Arsenal 3-0 Sp*rs, Ade Cannot Play With Henry
Monday, December 04, 2006
What a game! You can say 1, 2 or all three goal should have been disallowed but Arsenal deserved the win on the night.
This performance was absolutely nothing like the Fulham match, we looked like the players had a huge morale boost eventhough they lost their captain and were facing a Sp*rs side that beat Chelsea, and they also had the final Champions League match against Porto on their minds. The match looked fairly balanced until about the tenth minute before Arsenal found that extra gear that worked so well in past seasons but we have yet to see this season.
Ade's goal in my opinion is onside, in my opinion he was not played onside by the LB and actually the CB on the right, Ledley King I think. Still we should not take anything away from Ade who had a great game but I have to say when he went one-on-one with Robinson I didn't expect him so score, he doesn't usually do well when he comes up one-on-one against keepers, but that obviously an area of his game thats improving.
The first penalty was obviously not a penalty but the pundits here on ESPNStar Asia(Steve McMahon and Paul Masefield) made a good point when they said that the ref was in a position where all he saw was a tackle from behind and it was almost impossible for him to see if Chimbonda got a touch on the ball or not. So, to sum it up, it was a good tackle from the Sp*rs player, Rosicky didn't dive, Graham Poll got it wrong but we cant blame him.
The second penalty though, the only person who can tell you if its a penalty or not is Robin van Persie. The tackle was Jenas was definately a foul but after watching the replay like 10 times I still cant make out if the handball from RvP was intentional or not. RvP though has intentionally touched the ball before, though the handball against Liverpool was a lot more obvious.
Now, Adebayor's performance made me think. He can infact play football, though I still think he needs to prove he is worth the money Arsenal payed for him. Maybe he doesnt do well when partnered with Henry. His two best performances was the away win against Man Utd where he played alone up front and this North London derby where he played with RvP. Despite Wenger mentioning his similarities with Kanu, I really dont see any similarities on than height and hair style. Kanu was a holding striker, sort of like a target man, he was famous for his trickery at the edge of the box and he was one of the best finishers in the league at the time but he never really had much pace and was never really that good in the air. Kanu and Ade are like Chelsea and Arsenal, totally different. Ade brings us that aerial ability that we need during set-pieces and crosses. Its a shame that he doesnt seem to be the same player when he plays with Henry, maybe its because Henry demands every ball from the midfielders, even when he may not be the better option. Ade seems to see a lot less of the ball when he plays with Henry. Or maybe its just that he is afraid to shoot as Henry demands every players to be at his standard, 'you either score or pass it to me'. And we all know what happens when you shoot and miss, just ask RvP.
In conclusion, Ade has two options, adapt to the way Henry plays(which is almost impossible unless you are Dennis Bergkamp or a similar player) or hope Henry gets a pain in the neck more often because I dont see him shining when played with Henry. Despite what other blogs are saying, I feel the jury is still out and he needs to be able to play with Henry, because Henry is not going to be dropped very often.
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posted by highbury1913 @ 12:45 am | |
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