Football Live

Wednesday December 12, 2007 Finished Emirates Stadium

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Arsenal

  • Diaby 8’
  • Bendtner 42’

Steaua Bucharest

  • Zaharia 68’
  1. Group H: Sevilla pip Arsenal

    Group H: Sevilla pip Arsenal

    Arsenal missed out on top spot in Group H despite beating Steaua Bucharest 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Sevilla's 3-0 win at Slavia Prague ensured they qualified for the knockout stages as group winners. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Arsenal
    • Steaua Bucharest
    • 90+4' Eduardo is put through by Diarra and he attempts a chip but Zapata stands tall and makes the save. And that's it! A more comfortable victory for Arsenal than the scoreline suggests, but they almost paid the price for letting Steaua back into the game in the second half.
    • 90+3' Walcott is sent through one-on-one with Zapata, but the 'keeper does well to claw it away from beneath his feet!
    • 90+1' Golanski crosses from the right, but Lehmann claims it well.
    • 90' Diarra finds space 30 yards from goal and unleashes a well-hit right-footer that goes just over!
    • 86' A free-kick from the Arsenal right finds its way onto Bendtner's head but he doesn't know much about it and the ball bounces back to Zapata.
    • 85' So close for Steaua! Petre hits a swerving half-volley from the edge of the box and it fizzes just wide of Jens Lehmann's goal!
    • 82' Song concedes a needless free-kick by bundling substitute Golanski to the ground. Dica floats it in from the right but Lehmann comes out confidently and pushes it away!
    • 81' Steaua make their final change. Badea is replaced by defender Pawel Golanski.
    • 79' Arsenal are getting a bit sloppy here. They've definitely taken their foot off the pedal in the second half, and Steaua sense an equaliser may be there for the taking.
    • 78' Good save Zapata! Bendtner shoots fiercely from the edge of the box but the Steaua 'keeper pushes it away!
    • 70' Two more changes for Arsenal. Diaby is replaced by Emmanuel Eboue and Lassana Diarra comes on for Sagna.
    • 68' GOAL! 2-1! And it's the substitute Zaharia, who gets his head to a left-wing cross and guides the ball over Lehmann and inside the far post! Game on!
    • 64' Substitutions for both sides. Adrian Neaga is replaced by Doriel Zaharia and Van Persie makes way for Eduardo da Silva.
    • 62' Comical stuff here! Van Persie's pass towards Bendtner is cut out by a defender and rolls back to Zapata, who picks it up. Arsenal appeal for a back-pass but the ref - who collides with Denilson and falls to the ground - says no.
    • 60' Brave stop by Zapata! Song releases Bendtner and he's clean through but the Colombian stopper races from his line to clear the danger! He stays down for a while, but is soon back on his feet.
    • 58' Florin Lovin comes to the touchline to receive treatment after injuring himself in a challenge.
    • 54' Nicolae Dica is caught offside.
    • 53' The corner is put behind for another corner. Van Persie whips it in from the far side, Diaby gets a touch at the near post and the ball floats wide with the 'keeper completely beaten!
    • 52' More great build-up play from Arsenal. Bendtner flicks the ball to Song and he's fouled on the far side of the pitch. Free-kick to Arsenal. Van Persie fires in a wicked low ball and it hits a defender and goes out for a corner.
    • 51' Denilson with a cross from the right, Steaua clear.
    • 49' Walcott does well to win the ball from Cristocea on the far side, and the Romanian promptly fouls him.
    • 48' Steaua are seeing lots of the ball early in the second half. Looks like they're going to make a fight of it!
    • 46' The second half is underway. Can Steaua muster an improbable comeback?
    • 45' And the half-time whistle goes. Arsenal are comfortably in command of this game.
    • 44' The Gunners have really hit the heights at times in this first half. It's a pleasure to watch football like this.
    • 43' Arsenal turning on the style now. Van Persie bamboozles Cristocea with a slick, Ronaldinho-style 'flip-flap' on the right touchline and wins a free-kick.
    • 42' GOAL! 2-0! And it's another lovely move from the home side. Van Persie slides a pass through to Bendtner, and he rides a challenge before calmy slotting the ball beyond Zapata and into the bottom left corner!
    • 40' Sagna lays a ball into the box and Walcott rides a challenge before shooting but he drags it across goal, allowing a defender to clear.
    • 39' And now Bendtner's in the book. But he can feel hard done-by after a fairly innocuous challenge.
    • 38' Neaga is carded after going in on Denilson with his studs showing.
    • 37' Traore attacks down the left and aims a low pass towards Bendtner in the centre but a defender makes an intervention just in time!
    • 36' Great play by Arsenal! They work the ball to the right, Walcott slips the ball to van Persie inside the box, and he turns onto his left foot and curls in a shot that goes just wide of the far post!
    • 33' Wenger's men making their customary pretty shapes in midfield, but Walcott is caught in possession and then concedes a free-kick.
    • 32' Walcott again! He bursts into space and lays the ball square towards Bendtner, but it's just behind him and Steaua hack it away. A better first touch there and Walcott could have had a shot on goal himself.
    • 29' More great play from Walcott! He picks the ball up on the edge of the box, squirms past three defenders and shoots from a tight angle, but he doesn't quite catch it right and the ball rolls out for a throw-in on the far side of the pitch. Wonderful enterprise from the youngster.
    • 27' Van Persie bends an inswinging free-kick into the Steaua area from wide on the right, but it's got just too much curl on it and ends up in the arms of the 'keeper.
    • 25' Nesu chases Sagna in pursuit of a long ball down the Steaua left but bundles him over and concedes a free-kick.
    • 20' Walcott gallops into space on the Arsenal right and has time to pick out a team-mate, but he elects to cut the ball back to the edge of the box and Steaua clear.
    • 19' Arsenal on the attack. Walcott is scythed down by Nesu but the ref plays on and the ball reaches van Persie on the right-hand edge of the box, but his shot is deflected over for a corner.
    • 16' Good football from the visitors. Dica finds Neaga in space on the right and he drives in towards goal before Traore slides in to challenge him, the ball going out for a goal kick.
    • 13' Lovin fouls Denilson. Free-kick to Arsenal in midfield. They play it short and begin to build things up from the back once again.
    • 12' Great save by Zapata! Diaby surges forward from midfield and unleashes a right-foot shot which takes two deflections but the Steaua stopper reacts well to tip it over!
    • 9' Arsenal looking completely in control here in the opening stages. Steaua have barely had a touch!
    • 8' GOAL! 1-0 Arsenal! And it's been coming. Walcott finds Sagna on the right and he whips in a low cross which Diaby deftly controls before coolly side-footing the ball into the far corner!
    • 6' Tremendous play from Walcott! He picks the ball up on the right, darts past three defenders and into the box before lifting his shot just over the bar! An electric start by the 18 year-old!
    • 3' What a chance for Arsenal! Van Persie releases Walcott through the middle and the youngster advances upon goal before side-footing his shot across goal and wide!
    • 1' Russian referee Yuri Baskakov sounds his whistle, and the first half is underway!
    • - Arsenal have to win to stand any chance of finishing top of the group, but if Sevilla win in Prague they will have to content themselves with second place. Bottom-placed Steaua can’t qualify for the UEFA Cup, so they are playing for pride alone.
    • - Steaua are without injured winger Banel Nicolita and Polish centre-half Pawel Golanski is only fit enough for a place on the bench. Midfielder Marius Croituru is suspended.
    • - Jens Lehmann makes a rare start in goal for Arsenal, who welcome back Robin van Persie from a knee injury. Arsene Wenger has handed starting places to a clutch of his fringe players, but the Gunners are still without injured trio Cesc Fabregas (hamstring), Aleksandr Hleb (Achilles) and Mathieu Flamini (thigh).
    • - Referee: Yuri Baskakov (Russia)
    • - Steaua Bucharest: Zapata; Emeghara, Goian, Rada, Nesu; Neaga, Petre, Lovin, Cristocea; Dica, Badea
    • - Arsenal: Lehmann; Sagna, Gallas, Senderos, Traore; Walcott, Song, Denilson, Diaby; Bendtner, van Persie
    • - Good evening and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of this Champions League clash from The Emirates Stadium in London. Kick-off is at 19:45 GMT.

  • Team Stats

    Arsenal Stats Steaua Bucharest
    54% Possession 45%
    16 Shots 8
    4 Shots on target 2
    0 Saves 0
    7 Corners 0
    19 Fouls 9
    0 Offsides 11
    1 Yellow cards 1
    0 Red cards 0
    17 Tackles 36
    419 Accurate passes 338
    75 Bad passes 38

  • 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 0 0 0 17 0 0
      10 William Gallas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 0 1
      30 Armand Traore 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 39 21 1
      3 Bacary Sagna 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 47 0 0
      6 Philippe Senderos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 39 4 2
      15 Denilson Pereira Neves 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 68 15 3
      17 Alexandre Song 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 44 5 2
      32 Theo Walcott 0 4 0 1 3 0 0 17 2 3
      2 Vasiriki Abou Diaby 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 34 13 1
      26 Nicklas Bendtner 1 2 2 2 2 0 0 31 8 1
      11 Robin Van Persie 0 4 0 1 2 0 1 14 2 1
      9 Eduardo da Silva 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 5 1 1
      27 Emmanuel Eboue 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0
      8 Lassana Diarra 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 11 4 1
      25 Emmanuel Adebayor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      5 Kolo Toure 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      21 Lukasz Fabianski 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      19 Gilberto Silva 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
    • Steaua Bucharest
      G S SoT F FW O A AP BP T
      1 Robinson Zapata 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0
      3 Dorin Goian 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 50 0 3
      15 Mihai Nesu 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 24 5 4
      13 Ifeany Emeghara 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 37 0 3
      5 Ionut Rada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 5 3
      10 Nicolae Dica 0 1 0 1 1 2 0 42 3 4
      8 Ovidiu Petre 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 35 4 6
      20 Florin Lovin 0 0 0 5 3 0 1 56 8 5
      14 Vasilica Cristocea 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 15 3 0
      9 Valentin Badea 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 21 2 0
      25 Adrian Neaga 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 9 0 5
      12 Cornel Cernea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      84 Romeo Surdu 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 6 4 1
      7 Eric Bicfalvi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      30 Dorel Zaharia 1 3 2 0 0 3 0 3 4 0
      4 Pawel Golanski 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 2
      18 Petre Marin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
      17 Eugen Baciu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

  • Summary

    • 90+3' Walcott is sent through one-on-one with Zapata, but the 'keeper does well to claw it away from beneath his feet!
    • 90' Diarra finds space 30 yards from goal and unleashes a well-hit right-footer that goes just over!
    • 85' So close for Steaua! Petre hits a swerving half-volley from the edge of the box and it fizzes just wide of Jens Lehmann's goal!
    • 68' GOAL! 2-1! And it's the substitute Zaharia, who gets his head to a left-wing cross and guides the ball over Lehmann and inside the far post! Game on!
    • 62' Comical stuff here! Van Persie's pass towards Bendtner is cut out by a defender and rolls back to Zapata, who picks it up. Arsenal appeal for a back-pass but the ref - who collides with Denilson and falls to the ground - says no.
    • 60' Brave stop by Zapata! Song releases Bendtner and he's clean through but the Colombian stopper races from his line to clear the danger! He stays down for a while, but is soon back on his feet.
    • 53' The corner is put behind for another corner. Van Persie whips it in from the far side, Diaby gets a touch at the near post and the ball floats wide with the 'keeper completely beaten!
    • 42' GOAL! 2-0! And it's another lovely move from the home side. Van Persie slides a pass through to Bendtner, and he rides a challenge before calmy slotting the ball beyond Zapata and into the bottom left corner!
    • 36' Great play by Arsenal! They work the ball to the right, Walcott slips the ball to van Persie inside the box, and he turns onto his left foot and curls in a shot that goes just wide of the far post!
    • 29' More great play from Walcott! He picks the ball up on the edge of the box, squirms past three defenders and shoots from a tight angle, but he doesn't quite catch it right and the ball rolls out for a throw-in on the far side of the pitch. Wonderful enterprise from the youngster.
    • 19' Arsenal on the attack. Walcott is scythed down by Nesu but the ref plays on and the ball reaches van Persie on the right-hand edge of the box, but his shot is deflected over for a corner.
    • 12' Great save by Zapata! Diaby surges forward from midfield and unleashes a right-foot shot which takes two deflections but the Steaua stopper reacts well to tip it over!
    • 8' GOAL! 1-0 Arsenal! And it's been coming. Walcott finds Sagna on the right and he whips in a low cross which Diaby deftly controls before coolly side-footing the ball into the far corner!
    • 6' Tremendous play from Walcott! He picks the ball up on the right, darts past three defenders and into the box before lifting his shot just over the bar! An electric start by the 18 year-old!
    • 3' What a chance for Arsenal! Van Persie releases Walcott through the middle and the youngster advances upon goal before side-footing his shot across goal and wide!
    • - Good evening and welcome to eurosport.yahoo.com's LIVE coverage of this Champions League clash from The Emirates Stadium in London. Kick-off is at 19:45 GMT.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Arsenal

    On the Field

    • Lehmann
    • Sagna
    • Senderos
    • Gallas
    • Traore
    • Song
    • Denilson
    • Diaby
    • Walcott
    • Bendtner
    • van Persie

    Subs

    • Adebayor
    • Gilberto Silva
    • Toure
    • Diarra
    • Eboue
    • Fabianski
    • Eduardo

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None

  • Steaua Bucharest

    On the Field

    • Zapata
    • Emeghara
    • Rada
    • Goian
    • Nesu
    • Cristocea
    • Petre
    • Lovin
    • Neaga
    • Badea
    • Dica

    Subs

    • Marin
    • Cernea
    • Baciu
    • Zaharia
    • Golanski
    • Bicfalvi
    • Surdu

    Injured

    None

    Suspended

    None