ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE + CHAMPIONS LEAGUE + CARLING CUP: DECEMBER 2006 (And what a month it is!)
LONDON DERBY #3:
EPL MATCH DAY 16: ARSENAL (4-7) v TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS (4-1); Draw: 5-2
A rematch of our Carling Cup tie only 3 days prior. Tottenham found themselves calling on a lot of the same players they fielded against us, while we restored our first team, with Henry and Iaquinta back to lead the charge. And lead they did – within three crazy minutes of each other both strikers found the net after superlative team moves to leave our London rivals dead in the water. A sublime chip over the defense from substitute David Bentley left Henry with a simple tap-in finish late in the second half for his 10th goal of the season and our 2nd win over Tottenham in as many games.
ARSL 3 (Henry 29, 81, Iaquinta 32)
T’HAM 0
MoM: Thierry Henry
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE MATCH DAY 6:
MONACO (9-4) v ARSENAL (Evens – Fav); Draw: 9-4
With nothing but pride – and €350,000 – to fight for, I fielded a weakened side with Bergkamp once again as playmaker and Bojinov and Bendtner leading the offense. We paid the price by falling behind after only 3mins, which worried me because I didn’t want morale dampened by a heavy defeat before visiting Manchester United (plus, the money would be very helpful). But Bojinov struck back after 25mins, before Campbell rose highest to a Reyes corner and buried it to give us the lead for good.
MON 1 (Javier Ernesto Chevantón 3)
ARSL 2 (Bojinov 25, Campbell 34)
MoM: Valeri Bojinov
BIG FOUR CLASH #3:
EPL MATCH DAY 17: MANCHESTER UNITED (13-8) v ARSENAL FC (6-4 – Fav); Draw: 2-1
Whoever kept labeling us favorites was starting to frustrate me. This was our third clash against our rivals in the so-called ‘Big Four’, and we’d lost one and drawn one already – despite being favorites both times. The Red Devils were in a rich vein of form, unbeaten in 8 matches – including a 6-2 demolition of high-flying Roma that sent them into the Knockout Stages of the Champions League at the Romans’ expense. Despite this, they found themselves in 5th place on 32 points, 7 points off the lead with a game in hand. We were in second place a point behind Aston Villa and also with a game in hand.
Sir Alex’s men were deployed in a 4-1-2-2-1 formation that had proven ruthlessly effective for them, new signing Dagoberto standing in for their leading scorer van Nistelrooy, out with a hip injury.
Preview Starting Lineups for the Man Utd-Arsenal clash @ Old Trafford
Vincenzo Iaquinta has had a fire burning inside him all season, but today it turned into an uncontrollable conflagration as he, and by extension we, hit the ground running. The giant Italian scored his 20th goal of the season with a sumptuous first-time volley from the edge of the area after 8mins, and 5mins later his close range header deflected wickedly off Manchester new-boy Asier Del Horno and into the net. But United responded with a penalty, conceded by a surprisingly sub-par Yobo (in his 200th career league appearance) and converted by Paul Scholes for his 100th league goal for the Red Devils, and 10mins before half time they were level as our defense went to sleep after clearing a surefire goal, only to concede a beaut of a goal from Dagoberto.
But Iaquinta wasn’t done yet. 10mins into the second half, van Persie picked him out in the box with a phenomenally precise cross, which the Italian volleyed home first-time. With United chasing the game once more, we picked the m off on the break, Henry setting Iaquinta up for the simplest of tap-ins. It was over as a contest when John O’Shea was sent off, and Henry finally found the back of the net as Iaquinta turned provider with a cushioned header, sealing the rout and his place in the hearts of every Gunners fan.
MAN U 2 (Scholes, 23 – pen, Dagoberto 34)
ARSL 5 (Iaquinta 8, 13, 56, 58, Henry 86)
MoM: Vincenzo Iaquinta
Red Card: John O’Shea (Man Utd, 73)
LONDON DERBY #4:
EPL MATCH DAY 18: ARSENAL (4-7 – Fav) v CHARLTON ATHLETIC (4-1); Draw: 5-2
Charlton were high-flying, sitting pretty in 7th place following their 2-1 win over Birmingham. There was no way we were going to take them for granted, and I had taken pains to remind the team and the fans that our historic triumph at Old Trafford hadn’t secured us anything. I fielded my strongest available side, and they got the message. It took just over 20mins, and Hleb stole the ball off Darren Bent and swiveled to rifle a glorious screamer home from almost 30 yards out. Mere minutes before half time, Henry calmly converted a penalty – his 200th LEAGUE GOAL FOR ARSENAL! – to have us cruising. The floodgates opened in the second half as headed goals from Henry and Iaquinta – in his 50th Arsenal appearance – doubled our advantage, before Ljungberg struck in injury time with a peach of a lob from just inside the box that left the ‘keeper helpless. Clichy provided his second assist from off the bench when he set up Hleb’s scorching drive a minute later – the Belarusian’s 5th of the season.
ARSL 6 (Hleb 24, 90+, Henry 39 – pen, 48, Iaquinta 63, Ljungberg 90+)
CHAR 0
MoM: Aliaksandr Hleb
CARLING CUP QUARTERFINAL: CHELSEA FC v ARSENAL FC
Having scored 11 goals in two games, conceding just 2, we were undeniably on a high, but this was a game we had wanted to avoid. Tensions over last season’s clash were still fresh, and to consider we had lost that game despite strengthening our Carling Cup squad with the inclusion of Thierry Henry only makes it more daunting. Bojinov was out injured so I started van Persie up front alongside Bendtner, with Bergkamp once again in the hole. Campbell started in defense for the injured Senderos, having to marshal the likes of Drogba, Robben, Lampard, and Essien.
Out of nothing, inside 5mins, a Frank Lampard special from all of 25 yards beat Almunia, clipped the upright, and settled in the back of the net to give Chelsea the lead. But somehow my boys were able to dig deep, and Billy Jones sprang van Persie with a glorious cross-field pass which the Dutchman controlled and unselfishly cut-back for Ljungberg to volley home for the equalizer. The stalemate remained until towards the end of the first half, when a last ditch Campbell tackle sent the ball out to Flamini, who smartly sent it upfield into the path of van Persie, who cleverly chipped the onrushing Cech to hand us the lead. The lead held up until 8mins from time, when – who else? – Hernan Crespo popped up in the box to finish deftly past Almunia, breaking Gunners’ hearts and sending the game into Extra Time with his 50th goal for Chelsea.
Van Persie had dropped into the hole to replace Bergkamp, whose legs couldn’t hold out for 90, and Reyes and Ryan Smith were now partnering up front. The young Dutchman was on hand to convert a 93rd minute penalty, once again giving us the lead, and it was his deft free kick from the left channel that Ryan Smith rose bravely to nod home – his first ever senior goal for Arsenal. Chelsea was by now pushing very hard, and we hit harder on the break as Ljungberg brilliantly unleashed van Persie behind the Blues’ back-line, leaving him to finish past Cech with authority and seal our place in the semis. Wayne Bridge’s first goal for Chelsea proved to be little more than a consolation after that.
CHLS 3 (Lampard 4, Crespo 82, Bridge 108)
ARSL 5 (Ljungberg 19, van Persie 43, pen 93, 103, Ryan Smith 96)
MoM: Robin van Persie
We drew Liverpool in the two-legged Semi Final (away then at home) to prove we weren’t out of the woods yet.
EPL MATCH DAY 19: NORWICH CITY (9-2) v ARSENAL (1-2); Draw: 13-5
We were at the halfway point of the season, when things typically get pretty brutal, but we were firing on all cylinders for arguably the first time all season. The signs were not good for our rivals, and even less so for lowly Norwich City, the Premier League newcomers who were in 18th place (albeit one point from safety). I started with Yobo anchoring midfield to make up for injury losses in that department, but Gonzalo once again was brutally exposed as his pairing with Touré continued to misfire. He dallied on the ball instead of clearing it and had his pocket picked by Norwich’s Andy Hughes, who had a simple enough time blasting past Lehmann. Henry, in his 400th career league appearance, spared Gonzalo’s blushes (and ours) from the penalty spot, but we looked headed towards a share of the spoils – very deserved – before substitute Billy Jones’s excellent run through midfield deep into injury time found Reyes who set up David Bentley for a close-range finish – his first ever for Arsenal. I felt horrible for Norwich, who should really have gotten a point out of this, but I’m incredibly grateful for all three – and to see our fighting spirit in such action.
NOR 1 (Hughes 31)
ARSL 2 (Henry pen 37, Bentley 90+)
MoM: David Bentley
BOXING DAY MATCH-UP:
EPL MATCH DAY 20: MIDDLESBROUGH (4-1) v ARSENAL (4-7); Draw: 5-2
Yet another boxing day mash-up, and my players were already feeling the strain of so many matches coming so fast and thick. The goal was to finish the year at the top of the standings (and extend our impressive win streak to 10 in all contests), which we were well poised to do. That is until the 5th min, when we found ourselves trailing to a Gaizka Mendieta penalty. 7mins later it was almost 2-0, but Mendieta this time flubbed his penalty, allowing Iaquinta, from a free kick floated in by Hleb (in his 50th Arsenal league game), to nod in the equalizer – his 25th goal this season. We weren’t done as we sought to punish Mendieta’s carelessness. Eboué found Hleb through the center, who splayed the ball wide to Iaquinta. The Italian hitman found Henry, who turned with the ball and left his marker for good before firing a superb shot past the home ‘keeper, his 15th finish of the season. However, James Morrison responded at the start of the second half with a 25-yarder that beat Lehmann and almost his goal, too, as it clipped the upright before finding the net, to leave us tied 2-all.
M’BORO 2 (Mendieta pen 5, James Morrison 46)
ARSL 2 (Iaquinta 28, Henry 38)
MoM: Ricardo Gardner (Middlesbrough)
Missed Penalty: Gaizka Mendieta (12)
The result still left us top of the table with 48pts, 5 ahead of Chelsea, who had leapfrogged a suddenly struggling Villa.
LONDON DERBY #5:
MATCH DAY 21: ARSENAL (2-5) v WEST HAM (13-2); Draw: 11-4
The Hammers found themselves in 18th place in the league, meaning this would be a particularly hard-fought derby – the last thing my tiring team needs at this time. We already have one eye on Liverpool, who we’ll be visiting on New Year’s Day, and with the red half of Merseyside 7pts behind us with a game in hand, a loss there could conceivably make it a 1pt affair. But first West Ham, and we wasted little time sticking it to them. Clichy drew two superb point-blank saves from the visiting ‘keeper, before Reyes stepped up to show him how to mop it up from that range. The Spaniard, seemingly very eager to earn the new contract as I’d challenged him, volleyed home first time from an astute Ljungberg pass to put us up 2-0 at half time. But we got complacent, and our defense was all out at sea as Mark Noble was allowed all the time in the world to draw one back. And when Manasseh Ishiaku slotted home from the penalty spot, we were staring down the very real possibility of dropping precious points at home. But with time running out, rampant Reyes teed up Bergkamp, who had started in the hole, and he lashed it venomously into the back of the net from 25 yards out. At 37, the man proved himself a match-winner yet again.
ARSL 3 (Reyes 10, 22, Bergkamp 84)
W.HAM 2 (Noble 53, Ishiaku pen 73)
MoM: José Antonio Reyes
Thus we finished the month – and 2006 – in first place in the EPL:
Premier League Standings @ the end of 2006 (Match Day 21)
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