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London's "Arsenal" team seems to have fallen into a small hole. Last weekend, stumbling against "Man Utd," Arsene Wenger's proteges were unable to defeat "Portsmouth" on the road and greatly complicated their situation in the battle for the fourth spot, guaranteeing a ticket to the third stage of next year's UEFA Champions League qualifiers.
1 - 1 37` [0 - 1] Thierry Henry 66` [1 - 1] Lomana LuaLua
"Portsmouth" chose a counterattacking football tactic in this match, so they initially gave the initiative to the visitors. The "Gunners," among whom Sol Campbell played again after a long break, took advantage of it in the 37th minute - seizing the ball in the middle of the field, T.Henry played a wall pass with Emmanuel Adebayor and sent the ball into the net from 16 meters. Soon after, the visitors had another opportunity to score, but E.Adebayor missed his shot from a free position in the penalty area.
At the start of the second half, the hosts tried to press the opponents, but it did not bear fruit and "Arsenal" lost their composure again. After 15 minutes, the same E.Adebayor had another excellent chance to score, but the striker from Togo, who had not had the most successful game, missed the goal when completely free with his head. In the 66th minute, the visitors had to pay for it - after a pass from the side, L.Lua Lua leaped higher than everyone else and equalized the score. All efforts of the "Arsenal" players to snatch victory were in vain - the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
With five rounds left to play, "Arsenal" has 54 points and shares the 5-6 position with "Blackburn." The English vice-champions are already 4 points behind the club in fourth place, "Tottenham." Meanwhile, the unexpected point for "Portsmouth" allowed the team to rise to 18th place, which, however, does not yet guarantee a place in the next season's "Premier League" championship. The proteges of the nearest rival Harry Redknapp are not far behind - both "Birmingham" and "Portsmouth" have 29 points.
League table:
Top scorers:
1. Thierry Henry ("Arsenal") 22 goals 2. Ruud van Nistelrooy ("Man Utd") 21 goals 3. Darren Bent ("Charlton") 16 goals
