FOOTBALL Live

Monday February 11, 2008 Finished Emirates Stadium

Logo 2 - Blackburn Rovers 0

Arsenal

  • Senderos 4’
  • Adebayor 90’

Blackburn Rovers

  1. Arsenal five clear with Blackburn win

    Arsenal five clear with Blackburn win

    Arsenal moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 home victory over Blackburn Rovers after Philippe Senderos rose to score with less than four minutes on the clock and Emmanuel Adebayor ensured the win in stoppage time. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Arsenal
    • Blackburn Rovers
    • 90+3' 12 goals in nine matches for the Togo man as the final whistle goes and the Gunners are top by five whole points.
    • 90+2' Hleb played a low pass across the area from the right and he controlled with his first touch and smashed the ball into the corner with his second. Great finish.
    • 90+2' ADEBAYYYOOOORRRRR!!!!!!!! He has his goal and Arsenal have the three points!!!
    • 90+1' The first yellow card of the night as Fabregas petulantly boots Emerton.
    • 90' Desperate defending by Flamini clears the danger, but Adebayor cannot keep the ball up front... back come Blackburn...
    • 89' Fabregas furious that he is not given a corner after his shot is blocked.
    • 87' Wenger loath to bring on fresh legs of his own and disturb the balance. Blackburn cannot get the ball into the home team's box.
    • 85' There are nerves abound all around the Emirates Stadium, but the home team are on top... the clock counts down...
    • 83' Emerton with a confident pass that goes straight to an opposition player... a quick move ends with Fabregas... he steps into the area and uses the outside of his foot to shoot just over!! Unlucky from the Spanish playmaker.
    • 80' The last away change: Ooijer makes way for the little-seen Maceo Rigters. A defender for a striker. Bold move...
    • 80' Hleb running in midfield with the ball... he strikes it like a bullet and Friedel again beats it away! That was on its way to the top corner!
    • 80' Ooijer is hurt. He will come off shortly.
    • 79' Adebayor streaks down the left extremity of the penalty box, past Andre Ooijer... and Friedel is out like lightning to block!! Once again Adebayor denied.
    • 78' Blackburn substitutions: Aaron Mokoena and Jason Roberts on for Tugay and Benni McCarthy.
    • 75' Adebayor receives a cross from Clichy well, controlling and making space before shooting low... Friedel with an 'awesome' block!! The tall goal-getter seemed destined to, well, get a goal there - but again he comes up empty-handed.
    • 73' Rovers on the left, playing passes that irritate the home crowd. Berner wins a corner... it is cleared... B'burn throw more balls in that worry the home back-line...
    • 71' McCarthy offside as the ball comes through for him. He is out of sorts tonight - where has the player from last season gone?
    • 69' Arsenal on the ball, with time. You can almost hear Manchester United fans at home screaming at Blackburn to stop sitting back.
    • 67' Eduardo runs with the ball, Flamini overlapping on his left... he opts for the feet of Adebayor, who tees up FABREGAS... JUST WIDE!! His first-time shot flashed past the post - American goelie Friedel would have been struggling had that been on target.
    • 65' Gilberto has almost been anonymous in there, although he is still doing a good job blocking the away team's ventures forward.
    • 63' Patient play in the middle third from both teams, but no further chances.
    • 61' Berner cannot find an avenue for a cross down the left for the away side. Maybe a set-piece will provide their best chance of a point.
    • 58' Now Fabregas runs into a solid B'burn defender in the box. The last half-hour is shaping up intriguingly.
    • 57' Adebayor into the area... he flops to the ground and there are half-hearted shouts for a penalty, but referee Steve Bennett is never going to give that.
    • 56' The home crowd are getting nervous, though their players are sticking to the task...
    • 54' Reid feeds off the head of Santa Cruz, but when the ball is clipped towards McCarthy the striker is offside.
    • 53' Adebayor heads into the box on the right and gets a shot off... another great save by Friedel with his legs. The Togolese looked likely to finish that.
    • 51' It's a shoddy effort, curled well off target.
    • 50' Rovers counter with Tugay trying to slip a ball through for Bruno Berner. The pressure continues, Bentley winning another free-kick in a promising position...
    • 49' Hleb receives the ball on the left corner of the penalty area... he shapes himself and CRACKS AN EFFORT OFF THE BASE OF THE NEAR POST!!
    • 47' Bentley wins a free-kick 30 yards plus from goal... he whips it around the wall low to the bottom corner, where Lehmann pushes it around the post somewhat clumsily. The England winger's corner is poor.
    • 46' The second half underway, Blackburn now kicking to our left.
    • - No changes at the break.
    • 45+2' The whistle sounds to bring the half to a close. After an electric start it tailed off somewhat, allowing Blackburn to come into the match.
    • 45+1' Hleb to the by-line and pulls back... to no one. Cue groans from the stands.
    • 44' Just as they seem set to do something it is wasted. Clichy ran onto a Eduardo ball down the left and put his cross behind the goal with Adebayor, Fabregas and Eduardo arriving.
    • 43' Blackburn will be pleased with the last 15 or 20 minutes of the match. Arsenal seem to have run out of ideas.
    • 41' Warnock driving forward for Blackburn, dinking a ball over Senderos... he gets a touch on it facing his own goal and it is enough to put off Santa Cruz, whose diving shot is over the bar. He was almost in there.
    • 38' Emerton with another cross that Sagna heads away. Tugay plays to the feet of McCarthy and he sets it up for REID... struck cleanly but miles over the top.
    • 37' Bentley with a stunning flick down the line for his right-back Brett Emerton to cross... McCarthy gets a head to it AND SANTA CRUZ DIVES... HIS OWN TOUCH IS NOT ENOUGH! The ball runs out for a goal-kick. They were practically unmarked.
    • 35' Warnock with another cracking sliding challenge to stop Sagna racing away down the right.
    • 34' Mark Hughes claps his men on from the sideline as the Arsenal fans try to get behind their own team.
    • 32' Another Bentley corner from that left-hand side is caught without pressure by Lehmann. Rovers have to make these sort of set-pieces count.
    • 31' Bentley takes the kick - it is too close to Lehmann and he claims easily.
    • 30' Bentley works a little space on the right and curls in a good ball that almost finds it way to strikers McCarthy and Santa Cruz. Blackburn corner...
    • 28' Again Arsenal pile forward, this time through Eduardo. Emmanuel Adebayor peels off and may have struck one first time, but for the timely intervention of a retreating Warnock again.
    • 27' Creative attacking play from the home players, looking to work the angles. Only a desperate piece of defending by Stephen Warnock cuts out a chance for Flamini.
    • 25' Tugay caught in possession for a third time tonight. The veteran keeps forgetting how young and quick Arsene Wenger's midfield is!
    • 23' It is long and Blackburn deal with it.
    • 22' The Frenchman volleyed well. Fabregas then carves a lovely ball down the right channel for Sagna to motor and get on the end of... he wins a corner...
    • 22' Fabregas nods a ball onwards AND FLAMINI IS THROUGH... GREAT SAVE BY BRAD FRIEDEL WITH HIS LEGS!!!
    • 21' Roque Santa Cruz hasn't had a sniff as yet. Blackburn have sorted out their defending since those early dodgy minutes though.
    • 19' Eduardo with a low ball in that Sagna does well to keep alive, setting up Mathieu Flamini 18 yards out... high, wide and ugly as sin, that one.
    • 18' Poor forward play from McCarthy. The ball has to stick sometimes for Rovers in attack, but the South African gave that away lamely. The Gunners go on to win a corner...
    • 16' Jens Lehmann comes and drops the ball, but he was fouled and the whistle sounds. The temperamental German is between the sticks because Manuel Almunia is still ill.
    • 16' Now it is Blackburn's turn to play keep-ball. Tugay dictates from the middle, but Bentley has trouble beating Gael Clichy on the outside. He wins a corner though...
    • 14' Reid caught in possession. Lazy football. Arsenal keep the ball with ease, waiting for a route through their opponents to emerge.
    • 13' Bentley with a chance to send in a free-kick from the right. It looks a good ball and Reid rises, turns and heads on, wide of the post. Unlucky for the visitors, who are settling a bit now.
    • 11' David Bentley clips a ball down the right side for Steven Reid to chase. He just keeps the ball in play and wins a throw-in... eventually Tugay looks to slips a ball through but Arsenal intercept.
    • 9' Alexander Hleb dances into the area from the left, feeds Eduardo... he opts to come out to Diaby on the left touchline instead of using Hleb again. The move comes to nothing in the end.
    • 7' Zurab Khizanishvili blocks well as Eduardo tries his luck from the edge of the box. The home team are trying out their little passes and flicks.
    • 6' All Arsenal so far. Their fans are already in the comfort zone, certain of their five-point lead after Man Utd lost to Man City.
    • 4' Again the attack was down the right, a corner from Eduardo da Silva whipped in with his left foot - and the Swiss leapt for a free header. His marker Benni McCarthy was left standing. 1-0 to the Arsenal.
    • 4' GOAL FOR ARSENAL!!! PHILIPPE SENDEROS WITH THE HEADER!!!
    • 3' Fabregas causing all sorts of problems for Rovers. This time the ball runs away from him in the box after a high ball in from Bacary Sagna.
    • 2' Cesc Fabregas whips in an early cross that has Blackburn worried...
    • 1' The match kicks off, Arsenal in their traditional red and white colours kicking to our left. Rovers in blue and white halves.
    • - David Dunn and Morten Gamst Pedersen are suspended for Rovers, while Matt Derbyshire is with his heavily pregnant girlfriend. Ryan Nelsen is injured.
    • - The Gunners are missing several players: Robin van Persie is a week-and-a-half away, while Tomas Rosicky, Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott also miss out. Centre-half Johan Djourou is suspended. Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue are back from international duty in Africa.
    • - The teams emerge from the tunnel in north London. Can Arsenal move five points clear from Manchester United at the top of the table? Can Blackburn go eighth and within touching distance of a European spot?
    • - The teams are in... check out the formations of both sides on the graphic below...
    • INFO Hi! welcome to our coverage of this evening's Premier League clash between Arsenal and Blackburn at the Emirates Stadium...

  • Team Stats

    Arsenal Stats Blackburn Rovers
    55% Possession 45%
    15 Shots 8
    7 Shots on target 1
    0 Saves 4
    7 Corners 5
    6 Fouls 12
    2 Offsides 5
    1 Yellow cards 0
    0 Red cards 0
    27 Tackles 24
    489 Accurate passes 391
    86 Bad passes 61

  • Player Stats

    G =
    Goals
    S =
    Shots
    SoT =
    Shot on Target
    F =
    Fouls
    FW =
    Fouls Won
    O =
    Offsides
    A =
    Assists
    AP =
    Accurate Passes
    BP =
    Bad Passes
    T =
    Tackles
    • Arsenal
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Jens Lehmann 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 3 0
      10 William Gallas 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 47 1 1
      22 Gaël Clichy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 56 19 4
      3 Bacary Sagna 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 1 2
      6 Philippe Senderos 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 29 4 2
      16 Mathieu Flamini 0 2 1 4 2 0 0 71 5 5
      19 Gilberto Silva 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 56 11 0
      4 Francesc Fabregas 0 3 0 1 2 0 0 59 5 3
      13 Alexander Hleb 0 2 1 1 1 0 1 56 18 6
      9 Eduardo da Silva 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 34 10 3
      25 Emmanuel Adebayor 1 5 4 2 0 2 0 31 9 1
      30 Armand Traore 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      26 Nicklas Bendtner 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Lukasz Fabianski 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      46 Kerrea Gilbert 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      31 Justin Hoyte 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Blackburn Rovers
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Brad Friedel 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 2 0
      2 Andre Ooijer 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 30 4 2
      3 Stephen Warnock 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 42 14 4
      13 Zurab Khizanishvili 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 16 1 7
      20 Bruno Berner 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 23 8 2
      14 Steven Reid 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 61 9 3
      5 Kerimoglou Tugay 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 80 7 1
      7 Brett Emerton 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 48 0 3
      11 David Bentley 0 3 1 0 2 0 0 27 5 1
      10 Benedict McCarthy 0 1 0 2 1 4 0 23 5 0
      9 Roque Santa Cruz 0 2 0 0 3 1 0 24 6 1
      28 Tony Kane 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      17 Maceo Rigters 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
      15 Aaron Mokoena 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
      32 Jason Brown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Jason Roberts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

  • Summary

    • 90+2' Hleb played a low pass across the area from the right and he controlled with his first touch and smashed the ball into the corner with his second. Great finish.
    • 90+2' ADEBAYYYOOOORRRRR!!!!!!!! He has his goal and Arsenal have the three points!!!
    • 83' Emerton with a confident pass that goes straight to an opposition player... a quick move ends with Fabregas... he steps into the area and uses the outside of his foot to shoot just over!! Unlucky from the Spanish playmaker.
    • 80' Hleb running in midfield with the ball... he strikes it like a bullet and Friedel again beats it away! That was on its way to the top corner!
    • 79' Adebayor streaks down the left extremity of the penalty box, past Andre Ooijer... and Friedel is out like lightning to block!! Once again Adebayor denied.
    • 75' Adebayor receives a cross from Clichy well, controlling and making space before shooting low... Friedel with an 'awesome' block!! The tall goal-getter seemed destined to, well, get a goal there - but again he comes up empty-handed.
    • 67' Eduardo runs with the ball, Flamini overlapping on his left... he opts for the feet of Adebayor, who tees up FABREGAS... JUST WIDE!! His first-time shot flashed past the post - American goelie Friedel would have been struggling had that been on target.
    • 53' Adebayor heads into the box on the right and gets a shot off... another great save by Friedel with his legs. The Togolese looked likely to finish that.
    • 49' Hleb receives the ball on the left corner of the penalty area... he shapes himself and CRACKS AN EFFORT OFF THE BASE OF THE NEAR POST!!
    • 41' Warnock driving forward for Blackburn, dinking a ball over Senderos... he gets a touch on it facing his own goal and it is enough to put off Santa Cruz, whose diving shot is over the bar. He was almost in there.
    • 37' Bentley with a stunning flick down the line for his right-back Brett Emerton to cross... McCarthy gets a head to it AND SANTA CRUZ DIVES... HIS OWN TOUCH IS NOT ENOUGH! The ball runs out for a goal-kick. They were practically unmarked.
    • 22' Fabregas nods a ball onwards AND FLAMINI IS THROUGH... GREAT SAVE BY BRAD FRIEDEL WITH HIS LEGS!!!
    • 4' Again the attack was down the right, a corner from Eduardo da Silva whipped in with his left foot - and the Swiss leapt for a free header. His marker Benni McCarthy was left standing. 1-0 to the Arsenal.
    • 4' GOAL FOR ARSENAL!!! PHILIPPE SENDEROS WITH THE HEADER!!!

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Stephen Graham Bennett

  • Arsenal

    Manager: Arsene Wenger

    Captain: William Gallas

    On the Field

    • Lehmann
    • Sagna
    • Senderos Goal
    • Gallas
    • Clichy
    • Fabregas Yellow Card
    • Gilberto Silva
    • Flamini
    • Hleb
    • Adebayor Goal
    • Eduardo

    Subs

    • Hoyte
    • Bendtner
    • Fabianski
    • Traore
    • Gilbert

    Injured

    • Rosicky
    • Almunia
    • van Persie
    • Djourou
    • Denilson

    Suspended

    None

  • Blackburn Rovers

    Manager: Mark Hughes

    Captain: David Dunn

    On the Field

    • Friedel
    • Emerton
    • Ooijer Substitution Out (80′)
    • Khizanishvili
    • Warnock
    • Bentley
    • Tugay Substitution Out (78′)
    • Reid
    • Berner
    • Santa Cruz
    • McCarthy Substitution Out (78′)

    Subs

    • Roberts Substitution In (78′)
    • Mokoena Substitution In (78′)
    • Brown
    • Rigters Substitution In (80′)
    • Kane

    Injured

    • Dunn
    • Nelsen

    Suspended

    • Pedersen
    • Samba