No. 34—English Soccer: Arsenal vs. New Castle United—Discussion as to Why New Castle was Overpowered

By Soccer Coach Albert M. Luongo

Premier League Soccer/football: The FA Cup game was played on January 29, 2008. The final score was Arsenal 3, New Castle United 0. New Castle United could not compete effectively against Arsenal, as they frequently could not get out of the midfield to launch concerted attacks. Both teams used an identical formation of 4-4-2. Only one goal was scored in the first half. At 39 minutes into play, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor headed a cross past the United’s goalkeeper Given, making the score 1-0.

At the beginning of the second half, New Castle United got off to a good start and held their own for about ten minutes. After that they had difficulty mounting concerted attacks. Some long balls and flicks up field indicated that they were getting desperate. For the most part, they were enervated and their defense seemed to be scrambling in disorder. At minute 71, Arsenal’s Mathieu Flamine put in a long shot taken about 10 yards outside the penalty area. This was a fantastic long shot. At the 79th minute, Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas was unimpeded by United’s defense—they were scrambling as Fabergas got the third goal.

Review
The outcome of the match was predictable since Arsenal had good effective passing, they were more aggressive than United for winning the loose ball and overall they appeared to have more energy. This was apparent from the middle of the second half on. They played a good short ball game and their strong defense generally prevented coordinated New Castle’s attack buildups.

Except for a short period at the beginning of the second half, it was apparent that the the coaching of Arsene Wegner was showing its merit. In order to compete against strong teams, all players need to be in peak physical form. This is needed to prevent mistakes in everything—dribbling, passing, applying pressure to force the opponents to make passing mistakes. When a team has superior endurance, with matching skills of the opponent, they are most often the winners.

All of the above information is the author's opinion. This article in no way is meant to degrade, discredit or defame any team or person. Its sole purpose is to improve the skills of young soccer players, coaches and the game itself.