Arsenal 1-0 Udinese - Champions League Qualification Far From Secured
Tie far from over as Arsenal cling on to flimsy lead in Champions League first leg fixture at the Emirates.
An early Theo Walcott goal was just enough to earn Arsenal a win at the Emirates Stadium tonight but Wengers men will balk at the prospect of having to defend the narrow lead at Udineses Stadio Friuli in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier next week. The Gunners stylish attacking football was matched by the Italians, who looked the better team for much of the game and could well have won if it werent for the performance of Gunners keeper Wojciech Szczney. In a potentially difficult Champions League qualifier for Arsenal, the focus of the game was not so much on the players who took to the field, but rather the absence of those who didnt. The recent widespread criticism of Wengers transfer policy and Cesc Fabregas departure to Barcelona over clouded an important European fixture. In addition to this, Emmanuel Eboue was earlier confirmed to have signed for Galatasaray and the Samir Nasri transfer saga still had no apparent end in sight. A further headache for Wenger was the imposition of a one match touchline ban for his behaviour in Arsenals exit to Barcelona in the Champions League last season which stopped him communicating with his playing staff and coaching team. Udinese too had been a victim to the Catalan giants poaching though, with Chilean forward Alexis Sanchez electing to join Pepe Guardiolas side for a reported £22 million in July, a month which also saw the club lose defender Cristian Zapata to Villarreal. Arsene Wenger made two changes from the side that drew with Newcastle at the weekend; Marouane Chamakh replaced the suspended Robin van Persie, and Arshavin dropped to the bench in favour of Theo Walcott. There were places on the bench for youngsters Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Carl Jenkinson who signed in the summer for £12 million and £1 million respectively. Antonio Di Natale - top scorer of the Serie A for the past two seasons with a combined 57 goals in 71 games led the attack for Udinese in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Despite a strong, experienced team on paper, the noticeable absence of Alexis Sanchez would surely be a relief to Wengers men. The game started on a sour note with a booking in under a minute for Joel Ekstrand who went in hard on Marouane Chamakh, despite appearing to win the ball. Clearly the Italins were up for the challenge but it took only 3 minutes for them to concede the only goal of the game, Theo Walcott connected with an Aaron Ramsey cross to put Arsenal ahead, after a swift passing move. The woes of the Gunners faithful were temporarily assuaged. Arsenal were looking sharp with some fluid passing which, when combined with the frightening pace of Theo Walcott and Gervinho looked like it had the potential to trouble the Udinese defence further. It was Udinese however who next came close, a free kick from 25 yards out from the Udinese danger man Di Natale left Wojciech Szczesny flat footed but cannoned off the bar to the relief of the Polish youngster. Di Natale was causing problems again moments later as he sprung the Gunners offside trap but couldnt connect properly with the finish. Di Natale then demonstrated his creativity with a precise chipped through ball to Pinzi that was excellently cut out by Thomas Vermaelen. It was clear that repressing the veteran Italian would have to be Arsenals priority. Udinese were playing with a flair and freedom quite different from the slow methodical tactics so often attributed to Italian sides. It was then Arsenals turn to attack and Walcott and Gervinhos unwillingness to stay on their designated wings was causing confusion among the Zebrette (or little zebras) defence. The lively Theo Walcott made space for himself on the left side before getting away a shot that was easily held by Samir Handanovic. The end-to-end nature of the game continued as Udinese hit the Gunners on a counter attack, Mauricio Isla won possession before playing in Pablo Armero who ran two thirds of the pitch, beating three defenders in the process before rifling the ball straight at Szczney who stood his ground well. The Italian side should have been level nevertheless. Arsene Wenger was seen to be issuing instructions to assistant Pat Rice, despite this violating his touchline ban. Both teams went in for half time with plenty to play for after an open 45 minutes. HALF TIME Over the break UEFA sought clarification as to whether Arsene Wenger had the means to communicate with his bench, and concluded the rules of the touchline restriction may have been breached. The implications of this however didnt seem to be clear to anyone, least of all the Arsenal manager. Johan Djourou took to the pitch after the break in place of Kieran Gibbs who looked as though he may have picked up a hamstring injury, as if Wenger didnt have enough problems. The first real chance of the half fell to Udinese, a mistake from Laurent Koscielny led to two accurate passes, first from Agyemang-Badu and then by the impressive Pablo Armero found Di Natale but he took a split second too long, allowing the newly introduced Djourou to execute a sliding block. The Ivorian-born Swiss international then picked up a hamstring injury of his own however and was replaced by Carl Jenkinson just 10 minutes after being introduced. Arsenal would have ideally wished to be further than a solitary goal ahead at this point, but the beginning of the second half was dominated by Udinese not content to hold out for the second leg at Stadio Friuli. The Italians were playing positive, attacking football, throwing plenty of men forward yet inexplicably looking strong at the back at the same time. A poorly cleared corner prompted a powerful cross-goal shot from Armero that whistled past the post. The rare inclusion of Marouane Chamakh in the squad seemed to encourage some route one football in Arsenal, rarely seen in Wengers men but the Austrian could only look on from the stands. Walcotts electrifying pace allowed him to latch onto a stray ball but a weak finish ensued. Tomas Rosickys last contribution of a quiet game was a balooned shot. He was replaced by Emmanuel Frimpong. The youngsters first act however was to bring Di Natale down just outside the area after a nice interchange between the Italian and team mate Giampiero Pinzi. Di Natale struck the ball well towards goal, prompting a smart save from Szczney. The game was livening up, and a good run from Gervinho led to a shot which was deflected out for a corner. Frimpong was conceding fouls aplenty but more crucially was breaking down the Italians attacks, covering a great deal of ground in the process. Its perhaps slightly encouraging that Arsenal were putting in a gritty, physical display a trait so often lacking in Wengers team since the loss of Patrick Viera all the way back in 2005. The young Ghanaian-born midfielder couldnt stop a powerful pile driver by Pinzi on the 80th minute though which flew just wide, although Szczney appeared to have it covered. The accomplished centre midfielder was given a well deserved rest when he was replaced by Almen Abdi. Arsenal should have doubled their lead in the closing moments. Gervinho demonstrated his considerable dribbling skill, twisting and turning his way through a sea of black and white before laying in Walcott, whose placed finish was terrifically saved by Handanovic. Armero then struck from outside the area, another good effort but not enough to test Szczney. He was then brought down by Koscielny just left of the Arsenal area deep into injury time. The cross however by Di Natale was a dismal effort. Kevin Blom brought an exciting 90 minutes to an end. Arsenal will be dreading the return leg but any neutrals will look forward to it with baited breath. Referee: Kevin Blom (Holland) Arsenal (4-3-3): Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen (c), Gibbs (Djourou, 45 - replaced in turn by Jenkinson, 55), Song, Ramsey, Walcott, Rosicky (Frimpong, 76), Gervinho, Chamakh Udinese(4-1-4-1): Handanovic, Ekstrand, Benatia, Danilo, Neuton (Pasquale, 60), Agyemang-Badu, Mauricio Isla, Asamoah, Pinzi (Abdi, 88), Armero, Di Natale (c)