Arsenal
may have ridden their luck at times, but Arsene
Wengerwill not mind after seeing his injury-hit side get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start in
Marseille -- their tenth successive win on the road.
• Wenger hails Ramsey display
On Tuesday Wenger claimed
the quartet of Arsenal, Marseille, Rafael Benitez's Napoli and last year's
runners-up Borussia Dortmund made Group F the hardest of this year's
competition.
The Frenchman also conceded
that unless their injury situation improved -- currently eight first-team squad
members are out -- then they would struggle to make it out of the group for the
first time since the 1999/2000 season.
Wenger
will therefore have been all the more relieved to see his side pick up yet
another win on the road on the French south
coast.
Theo Walcott and Aaron
Ramsey's second-half strikes proved the difference at the half-finished Stade
Velodrome, where the hosts dominated for large periods of the match.
Marseille, back in the
competition after a year's absence, edged the first half, with Andre Ayew and
Andre-Pierre Gignac coming closest.
Rod Fanni was inches away
from grabbing the opener moments into the second half, before Kieran Gibbs
saved Per Mertesacker's blushes by clearing his miskick off the line as Gignac
waited to nod into an empty net.
It was a moment that proved
decisive as another defensive mistake at the other end put Arsenal in the
driving seat.
Jeremy Morel misread a
Gibbs cross, allowing Walcott time to rifle into the roof of the net and
quieten those who had criticised his finishing in Saturday's 3-1 win at
Sunderland.
The hosts pressed hard for
a leveller but Ramsey's low strike seven minutes from time put the game out of
reach for the hosts, who pulled one back through substitute Jordan Ayew's
stoppage-time penalty.
Wenger made just one change
for the match, with centre-back Per Mertesacker brought in to play alongside
Laurent Koscielny.
The pair lined up together
last time Arsenal visited the Marseille in October 2011, keeping the hosts at
bay as Ramsey came off the bench to snatch a 1-0 win.
Much has changed at the
Stade Velodrome since then, most obviously the structure itself.
Gone is the Tribune
Jean-Bouin, replaced by cranes and a concrete shell as the stadium is
redeveloped ahead of hosting Euro 2016.
It means
the venue is as much a building site as a football stadium, but the home fans made it as intimidating as ever.
The teams
were welcomed onto the pitch by a wall of
sound, with Marseille first to threaten.
Gignac's flick towards goal
had supporters on their feet, with Wojciech Szczesny then having to deal with a
long-range Mathieu Valbuena effort.
The frenetic start
continued as Arsenal went up the other end in search of an early goal.
A Mesut Ozil cross was
nodded goalwards by Walcott, only for Nicolas N'Koulou to clear from danger.
The forward was proving a
pest in the early stages, forcing Steve Mandanda into action before landing a chip
on the roof of the net, albeit from an offside position.
The tempo soon calmed,
though, with both sides content to keep possession as they searched for an
opener.
Valbuena tried and failed
after being set-up by Andre Ayew in the 19th minute, before the roles reversed
two minutes later.
The diminutive playmaker
whipped in a corner and the Ghana international found space to flash a header
just wide.
It was the closest either
side had come to an opener, although the north Londoners may feel aggrieved not
to have been awarded a penalty soon after.
Ozil swung in a corner from
which Mertesacker was booted in the face by Alaixys Romao, but referee Olegario
Benquerenca showed no interest in awarding a penalty.
Only last-ditch defending
by Mertesacker prevented a Dimitri Payet ball across the six-yard box being
directed home as Marseille ended the half on top, with Gignac seeing a glancing
header fly just over.
Marseille continued in the
ascendancy after the restart, Fanni smashing a half volley inches wide.
Mandanda was forced into a
fine reaction save to deny Gibbs finishing a move he started, before the
Marseille goalkeeper denied Jack Wilshere.
It was not all Arsenal,
though. Szczesny thwarted a driven Payet effort and Gibbs came to Mertesacker's
rescue in the 60th minute just as Gignac was about to nod into an open goal.
It was a missed chance
Marseille were made to pay for just four minutes later.
Morel misread a Gibbs cross
and the ball fell kindly for Walcott, who lashed home impressively from close
range.
Payet and Valbuena kept
threatening as Marseille pushed for an equaliser, but Arsenal were still
proving a threat -- highlighted by a Giroud header just wide.
Ozil also came close in the
closing stages, before Ramsey put the match out of sight by shrugging off
Marseille defenders to fire home.
Jordan Ayew struck home a
stoppage-time penalty after Ramsey was adjudged to have tripped Andre Ayew, but
it was a mere consolation.
Tweet Follow @punshcomempower
50% off Hosting for your Website at GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
It's a BIG Deal! $5.99* .COM from GoDaddy.com!
Host a site without stress on namecheap eApps|YOUR APP HOSTING PROVIDER
Submit your Website
Free webmaster resources including SEO Tools, Computer Glossary, Templates Sign up to BIGTIMEBUX today!
0 comments:
Post a Comment