Champions League - Bendtner fires Arsenal to win

Eurosport - Wed, 26 Nov 09:49:00 2008

Arsenal reached the last 16 of the Champions League as sub Nicklas Bendtner scored the only goal of the game against Dynamo Kiev at the Emirates Stadium.

Nicklas Bendtner goal v Kiev, FOOTBALL - 0

Following their 0-0 home draw against Fenerbahce, Arsene Wenger's side again struggled to find the net in Europe but the Dane struck three minutes from time after a raking pass from new skipper Cesc Fabregas.

Porto's 2-1 victory in Istanbul sees the Gunners go through with the Portuguese side and they will contest top spot in Group G in Oporto in a fortnight's time.

There was a hint of controversy to the goal as Kiev did not contest a drop ball and Fabregas picked out Bendtner who fired past visiting keeper Stanislav Bogush at the near post.

Bendtner was booked for removing his shirt in celebration after his first goal since September 23 and an irate Kiev were reduced to ten men shortly after as Olexandr Aliyev was shown a red card for pushing referee Alain Hamer from Luxembourg.

Fabregas led the side out but just as he has been for the past week, William Gallas was the central figure in proceedings for much of the match.

An awful mistake from the deposed skipper late in the first-half gifted Ismael Bangoura possession and Gallas was happy to see the Guinean striker's effort come off the outside of the post.

It was Kiev's only real effort of the first half which ended with Gallas turning the ball home only for the offside flag to correctly go up.

Bogush flapped at a corner and Alexandre Song headed the ball through to Gallas who flicked the ball into the net but Kiev were quick to clear their six-yard box and the goal was ruled out.

Clear cut chances were few and far between with a Robin van Persie shot bouncing off the chest off Bogush and Mikael Silvestre diverting a dangerously whipped free-kick from the Dutchman over the top.

Arsenal came closest to breaking the deadlock three minutes into the second-half when Bogush made a hash of a Fabregas free-kick. Van Persie's initial effort was blocked by Artem Milevskiy and then the rebound was cleared from in front of his own goal by Gallas with the French defender unable get out of the way of the goalbound shot in time.

Kiev had the better of the chances from there on in with Bangoura fizzing a shot wide and Almunia claiming Olexandr Aliyev's 25-yard shot at the second attempt.

And 12 minutes from time Almunia made a vital save to preserve the cleansheet. The Spaniard custodian was quick off his line to deny Milevskiy from close range after Arsenal's high line was exposed.

By that time Jack Wilshere had become Arsenal's youngest ever player in Europe, as the 16-year-old replaced Carlos Vela, and he watched Bendtner break his long barren streak in front of goal as Arsenal reached the knockout phase of Europe's premier competition for the sixth consecutive season.

Fenerbahce 1-2 Porto

Two goals from Lisandro Lopez earned Porto a 2-1 victory against Fenerbahce and a place inn the Champions League last 16, with a late goal from Colin Kazim-Richards not enough to rescue the home side.

Lisandro put the visitors ahead in the 19th minute after Fenerbahce failed to clear a corner, hooking in a shot from close range through the home side's defence.

He doubled the Portuguese side's lead after a throw-in 10 minutes later. Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan blocked his first shot on goal only for Lisandro to score with his second effort, despite claims of handball from Fenerbahce players.

Half-time substitute Kazim-Richards pulled a goal back for Fenerbahce in the 63rd minute with a long-range shot which deflected off Bruno Alves and went beyond the reach of Porto goalkeeper Helton.

Lee Walker / Eurosport

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  1. lots of work yet to be done. not yet uhuru.

    From charles, on Wed 26 Nov 10:22AM

  2. to all you so called Arsenal fans out there what say­ Arsenal have not been
    noted for their passion and­ commitment , let me think...............
    Tony Adams,Pat­ Rice,and the great great Ian Wright and the list can­ go
    on and on.Not like these northern monkeys what dont­ give a @#$% play
    only for the cash and cheat people­ they should emulate......professionals

    From jpcw33, on Wed 26 Nov 9:45AM

  3. I THINK ALL THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT WENGER PUT THE­ ARMBAND TO CESC TO AVOID HIM TO MOVE TO OTHER CLUBS ARE­ JUST PLAIN STUPID!!!

    WENGER DON'T NEED TO DO THAT,­ EVEN IF CESC DOES GOES, ARSENAL HAVE PLAYERS THAT WOULD­ BE AN EXCELLENT COVER, NEVERTHLESS HIS EXPERIENCE, WE­ HAVE SOME MARVELOUS TALENTS IN THE CLUB WHO PLAYED­ SIMILAR FOOTBALL LIKE CESC DID: WILSHERE, RAMSEY,­ MERIDA EVEN THE MOST EXCITING PROSPECT RIGHT NOW:­ VELA!!

    WHO'D KNOW THAT GALLAS WOULD MAKE THAT­ CHILDISH OUTBURST THIS TIME AROUND?? NO ONE! AND WENGER­ WAS DEEPLY UPSET COS HE ONCE AGAIN TRUSTED HIM TO LEAD­ THE SQUAD THIS SEASON, BUT GALLAS DISAPPOINTED HIM ONCE­ MORE (THE FIRST WAS THE BIRMINGHAM INCIDENT)

    THE­ REASON WENGER PUT CESC TO CAPTAIN IS BECAUSE HE IS THE­ MOST SUITABLE PLAYER IN THE SQUAD. HE'S MATURED,­ EXPERINCE (HE MADE GREAT IMPACT TO SPAIN WHEN SPAIN­ WINS THE EURO'08, WINNING EURO'08 IS­ SOMETHING!) AND THE OLDEST ARSENAL XI (REMEMBER CESC­ PLAYED ARSENAL WHILE LEHMANN STILL A CONSISTENT­ GOALKEEPER THAT BRINGS ARSENAL TO THE CL FINAL BACK IN­ 2006!)

    THERE MIGHT BE SOME OLDER PLAYER THAT U MIGHT­ FEEL TO FILL THE ROLE AS A CAPTAIN, LIKE KOLO &­ EBOUE (THEY ARE THE OLDEST ARSENAL XI AS WELL), OR EVEN­ ALMUNIA!

    BUT:
    - KOLO IS JUST TOO QUIET, HE DOESN'T­ SPEAKS TOO MUCH.
    - ALMUNIA HAS JUST BECOME THE ARSENAL­ XI FOR THE LAST TWO SEASON (AND HASN'T PROVEN MUCH­ AS A FOOTBALLER, WHAT IS HIS REPUTATION? NONE, AT LEAST­ UP UNTIL NOW!)
    - EBOUE? WENGER KNOWS EBOUE IS NOT­ POPULAR AMONGS ALL THE FANS! AND IF HE PICKS HIM THERE­ WOULD BE SOME MAJOR CONTROVERSY AMONG THE FANS.

    SO CUT­ THE @#$% OFF!

    CESC AND WENGER WOULD COMBINE AND BUILD­ THE MASSIVE ARSENAL SQUAD AGAIN!! JUST LOOK AT WHAT­ HAPPEN IN SPURS, SAME PLAYERS BUT DIFFERENT RESULTS­ AFTER A NEW LEADER BROUGHT IN NEW ATMOSPHERE IN THE­ LOCKER ROOM! ONE SPURS PLAYERS SAID REDKNAPP CONVINCE­ THEM THAT THEY ARE GOOD PLAYERS, AND LOOK THEY NOW­ AVOID THE RELEGATION AREA!

    IN ARSENE WE TRUST!!! UP­ YOUNG GUNNERS!!

    From jimmydarmawan, on Wed 26 Nov 8:46AM

  4. I THINK ALL THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT WENGER PUT THE­ ARMBAND TO CESC TO AVOID HIM TO MOVE TO OTHER CLUBS ARE­ JUST PLAIN STUPID!!!

    WENGER DON'T NEED TO DO THAT,­ EVEN IF CESC DOES GOES, ARSENAL HAVE PLAYERS THAT WOULD­ BE AN EXCELLENT COVER, NEVERTHLESS HIS EXPERIENCE, WE­ HAVE SOME MARVELOUS TALENTS IN THE CLUB WHO PLAYED­ SIMILAR FOOTBALL LIKE CESC DID: WILSHERE, RAMSEY,­ MERIDA EVEN THE MOST EXCITING PROSPECT RIGHT NOW:­ VELA!!

    WHO'D KNOW THAT GALLAS WOULD MAKE THAT­ CHILDISH OUTBURST THIS TIME AROUND?? NO ONE! AND WENGER­ WAS DEEPLY UPSET COS HE ONCE AGAIN TRUSTED HIM TO LEAD­ THE SQUAD THIS SEASON, BUT GALLAS DISAPPOINTED HIM ONCE­ MORE (THE FIRST WAS THE BIRMINGHAM INCIDENT)

    THE­ REASON WENGER PUT CESC TO CAPTAIN IS BECAUSE HE IS THE­ MOST SUITABLE PLAYER IN THE SQUAD. HE'S MATURED,­ EXPERINCE (HE MADE GREAT IMPACT TO SPAIN WHEN SPAIN­ WINS THE EURO'08, WINNING EURO'08 IS­ SOMETHING!) AND THE OLDEST ARSENAL XI (REMEMBER CESC­ PLAYED ARSENAL WHILE LEHMANN STILL A CONSISTENT­ GOALKEEPER THAT BRINGS ARSENAL TO THE CL FINAL BACK IN­ 2006!)

    THERE MIGHT BE SOME OLDER PLAYER THAT U MIGHT­ FEEL TO FILL THE ROLE AS A CAPTAIN, LIKE KOLO &­ EBOUE (THEY ARE THE OLDEST ARSENAL XI AS WELL), OR EVEN­ ALMUNIA!

    BUT:
    - KOLO IS JUST TOO QUIET, HE DOESN'T­ SPEAKS TOO MUCH.
    - ALMUNIA HAS JUST BECOME THE ARSENAL­ XI FOR THE LAST TWO SEASON (AND HASN'T PROVEN MUCH­ AS A FOOTBALLER, WHAT IS HIS REPUTATION? NONE, AT LEAST­ UP UNTIL NOW!)
    - EBOUE? WENGER KNOWS EBOUE IS NOT­ POPULAR AMONGS ALL THE FANS! AND IF HE PICKS HIM THERE­ WOULD BE SOME MAJOR CONTROVERSY AMONG THE FANS.

    SO CUT­ THE @#$% OFF!

    CESC AND WENGER WOULD COMBINE AND BUILD­ THE MASSIVE ARSENAL SQUAD AGAIN!! JUST LOOK AT WHAT­ HAPPEN IN SPURS, SAME PLAYERS BUT DIFFERENT RESULTS­ AFTER A NEW LEADER BROUGHT IN NEW ATMOSPHERE IN THE­ LOCKER ROOM! ONE SPURS PLAYERS SAID REDKNAPP CONVINCE­ THEM THAT THEY ARE GOOD PLAYERS, AND LOOK THEY NOW­ AVOID THE RELEGATION AREA!

    IN ARSENE WE TRUST!!! UP­ YOUNG GUNNERS!!

    From jimmydarmawan, on Wed 26 Nov 8:43AM

  5. I THINK ALL THE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT WENGER PUT THE­ ARMBAND TO CESC TO AVOID HIM TO MOVE TO OTHER CLUBS ARE­ JUST PLAIN STUPID!!!

    WENGER DON'T NEED TO DO THAT,­ EVEN IF CESC DOES GOES, ARSENAL HAVE PLAYERS THAT WOULD­ BE AN EXCELLENT COVER, NEVERTHLESS HIS EXPERIENCE, WE­ HAVE SOME MARVELOUS TALENTS IN THE CLUB WHO PLAYED­ SIMILAR FOOTBALL LIKE CESC DID: WILSHERE, RAMSEY,­ MERIDA EVEN THE MOST EXCITING PROSPECT RIGHT NOW:­ VELA!!

    WHO'D KNOW THAT GALLAS WOULD MAKE THAT­ CHILDISH OUTBURST THIS TIME AROUND?? NO ONE! AND WENGER­ WAS DEEPLY UPSET COS HE ONCE AGAIN TRUSTED HIM TO LEAD­ THE SQUAD THIS SEASON, BUT GALLAS DISAPPOINTED HIM ONCE­ MORE (THE FIRST WAS THE BIRMINGHAM INCIDENT)

    THE­ REASON WENGER PUT CESC TO CAPTAIN IS BECAUSE HE IS THE­ MOST SUITABLE PLAYER IN THE SQUAD. HE'S MATURED,­ EXPERINCE (HE MADE GREAT IMPACT TO SPAIN WHEN SPAIN­ WINS THE EURO'08, WINNING EURO'08 IS­ SOMETHING!) AND THE OLDEST ARSENAL XI (REMEMBER CESC­ PLAYED ARSENAL WHILE LEHMANN STILL A CONSISTENT­ GOALKEEPER THAT BRINGS ARSENAL TO THE CL FINAL BACK IN­ 2006!)

    THERE MIGHT BE SOME OLDER PLAYER THAT U MIGHT­ FEEL TO FILL THE ROLE AS A CAPTAIN, LIKE KOLO &­ EBOUE (THEY ARE THE OLDEST ARSENAL XI AS WELL), OR EVEN­ ALMUNIA!

    BUT:
    - KOLO IS JUST TOO QUIET, HE DOESN'T­ SPEAKS TOO MUCH.
    - ALMUNIA HAS JUST BECOME THE ARSENAL­ XI FOR THE LAST TWO SEASON (AND HASN'T PROVEN MUCH­ AS A FOOTBALLER, WHAT IS HIS REPUTATION? NONE, AT LEAST­ UP UNTIL NOW!)
    - EBOUE? WENGER KNOWS EBOUE IS NOT­ POPULAR AMONGS ALL THE FANS! AND IF HE PICKS HIM THERE­ WOULD BE SOME MAJOR CONTROVERSY AMONG THE FANS.

    SO CUT­ THE @#$% OFF!

    CESC AND WENGER WOULD COMBINE AND BUILD­ THE MASSIVE ARSENAL SQUAD AGAIN!! JUST LOOK AT WHAT­ HAPPEN IN SPURS, SAME PLAYERS BUT DIFFERENT RESULTS­ AFTER A NEW LEADER BROUGHT IN NEW ATMOSPHERE IN THE­ LOCKER ROOM! ONE SPURS PLAYERS SAID REDKNAPP CONVINCE­ THEM THAT THEY ARE GOOD PLAYERS, AND LOOK THEY NOW­ AVOID THE RELEGATION AREA!

    IN ARSENE WE TRUST!!! UP­ YOUNG GUNNERS!!

    From jimmydarmawan, on Wed 26 Nov 8:42AM

  6. All of you who doubt Arsenal and question Wenger -­ imagine if you were a Spurs fan. Think about what you­ would be thinking. Are we going to finish 18th or­ 19th? Are we @#$%, or are we @#$%? Should we sack the­ manager now or soon? Should we defecate on ourselves,­ or urinate? So if you're a Gunners fan, don't­ whinge, don't question Wenger, don't second­ guess the team, don't forget to cheer the Arsenal­ throughout the game, and don't *think* about what­ it would be like to be a Spurs fan ....

    From Dheeraj, on Wed 26 Nov 8:36AM

  7. FERGUSON SAID HE WILL QUIT IF RONALDO DOESNT WIN BALLON­ D'OR..NOW VOTE FOR MESSI...HURRY

    From Unknown U, on Wed 26 Nov 8:35AM

  8. Lucky Arsenal. But to win the silverware, luck is not­ enough :-)

    From Half A Brain, on Wed 26 Nov 8:24AM

  9. It happened again - Referee produced an unlawful drop­ ball - and Bendtner made use a hand of God - and noone­ still talks about technology to cut out these stupid­ "human" errors.

    From sasha_solaris, on Wed 26 Nov 8:08AM

  10. wenger is a master genis tectician..he put bendtner on­ and look what happened.

    From Unknown U, on Wed 26 Nov 8:01AM

  11. Bentner the Great Dane ! ! ! Saves the gunners from­ shame

    From Ásgeir, on Wed 26 Nov 7:31AM

  12. arsenal through again into last 16 go gunners there is­ work to do still but undoubtley one of best teams in­ the world !!!!!

    From susanyoung598, on Wed 26 Nov 7:06AM

  13. COME ON FAB MAKE ARSENAL FABULOUS ONCE AGAIN. YES YOU­ CAN.

    From Wilson-M, on Wed 26 Nov 7:03AM

  14. Wenger, get some experience in that team. Everyone can­ see that team sure needs experience. We are not gonna­ win anything with that lot. as for Gallas, RvP,­ Adebayor give them their free transfers today. The only­ players worth retaining Wenger's starting line up­ are Fabregas, Clichy, Sagna, Nasri and Walcott. The­ rest are so mediocre they should quickly be replaced.

    From rocco.lazy, on Wed 26 Nov 7:01AM

  15. Surely the game is bigger than the stars who earn­ fortunes. Play the game as is should be played - simply­ and with flair and passion. Not without the physical­ side either, but played with dignity and that is what­ Wenger and Arsenal shall be remembered for. Put a cap­ on the prices of players, and the game will benefit.­ The players will still play- because that is what they­ do. Of course they are - for the moment motivated by­ money, but when they want to play the game it's not­ all about the money

    From scribe1941, on Wed 26 Nov 7:00AM

  16. Bar one Cameron. Bar one.

    From Charly K, on Wed 26 Nov 6:49AM

  17. arsenal won but,i think their problems just started.all­ players were nervous and i hope wenger will solve that­ problem.

    From ulas, on Wed 26 Nov 6:32AM

  18. GOOOOOO Arsenal I have support u from 14-year-old

    From ?, on Wed 26 Nov 6:26AM

  19. From an armchair viewer of tonight's game, i would­ just like to say how ordinary Arsenal's squad­ players looked compared to Chelsea's and manchester­ united's.
    Good to see that bloke get sent off; he­ should have seen red earlier for his disgraceful­ cheating when faking injury to try halt an Arsenal­ attack, only to spring up like a gazelle when his team­ regained possession - it really was an appalling piece­ of con-artistry and i hope UEFA look at it­ retrospectively and throw the book at him.
    Never the­ less, a good result for Arsenal and the best manager in­ England bar none.

    From cameron w, on Wed 26 Nov 6:11AM

  20. i love this game where are they saying arsenal is gone­ come and see the wonder of fab whom you said that is­ not a laeder go fab go gunners go arsenal fans go­ wenger it is well with gunners c"mon short it out­ you all GUNNERRRRRRRRSSSSSSSS 44444444444 LIVE

    From ancolink1, on Wed 26 Nov 6:10AM
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