Gunners Hit Two Past Bhoys

By Our Correspondent
for Arsenal New Today

Published: August 19, 2009

A goal by former captain William Gallas and an own goal by Celtic skipper Gary Caldwell saw Arsenal take a 2-0 lead in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.

The encounter between Arsenal and Celtic at the Parkhead was hyped as the Battle of Britain. And the Battle of Britain did live up to its billing – for the initial 15 minutes. The rest of it was Arsenal systematically dismantling the opposition and taking a two goal advantage back to the Emirates.

Arsenal again started with the same 4-3-3 line up that started against Everton. Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen and Clichy making the back four, with Fabregas, Song and Denilson in the midfield. Bendtner, Van Persie and Arshavin were the attacking trio.

As expected, Celtic pressed high up the field and closed down Arsenal players quickly in the initial exchanges. With two wide men in Shaun Maloney and Scott Brown, Celtic relied on the diagonal balls to create trouble for Arsenal. They did succeed in the beginning, with Maloney’s drive flashing across the six-yard box. Arsenal learnt their lesson quickly and Arshavin and Bendtner closed down the Celtic wingers, cutting the hosts supply line.

Arshavin was in his elements, taking on a crowd of Celtic defenders and yet finding space to deliver pinpoint passes to his team-mates. With the Bhoys wingers taken out of equation, Arsenal’s midfielders pushed forward to create chances of their own. A neat one-two between Fabregas and Denilson allowed Van Persie a shot and Arshavin tucked the loose ball into the net. However, he was rightly called offside. Denilson and Song stuck into the 50-50 challenges and one such break allowed Arshavin to cut inside and shoot, but a block took the sting out of his shot. Arsenal were caught high up in the field later in the half. A Van Persie free kick was cleared by Celtic and they launched a speedy counterattack from the left channel. Thomas Vermaelen, who had joined the attack, raced back 80 yards to make a brilliant last-ditch challenge to deny Brown the opportunity to score.

With both defences airtight, it seemed only a big chunk of luck would prise the teams apart. And it came Arsenal’s way. The Gunners were awarded a free kick 30 yards outside. Van Persie took a short one to Fabregas and the skipper fired his shot, which deflected off Gallas into the net.

After the break, Arsenal looked more determined to score the second and secure the game. Van Persie and Denilson both came close in the first few minutes, their efforts going just wide of Celtic goal. Bendtner tried his luck too from distance, but the score remained the same. Arsenal finally got their second goal 20 minutes from time, when Clichy ran down the left and played a low cross towards the Celtic box. With Van Persie and Bendtner waiting to tap in, Celtic skipper Caldwell tried to turn the ball out for a corner, but all he managed to do was to tuck it inside his own goal.

Although Arsenal required two slices of luck to win the game, they were far more superior in all departments than their opponents. Speaking after the game, Arsene Wenger said, “I think it was a fierce battle. I felt collectively we dominated the game but Celtic were always willing, fighting and counter-attacking. In the end, despite being in control, we scored two lucky goals. It was a big fight tonight and we needed a strong Arsenal side to win the game. The crowd and players were absolutely up for it and I believe with an average performance we would not have won the game today.”

Celtic boss Tony Mowbray said, “The nature of the goals was very disappointing for us of course. It sort of knocks the stuffing out of what you’re trying to do. But you can’t take it away – Arsenal were very good on the night, exceptional with the ball but brilliant without the ball. We struggled to pass the ball against very high pressure and I think Arsenal really gave us a lesson with the ball and without the ball.”

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Gunners Hit Two Past Bhoys

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