Since he's top of the scoring chart in the EPL at the moment, I thought it would be nice to relive his glorious hat-trick against Chelsea from 1999. I'll never forget watching that match in misery only to see Kanu take over and snatch a victory. The Gunners could use him now...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGs67unVSpY
SSN is a digest of the day's soccer/football/futbol articles with a focus on the top European leagues and the United States National Team. Below, you’ll find links to articles and video, as well as additional features and commentary. We locate the top news of the day so you can stay updated with ease.
That clip is fantastic, thanks for hunting it down. Some interesting
ReplyDeletethings to note about it:
Overmars was a fantastic wide player. I think that his departure and
the arrival of Ashley Cole pretty much signals the end of Arsenal
playing with truly wide midfielders. Guys like Pires, Freddy, Hleb,
Reyes and now Rosicky are narrow players who prefer to cut inside. In
the clip Arsenal aren't doing much different than they do now as far as
keeping the ball and trying to play for the perfect shot. The
difference is that on two of the goals the pass comes from Overmars way
out wide and because he's so far out there the defense is pulled out of
shape and there are seams where Kanu can run onto the ball. In the
current Arsenal game you rarely see those openings for the forwards when
they're in possession around the box because aside from the fullbacks
who make a run to move the ball but generally don't stay in the area
afterwards all of the Arsenal attacking players tend to play it a lot
closer to the area and thus close down the passing lanes. I'd also add
that while the first 2 Kanu goals are nice the fact is that the
defending was dire and that nobody closed down the open space. The
third was from Mars.
Perhaps you're reading too much into the game against ManC. There were runs made but untypically Henry didn't put his chances away. Had he done so Arsenal could well have gone on and won 4-0.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you're not - Arsenal do resemble a team of crabs, with everyone going sideways the whole time.
The element you guys are forgetting is the size of the pitch at the new stadium. Even tho its the smallest UEFA allow, its still much larger than Highbury. My school pitch was larger. A wider pitch doesn't suit Arsenal, and maybe that's why they're reluctant to sell Reyes. He's been a relative flop, but he's got speed and can play wider.
Maybe they should have swapped Reyes for Joaquin?
I do agree, Mr. Anonymous. The seams just are nto there at the moment. Lately it's either been Henry with the ball on the outside or Robin trying to turn so he can cross it in with his left foot.
ReplyDeleteThe third was from Mars - the angle is absurd.
I like the crab analogy. I'm not keen on Juaquin. I think he's overrated. The pitch size is certainly an issue - they stumbled horribly during their Wembley Champs. Lge. experiment.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching "Kanu Da Killa" verus boro and how he scored his first goalverus Chelsea, he knows how to score with his toe. As for Arsenal, the international break will help.
ReplyDelete