The most eagerly anticipated Reserves game for over 5 years finally arrived this evening as Portsmouth made the journey North to Underhill in an encounter which was more about the playing staff rather than the result.
The fixture saw fans favourite Eduardo return to competitive action after 10 months out with a fractured fibula and a dislocated ankle – sustained on Premiership duty against Birmingham City last February.
The damp, cold, miserable, foggy conditions meant that despite the fact a giant crowd was expected, only a couple of thousand made the trip to welcome back the 25-year-old.
To spice things up, Aaron Ramsey and Lukasz Fabianski added first team experience, whilst all but Eduardo had featured at some stage of the infamous Carling Cup run.
Fabianski
Coquelin – Hoyte – Rodgers – Gibbs
Wilshere – Ramsey – Randall – Merida
Simpson – Eduardo
Subs – Mannone, Thomas, Bischoff, Lansbury, Fonte
The early stages promised much. Mark Randall, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere all set about the task of unhinging Pompey’s back four, with some encouraging results.
Eduardo’s every touch was greeted with loud cheers, as he settled in to the evenings task. In truth either side could have nicked the opener. Ben Sahar looked bright in attack, while Randall was starting to control proceedings from the midfield engine room.
As time ticked down, Randall’s trickery on the edge of the area setup Ramsey to shoot from 25 yards, but Begovic was more than equal to the Welshman’s drive.
Not to be outdone, Portsmouth hit back. What they lacked in technical ability, the visitors more than made up for in effort. Andre Blackman crashed a corner wide, following good work from Ben Sahar, in a well crafted move
On the half hour mark Wilshere released Simpson with a stunning reverse ball, and only a smart dive from Begovic stopped the opener. Eduardo showed great tenacity and skills to keep the move alive, but the angle proved to illusive for a secondary shot.
A sneaky header at the back stick from Eduardo was probably the closest either side had come, another example of the Croatian’s intelligence.
It would prove to be the final major action of the half. Neil Banfield knew he had to turn the promise of the first period into something substantial.
Half Time – Arsenal 0-0 Portsmouth
The Eduardo da Silva show was brought to an end at the break. Fittingly another player who knows what it’s like to deal with a long term injury – Amaury Bischoff – replaced the Croat.
With the star man now off the pitch, attention swiftly turned to winning the game. But it was easier said than done. Pompey had closed down the midfield, and the Gunners were struggling.
Wilshere and Sahar exchanged tame shots, before the former played a deadly 1-2 with Simpson and came inches away from opening the scoring with a dinked curler of a shot.
Fonte replaced Simpson, and it nearly proved to be a master stroke. Rui’s link up with Ramsey created an opening for Bischoff, Begovic was forced to keep his side in the game once more.
The urgency was felt in the closing stages, but again Portsmouth were dogged in their defending. Coquelin’s skill in the box created the chance, and after he rolled Ramsey in, Begovic pulled off an excellent double save to twice deny the 17-year-old.
On 79 minutes, finally the opener. Merida collected in the middle of the park, and dispatched an inch perfect ball between the Portsmouth defenders for the waiting Randall. He strode onto it, and placed a neat shot beyond Begovic and into the corner to give the Gunners the lead.
Goal – Mark Randall (79)
Henri Lansbury replaced Aaron Ramsey in the closing stages,and within minutes of his arrival, it should have been 2-0. Lansbury found Coquelin, he played Bischoff in, and again Begovic was the last line of defence to deny Arsenal.
Eventually the pressure tolled. Wilshere created space for Gibbs, the left back strode forward and smashed a pile driver into the corner to ice the cake just nicely. A superb strike from the 19-year-old.
Goal – Kieran Gibbs (90)
A professional performance from Banfield’s boys helped see the final moments out, and secure an impressive win. A terrific night for the club, and one which every involved profited.
Article By – J.Sanderson
Okay performance, could do better, offensively and defensively
You are Flash
end of i just saw the game finish i refresh your page and Bam! you have the result i saw the first goal missed the second lol
Eduardo in my prediction will be in the subs bench against Aston Villa show ‘Em brummies what he made of ey!! n i’d be over the moon if he scored the goal which thrashed their top four hopes
Enjoyed the game, good 45 by Eduardo, Wicked goal from Gibbs, Coquelin impressed again.
Very much agree – Dfunkydog
No problem Ibrahim :)
links to the goals?
Banfield: Little tenderness from Eduardo hamstring, substitution was precautionary.
you forgot Dudu’s shot with the left foot which the goalie saved! Damn it’s freezing in Barnet!
remarkable speed JS!!! keep up the good work and thanks for the wrap up :)
J, what are your player ratings?
best performance for me was the Frenchman – looked extremely promising
hi J. great that you are so quick on everything! keep up the terrific work! was Dudu subbed due to fatigue/slight injury? any idea?
fun 2 watch coquelin man of match
Randall scored. Has a lot of competition in central midfield. Hopefully he can understand when to make the right pass because he can make it. Ramsey was hit and miss with his passing; the same really could apply for him. Merida and Lansbury also vying for that and not to mention coquelin who looked composed at right back.
Fonte showed some nice touches too.
how good is Coquelin as a RB? is his destiny there or in the CM?
Good to see Edi back , unlucky with his shot.
Whats up with Ramsy at the mo ? since the burnley match he not looked himself. Wilshere class, great goal by Gibbs
Any gossip coming out about Arsenal j. for the window
great post Jaime. can any one rate DUDU’s performance?? I am sincerely concern about him. I have my doubts about his long term career. Were can I see the match online ?
Jaime check your email, I sent you a message earlier in the day.
Stuck in a hotel room gutted that I couldnt see the game! Found this site and a very impress report!! Cheers mate!
heard that dudu got a hamstring problem thats why he only played 45mins. is this true J? would be a shame from him not to be able to train for a week
The result was nice but the most important thing is that Eduardo came through the match, without picking up anymore injurys.
quick post J. good game, merida was a joy to watch throughout. coquelin, hoyte and wilshere impressed aswell. also nice to hear good chants about eboue.
Great to hear. Do you know if Dudu will play any more reserves games or if he is going straight to the first team bench after the Liverpool game?
Cheers guys.
Banfield says he had a slight pull in his hamstring, so was taken off just incase. It’s probably because he hasn’t played for ages, and his leg probably got a little tired and his muscles became tight.
I wouldn’t worry about it, probably be fine after some work with John Kelly (Masseur)
Why do you say the Carling Cup run was ‘infamous’?
jamie can you check your e-mail please!? lol
i dropped you a mail yesterday
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highlights on you2be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=channel_page&v=MiYQWWg4q_E
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Cheers dudu. I’m glad to see the youngsters making something of their time in the first team as well.
I’m glad Arsenal finally got those goals, they deserved it. Pompey was just packing it in so it was hard to unlock them but we did.
Coquelin is the man!!!! Midfield, Right Back it doesn’t matter, he still brings it.
Jamie Nice Report. I am sure that by January Eduardo will be fully fit to compete for a first team place with other strikers. I’m really impressed with the work that was done on him. Also it looks very promising for all the youngsters. A great goal from Gibbs and would not mind seeing it again.
J any links to the goals or highlights?
Interesting point bout what pompey lacked in technical ability,they more than made up for in effort.Could be what’s missing at the club as a whole,the final piece of the jigsaw.Imagine the imapact of a coach that supplements the wenger technique policy wit good ol fashioned hard work=Untouchables(technique)/Invicibles(Graft) like the fabregas-flamini partnership.Good job to the youngsters tho,promising stuff and dudu cant return soon enough.
COQUELIN IS THE NUTS AND HE AINT EVEN A RIGHT BACK. THE KID HAS SERIOUS SKILLS AND TACKLING ABILITY.
how did ramsey peform??…
did he stand out?
Great to see Ed make his comeback!!
J, do you think that the new long term deal for Hoyte means he is higly rated or just so that we won’t let him go for free?
When Merida signed his new deal it was acconmanied by great words of encouragement by Arsene yet there was nothing for Hoyte.
Who / what / why is Ben Sahar?
Great performance by Coquelin.
gr8 to see Dudu finally looking like he could be playing first team football again and soon (i say finally but considering the injury its incrdible hes running already, let alone playing!)
Missed the game so i cnt really comment about the goals or performances but it sounds like it was steady if slightly underwelming, still, cant always blow the opposition away. Not sure about Coquelin at right back though, its useful to give him some experiance there as that means he can fill in if needed but in my opinion hes defintly a future center mid, and a dam good one aswell. Hes a gattuso-esque player, willing to close down players and get suck in but can play aswell. He doesnt seem to suffer from the tipical short fuse you generally see in many defencive mids which is good.
I was at the game….great atmosphere. Wenger, Adams and even Bergkamp were all there and the fans were great too. On the playing side…the defence were very good, especially Coquelin who was outstanding at RB, probably MOM for me. Midfield were all OK, but I wish they would shoot more. The only real disappointment was Bischoff, who I reckon won’t make it at with us. He looked well off the pace as a sub and could do with a loan spell.
is there any chance eduardo wil be in the squad against liverpool. I will love it if hes on the bench i cant wait to shout his nam when they read the subs out!!!!
highlights of the reserves game http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9lU8LQ4J0A
JS what do u think of Rui fonte i really like him as a player i think hes a player who can improve alot and he could be one hell of a striker. He has got a good attitude
good good…
So why was this the most eagerly anticipated reserves game for over 5 years exactly? I don’t get it..
Because Dudu was returning…
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But HE hasn’t been injured for 5 years, and what exactly was the last most anticipated reserves game 5 years ago about? I’m only assuming Mr Sanderson was an enthusiast of the arsenal reserves at 13 years of age..
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