Jack Wilshere--Arsenal DNA by Joe Jacobs

Author:Joe Jacobs [Joe Jacobs]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781782197102
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2013-03-03T16:00:00+00:00

It was no surprise to hear that Henry et al were putting in extra training shifts with the youth teams at London Colney. By mid-January 2007, Arsenal were 12 points off the pace at the top of the Premier League and were still trying to find some sort of solid form to propel them further than fourth. A home win against league leaders Manchester United certainly helped: after going 1-0 down in the first half, Wenger’s side showed character to turn the game on its head and claim all three points. The hero of the afternoon was Thierry Henry, who – rather surprisingly – leapt up to header Emmanuel Eboué’s cross, sending the Emirates into raptures. With good reason too: United had arrived at Ashburton Grove in decent form and a win against the league’s supposed Champions in waiting was quite a tonic to what had been a relatively dismal season so far.

Indeed, as 2006 became 2007, it became more and more apparent to the Arsenal fans that Arsène Wenger and the playing staff had already begun talking about ‘the future’ as if the current season was more or less over. The press seemed to agree: ‘Arsène Wenger’s promising line-up is still at the development stage,’ wrote Kevin McCarra in his Guardian match report, ‘and it appeared that the manager would take no more from this fixture than notes on all the areas needing improvement… All new grounds require folklore to endow them with an identity. Memories have to accrue before fans can feel wholly at home. Henry’s finish here could be the first incident to make the Emirates resonant for supporters. It was all the better for the fact that it capped a comeback that seemed beyond reach… The goals for Wenger’s side, all the same, were nudges to remind observers of the quality this manager possesses.’

Perhaps more significant for Arsenal, though, was the injury caused to Robin van Persie when he scored the equaliser in the same game. The Dutchman had been the main source of goals for the Gunners over the first half of the season and was finally beginning to look the player Wenger had envisaged when he bought him from Feyenoord in the summer of 2005. Indeed, only a few months earlier the Dutchman scored what the Arsenal manager called the ‘goal of a lifetime’ against Charlton Athletic, leaping nearly a metre high to volley Emmanuel Eboué’s pinpoint cross; the goal was nominated for Match of the Day’s ‘Goal of the Season’ competition and narrowly missed out winning the accolade to Wayne Rooney’s effort against Bolton Wanderers (a sumptuous team breakaway goal).

The problem for Arsenal as they geared up for the ‘business-end’ of the 2006/07 season was that the team seemed to be taking one step forward and two steps back: every time Wenger’s side looked to have turned a corner, the team squandered the opportunity to move forward by either losing or drawing against sides they should beat easily. Following their emphatic win against

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.