EPL Week 1: Samir Nasri's First Premiership Goal Gives Arsenal 1-0 Win Against West Bromwich Albion
August 17th 2008 01:26
It was supposed to be a walk in the park for Wenger's men. Their opponents were West Bromwich Albion, a club that's been spending its time between the bottom of the Premier League and the Football League; they were promoted to the Premiership for this season after winning the League's Championship.
Arsenal came out rocking from the first second of the game. At the 3rd minute of play, they opened the score when Denilson passed the ball to Nasri for a tap-in in the six-yard box. The goal came off of a nice play started by Nasri on the left wing. The French midfielder passed the ball to Bendtner who sent it to Clichy – the pass could've gone to Nasri but Arsenal's big summer signing let the pass go to Clichy and continued his run – then, Clichy passed it to Denilson who entered the box and crossed to Nasri for the goal. The Gunners had the most possession throughout the game, so Almunia had a pretty quiet afternoon. When his teammates lost the ball, the defense's offside trap usually took care of things (there was one instance in which Djourou had to save the ball right off the goal linebut not much else).
Unfortunately, Nasri's goal was the only one of the match with a few close calls by Gallas and Adebayor. The Gunners attacked mostly on the left, using Nasri as their main playmaker while Denilson was his 'second-in-command.' Consequently, the majority of passes went to three players – Nasri, Denilson, and Clichy. In attack, Adebayor had a constant bodyguard in West Brom's defender Meite, so he was pretty limited in his movements. Plus, he and Bendtner don't seem to have buried the hatchet (I don't think those two ever passed the ball to each other this afternoon – not even once). Walcott also wasn't at his best while Van Persie didn't bring anything new to the table when he came in as a substitute.
All in all, this was clearly Nasri's match. He scored the winning goal, made some good plays, and was everywhere on the field. West Brom simply didn't have the firepower in front to worry the Gunners. Still, Arsenal won't go far playing this way. They definitely have to step up their game for the rest of the season.
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Johan Djourou, William Gallas, Gael Clichy; Theo Walcott (Kolo Toure, 72nd), Emmanuel Eboue, Denilson, Samir Nasri; Nicklas Bendtner (Robin Van Persie, 69th), Emmanuel Adebayor.
Arsenal came out rocking from the first second of the game. At the 3rd minute of play, they opened the score when Denilson passed the ball to Nasri for a tap-in in the six-yard box. The goal came off of a nice play started by Nasri on the left wing. The French midfielder passed the ball to Bendtner who sent it to Clichy – the pass could've gone to Nasri but Arsenal's big summer signing let the pass go to Clichy and continued his run – then, Clichy passed it to Denilson who entered the box and crossed to Nasri for the goal. The Gunners had the most possession throughout the game, so Almunia had a pretty quiet afternoon. When his teammates lost the ball, the defense's offside trap usually took care of things (there was one instance in which Djourou had to save the ball right off the goal linebut not much else).
Unfortunately, Nasri's goal was the only one of the match with a few close calls by Gallas and Adebayor. The Gunners attacked mostly on the left, using Nasri as their main playmaker while Denilson was his 'second-in-command.' Consequently, the majority of passes went to three players – Nasri, Denilson, and Clichy. In attack, Adebayor had a constant bodyguard in West Brom's defender Meite, so he was pretty limited in his movements. Plus, he and Bendtner don't seem to have buried the hatchet (I don't think those two ever passed the ball to each other this afternoon – not even once). Walcott also wasn't at his best while Van Persie didn't bring anything new to the table when he came in as a substitute.
All in all, this was clearly Nasri's match. He scored the winning goal, made some good plays, and was everywhere on the field. West Brom simply didn't have the firepower in front to worry the Gunners. Still, Arsenal won't go far playing this way. They definitely have to step up their game for the rest of the season.
Match Highlights
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Johan Djourou, William Gallas, Gael Clichy; Theo Walcott (Kolo Toure, 72nd), Emmanuel Eboue, Denilson, Samir Nasri; Nicklas Bendtner (Robin Van Persie, 69th), Emmanuel Adebayor.
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