Moscow is in no way given to Arsene Wenger. His third visit to the capital of Russia as the head coach of Arsenal turned into a second defeat (once there was a draw). After two victories in the starting rounds, Arsenal retains all chances to reach the Champions League playoffs - only the head of the CSKA table now has even more.
The action genre was announced from the very beginning. CSKA already in the debut stepped back from the struggle for initiative and chose the option of playing on the counterattacks, the favorite of Arsenal, pushing the London club to act as "first number". And already in the 23rd minute of the match, he fixed the initial disposition, taking the lead. Ignashevich played a free kick, appointed 22 meters from the goal, with Daniel Carvalho, and the Brazilian from the toe of his magic left sent the ball into the eye of the needle between the Arsenal players who threw themselves under the ball. Lehmann, who did not see the moment of impact due to his own players, did not manage to react.
The quarter hour following this goal was the best for CSKA in the whole match. It was during this period that Daniel Carvalho and Wagner Love, who missed the last match of the Russian Championship, most clearly demonstrated their accumulated game appetite, and Yuri Zhirkov gave out coronal defile shows with such regularity that we have not seen, perhaps, since the spring of 2005. It seemed a little more, and the guests' defense, weakened by the injuries of Senderos and Ebue, would again give a slack - Justin Hoyt and Johan Jura, who replaced them, at some point were definitely dizzy from the whole army circle. At the 36th minute, she actually gave this glitch - but Wagner Love's goal kick, which closed Zhirkov's backache, was preceded by a microscopic, 15-centimeter offside.
Only at the end of the first half, Arsenal regained possession of the ball and the game initiative - but for quite some time I could not figure out how to use it. Arsenal's signature fencing attacks are already in the center of the field stuck in the jelly of the fight brewed by the army midfield. Moreover, Mehuto González, unlike other Spanish judges, interpreted most of these martial arts - quite tough - like games. Henri was held tight and, as a rule, in two. This gave Van Persie operational space, but the long-legged Dutchman again found a fair amount of infantility, putting a couple of exceptionally promising moments in the cold Moscow wind.
CSKA fans didn’t have a few beats in the 86th minute when the penetrating pass of Kolo Toure into the penalty area of the army found either his forearm or chest (even several television replays did not give an exact answer - what it was) Thierry Henry, and he skillfully outplayed Akinfeev. Calmness returned to the hearts of the army fans, Mehuto González, who considered it to be a forearm. 1-0.
Moscow is in no way given to Arsene Wenger. But, unlike one of his compatriot commanders, the Arsenal coach retains a chance to win the campaign as a whole. After three rounds, CSKA has 7 points, Arsenal has 6 points, and two weeks later the teams meet again - in London.
Denis Bystrov
CSKA Russia - ARSENAL England - 1: 0 (1: 0)
Goal: Daniel Carvalho, 25 (1: 0)
CSKA: Akinfeev, Shemberas, Ignashevich, A. Berezutsky, Daniel Carvalho (Taranov, 87), Wagner Love (Olich, 85), Zhirkov, Dudu, Aldonin (Krasich, 90), V. Berezutsky, Rakhimich.
Arsenal: Lehmann, Fabregas, Kolo Toure, Rosicky, Gallas, van Persie (Adebayor, 65), Gleb, Henri, Gilberto Silva, Jura (Clichy 75), Hoyt.