Celtic v Arsenal - live!

18 August 2009 18:49
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} 92 Full time It's full-time and Arsenal come away with a 2-0 lead that will surely see them into the group stages. Celtic will have every reason to feel hard done by, but Arsene Wenger's men come away with a very impressive result and a solid performance.[LNB]91 We're into injury time, but just time for one last comment. Daniel Kent in Florida: "Watching from Florida, Arsenal are a force this year. Arshavin will be the man to make the difference this year, his vision, distribution and finishing power is awesome."[LNB]89 Some of the Celtic fans are heading for the exits as the Gooners ask if they'd like a song to be sung for them. Very quiet on and off the pitch right now.[LNB]87 Bert Garcia's email looks to have taken about 45 minutes to get through, but here we go anyway: "The worst thing Celtic did was go down a goal before the half. Celtic are going to have to press for the equalizer and Arsenal are second to none on the counterattack. Expect the second half to be much more open."[LNB]86 Loovens is also in the book - the third Celtic yellow of the night.[LNB]85 Clichy picks up a late yellow card.[LNB]83 Zayne Khan in London is happy with what he's seen: "As an Arsenal fan, I've become quite used to sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see our hard work become undone! This year i feel different.. With the knowledge of having Arshavin available.. i feel we can take any team.. This game will definetely put doubt in the minds of our critics!"[LNB]82 Disappointing from Fortune - he tries to play in McDonald but puts the ball out for a goal kick.[LNB]80 Ben Keraro isn't having any of the 'bad luck' talk: "It is just Arsenal doing their work. The ball only goes where it is directed to. There was so much talk prior to this game and the one before that Arsenal played on how their season will be full of more disappointment. Please please, a goal is a goal. If you are a Gunner out there and not believing it, then you are smoking something right now. But I am sure all Gunners do believe!"[LNB]78 It's all gone very quiet here. Arsenal are holding onto the ball and the atmosphere that had spurred the home side on in the early moments has all but disappeared.[LNB]76 N'Guemo is heading off and McCourt is on in his place as Tony Mowbray looks to try to salvage a goal.[LNB]71 GOAL FOR ARSENAL! It's another unfortunate one as Caldwell turns the ball into his own net from Clichy's cross. Diaby did superbly in the build-up but that has to go down as another piece of bad look for the Hoops.[LNB]69 Arshavin comes off for Diaby.[LNB]69 Fabregas plays a ball over the top for Van Persie but the Dutchman just strays offside.[LNB]67 Gallas makes a superb last-ditch clearance as Fortune puts in a fine cross! That could easily have been 1-1.[LNB]66 Arsenal inject a bit of creativity into the game after a quiet spell, but Clichy's pass from the left fails to find its target.[LNB]63 McDonald puts in an awful cross from a decent position but, in his defence, he only had one Celtic shirt to aim at in the middle of three Arsenal defenders.[LNB]62 Denilson quells a Celtic break as he wins the ball from Fortune before winning a free-kick. The home fans aren't happy with the decision.[LNB]59 Bendtner drags a shot wide from distance after a slack pass from McDonald.[LNB]58 N'Guemo picks up a yellow that rules him out of the second leg. Not a clever one, either - he brought down Fabregas needlessly. He'll be a big loss at the Emirates.[LNB]56 Mowbray has made two changes: Donati off, McDonald on and Samaras off, Fortune on.[LNB]54 Gallas battles to win the ball from the disappointing Donati and feeds Van Persie, but the Dutchman is struggling to cause Boruc any problems this evening.[LNB]52 Danny Fox picks up the first yellow card of the night. The ball did strike Bendtner's hand, but that would have been a harsh decision indeed.[LNB]51 McGeady picks up the ball and runs and gives Celtic a bit more impetus, winning a free-kick along the way. Celtic want a penalty from the set piece as they believe there was a handball in the area, but it's not given.[LNB]49 Ben Keraro is enjoying this: "Once Arsenal survived the first few minutes of the 'Celtic confidence', they were on the ascendancy after that. They are ahead now. They can only go ahead and pile more pressure on the much-vaunted Bhoys. The Arsenal doubters must eating a lot of humble pie lately! Go Gunners and show them that you are a team on the upswing and not on the wane. 3-1 FINAL for Arsenal!"[LNB]48 Denilson fires just wide from the edge of the area. Celtic haven't turned up![LNB]47 Arsenal are causing problem after problem at the start of the second half.[LNB]46 Van Persie fires wide from a tight angle after Arshavin shows his strength to get a pass away.[LNB]45 We're back underway![LNB] Rufus Dennis has noticed a new trend at Premier League clubs: "I think gallas was taught at the Bobby Zamora school of finishing. I don't care how it happens as long as we win." Sean Lagan in Canada would like to see some statistics I don't have and adds: "Celtic to pull one back in the 2nd half - it will finish 1-1."[LNB]46 It's half time. Arsenal have the lead and it was particularly cruel on Celtic after they just shaded the first half. Join us in the second half to see whether Celtic can fight back.[LNB]45 We have one extra minute at the end of the first half. Celtic Park has been silenced but for the visiting supporters and Tony Mowbray will be looking forward to half-time now.[LNB]43 GOAL FOR ARSENAL! Van Persie backheels a free-kick for Fabregas and it takes a wicked deflection off Gallas to give Arsenal a precious away goal. Hugely unfortunate for the home side.[LNB]41 Celtic go close as Hinkel dances into the box and cuts it back before Brown gets a shot away, but it's not causing Almunia too much trouble.[LNB]40 Arshavin is given a bit of space but Loovens gets enough of a block on his shot to take the pace out.[LNB]38 Fabregas is the latest player to look pained as Celtic go in for some old-fashioned British tackles.[LNB]37 Fox sends in a corner that gives Almunia few problems.[LNB]35 The home fans are starting to become a bit displeased with the visitors as Song goes down injured. He's still walking gingerly, though, so it seems the response is a little unfair.[LNB]33 Rufus Dennis has a more sober view of events as the Gunners finally start to settle: "I'm an Arsenal fan and I reckon Celtic at home are as good as any club and it's not going to be a walk in the park. As long as we don't lose I'll be happy. I'm predicting 1-0 arsenal"[LNB]31 Celtic deal with another Arsenal attack without too much fuss. Jim Lang's email may have taken a while to come through but its point still works: "WOW 18 mins gone and still 0-0 we are not worthy,,, lol cmon the hoops."[LNB]29 Fabregas comes close to the successful Hollywood ball that we just haven't seen from Arsenal so far as he goes over the top for Van Persie, but it just eludes the striker.[LNB]26 Both sides are pressing well and we're not seeing much headway with attacks for the most part.[LNB]23 He's able to make his own way from the field and will try to continue.[LNB]22 Van Persie looks to be in a lot of pain after a clash with Caldwell. He's holding his head and the stretcher's coming on.[LNB]18 There's some confusion as Arsenal have a free-kick and the referee briefly appeared to point to the penalty spot. Van Persie's set piece is disappointing, though, and Celtic break away brilliantly, only for Vermaelen to make a superb last-ditch challenge to deny Brown from McGeady's cross.[LNB]17 Fabregas and Arshavin combine at the other end, but the Spaniard's final ball is a little disappointing. Gerry Cassidy: "Once again the arrogance of the moneyed clubs comes to the fore. At this rate I don't know why the Bhoys even bothered turning up. 11 against 11 and the Bhoys will shine through. Hail Hail"[LNB]15 Fox and Maloney combine down the left and nearly make something happen in the area, but it breaks down and Hinkel does well to stop the counter-attack.[LNB]14 Abdulla Ali remains confident of a big score despite Celtic's solid start: "I THINK ARESNAL WILL KILL THE GAME OFF ! COMON WHATS CELTIC COMPARE TO THE GUNNERS ! ARESNAL PLAYS CALSS FOOTY ALL THE TIME AND THEY PLAY TOP CLASS FOOTBALL ....I THINK IT WILL BE 4-0 TO THE GUNNERS !"[LNB]12 Arshavin has the ball in the back of the net but he's offside! It was by far the best piece of attacking play from the visitors so far and the Russian was able to fire home after Van Persie's effort took a block, but he was clearly ahead of the play.[LNB]11 Caldwell heads over under pressure from Fox's deep corner.[LNB]10 Celtic win a corner. Ali Malik: "Don't worry about Fabregas, Arsene is a brilliant manager who knows what he's doing. he wouldn't be playing Fabregas if he knew it would damage arsenals title hopes."[LNB]8 Fabregas nearly manages to get onto the end of a risky backpass, but Boruc clears.[LNB]6 We're seeing a lot of loose passes here when it counts. The visitors look like they need to find a way to quieten the home fans down.[LNB]4 Arsenal are struggling to get into their stride. Shaun Maloney has wasted a decent crossing opportunity for Celtic with few options available.[LNB]2 It's been a passionate start and McGeady appears to be playing further forward than expected. More support for Arsenal: "I am a fulham fan but i also follow arsenal. i am predicting a 3-0 win for the gunners. 2 goals for van persie and 1 for fabregas. (1-0 at half time)"[LNB]0 Arsenal get the game underway![LNB] We're still waiting for a Gooner to buck the trend - Arsenal are expected to get goals, goals, goals. Ali Malik says: "i think arsenal will be all fired up after the everton game, im sure arshavin and bendtner will both bag a few goals!!" Jason Budd's told his fellow fans to trust in Arsene because 'this is our season!!!'[LNB] Gordon Strachan says both heart and head are telling him that Celtic can do this. The fans are never walking alone now and it's clear that Arsenal are going to have to stand tall tonight.[LNB] Jason Budd adds his weight to the prevailing opinion that Arsenal might be set for an easy night: "I'm a life long arsenal fan and I'm tipping aeshavin too bag a few tonight I'm a little dissapointed Wilshire won't feature but I'm confident"[LNB] Alasdair Gillespie in Russia gives the Arsenal fans a reality check: "With any luck the Arsenal players will have the same attitude as the guys expecting 3 or 4! This will be tighter than you think."[LNB] George Carr continues the optimistic mood among the Arsenal fans: "I am tipping arsenal to win with a two goal margin at least. Eduardo makes an appearance in the closing minutes to bag a brace."[LNB] Any Gooners worried about Fabregas injuring himself after reports he is not fully fit might be a little more worried now. Arsene Wenger has just been on Sky Sports 2 and, asked if he felt playing Denilson and Fabregas was a risk, he said: "A little one. A bigger one for Fabregas. Denilson looked all right this morning."[LNB] Rafat Chowdhury is predicting a 4-1 win for Arsenal: "i think it'll be very eventful with plenty of goals from arsenal, i reckon celtic will score but it wont be enough." Matthew Moore from Birmingham is another who believes Bendtner is the man to do the damage: "I think that bendtner is an improved player. He will definately be on the scoresheet tonight."[LNB] We have former Bhoys boss Gordon Strachan working as a Sky Sports pundit this evening and he's offered up his thoughts on the Parkhead atmosphere: "There's something magical about it. It makes the players play 20 per cent better. The crowd will feel they can beat Arsenal."[LNB] There's talk of McGeady having a free role this evening and Jonathan Mowbray from Boston, Massachusetts, likes what he sees: "I like this lineup from Tony Mowbray. It will allow for Maloney and McGeady to go up freely."[LNB] Here are the subs. Celtic: Zaluska, Naylor, McDonald, Fortune, Flood, McCourt, O'Dea. Arsenal: Mannone, Diaby, Eduardo, Ramsey, Silvestre, Eboue, Gibbs.[LNB] Michael Lauritsen from Denmark is backing his compatriot to see off Celtic this evening: "This is Bendtners season. No longer in the shade of Ade. Two goals from him tonight... 0-3"[LNB] Arsene Wenger has warned his players that 'an average game will not be good enough against Celtic' and Tony Mowbray is talking up the importance of the Parkhead atmosphere. Can Arsenal's young guns stand up to the pressure? Can Celtic stand up to a side that beat Everton 6-1 at the weekend?[LNB] Please feel free to get in touch on robin.hackett@bskyb.com to let me know your views throughout the evening and I'll do my level best to share your thoughts.[LNB]Arsenal: Almunia, Clichy, Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Denilson, Song, Fabregas, Arshavin, Bendtner, Van Persie.[LNB]Celtic: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens, Fox, Donati, N'Guemo, McGeady, Brown, Maloney, Samaras.[LNB] We have the team news and Celtic are adopting a five-man midfield as they attempt to keep The Gunners in check. Scott Brown is back in the line-up along with Gary Caldwell, and Georgios Samaras is the lone frontman. Arsenal, meanwhile, are playing Cesc Fabregas, Bacary Sagna and Denilson despite reports of injury worries as Arsene Wenger sticks with the team that beat Everton 6-1 on Saturday.[LNB]Good evening! Thanks for joining us for this very exciting Champions League qualifying match between Celtic and Arsenal at Celtic Park. All the action is live on Sky Sports 2 but, if you can't watch it live, you can read it live right here.[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports