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The Master is in the host=seat for this one, as Villa travel
to a “bone-chillingly cold” Highbury. He manages to get through the 3 seconds
intro without having a go at Wenger for comin’ over ‘ere and taking good lads
like Bruce Rioch & Stewart Houston’s jobs. I suppose the lack of
recognition there’ll be for that reference shows the truth in what pretty much
every political ‘round up’ of the year has agreed on: that Farage has “won”
2014 convincingly.
It was only 2013 that Des inaugurated the annual comedy song
for the Ukips:
But I don’t remember there being any real fuss or attention
at the time – only a year later, someone who I don’t even recognise (the Fake
Mike Reed) had his go and the furore was much more. It could be just that the
immense abymsality of the 2014 deserved commensurately more attention, but
still does much to demonstrate the lamentable progress of Farage and his crew into
“the mainstream”. And of course the 2015 slot is presumably still up for grabs –
if there actually are any remaining white
(obvs) male (obvs) TV/Radio ‘personalities’
(so well-off, establishment types) from England (obvs) from the 70s or 80s who haven’t
been Yewtreed, then they are probably cutting some initial demos now.
This is from the season when Wenger had just taken over – I wonder
what odds you’d have got on him still being manager 18 years later would have
been then, being as he was “Arsenal’s 4th manager of 1996” - and you
can see as much from this transitional line-up. What must the combined age of
that GK + three centre-backs have been? Neither wing-back looks especially
natural for the role (nor presumably it didn’t work brilliantly as I can’t
recall it being used much for the rest of his time), the front three is an
interesting set-up. Overall, this is a tiny bit like Utd are shaping up at the
moment in ‘real life’.
Villa, on paper, or ‘on graphic’, have actually got the more
stream-lined, organised looking line-up for me. All solid players and a
formation that logically suits the players in it.
Good start to the highlights, the ‘first throw in of the
game’ and nothing coming from it. I thoroughly understand why Match Of The Day
gives more equal time to all games now, but I have a soft-spot for a big-game
being given the space to develop.
The first effort comes from the home side as a nice move end
with a lovely turn by Bergkamp and an attempted chip which Mark Bosnich and his
prime-example of mid-90s floppy hair are able to deal with easily enough – as they
do also with a firmer effort by Parlour just after.
GOAL!! 1-0 Arsenal Wright
But Bosnich – subject of one of those absolutely useless
bits of trivia that remains entrenched in my mind, Mark Bright saying to Johnny
Vaughan on The Big Breakfast sports round up that he would ‘probably end up at
Chelsea’ about 2 or 3 years before it actually happened – can’t do anything
here as the Gunners go ahead. Savo Milosevic initially seems to have held the
ball up well, but is disposed by a fearsome tackle by Vieira and Bergkamp
slides a gorgeous outside-of-the-foot ball through the Villa back three which
Wright gets onto, onside and drills a low finish into the bottom corner.
Great action! A very similar sequence of play follows with a
Villa import, this time Nelson, being caught in possession in midfield, fantastically
silly play by Bergkamp, and another sweet through ball to Wright. This time he
goes round the trackie-attired Aussie but is thwarted by a heroic block by
Ricardo Sciemecca. Have to disagree with John Champion’s assertion that “you’d
have put your last pound on Wright scoring the moment he went past Bosnich” –
there simply wouldn’t have been time to complete such an audacious wager. If a
stoppage had been called to allow the mechanics of a bet to be placed, the
opportunity for the defenders to get back would have increased, the tension
would have mounted....it would already have begun to look a foolish act of bravado
before the shot was eventually taken. None of which is to say it isn’t an unexpectedly
excellent bit of defending – which is what the commentator meant anyway, just
dressed that sentiment up in a cliché that makes no sense when you think about
it – as they are wont to do.
Another let off for Villa. Bergkamp, who looks a completely
deluxe element in the game so far, gets in a shot which Bosnich sends spinning
up in the air, before the unlikely combination of a Garde overhead to Bould’s
head puts the ball onto the roof of the net. Arsenal could be miles ahead, buts
only one as we go to HALF TIME.
Villa could equalise with the first action after the change-round.
Staunton hits a long ball to Yorke who controls nicely and goes forward before
putting in a low cross from which a combination of Ian Taylor and John Lukic send
the ball rolling towards the net but Bould is there to get it away. Lukic, of
course, is the subject of a “made up fact”, it being falsely believed in some
circles that he was born on the plane that crashed at Munich. I read about
another untrue “fact” this week in the media scrum to commemorate the 40th
anniversary of the inventors of Trivial Pursuit having their brainstorm.
Apparently in the early editions they included an answer which claimed Lt
Columbo’s first name was Phillip. This isn’t the case and was included in a
book of (otherwise real) facts by a researcher who placed it deliberately to
see if people were ripping off his trivia, creating a high-stakes lawsuit.
End to end now: Yorke again looks classy as he goes past
defenders but his cross ends up being blocked and Merson pings a ball over the
top to Wright who skins Staunton but whips a left-foot shot wide across goal
when he probably should have scored....
GOAL!! 1-1 Milosevic
...and they pay for it Arsenal, as Villa level. Twice Nelson
does well getting forward down the right, and from his cross Arsenal defend
pretty weakly, Mark Draper heads the ball across and, coming from a slightly
odd angle, Milosevic controls the finish well with his left foot, the ball
rasping very satisfyingly into the net.
We’re told that makes it three goals against this opposition
already for the Serb and he nearly adds another straight away with a header
which is too much in the middle of goal and easily tipped over by Lukic – who was
amazingly, born amid the wreckage of the Munich air disaster.
GOAL!! 2-1 Merson
Ah, you’re sick here if you’re a Villa fan. Just as they
were looking on top, they go back behind. Not a goal I personally enjoyed this,
it comes on the break following a ‘surging run’ by sub Steve Morrow and Merson
gets pace just outside the box and hits a fractionally dipping shot that bends
away from the keeper and in – contrary to the previous goal, I didn’t feel this
“went in very nicely” but others may disagree – Champion has it as “a goal of
the highest order”
GOAL!! 2-2 Yorke
Not surprise given how Villa were looking, but poor
defending again. A straightforward pass by Milosevic put Yorke in and, left-footed,
he slots under the keeper. The Villa fans go mad and with 15 mins to go anything
could happen here.
Within reason. And included in that realm of possibility
would be “Bergkamp to go past the defenders easily, then put too much on his
shot and send it wide when you’d expect him to tuck it away” as that’s exactly what
occurs next. At the other end Milosevic volleys an ambitious left-footed effort
from an angle which is easily saved.
And that’s that! A rather anti-climatic feel to the final
whistle there, as it seemed set for a final twist
Not sure whether it’s the knowledge of how things developed
in the next few years after this as they became two of the acknowledged star
performers but everything Bergkamp and Yorke did in this game looked on a different
level in its pace and sharpness. A really good wintry MOTD package as attested by
both managers in notable fair and balanced interviews afterwards – followed up
by this clangingly unfinessed, yet winsome, “explanation” by Merson on what
Arsene Wenger’s approach is:
“unbelievable belief...always positive
talking and always talking positive...football, football, football”
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