Gilberto: “Henry’s goal was legal”
October 19, 2006
Taken from the dodgy Teamtalk website;
Gilberto: Henry strike was legal
Gilberto insists Thierry Henry’s late strike should not have been disallowed in Arsenal’s 1-0 Champions League defeat to CSKA Moscow.
The defeat in Moscow means their Russian hosts leapfrogged them to go top of Group G.
The Gunners appeared to have claimed an equaliser in the 86th minute when Henry controlled the ball and converted from close range.
But the referee instead booked the France striker for handball even though he had appeared to control the ball with his stomach.
Afterwards, a frustrated Gilberto said: “I think it was a legal goal.
“The result was not what we expected but we need to carry on.
“He (Henry) said it was a legal goal but the linesman helped the referee on that occasion but I didn’t see anything from where I was.”
Gilberto is right; there was nothing wrong with the goal.
However, Gilberto had a surprisingly sloppy game in midfield. He was Arsenal’s pivot midfielder; about 70% of Arsenal’s went through him. His passing was a bit dodgy at times though, and he was robbed of the ball in his own half to set up the CSKA strikers for some good chances.
Gilberto had a headed goal disallowed (which was the correct decision), and he almost scored a tap in goal near the beginning of the match, but couldn’t get his foot to the ball.
It was an unlucky night for the Gunners as they could have easily snatched a draw; but the noisy CSKA fans combined with cold weather and a slightly rough playing surface meant that the Russian side stole all three points.
Gilberto will play next in England against Reading in the Premiership. Go Bert!