Arsenal youngster Pedro Botelho was in action for loan club Celta Vigo this evening as they took on Atlético Madrid in the second leg of their Copa Del Rey quarter-final. The Brazilian winger, on loan with the Spanish outfit until the summer, played 80 minutes in the first game after winning the decisive penalty which knocked out Villareal in the last round.
In front of 32,000 people at Celta’s Balaído stadium, the ‘Celtinhas’ went into the fixture with the knowledge that a 0-0 draw would be enough to earn them a shock place in the semi’s. Pedro began the game in his new role as a left forward in a 4-3-3 formation.
The Segunda outfit began at a frantic pace but struggled to really create anything. After the opening 15 minutes Pedro had barley had a touch as Atlético contained the pressure that was thrust upon them. Everything was looking bright for the hosts.
Botelho was then presented with two almost identical chances to open the scoring. Lovely passing across the pitch saw the ball go out wide to Abalo who drilled crosses to the back post, where Pedro arrived with two flying volleys but he couldn’t keep them down. Celta would be punished for not taking their chances moments after as Diego Forlan put Atlético in front.
The goal settled the visitors who looked to step up the pressure and bag the crucial second. Alvaro Dominguez looked to bring the ball forward down the flank but he was tracked all the by Botelho who was unlucky to concede a free-kick after miss-timing his slide tackle. Yet less than 60 seconds later he won a set-piece of his own after being crunched into by Tomas Ujfalusi.
Half time came and went and with no real sign in the tides changing, 19-year-old Toni replaced the ineffective Botelho. The Brazilian was tightly marked by Ujfalusi and he came off with 35 minutes left. He may have recently turned 20, yet Pedro once more showed his petulant side by first snatching the training jacket from the Celta staff and then punching the seats on the bench as he showed his frustration.
A flurry of late chances from the hosts including one which smashed the bar should have brought an equalizer and sent the tie to extra time, but Madrid stood firm and held out to progress into the semi-finals 2-1 on aggregate.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Is he a winger or a left back, as has been stated in the past? He seems attack-minded, so if he is a left back I would imnagine he follows the Wenger model for that position; so his defensive qualities will be poor, if non-existent like Clichy and Troare.
I don’t have a problem with him punching the seats. Snatching his jacket from the poor trainer though was unnecessary and impolite:S I like a hard competitor and it’s ok to take your anger out on innanimate objects!:D Don’t take it out on people or animals though!:S It sounds like he hasn’t turned out like we expected him too?? I’ve never seen him play but judging by the match reports and previous comments on him it sounds like he may not make it at Arsenal?? I don’t know. It sounds like he has some pace but sometimes his touch is erratic, and he has disciplinary issues:S I don’t know…Am I close?? haha
just watched the match. he was anonymous
I think you’ve pretty much summed it up, Milo!
My favorite the is, we all say it Pedro doesnt look like he will make it at Arsenal but if any suggests a english player wont make it at Arsenal then the is an uproar.
David, I disagree with you on that point. I think Clichy and Gibbs are really strong defensively. They might at times seem week though, because of Wengers high laying defensive line, it is and particularly the sidebacks are wounerable to counter attacks.
When it comes to Botelho I feel I have easy to judge him to have a bad attidtude beacuse of his past behaviour. No matter how talented, see Pennant, as long as the attitude is not there others like for example Gibbs and Simpson rise in the grade. Traore seem to have developed in the few games I have seen him this year, and Gibbs and Clichy are certainly ahead. Then of course Cruise and Evina continue to develop…time seems to run out for Pedro
they might seem weak…spelling
actually a lot of spelling mistakes there, but hey…I turn the blind eye to my shame
What does that have to do with anything Shane?? I really don’t know…You seem to really think that this is an issue (favouring British talent over foreign talent) IS IT?? Arsenal is an English team after all. lol
You yourself said that Pedro might not make it if I recall correctly:S I may be wrong.
Does anyone think that he is in Wenger’s plans, for the comming seasons?
He is now 20 and has alot of competition ahead of him for left back. (Gibbs, Clichy and Traore).
There is even more players who can play his role on the left wing.
Nasri, Rosicky, Wilshire, Merida, Vela, Eduardo, Diaby.
this all leads me to think he might not even come back to Arsenal when he is able to.
But I dont realy know, that is a lil bit of a guess. What does everyone else think.
Traore’s defense is non-existant. Clichy’s defense is fine!! as long as he’s healthy!! Gibbs isn’t as good as Clichy YET, but he’s a lot better defensively than Traore. AND IT ISN’T BECAUSE HE IS ENGLISH!! lol. What do I care, I’m Jewish and Canadian anyways so I have no bias!!:D lol. I just prefer fullbacks who can defend when called upon to do so:D
Great blog J. BUT ARE YA GONNA BANG DOE?
Milo, agree with you on Traore that he is a lot more vounerable in the defence than the two others. This season he seems very disciplined to me though, I was actually thinking the worst when both Clichy and Gibbs got injured. With Gibbs and Clichy I love the determination, commitment, discipline and focus that both of them has shown in most games. It is sad that Gibbs got that injury this season, as well with Djourou and Diaby (constantly), guys who were ready for a proper breakthrough
hi j i heard the under 18s are playing on saturday morning.
Milo, (Canada? I recently visited Montreal and Ottawa)
Pedro Botehlo I dont think will make it over in UK,
We are not biased towards English players, just like to see our own players (english) come through the ranks, as they have a good chance of turning out for the national team. Like any other nation would be pleased the same way.
(this isnt directed at anyone, justa public statement)
Hey Jamie, another informative article. Just wanted to reiterate an important question raised above…basically, ARE YA GONNA BANG DOE?
Mexico will play six friendly matches in the United States as part of their preparations for the World Cup finals, the country’s football federation said on Thursday.
‘El Tri’ will face Bolivia on February 24 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco before taking on New Zealand on March 3 in Pasadena. Three weeks later, Iceland are the opponents in Charlotte.
Javier Aguirre’s team take on Ecuador in New York on May 7, tackle Senegal in Chicago three days later and will play their final fixture in Houston on May 13 against a team to be announced later.
“Our goal in the first trimester of 2010 is to prepare the team for the World Cup,” said Nestor de la Torre, director of national team programmes for the Mexican Federation.
“The U.S. tour allows us to test our squad while giving our fans from all parts of the country the chance to send us off to South Africa.”
Hey J, do you know if we’re in for Victor Moses now that Crystal Palace is in administration? I’ve seen us linked with him a lot in the past, seems like no better time than the present to buy him for cheap
Milo.. Did you even read my comment? Yes I said Pedro doesnt look like he will make it at Arsenal. That was the point. When I said that, no raised hell. When I said it looks like Mark Randall isnt going to make it at Arsenal, after he got loaned to MK Dons…it about started a riot.
Milo, dont try to be a little smart alec kid. Anyways… Everyone can see that Troare positioning on defensive is horrible to say the least. He does seem to have all the physical attributes to become a good left back tho. In my personal opinion, Clichy is the best left back in the world. Gibbs is quality and has a lot of potential. Hopefully he can make a good recovery from his injury. Pedro is a very average player. If he was not an Arsenal player, I would not have even noticed him.
LOL http://transfermarkt.de/de/spieler/3236/vassell-darius/default/2009/leistungsdaten.html
@shane, Clichy is definitely not the best left back in the world. He makes a huge mistake every single game, and it had cost us points not only once. The best left back could be P. Evra, or A. Cole, Clichy would make my Top 10 now, but like 2 years ago he was the best so I hope he’ll raise his game cause we all know he can.
here’s an interesting link :D lol http://transfermarkt.de/de/spieler/3236/vassell-darius/default/2009/leistungsdaten.html
Me- There is a reason I stated “In my opinion” we have already had this argument and I stated the reasons why he is but I dont really want to get into again
In response to the questions posted above, I don’t think I need to answer that because the real question is ARE YOU GONNA BANG DOE?.
Now lets draw a line under it! good day to you sir!
@ Me:
U right, at the moment Clichy is certainly not the best left back in the world. Tbh, no other left backs can beat Evra and A. Cole when they are at their best form, including Clichy (not even when he is at his best form, in this case his exceptional 2007/2008 form). IMO, Clichy is not yet the finished article. For a LB, his defending capabilities is probably one of the best in the world but in terms of doing the attacking side of his job, he is not as good as Evra & A. Cole (yet). I mean, how often do u see him crossing a good ball to the 6 yard box & breaking through the opposition defense?? But anyway, I believe he can still improve himself, although I would like to see Gibbs takeover that LB position from him.
Shane how old are you?? I don’t think I’m a kid compared to you. I’m 20 turning 21 and I thought you mentioned previously that you were 22. I don’t write in an immature manner, I don’t think. I already said I have a big mouth before. I warned everyone so you can’t say I’m not being fair. Everyone likes a good argument every now and then don’t they?? I mean you enjoy reading the comments or partaking in the dispute as long as both parties present good cases. At least that’s how I see it. People love fights!! Verbal or physical. And I don’t start something unless I feel the other person is being rediculous. Like you were being with that comment about a player’s nationality figuring in to the evaluation of that player. Does it happen?? Sure it does, but not as much as you claim I don’t think.
Traore’s defense is non-existant. Clichy’s defense is fine!! as long as he’s healthy!! Gibbs isn’t as good as Clichy YET, but he’s a lot better defensively than Traore. AND IT ISN’T BECAUSE HE IS ENGLISH!! lol.
That is being a smart alec. Anyways, I just asked a simple question. Its ok to say Pedro wont make it at Arsenal but not ok to say Mark Randall wont make it Arsenal.
Well boo bleeping hoo Shane!! Hopefully someone can talk to you about all the hurt you have received after saying that Mark Randall won’t make it at Arsenal. And for the final time I admit that I’m a smart ass. End of story. Who are you to judge me anyways??
All right I’ve gone too far, but hey it isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. I’ll never change, even if I realize I probably could do with a little diplomacy. It just isn’t how I work…I can’t do it. I’m not good with apologies either, so i’ll skip that part.
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Shane and Milo, how old are you?
We should cut our loses and send this guy packing we dont need another useless brazillian on our squad Denilson already has that spot…..