12 goals in 120 minutes of football, a rare scenario occurred last night. If you didn’t watch this game against Reading, you might have missed the match of the season.
I had walked 2km from my house to watch my footballing love in a viewing center. I had missed the 6-1 bashing of Coventry City in the previous match and I was determined to see the Reading affair. I couldn’t watch in my parlour for reasons best known to local television authorities and DSTV.
The agony of gooners at the viewing center was visible; some covered their angers and vexation with jokes as Arsenal fell down 4-0 in the first half. Few fans left the center, unable to bear the devastating onslaught of their darling team.
I sat smiling, encouraging few other fans and praying for a goal in the first half to serve as a lifeline. And it came through Theo Walcott. I just knew from thence forth that we are in for a thrilling encounter.
Frimpong has been lost in the middle while Gnabry wasn’t having the game he wanted. Wenger brought on my favourite new sensation, Thomas Eisfeld, alongside Olivier Giroud in place of the former duo.
The impact was immediate as Giroud scored and Eisfeld regained the lost midfield. Laurent Koscienly redeemed his own-goal in the 89th minutes before Walcott added to his tally just after the added time to make it 4-4 and send the game to extras.
A rare Chamakh double on both sides of a Theo Walcott third goal gave arsenal a 7-5 victory in extra time after reading had pulled one back to make it 5-5.
12 goals in a match is a thriller. The comeback was epic and would sweep that Newcastle incident under the carpet. I wonder what wenger said to the boys but the turning points were Walcott’s first goal and the intro of Eisfeld and Giroud.
So we are through to the quarter finals. A majesty miracle in Madesjki.
See you at Old Trafford. Hope we still the show there.
Au Revoir
Amoscp
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