaky start, some loose passing but he quickly made up for it. and how Eboue loves to run into the box

ctrl-alt-delete

I must say i am not a big fan of lehmann, in fact you could say i hate him for the way he acts on the pitch, i feel he basically just goes out looking for trouble, and sometimes he goes a bit too far.

But i have to say i have been very impressed with the way he has performed over the past few games, he was very unlucky against blackburn, i thought he played excellent and was unlucky not to keep the goal out, and both games against real madrid he pulled off some excellent saves. Whether it be the fact he is trying his best for the world cup or not, id just like to say jens, if you're listening well done

And i really hope arsenal can do a liverpool this season, the similarities are buliding up - although as a blackburn fan i really hope we dont finsih fourth if they do win it, it would be great for them if spurs did