Gilberto spared Arsenal a nightmare housewarming at their new Emirates Stadium on Saturday as his dramatic late goal secured a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in their English Premiership opener.
Villa had seemed intent on marking the new arena’s competitive debut with a shock win after Sweden defender Olof Mellberg headed them into the lead after 53 minutes.
But the game turned on Gunners boss Arsene Wenger’s introduction of fresh-faced striker Theo Walcott for his first-ever Arsenal appearance. The 17-year-old played a key role in Gilberto’s equaliser and showed enough to suggest that this will be his breakthrough year.
His contribution prevented the new Villa manager Martin O’Neill from starting his tenure with a famous victory two weeks into the job. Wenger said afterwards: ”I am not pleased, but at least we didn’t start with a defeat. It was a typical beginning of the season game where the players were not completely ready physically, added to the fact that many of them played 90 minutes in midweek.”
O’Neill was ecstatic at the final whistle. ”Arsenal are in a new stadium and they are a decent side,” he said. ”I’m still trying to get to know my players, but I thought they were terrific. This was their first competitive game. It’s a great result for us, a big boost to confidence. The players have held Arsenal on their own pitch.”
If Arsenal could have picked the guests for their first Premiership match at this gleaming arena, Villa might well have been top of the list. The Birmingham club had failed to win in this corner of north London for 13 years and were thrashed 5-0 on their last visit in April.
O’Neill might have feared a similar drubbing was imminent as Arsenal made a whirlwind start. Barely five minutes had elapsed when Emmanuel Eboue’s fierce drive drew a finger-tip save from goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. The let-off seemed to inspire Villa and they soon began causing their own problems, with winger Gabriel Agbonlahor particularly impressive.
The teenager had already forced Gunners goalkeeper Jens Lehmann into a smart save with the game’s first coherent attack when he laid off to Juan Pablo Angel, but the Colombia striker spooned the ball over the bar from 20 yards.
Villa’s high-energy approach — a mimic of their hyperactive new manager — was stifling Arsenal’s creativity and only set-pieces offered an outlet. An early Francesc Fabregas corner was floated perfectly on to the head of Emmanuel Adebayor, but the Togo striker’s effort was scrambled off the line by Jlloyd Samuel.
Then, in first-half stoppage time, a swiftly taken free kick found Kolo Toure at the back post. The Côte d’Ivoire defender’s header was dispatched confidently but the linesman’s flag had already been correctly raised for offside.
Wenger’s side looked agitated as they trooped off for half-time, and their mood blackened still further when Villa forged ahead just after the interval. It was a startlingly simple goal, Mellberg thumping in Steven Davis’s inswinging corner, but the effect was electric.
Adebayor came within a whisker of an equaliser when his goal-bound effort was blocked by the impressive Liam Ridgewell, while Eboue clattered the crossbar. Wenger waited until the 73rd minute to unleash Walcott, the teenager who had spent the World Cup kicking his heels with the England squad, and his arrival was greeted with a storm of applause.
No wonder. Ten minutes later, his exquisite cross caused havoc in the Villa area before the loose ball was smacked in gleefully by Gilberto. — Sapa-AFP