23. Arsenal 4 – 1 Middlesbrough, 10th of January 2004, Highbury.
Henry 38′ (pen.), Queudrue 45′ (og.), Pires 57′, Ljungberg 68′.
After a dissappointing draw against Everton, the Arsenal faithful were expecting a good result against an average Middlesbrough team, and that’s exactly what they got. As Vieria was taken out in the penalty area close to half time, Arsenal were awarded a penalty and it was fired home by Thierry Henry even though Mark Schwarzer dived the right way. An Henry free-kick just before half time saw Queudrue stick out a leg and convert the shot that was going wide into his own goal, giving Arsenal a 2 goal lead just before going into the dressing room.
A lovely finish by Pires gave Arsenal a 3 goal lead on the 57th minute after Henry supplied the pass to finish off a killer instinct attack by the Gunners. The fans in the stadium saw a lovely piece of skill and dribbling from Kanu who managed to weave his way into the penalty area but found himself unable to shoot due to being overrun by defenders, but that wasn’t a problem as he gently tapped the ball into the path of the onrushing Ljungberg who managed to score the 4th Arsenal goal of the game, the goal that saw Arsenal seal the 3 points and go top of the Premier League table. Not long before the final whistle, Middlesbrough pulled back a goal after Lehmann rushed out and took out the oncoming Middlesbrough attacker in the penalty area to award the home team a penalty kick, a kick that was smashed into the Arsenal goal by Massimo Maccarone.
The final bit of action came from Thierry Henry, who was chasing down the ball from Danny Mills who seemed to have decided he was going to waste a bit of time as he was shielding the ball from the French striker, but with the abundance of skill that Thierry has, he managed to get his foot on the ball, roll it through Danny Mills’ legs and start get his head up to look for a teammate in the box – a sure way to show up any opponent.
“It’s nice if you just turn round and have a look at the youngsters that are actually watching, and it puts a smile on people’s faces and I think that’s important, you know.”
*Could not find the video
24. Aston Villa 0 – 2 Arsenal, 18th of January 2004, Villa Park.
Henry 29′, 53′ (pen.)
Another away day for the Arsenal fans had arrived as they travelled to Villa Park to face an Aston Villa team that the Gunners were expected to make light work of, but that wasn’t to happen, despite picking up the 3 points.
Pressure from Aston Villa throughout the game put the Arsenal defence through their paces but they took the lead through talisman Thierry Henry just before the half hour mark after Thierry Henry converted a quickly taken free-kick that caught the Aston Villa defence off guard and fuming at the referee allowing the French striker to take it so quickly, before the wall could be organised.
Arsenal’s second came from a spot kick that was awarded after Kanu danced and shimmied in and around the penalty area, causing havoc for the defence before being taken out to give the away side chance to double their lead – and that’s exactly what they did after Thierry Henry side footed the ball with such power and precision that the goalkeeper was just too far away from it despite diving the right way.
*Could not find the video
25. Arsenal 2 – 1 Manchester City, 1st of February 2004, Highbury.
Tarnat 7′ (o.g.), Henry 83′.
Back when Manchester City were not run by a filthy rich owner and the club didn’t have a penny to their name, teams like Arsenal would make light work of the defence as the blue side of Manchester was looking rather flat in all areas.
The first goal came from a mistake in the City defence as Henry whipped the ball into the box towards Ljungberg, but defender Tarnat was in the way and he got the final touch on the ball ahead of the Swedish international to make it 1-0 to Arsenal with just 7 minutes on the clock, and Arsenal fans were expectant of a landslide victory.
Despite the hopes of a big Arsenal win, it wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Arsenal managed to score their second after constant pressure on the City goal as well as City putting little bits of pressure on the Arsenal goal every now and then on a wet, cold afternoon in London. A very quick break away from Arsenal after intercepting the ball from a City attack, the ball found its way to Thierry Henry, and there was only going to be one outcome as he stepped inside on his favoured right foot to curl the ball into the top corner of the net, silencing every Manchester City fan in the ground, as well as some Arsenal fans, due to his incredible skill and eye for goal.
Manchester City scored their goal from Nickolas Anelka close to the final whistle but it was too little too late for the blues and Arsenal walked away with their heads held high and 3 points in hand.
*Could not find the video.
26. Wolves 1 – 3 Arsenal, 7th of February, 2004, Molineux.
Bergkamp 9′, Henry 58′, Toure 63′.
Arsenal, just 6 days after their victory over Manchester City, were fit and ready to go and they had the wind in their sails from the off and after just 9 minutes on the clock, Dutchman Dennis Bergkamp scored a lovely, well worked Arsenal goal as Dennis kicked the ball with the inside of his right foot, somehow managing to curl it into the bottom corner and out of reach for the goalkeeper.
Wolves managed to pull level from Garne(?) after a corner kick was played to Craddock who passed it to Garne to rifle home the equaliser, leaving the Arsenal fans shellshocked.
After a lackluster first half after the two goals, the second half had more to offer in Arsenal’s way as Thierry Henry pulled Arsenal ahead yet again on the 58th minute as he slid the ball through the heart of the goal to leave the ball rustling in the back of the net with Arsenal staring another 3 points in the face and Henry pulling up to 99 goals.
An unlikely source scored Arsenal’s third as Kolo Toure nodded home after a Pires cross fell to Vieira who lifted it back into the box and in the path of the patient Toure who had a comfortable, easy header on goal.
“There is a beautiful simplicity about Arsene Wenger’s team when they click into gear.”
*Could not find the video.
27. Arsenal 2 – 0 Southampton, 10th of February, 2004, Highbury.
Henry 31′, 90′.
The day Henry reached a personal landmark of 100 goals for Arsenal came at the home of the Gunners against Southampton, the perfect place to achieve a great record for a great player. Arsenal were pressing high as usual in the opening stages of the game and scored the opener when Henry picked up Pires’ pass and despite looking offside, the Frenchman tucked away to put Arsenal ahead after shrugging off defenders in his race towards the goal.
Southampton came close after an intense amount of pressure built on the Arsenal defence, causing them to make errors as they failed the clear their lines before Omerod struck a shot towards goal, forcing a magnificent save from the German Jens Lehmann. The Saints also had a penalty claim turned down which left the players and fans furious with the referee, but Arsenal took advantage of the cleansheet they held and scored their second goal of the night just a few minutes away from the final whistle as Pires pulled the ball back to Gilberto from the wing but the Brazilian couldn’t make the right contact as the ball fell to Thierry Henry, who made no mistake in converting it into a 2 goal advantage and another 3 points that would send them 5 points clear at the top of the table.
*Could not find the video.
28. Chelsea 1 – 2 Arsenal, 21st of February 2004, Stamford Bridge.
Vieira 15′, Edu 21′.
Just 27 seconds into the match and Arsenal fell down to their knee’s as Eiður Guðjohnsen lashed the ball into the back of the Arsenal net to make it 1-0 to the home side, a kick in the teeth to an Arsenal team riding high on confidence.
Despite going behind early in the game after just a few seconds, the team spirit of Arsenal and the determination of the players prevailed as they never looked fazed about going behind after Bergkamp fed a smooth,delightful ball into captain Vieira’s feet as he calmly side footed the ball into the back of the net to score his first goal of the season and put Arsenal on level terms.
Arsenal took the lead just a few moments after their equalising goal through Edu who managed to slide the ball into the back of an empty net from a corner taken by Pires after the Chelsea goalkeeper came out to take the ball but ended up missing it completely.
“Arsenal invented the huddle after it (the game), that’s one of the images that tell you why 49, was 49..”
*Could not find the video.
29. Arsenal 2 – 1 Charlton Athletic, 28th of February, 2004, Highbury.
Pires 2′, Henry 4′.
After an impressive comeback against title rivals Chelsea, Arsenal were back at home to entertain their home fans against Charlton in a 2-1 victory and they took the lead after just 2 minutes through Robert Pires who scored his 50th goal for the club in a game that looked like it would turn into an easy game for the Gunners, especially as Henry got in on the act just 2 minutes later after Patrick Vieira started the move in his own half, winning the ball back with a header, then burst through the midfield and through the Charlton defence to then cross the ball along the ground to Thierry Henry who had the technique and quality to get the ball out of his feet and fire home the second goal.
Charlton then scored a free-kick through Jensen but it was not enough to push Arsenal into a nervous disposition as they held onto their lead and looked very calm and content with the 2-1 lead as it gave them yet another 3 points.
*Could not find the video.
30. Blackburn Rovers 0 – 2 Arsenal, 13th of March 2004, Ewood Park.
Henry 57′, Pires 87′.
After a string of good results both home and away, Arsenal came up against Blackburn Rovers and were again expected to put on a show of class, and Thierry Henry was the man of the moment when Brad Friedel, in the home teams goal, was preparing for a goal kick and as he edged closer to the edge of his area, he held the ball in one hand, threw it up into the air in preparation for a big kick, and Thierry Henry snatched the ball out of mid-air and simply rolled the ball into the back of an empty net, but the referee saw it as foul play and (wrongly) disallowed the goal, giving Blackburn a chance to breath again.
Robert Pires weaved his magic during the game like he used to do week in, week out, as he danced around defenders before firing a shot just high and wide of the top corner of the goal as Arsenal looked to be stepping up their pace in pursuit of 3 points. A sublime free-kick a fair distance away from the Blackburn goal was rifled into the back of the net by the French phenomenon Henry, a shot that even 2 goalkeeper wouldn’t have been able to save.
A quick, decisive Arsenal attack broke holes into the defence of Blackburn and Pires was quick to pick out Vieira in space in the middle of the home teams half and as he passed to Ljungberg, the Swedish winger fired a shot at goal but it was pushed out by Friedel into the path of Pires who gave Arsenal a 2 goal lead and yet another 3 points, a win that fired them even further ahead of the pack in the table.
“Everyone talks about Thierry, but Robert Pires, he’s the master.”
Thierry Henry’s disallowed goal –
31. Arsenal 2 – 1 Bolton Wanderers, 20th of March, 2004, Highbury.
Pires 16′, Bergkamp 24′.
Arsenal got off to a quick tempo start against Bolton and Thierry Henry took a shot from around 30-35 yards out, a shot that many would never attempt, and it smashed the face of the crossbar leaving all fans in the stadium shocked and stunned into a silence that lasted just a few seconds as the roars of the home team rung around the ground.
Arsenal capitalized is Bolton’s inability to cope with the mounting pressure as Edu picked out a pass to Bergkamp who only had to take one touch to gently tap the ball into the path of Pires who rifled home the opener an a classic Arsenal move.
As Bolton tried to force their way through the Arsenal midfield and defence, the Gunners won back the ball deep inside their own half and as they do with such pace and precision, they broke away from the Bolton attack and Pires played a fantastic through ball into the path of Henry, (the type of pass you see on FIFA, you’ll know what I mean if you play the game!) who had space and time to pick out Bergkamp waiting in the middle and the non-flying Dutchman smashed home Arsenal’s second goal of the game.
A corner from Bolton saw them pull a goal back as Campo managed to tap in the ball from just a couple of feet away from the goal but their goal was too little too late as the Gunners claimed yet another 3 points in this fine run of 31 unbeaten games.
“Do they do ordinary? Highbury rises again, Highbury just does not tire, of watching football of this immaculate order.”
*Couldn’t find the video.
32. Arsenal 1 – 1 Manchester United, 28th of March, 2004, Highbury.
Henry 50′.
Arsenal unbeaten run was in doubt as many expected them to fall against Manchester United, especially after Djemba-Djemba fired a perfectly hit volley towards the Arsenal goal but Lehmann was aware enough to push out the shot.
As ever, the fierce, fiery derby was controversial and both teams were in the game to win it and neither of them looked happy at the ideas of settling for a point and as Reyes ran towards the Manchester United goal, Roy Carroll pulled off some fine goalkeeping, making himself a big object between the sticks and this proved enough to put Reyes off as his shot simply hit Carroll and bounced over the line for a corner.
On the 50th minute mark, Thierry Henry was on hand to pull of a spectacular shot from a long way out and the ball moved left to right in the air, confusing Roy Carroll in the United goal as the ball flashed into the back of the net and above the Manchester United goalkeeper.
Manchester United pulled level through Louis Saha as a ball was whipped in along the ground, making its way past Ruud van Nistelrooy and Lehmann and fell kindly to the feet of Saha who was on hand to tap the ball into the back of the net.
*Couldn’t find the video.
33. Arsenal 4 – 2 Liverpool, 9th of April 2004, Highbury.
Henry 31′, 50′, 78′, Pires 49′.
Liverpool took the lead early on as a corner found Hyppia who found himself in a position to tap the ball into the back of the net with a header, giving Liverpool a surprise lead after just 5 minutes.
A sensational move from Arsenal and Pires saw Arsenal draw level after 31 minutes thanks to a delightful chipped ball over the Liverpool players into the path of Thierry Henry who fired home his shot, putting Arsenal back into the game.
The Liverpool combination of Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen was perfect for the away team as Gerrard picked out a sensational ball to the English striker Owen who was calm enough to slide the ball past Lehmann and put Liverpool back in the lead just moments before half time.
A depleted Arsenal went into the dressing room at half time feeling as if their title push and all their hard work was about to flip on its head, but whatever Arsene Wenger said at half time worked, as the players came back onto the pitch with a leap in their step and raring to go.
Just 4 minutes after the break, a fantastic bit of play from Arsenal saw them pull level yet again through Robert Pires as he side footed the ball into the back of the net. Arsenal’s pressure was mounting with every second that went by and Liverpool had resorted to desperate defending even though the scores were level, as well as having all 11 men behind the ball when Arsenal were about to attack.
The next Arsenal goal left me lost for words, I can’t describe how good it was or how he managed to do it, but Thierry Henry picked up the ball near the half-way line, ran at the Liverpool defenders, going past 5 Liverpool players, none of them able to get a touch of the ball or take it away from the Frenchman as he wiggled through each tackle and created a gaping hole in the Liverpool defence in which he ran into and struck home the goal of the game and the goal of the 49 games unbeaten. A sublime finish, a finish you wouldn’t see any footballer on the planet do today, not even Messi or Ronaldo.
A sensational ball over the Liverpool defence by Dennis Bergkamp gave Thierry Henry the chance to score another goal and that’s exactly what he did as the ball fell kindly at his feet, he had his first shot at goal hit the goalkeeper but the rebound hit Thierry and bounced into the back of the net, giving Thierry Henry his hat-trick.
“There’s a strong life in this team.”
34. Newcastle United 0 – 0 Arsenal, 11th of April 2004, St James’ Park.
After a run of picking up 3 points, Arsenal drew the short straw in a 0-0 draw against Newcastle United, a result that had many in the media wondering whether Arsenal could hold onto their position in the table and actually be crowned champions at the end of the season.
Newcastle had a fantastic opportunity to score in the first half through Bellamy as Alan Shearer picked up a ball that was whipped out to the wing before he crossed it into Bellamy who tried to do a fancy flick in order to beat Lehmann at his near post, but the German goalkeeper was alert to the danger and pushed the ball behind for a corner.
Arsenal had their chances too, when Reyes aimed a header on goal but it didn’t have enough power and direction to beat the goalkeeper as it hit his chest and bounced to a defender to start off a Newcastle attack.
Thierry Henry was the name on the fans’ lips as he picked up the ball on the half way line and took a few strides forward before knocking the ball around the outside of a defender and as he ran onto it, he fell to the ground under a challenge on him but he got straight back up and took a few steps inside to get a better angle on goal and he fizzed a shot just after the bar in what was the moment of the match.
*Couldn’t find the video.
35. Arsenal 5 – 0 Leeds United, 16th of April 2004, Highbury.
Pires 6′, Henry 27′, 33′ (pen.), 50′, 67′.
As the season edged nearer to the end, Arsenal were in desperate need of a win against Leeds United to stand any chance of clinching the title in the next few games.
The first Arsenal goal was scored by Pires on the 6th minute after Bergkamp played a lovely through ball to find Pires who only needed to take one touch – and that was the one to curve the ball into the bottom corner.
It was another Frenchman who was then able to get on the scoresheet as Henry ran at the defence without the ball before Gilberto fed him in to score the second of the game in a quick break that left the Leeds United players wondering whether or not Thierry was offside as he made the run through their defence. A penalty was given to the Gunners when Bergkamp tried to take the ball under his control, but instead it hit the arm of the defender who was non the wiser as to what was happening due to Arsenal’s quick attack, and, yes, you guessed it, Thierry Henry stepped up to take the spot kick and instead of lashing it home like most players would, he calmly chipped it down the middle of the goal giving Arsenal a 3 goal lead and surely another 3 points.
Bergkamp was again at the heart of Arsenal’s play as he started an attack in his own half, giving the ball to Brazilian Gilberto who used his pace and power to steam through the midfield and slide the ball along the ground to Henry who was onside and away from the defenders and he cooly slotted home his hat-trick.
Thierry Henry (he looks a goal or two this guy doesn’t he?!) was yet again on hand to put Arsenal even further out of reach as he stormed through the entire Leeds United midfield and defence, using his pace, power and determination to slot home the 5th goal of the game.
“Plenty of green grass behind them for Arsenal to use, to run the ball into, like this, Like this, electrifying, Electrifying!”
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First 35 – For: 77. Against: 23.
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The final part will be coming in the next few days, keep an eye out for it.
AvalonAFC 