Arsenal 0-0 AC Milan

By: Dan | February 21st, 2008

A frustrating night at the Emirates as Arsenal was held nil-nil against AC Milan. Arsenal needed a real performance after that Old Trafford disaster, and they delivered. Arsenal seemed faster, stronger and more technical then Milan, but a goal just wouldn’t come. This result is obviously not calamitous, but it sets up an absolutely vital game at the San Siro.

The most important positive from this game is that we didn’t have an away goal scored against us. This leaves the tie in our hands, and if we generate the same performance in Italy, we have a great chance of qualifying.

Match Highlights:

Toure was injured in the seventh minute, and Senderos came on. I know he has been a little clumsy in the past, but he was fantastic yesterday. His positioning and defensive timing were astonishingly effective against the speed of Pato and Kaka, and he proved to be an excellent Champions League player once again. He really is built for the slower-paced Italian game rather then the high-energy English game, but I am still more then happy to have him on the team.

Our backs were solid as usual, with Sagna giving a brave performance after his brother died last week. (My deepest condolences Bakary.)

A huge positive of the game was the way our midfield bossed AC Milan’s. Fabregas is firmly back in form, and after warming up in the first half, he began to pull the strings like we know he can. Flamini was everywhere, closely marking Kaka while also getting up the field often. Eboue showed how much he has progressed and he seemed totally at ease in midfield. His pace and strength were surprisingly effective against such an experienced side. Eduardo dribbled well, but had no real chance to show his killer finishing. He can be a reasonable job on the left wing, but he really needs to be in a place to score goals.

As a very late sub, Walcott did very well to deliver the perfect cross to Adebayor’s head, who promptly missed an open net with about the last touch of the game. The miss summed the game up for us in general, as our general play was good, but any end product was missing. Adebayor put in an exhausting performance, fighting all night with Maldini, and winning more often then not. He is so strong and quick, it was just the luck of the night that saw Milan remain level. He missed quite a few chances, but given his record this season, I am fully confident of his ability to keep the goals coming.

Wenger was relatively happy about the win as well:

“We showed maturity and got a clean sheet - which is very positive for the second game. Overall, I am very happy with the response I got from my team - the quality we have shown was outstanding.”

Fabregas explained the game as well

“They are the hardest team we could have drawn, especially so early, but in football if you want to be the best you have to beat the best. Hopefully we will give our best again and we will do it. We missed a chance tonight but I think 0-0 is not a bad result. If we score there, they have to score two, so I think we have a lot of options if we play well.”

And that is honestly just the truth. Milan is a very experienced side and were able to grind out a draw despite our 17 shots on goal. But, Kaka, Pato and Seedorf were all fairly anonymous yesterday and Pirlo was simply awful. The next game is in our hands, and I am sure we can seize the chance.

Now, onwards towards Birmingham on Saturday and the Premier title.