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It has been my contention that Freddie is not a centre forward and that we have no one currently capable of winning the ball high up the pitch. So what do I know? I was proven totally wrong on both counts in the 82 seconds it took for Arsenal to stun the Dutch fans with an early goal. Flamini won the ball high up the pitch and quickly found Reyes. He in turn took it on and slid a great ball inside the fullback for Freddie’s perfectly timed run. It was clipped home very much in the manner of Michael Thomas’ historic goal but a good ninety minutes earlier, and probably with a bit less pressure. A very well taken goal by Freddie and 0-1 to the Arsenal.
A great start then that allowed the Gunners to defend effectively throughout the half without worrying unduly about extending our lead. Ajax looked to be a decent passing side but created little to worry our centre back pairing of Kolo and Sol who were in control for the vast majority of the match. For Arsenal our midfield worked very hard with Rob often lying deep and Hleb showing his excellent touch on the ball. Flamini and Fabregas
‘Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal’ could be clearly heard on the box as the Dutch fans went rather quiet. Reyes squandered the odd chance. Almunia calmed any nerves by catching a high cross.
Campbell spotted the killer pass and defended brilliantly as Almunia dithered on his line. Ajax pressed quite well but then so did we.
Grygera was booked for applauding the ref after a throw in was reversed because too much ground was gained. Reyes won a free kick just outside their area but Rob fired the free kick into a player who’d crept within five yards of the ball.
Reyes required treatment following a two man battering, but a lot of Ajax fouls seemed to be the result of frustration rather than malicious intent.
Almunia saved but couldn’t hold a shot from Boukhari, however he recovered to dive at feet to retrieve the situation. Freddie got away but was seemingly undecided about what, to do so went for the penalty that he was never going to get. Good play by Babel allowed Galasek a shot that won Ajax a corner. Arsenal looked quite content with their lead and played it across our back four for a while but it was not all negative play, as Kolo showed when he was caught offside. Ajax got rather nervy as the half progressed but did have one ‘what if' moment. It came when Campbell was caught out wide left in their half. They broke through Babel and of the six yellow shirts who made it back none thought to mark Pienaar who blasted over with an awful shot.
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Arsene was late back to the bench and by the time he got there Ajax looked altogether more threatening. Kolo cleared a good cross from their left flank. Reyes and Boukhari were at it. Sol almost put Reyes in with a chance before Almunia made a good save from Babel’s powerful angled shot. De Jong shot wide as Ajax took temporary control. Toure and Charisteas clashed heads, both went down, both were bleeding, both had treatment on the field and off the pitch. Kolo who got a rather strange yellow card for his trouble returned swathed in bandages long after Charisteas had been replaced by Rosenberg. Hleb did well, found Lauren and we won another corner. Pienaar was both late and high on Campbell for a yellow card. The Spanish ref gave throws the wrong way and gifted us a goal kick that was clearly a corner, he also made decisions from some 50 yards distant to the event but was reasonable overall.
A Pires run was followed with a good ball to Ljungberg who was still working his rocks off alongside Reyes up front. A brilliant winning challenge by Sol in our box was crucial and a sure sign that Campbell is fully fit and thankfully in very fine form.
Our second goal came when Fabregas sent Reyes away with their right back on the far side of the pitch playing him onside. Jose stormed into the box and was taken down by the keeper who picked up a yellow card and the chance to face a spot kick. The penalty looked fairly cast iron, but we’ve all seen them not given. Ajax’s manager looked like he didn’t agree with the ref, but when have you ever known a manager agree about a conceded penalty? There was a long delay for the booking and the ref fussing about before Rob was allowed to step up and coolly slot it home low to the keeper’s right as he dived the other way. 0-2 Arsenal and it looked to be game over, but it didn’t quite work out like that.
Mancharyan immediately replaced Boukhari
A great shot from outside the box by Galasek saw Almunia dive to his left and palm it onto the inside of the post. As is came back across the face of our goal Rosenberg was the first to react and tapped home from a yard or so out. 1-2 Arsenal and the home crowd found their voice. It was now a very open game and we conceding possession rather too easily, possibly as a result of tiredness. Good save as Reyes goes through. Reyes replaced by Quincy with ten minutes to play. Emanuelson was replaced by Juanfran with five minutes to go. Freddie looked knackered but it was Rob who was replaced by Clichy. Time still for Babel to hit the upper tier with a shot as Cole resorted to a couple of Chelseaesque hoofs upfield. Five minutes added time, a lot of which was for the head injuries earlier in the half. Time for Almunia to get carded for time-wasting and for Cygan to waste a bit more as he replaced Hleb.
In the end this was a comfortable victory that put us three points clear in Group B after just two matches. It’s a decent start but we all know there’s a long way to go in this competition and that we have yet to meet a top side or hit top form. That said winning away to Ajax is a pretty big scalp no matter what their current form and I’m fairly sure we’d have settled for a draw prior to the match, not that we ever play for a draw of course.