Bolton Wanderers 2 - 0 Arsenal
Bolton 2-0 Arsenal
| Scoring Summary | |
| Bolton Wanderers | Arsenal |
| Abdoulaye Faye (20) | |
| Stelios Giannakopoulos (32) | |
| Match Stats | ||
| Bolton Wanderers | Arsenal | |
| Shots (on Goal) | 10(9) | 8(3) |
| Fouls | 16 | 15 |
| Corner Kicks | 9 | 3 |
| Offsides | 5 | 0 |
| Time of Possession | 55% | 45% |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Saves | 2 | 10 |
| Match Information |
|
Stadium:
Reebok Stadium, England
Attendance: 26,792 Match Time: 15:00 UK |
| Teams | |
| Bolton Wanderers | Arsenal |
| 22 Jussi Jaaskelainen | 1 Jens Lehmann |
| 5 Bruno N'Gotty | 12 Lauren |
| 26 Tal Ben-Haim | 23 Sol Campbell |
| 11 Ricardo Gardner | 18 Pascal Cygan |
| 4 Kevin Nolan | 28 Kolo Toure |
| 6 Gary Speed | 7 Robert Pires |
| 7 Stelios Giannakopoulos | 8 Freddie Ljungberg |
| 25 Abdoulaye Faye | 19 Gilberto Silva |
| 24 Joey O'Brien | 15 Cesc Fábregas |
| 14 Kevin Davies | 14 Thierry Henry |
| 21 El-Hadji Diouf | 11 Robin Van Persie |
| Substitutes | |
| 12 Ian Walker | Manuel Almunia 24 |
| 15 Radhi Jaidi | Philippe Senderos 20 |
| 39 Khalilou Fadiga | Emmanuel Eboue 27 |
| 10 Jay-Jay Okocha | Dennis Bergkamp 10 |
| 20 Ricardo Vaz Te | José Antonio Reyes 9 |
| Substitutions | |
| Ricardo Vaz Te for Stelios Giannakopoulos (81) | José Antonio Reyes for Cesc Fábregas (68) |
| Radhi Jaidi for Abdoulaye Faye (86) | Dennis Bergkamp for Robin Van Persie (68) |
| Emmanuel Eboue for Lauren (73) | |
| Yellow Cards | |
| Abdoulaye Faye (47) | Lauren (50) |
| Pascal Cygan (90) | |
| · Club Squads: Bolton Wanderers | Arsenal | |
Updated: December 3, 2005, 6:03 PM UK
Stelios Giannakopoulos put Arsenal to the sword for the second successive season as Bolton won 2-0 at the Reebok Stadium.The Greek international scored the winner last season, which effectively ended Arsenal's title challenge, and his strike this time around - after Abdoulaye Faye's first for the club - may have a similar effect.
Thierry Henry twice hit the post for the visitors, who threatened early on when Freddie Ljungberg got clear at the back post after Robin van Persie played the ball in but failed to get enough power on his header to test Jussi Jaaskelainen.
The Bolton keeper then made a comfortable save from Cesc Fabregas two minutes later following a cross from Ljungberg.
• Wenger unconcerned with Chelsea
Bolton made the breakthrough in the 20th with Faye's first goal for the club. The Senegal international, who signed a contract until June 2008 this week, got on the end of Giannakopoulos' clever chip to head home.
Henry shaped up to take a 30-yard free-kick, but there was not enough power in his effort.
Bolton went 2-0 up in the 32nd minute after a mistake by Gilberto. He carelessly lost possession to Kevin Davies and he released Giannakopoulos, who made no mistake from close range.
Arsenal almost pulled a goal back two minutes later, but Henry was left frustrated after his effort came back off the post.
Arsenal went looking for an early goal at the start of the second half, and there was a let-off for Bolton when Henry's shot hit the post and rebounded into Jaaskelainen's body. It broke to Robert Pires, but his effort was weak and the goalkeeper was able to clear.
Gary Speed then rattled in a close-range shot which was blocked, before Faye turned the ball into the net with his hand.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger claims it 'is 'unrealistic' to talk about challenging league leaders Chelsea.
He said: 'Chelsea are not my biggest worry. It is getting my team to respond in the next game. When you are 14 points behind, you have to be realistic. You have to get closer to your other opponents in the league and then worry about Chelsea.'It would be unrealistic to worry about Chelsea. Let's try to get on top of the other teams first.'
Wenger was adamant though they do not suffer a mental block when they come to the Reebok Stadium.He said: 'I do not feel that is the case. We just had a bad game. The commitment of Bolton in the challenges was superiors to ours.
'Then we made it difficult for ourselves after going 1-0 down. It was important then not to make a second mistake.
'But we did just that and overall, especially in the first half, we were beaten on pace and challenges and paid for it.
'It was a tentative and frail performance from us. We didn't create enough chances. It is a setback for us as it was a poor performance after some good results.'
Bolton manager Sam Allardyce described his team's performance as one of the most satisfying since he took charge.
And he saluted Faye, who scored his first goal for the club after securing a long-term deal this week. Allardyce likened the Senegal international to former Arsenal favourite Patrick Vieira.
'He is our Vieira Two,' said the Bolton boss. 'He drives the rest of the team on. You just have to admire his all-round ability. It was a superb performance by him.'
Allardyce said: 'The thing about us is our fitness. We go from the start to the finish.'We nullified a team that had been doing so well and made them crack. We got them dispirited. I have to admit though I am a bit surprised that we dominated for so long. That was a bit unexpected.
'Henry was unlucky but we weathered the storm and got right back into the game again. The players deserve every credit. They gave immense effort and they are a very talented bunch.
'We are riding high in every competition we are in and we can enjoy this victory tonight.'
Saturday, December 3, 2005
| Liverpool | 3 | |
| Wigan Athletic | 0 | FT |
| Birmingham | 0 | |
| West Ham United | 0 | Postp |
| Blackburn Rovers | 0 | |
| Everton | 2 | FT |
| Bolton Wanderers | 2 | |
| Arsenal | 0 | FT |
| Charlton Athletic | 0 | |
| Manchester City | 0 | Postp |
| Chelsea | 1 | |
| Middlesbrough | 0 | FT |
| Newcastle United | 1 | |
| Aston Villa | 1 | FT |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | |
| Sunderland | 2 | FT |
| West Bromwich Albion | 0 | |
| Fulham | 0 | FT |
| Manchester United | 3 | |
| Portsmouth | 0 | FT |