Arsenal (1) 5 - 3 (2) Charlton Athletic
Highbury, Saturday 26th August 2000
FA Carling Premiership
Vieira 2, Henry 2, Hunt 2, Stuart
Silvinho
It wasn't the red cards that were seen too much
at Highbury this afternoon, but the red shorts.
Call me old-fashioned but isn't a club's second
strip supposed to be a different colour from their
first? Charlton's today was a simple reversal of their
home kit: red shorts white shirts. It wouldn't be so
bad if it was a different shade of red from Arsenal's
but as it was there were basically only 2 colours being
worn out there. I'm not making excuses for players,
just moaning as a spectator who found goalmouth scrambles
at the far end even harder to follow than they usually are.
Anyway, we went ahead thanks to a brilliantly taken
Vieira goal after Kanu slipped the ball into the box for him.
He waited for the keeper to commit then lifted the ball
calmly over him. I thought it was Henry at first - it was that good a finish.
Then the away team scored from 2 soft crosses. Both could have been cut out, and both moves started with wasteful and careless Arsenal possession in our own half.
But we were always the better team, and nerves were settled somewhat very early in the second half when Henry took a roll-forward from Adams on the edge of the box, flicked it up
with his foot then controlled with his knee before whacking a volley inside the near post for 2-2.
Another defensive nightmare let Charlton go ahead again, another cross which shouldn't have been allowed to happen saw Stuart get there first at the near post to score.
But Arsenal weren't to be denied. Kanu set up Vieira for a low shot from outside the D which fizzed inside the post, and then
Grimandi (strong man-of-the-match candidate, which is reassuring given Vieira's coming enforced absence) played a one-two with Kanu and raced up the wing to set up Henry's second.
We had a couple of scares at the other end. But a fantastic solo
effort from Silvinho made it safe at the end. He ran from the half-way line beating 4 defenders in the process before passing the ball inside the far post.
At half-time we were losing at home to a newly-promoted team, Man Utd and Liverpool were both winning away. At the end we'd won convincingly, they'd both drawn (Man Utd thanks to a last-minute Suker equaliser), and Tottenham had lost to Newcastle. we're top of the league. Funny old game.
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