MotM - FA: Sheffield United vs Arsenal | 01/03/05

[thierrys_girl]

Sheffield 0 – Arsenal 0

(Gunners win 2-4 on penalties)

We didn’t see the most familiar team walk out of the tunnel before the match but they did the job and they did it well. Didn’t attack much in the 1st put stepped on the pedal in the second creating some great chances and missing a couple too. Our defence held out and only looked shaky on a few occasions.

SO HAPPY, well done lads

Who was our MOTM? Whoever it was vote and leave a comment before Thursday.

MY MOTM: Tough one this time. Quincy did really when he came on in the second, creating some dangerous situations, Fabregas did well on the right side, Cole had a good game and Senderos was fantastic at the back.

tg

 

[namliam]

Agree with you - Quincy really changed the game when he came on, Cole really worked hard for the team and I think Vieira deserves credit for really bossing the game. My MOTM however goes to Fabregas for working hard, being involved in all the Arsenal chances and even hitting a stunning shot which he was unlucky to see ricochet off the top of the crossbar. I saw his face when he got substituted and was on the bench and it was really heartwarming to see so much dissapointment - here was a kid who had given so much to the team and yet looked crestfallen as if he hadnt performed up to standard. Hopefully we will see many more great performances from this wonderkid.

 

[beanz]

I'm going to stir up a hornets nest here by nominating the Cyganator, given his obvious handicap of a serious lack of pace, Pascal was a commanding prescence and with Ash playing like an old fashioned inside left, it demanded a gritty effort to keep the ravaging hordes of red and white at bay, which he did for the most part with a determined scowl of concentration like this > :x on his visage.

 

[UKPressure]

This is simple for me, it has to be Quincy. He came on and totally changed the game, being positive with the ball and running at people, terrorising sheffields defence.

 

[karmakhazee]

It may be controversial, but I have to vote for Almunia, although I felt the defence had a pretty good game all round. Yes, there were errors and chances for Sheffield, but Senderos looked good and Cygan also seemd to have a good game. I particularly like Phillipe surging forward, and was yelling for him to shoot on several occassions where he seemed to get almost to the box and then get a nose-bleed being so far up the pitch and wonder what to do with the ball!

As for my vote as I said, Almunia. The fingertip save from Harley, and then the 2 (3) penalty saves made him my MOTM.

 

[KingReyes]

Cesc, the kid worked his balls off for the whole 90 minutes. Drove us forward and showed a lot of grit against a 5 man midfield who are physically stronger then he is. All this while playing on the right hand side.

 

[sabret00the]

The general consensus on the back of such a game would be "oh wow how amazing was Quincy" while i without a doubt would like to join in on the accolades for Quincy i have to be honest their were 45 minutes when others had to be inspirational and driving and direct, in attack we had Ashley Cole, an immense driving force who dragged his man about and tried to make space, for most of the first half he was the only one driving the team forward while others got to grips with the physicality of the game and while in the second half the formation didn't suit him i'll have to still give him his dues for the fact that he still worked hard.

Saying all that though, their was a man, a young man at that who outshone even the brightest star on the night. If it had been day I’m sure we would've seen an eclipse, it was 'Big Phil'lipe Senderos. While many have questioned the player through his limited performances and some would take it on their chin, he chose to go the Arsenal route and prove all his critics wrong. At times the defence was under pressure as the midfield were overcame but the young Swiss dealt with it all, he tackled, headed, cut out, blocked and marked like a veteran in his prime. Not only that though, he done something which we've been sorely missing for a while and that's shout. As i saw him shouting at Ashley Cole in the first half for not being in position to meet a long ball i laughed thinking, “has he forgotten his age or level of hierarchy?”, but to be honest with you, he just didn't care. I saw him shout at everyone, Cygan, Lauren, Cole, Cesc and even Vieira, he knew what his role was and that was to not let in a single goal. It was our first clean sheet in near twenty games without Sol and most of that was honestly down to Phillipe being so immense so without a doubt. Although others had fantastic games, the man of the match was most Definitely Phillipe Senderos.

Senderos > Cole > Quincy

 

[arnoldi]

Quincy Owusu for me . how about a premiership Start

Quincy Owusu Abeyie
Francesc Fabregas
Ashley Cole
Pascal Cygan
Philippe Senderos
manuel Almunia

 

[jeremiesgirl]

I was at the game last night and really enjoyed it. My vote has to go to Almunia as when I knew it was going to penalties, I was really concerned and was thinking I wishwe had Lehmann here but Almunia produced 2 wonderful saves which have taken us through. Quincy deserves a special mention as he did chnage the game and thought Flamini worked hard too

 

[Xanshin]

Senderos. Was really good at the back despite me being quite nervous everytime it went anywhere near our box. Did some superb clearances, looked calm and assured in what was ultimately a struggle and showed his maturity in his tactical foul after the Cygan volley, when it looked as though they'd break and have a decent chance.

Quincy deserves a special mention for his match-turning performance, and Almunia, while shaky, pulled off a great save near the end and 2 (or 3 really, should never have been re-taken) great penalty saves.

 

[namliam]

Who voted for Ljungberg? He was the only player who was absolutely awful - all I saw him do was complain to the ref and fall over every now and then. :roll:

 

[Henry IV]

It's a tough one because most of them turned in a great performance. I'm going for Almunia. Cygan dozed off when a Sheff Utd ball came in and he rushed out to grab it. He stopped PV4 from losing it with Morgan and then tipped over the diving header. He excelled himself in the shootout. If I start listing honourable mentions I'd end up listing the whole team so I'll try and pick just four: Fabregas, Cole, Vieira and Flamini.

 

[Evil Dragon]

Senderos.

Proved his critics wrong, in a very solid display. Started commanding people, and had a few surges into their half, a sign of whats to come.

Quincy had a great game when he came on, and should have started. He created most of our chances, and if we would have scored would have been man of the match.

 

[kanuuu]

Fabregas, he's ridiculously good, can't believe he's on 17, completely dominated the midfield in the second half despite being tiny, what a player.

Special mentions to every player (apart from Lauren) as everyone was giving 100%.

 

[RocktheCasbah]

Fabregas, I think for me too.

Quincy's running changed the game, but a better final ball would have seen the tie settled well before penalties. Also thought Senderos, Cole, Clichy and Vieira were great.

And must mention Manuel Almunia, the guy's taken a lot of stick, and rightly so, but he came up with the goods last night. The save with his foot was great.

 

[kamikaze80]

cesc really impressed me last night. the future of arsenal.

quincy changed the game, we only really looked like scoring after he came on. but he needs work on his final ball and shooting to be a force at higher levels.

senderos and cygan were both very solid, but our back four still had the occasional miscommunication and we prolly wouldve conceded against more skillful opposition. but good job.

vieira and cole played their hearts out. ash wasnt really effective in the advanced role he was playing, but thats not his fault obviously and he did what he could to create space so bravo for that.

almunia is a better pure shot stopper than lehmann and im happy for him. jens does that stupid thing in penalties where he hops around and flaps his arms like big bird doing jumping jacks.. almunia still looks shaky in-match, however, and we should stick with jens.

 

[Gurgen]

I don't understand all this complaining about Quincy's final ball. He delivered a great cross and produced two beautiful defence-splitting passes. Fabregas and Ljungberg just couldn't finish.
Quincy is my MOTM, simply because he gave us a whole new dimension. Sheffield was so busy dealing with they didn't have any more time to attack.

 

[pamilih]

Don't forget Cygan. He was better than expected. Took Gilberto's role as the holding midfielder very well.

 

[arsenalfan2005]

Cesc for me. He was amazing and I still can't believe he's only 17. He is THE future of Arsenal at the mo.

Come on, people, vote for Cesc!

 

[Ally]

Got to be Cygan for me, absolutely immense and bossed that defence all night long. Fantastic. If that had been Campbell he would have 100% of this vote, I'm afraid. Fans. Tsk. :wink: