February 2001

3.2.01 Coventry 0 Arsenal 1

10.2.01 Arsenal 1 Ipswich 0

25.2.01 Manchester United 6 Arsenal 1

Players for Arsenal
Seaman, Dixon, Cole, Adams, Stephanovs, Parlour, Grimandi, Lauren, Wiltord, Bergkamp and Pires.

Before the game started there was a period of 1 minute of silence in respect for Niccolo Galli who died in a road accident in Italy on Friday at the age of 17.

As soon as the game started you could see that Ipswich was huddling together and Arsenal were spread out. You could see that Arsenal was trying hard to get in a space of their own, but they just kept tripping over the Ipswich Players. Arsenal was finding it hard to score because of this and had many chances at the goal where they were not successful. There were tries from Lauren, Bergkamp and Cole. In the first half I felt that Arsenal didn't use their opportunities well enough. It was a very active and exciting but unsuccessful first half. At half time the attempts at goal for Arsenal were 10 and for Ipswich they were 3 and the score was 0-0 which shows that either Arsenal are trying much harder that Ipswich or that Arsenal are a much better team.

The Second half was more successful it started when Lauren is switched for Henry which turns out to be a great choice. After a lot of other attempts at the goal from both teams a goal is scored by Henry and everyone was pleased (except for the Ipswich supporters!) Once Arsenal had scored a goal the supporters didn't relax in fact they were getting even more frustrated because they wanted Arsenal to score another goal to make sure they had won the game. The Referee gave Grimandi a yellow card and the
supporters started to get angry with the referee and started shouting abuse at him. Then he gave Lundberg a yellow card and now the supporters were getting even more angry and started shouting out things like `You don't know what you're doin'!` At the end of the game there was 2 mins stoppage time and it was getting tense by now and everyone was glad when the 2 mins had
ended and Arsenal had won!

Attendance : 38,011

Man of the match : Bergkamp because most of the chances arsenal had were down to him.

Well done Leah. Great report.

25.2.01

Manchester United 6 Arsenal 1

Well, aren’t you glad we’re not one of those web sites that offer you match videos and oodles of colour action photos? Nothing to say about this game really; moaning would sound petulant and quite frankly all the excuses have dried up. All we can offer you is a few near invisible silver linings.

1. Let’s see them repeat the score with Adams and Keown playing. Or any defence playing. Then they can crow.

2. They score six, but Henry’s consolation goal (that made it 1-1) was the best of the bunch. The rapid fire, sliding pass bit of interplay that they’ve been threatening all season, finally comes off. (Grasp that straw gooner boy.)

3. They’ll never repeat that score in my lifetime.

4. The only way forward for them now is down. If you don’t believe me pull out any history book or a dictionary and look up ‘hubris’.

5. Let’s qualify for the Champions’ Cup, get the bastards in the semi and royally tan their logoed arses. (Think this one might come under ‘wishful thinking’ rather than ‘silver linings.’)

6. Go home, shut the doors and windows, don’t go near a telly or a paper and don’t come out until Thursday. (the day after the England game- they’ll be the new target by then.)

7. Don’t give up- you’re better than that. You’re a free thinking supporter- unimpressed by the homogeneous mindset of corporate footy and you’ve been supporting your club since before the last shirt change. Not everyone worships at the Old Trafford altar. Me, I believe that wanking eleven men off at once is deeply perverse.

8. In a recent survey of the top 150 Manchester United players of all time you would not believe how highly a mong like Silvestre was rated. You have a history. (Maybe not a future, but that’s another subject.)

9. Come the revolution all those ‘Cockney Reds’ will be interned in a big camp somewhere, bullied into changing their clothes eight times a day, applaud like seals when prodded and force fed a diet of pre-prepared opinions that they can adopt as their own. (Come to think of it, that’s what happens at the moment at Old Trafford.)

10. Ignore all those Spurs supporters. They're only getting pleasure out of other people's misfortunes. When was the last time they enjoyed one of their own performances?

11. It can’t get any worse. (‘Wenger buys Sherringham’ Daily Mirror March 2001.)

12. Fuck this I’m going to bed for a fortnight.

Man of the Match: You must be joking.