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Sparta Prague 0-2 Arsenal: Arsenal Grind out Win

Loylz

Established Member
Trusted ⭐
Arsenal met Sparta Prague last night (Wednesday) in a game described in many quarters as being crucial to how our season unfolds. It was after all our route into the Champions League proper and anything less than a win or a high scoring draw would have left us looking at a situation where a repeat of the PSV game last season could have become a real possibility.

The game against Sparta, where Tomasz Rosicky started his career, was not one of many chances and we could have even found ourselves behind going into half time as Jens Lehmann managed to get a foot onto a shot by Jan Rezek to deflect the ball onto the post. A let off for us but we did seem to heed our warning as after that point Sparta really had no chance of note, other than a goal mouth scramble late on. What they did do was manage to close down any Arsenal player as soon as he received the ball, and they did it well with two and at time three men chasing down the loose ball. They were physical in the challenge and were quick to play the long ball but all of that was to be expected by a side who, albeit at home, were clearly not capable of matching us in terms of free flowing football. They played their game and did so with so much enthusiasm that we were stifled in attack and rarely threatened in the first half. But to be honest we were resolute in defence as well for a change and managed to deal with anything in and around our box.

In past seasons this is a game which we probably would have either managed a dour draw or come away with a defeat. In fact I was dreading this all evening and hoping that we do not make a mistake and gift them a goal. To be fair on the team, we didn't and in the second half created a few more chances than the first half, and with our first real opening we scored the goal. Cesc Fabregas was the scorer, but much of the credit should go to Gael Clichy who did marvellously in picking up the loose ball in midfield, dribbling past two or three challenges, before teeing up Fabregas who shot coolly into the bottom corner. It was a good goal and one which prompted the Czech side to come forward looking for a goal. It created more space for our and one quick counter attack, started by Jens Lehmann and finished by Alex Hleb via the run of Sagna, really killed off the game in our favour and gave our hopes of progressing to the group stages a boost as we had two crucial away goals. This was a game where chances were few and far between and any chance which came our way needed to be finished. We did just that and did not let the Czech side muscle us out of the game which was nice to see.

We started with the same side that had come away with victory over Fulham over the weekend as none of the injured quartet of With Eduardo (ankle), Emmanuel Adebayor (groin), Abou Diaby (ankle), Denilson (ankle) and Gilberto (fatigue) managing to recover in time. This meant the team picked itself.

The first chance of the game fell to the hosts. Pavel Horvath sent in a deep cross from the left and the ball eluded everyone but Rezek who shot across goal only to see Lehmann deflect the ball onto the post. The home team can feel really unlucky that the ball did not land to any one of their players lurking towards the edge of the box. In an attempt to play the ball out of defence and create a counter attack, we forced Martin Hasek into a reckless challenge on Flamini which resulted in the first booking in a game where there were bound to be more.

Soon after Robin van Persie chested a long ball into the path of Cesc Fabregas, but the Spaniard saw his shot pushed around the post for our first corner of the game. The corner came to nothing and the home side cleared their box, but were soon under pressure yet again after conceding a free kick on the edge of the box. Robin van Persie stepped up and forced the goalkeeper into punching the ball out but there was no one following up on the loose ball in the box waiting to capitalise for us. This is a situation we've seen on far too many occasions since the departure of Robert Pires but this may change once Eduardo starts to get games for us as his predatory instincts are one of his main strengths.

Sparta did have a few half chances of their own with Hasek coming close with a drive from the corner of the box and Rezek being denied by a sprawling challenge from Lehmann which left Rezek in a heap on the floor claiming an injury. It was a fair challenge and would be a sign of more playacting to come from the Czech side who, despite being strong in the challenge themselves, were feigning injuries from the most minor of challenges from our players. This was gamesmanship of the highest order which wasn't helped by the fact that the referee was quick to blow his whistle and any opportunity and produce a card, highlighted by the fact that Flamini, Fabregas and Kulic followed Hasek into the referee's book before half time. Tomas Repka was injured in a 50-50 challenge with Fabregas and although he tried to continue the Sparta captain, and former West Ham defender, had to be taken off.

The first half ended without any other real chances as both teams cancelled each other out. Surely the second half must be a more open affair than a first which promised so much but delivered so little.

The second half started just as the first half did with Sparta looking the sharper team. Although they didn't create anything, there was an urgency about the speed of their game and they were always first to the loose ball. They were quick to snuff out any Arsenal attack and were looking to hit us on the counter any chance they got.

Our first meaningful foray forward came from Rosicky. The Czech international captain cut in from the left wing and played the ball into the feet of van Persie who swivelled and hit a right footed shot towards goal. It was a tame shot and the keeper palmed the ball out into the six yard box. Yet again the Sparta defence were first to the loose ball although they almost put through their own net in an attempt to clear the ball. The resulting corner was, unsurprisingly, cleared.

We kept the pressure on Sparta and Zdenek Pospech nearly put through his own net when trying to clear van Persie's left wing cross. It seemed inevitable that we would either score or be hit on the break but luckily for us, on 72 minutes it was the former which happened. It was all Clichy as the young Frenchman picked off a loose ball in the centre circle and within seconds managed to leave three Sparta players flat on their backside before setting up Fabregas for an easy finish. Fabregas went on to celebrate by pointing a finger at Gael showing his appreciation at the Frenchman's role in the goal. Indeed after the game Fabregas admitted 90% of the credit for the goal should go to Clichy.

This gave the home team an incentive to push forward in search of a goal. They won a free kick 25 yards out from goal and proceeded with a play straight from the training ground. It was a clever play but the third pass was cut out by Mathieu Flamini. Kulic then attempted to blast a shot at the near post but even with the ball likely to be going wide, Lehmann took no chance and pushed the ball out for a corner kick. The corner was cleared and Wenger then decided to shore up his defence by putting on Alex Song for Rosicky. Straight after coming on the Cameroonian received a pass from Clichy next to the half way line as we pushed forward but Song, in an attempt to play a 1-2 with the Frenchman hit the ball straight out for a throw. From the resulting throw Clichy fouled one of the home team players conceding a free kick. Sparta put all their men in the box and floated in the free kick where Kulic flicked a header towards goal but Lehmann was on hand to deny Sparta yet again conceding another corner. The corner was driven in and after initially failing to clear the ball Flamini was on hand to tackle Martin Abraham with a strong challenge after the ball broke to the Sparta midfielder in the 6 yard box.

It was a crucial tackle it would have been a certain goal. Lehmann picked up the loose ball and quickly released Sagna, and after seeing the Frenchman scurrying down the left. It was a 2 on 2 situation and he played the ball to Hleb in the box. The Belarusian, scorer of the winning goal on Sunday, was on hand to score yet again despite being under pressure ensuring Arsenal have a two goal cushion going into the second leg of this Champions League qualifier.

This was a tense game and really could have gone either way but credit has to be given to the players who never gave up and continued to search for the goal. Many times last season we would have let our heads drop in games like these where chances were at a bare minimum. We showed patience and determination and like last Sunday against Fulham, we played until the last minute. There is a new team spirit in our players and I hope this continues. I'm not sure if this just a coincidence but I just hope we can keep it up.
 

RC8

Established Member
Good match report. I agree, as long as we keep winning we are doing fine. During our CL run we did not create that many chances, but we took what we got well.
 

Loylz

Established Member
Trusted ⭐
Cheers. Sorry about the late reply. I had no access to the internet until now.

Not sure which style of writing these things though as I kind of like both. I tried this one from a fans perspective but the last one to me was more along the lines of a "professional" (as in more or less unbiased and focusing on both sides of the game.) Guess we'll only tell when the next one comes out lol.
 

RC8

Established Member
From the fans perspective is the way to go. If I want to read something 'professional' I go to Sky and Soccernet. But of course, once you've watched the game, it isn't really important to read a professional summary of all that happened.

When it's written from the fans' perspective in the other hand, even if you have watched the game, you will like to re-live the emotions and see what other fellow gooners thought about the performance of a couple of players, etc.
 

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