By Ian Grant
Arsenal had a back-line with a combined age of 191 years. So they did well to hold a Celtic side, itself short of a few star names, but fully committed to a victory to prove a point to the powers that be, which hold the key to the promised land.
Observations:
Steve Bould – that looked like a trendy cut – enough to inspire a sense of fear in a forward. He played well, and lasted the pace. Lost none of that great positional sense, but struggled when zippy African forward Sylla ran at him.
Winterburn – any chance of taking him back for a year? Maybe need some left-side cover. He once told me he was going to start a building firm when he retired from football. That was five years ago.
Ian Wright – spirit is willing but flesh is weak – after a long absence.
Stepanovs – passed to nowhere at times, but absorbed the spirit of the occasion.
Aliadiere – showed promise, and reports are good – but a bit small, with Jeffers, eh?
Jeffers – struggled to pick up the pace. Missed a good chance. Jury’s out? His ankle op may make him a £20m player in the next two years.
Vieira – showed commitment to Arsenal by playing the whole game – significant that. Must be exhausted, right now.
Dixon – still the right competitive spirit as his clash with Balde demonstrated. An old left right combo – Winterburn cross and a Dixon header to equalise.
Edu – tricks, flicks and a confidence that could see him become one of the great Arsenal midfielders.
Parlour – honest as ever. Recognition as an important Gooner goes someway to make up from Sven’s shun.
Lukic – well, a 41 year-old would struggle to get down low [to Thompson’s shot] – particularly as the balls are different and go faster from the time he was a professional footballer – and it was a wet skimming surface.
Richard Wright – lived up to his word in the papers when he said he wanted to be Arsenal’s Number One, with some great saves.
Kanu – described as a one man representative of the Harlem Globe Trotters, his flicks and tricks should have posed more of a threat to the Celtic goal. Have we seen the last of him in an Arsenal shirt? Stories linking him with Fulham will not go away.
Juan – he’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere – but that’s not surprising for the Brazilian youngster trying to break into the Arsenal side with 57 on the back of his shirt.
Bergkamp – no Henry, Pires or Ljungberg making runs onto those delicious passes. Deserves a long summer break, so he’s ready for next season.
Luzhny – didn’t really notice his contribution. Looks like he’s staying on, despite interest from Germany. Looked like he enjoyed the celebrations.
Chilvers – didn’t do much, but was only on for ten minutes. One solid piece of defending, for the youngster anyway.
Adams – imperious, and fun loving throughout. Some brilliantly tough and well-timed tackles for a friendly. Hope he stays on in some capacity – not least for his influence on the squad, team and Campbell and Vieira in particular.