Arsenal Grabs 2-0 Win Against FC Twente Despite Lacklustre Performance
August 15th 2008 05:06
The Gunners must've thought that this away-leg of the Champions League qualifyer would be a piece of cake. After all, FC Twente aren't that big of a club, having won the Eredivisie once in their history (in 1926 no less) and grabbing the UEFA Cup silver medal in 1975. So Arsene Wenger's troops took the game lightly and offered one of their worst performances I've ever seen.
The absence of first-choice midfielders didn't help matters for Wenger. With Fabregas and Nasri injured, Arsenal had to rely on young Aaron Ramsey and Denilson to construct plays while Eboue had to play as a winger. The first half was a complete mess as the Gunners clearly missed Fabregas' vision. Sometimes they would do short passes when a long ball to Adebayor would be ideal, and sometimes they would send the ball to the striker when a pass to one of the wingers was the more viable option. Walcott was completely invisible. In fact, if he wasn't on the starting-eleven list that I copy before every game, I wouldn't have known that he was playing. Meanwhile Twente players were impressing their crowd with nice dribbles and skills here and there. Unfortunately, their shooting abilities weren't as great, and Arsenal were lucky to find themselves still tied 0-0 at half-time.
Twente came back roaring at the beginning of the second half, still showing off their skills but without too many scoring opportunities. At the 62nd minute, Arsenal scored a lucky goal from a free-kick deflection. It was defender Gallas who scored and it was more a matter of being in the right place at the right time than a voluntary deflection. After the Gunners took the lead, the Dutch club were deflated. They seemed to have given up and slowly became lazy when pressuring opposing players. Finally, at the 81st minute, Adebayor scored the insurance goal by tapping-in Walcott's cross. It was the young winger's sole contribution of the match, he'll be glad that it counted for something.
This win gives a bit of space to Arsenal for the second leg which will be played at the Emirates. A 0-0 draw or a 1-0 victory will be enough to send them to the group stage.
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Johan Djourou, William Gallas; Emmanuel Eboue, Denilson, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott (Mark Randall, 84th); Robin Van Persie (Nicklas Bendtner, 88th), Emmanuel Adebayor.
The absence of first-choice midfielders didn't help matters for Wenger. With Fabregas and Nasri injured, Arsenal had to rely on young Aaron Ramsey and Denilson to construct plays while Eboue had to play as a winger. The first half was a complete mess as the Gunners clearly missed Fabregas' vision. Sometimes they would do short passes when a long ball to Adebayor would be ideal, and sometimes they would send the ball to the striker when a pass to one of the wingers was the more viable option. Walcott was completely invisible. In fact, if he wasn't on the starting-eleven list that I copy before every game, I wouldn't have known that he was playing. Meanwhile Twente players were impressing their crowd with nice dribbles and skills here and there. Unfortunately, their shooting abilities weren't as great, and Arsenal were lucky to find themselves still tied 0-0 at half-time.
Twente came back roaring at the beginning of the second half, still showing off their skills but without too many scoring opportunities. At the 62nd minute, Arsenal scored a lucky goal from a free-kick deflection. It was defender Gallas who scored and it was more a matter of being in the right place at the right time than a voluntary deflection. After the Gunners took the lead, the Dutch club were deflated. They seemed to have given up and slowly became lazy when pressuring opposing players. Finally, at the 81st minute, Adebayor scored the insurance goal by tapping-in Walcott's cross. It was the young winger's sole contribution of the match, he'll be glad that it counted for something.
This win gives a bit of space to Arsenal for the second leg which will be played at the Emirates. A 0-0 draw or a 1-0 victory will be enough to send them to the group stage.
Arsenal's goals
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Johan Djourou, William Gallas; Emmanuel Eboue, Denilson, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott (Mark Randall, 84th); Robin Van Persie (Nicklas Bendtner, 88th), Emmanuel Adebayor.
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