By Myles Palmer
Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1
Bergkamp, Zola and Henry were pathetic in the first half.
Arsenal dominated the first half hour,pressing fiercely. But their two strikers played like a pair of daffodils and you could not see where a goal was coming from.
Bergkamp has two ways of annoying me. One is when he plays too deep.
The other is when he plays too far forward, like this, marking the centreback, wrestling with him, trying little flicks and nudges.
He is so fragile you do wonder why Wenger gave him another two year contract.He gets upset so easily, loses his form so easily. Not playing in Lyon, having his whinge, saying, “I’m NOT scared of trains.”
Henry neverlooked convincing.He was plain silly at times, showboating,trying fancy tricks, left foot shots from 30 yards.
At half-time one of the French reporters said, “Thierry’s playing as if he’s watching himself.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Posing.”
Chelsea coach Ranieri had blown the first half by picking a containing midfield and leaving Gronkjaer on the bench.
You bottled it, Claudio. Stepanovs and Luzhny had never played together at centreback! You should have had a go! Tried to score first!
Vieira was dribbling through midfield more than usual. He likes to pass the ball into Bergkamp’s feet in half-striker positions, but DB10 was not making himself available as much as he usually does.
Lauren started in central midfield for the first time, as I’ve been hoping he would.
He is a very resourceful fetch & carry man. A versatile grafter.
Lauren won the penalty for first goal and crossed for Wiltord to score the third.
After 35 minutes it waslooking like a one-goal game.
The Wise started a rumble.Hasselbaink, Wise and Henry were booked.
Gooners behind the press box were shouting, “Shut up, Wise, you slag!”
Thierry Henry hit a left-footed cross from near the corner flag. It was not a good cross and there was no way that Lauren, running in, could have reached it. But Gronkjaer stupidly pushed him and the linesman told
Graham Barber it was a penalty. Which it clearly was.
Cudicini dived the right way but Henry’s low shot went into the bottom corner after 52 minutes.
After 61 minutes, Hassselbaink equalised with a typical
power-curler.
Hasselbaink took the pass from Poyet, touched it away from Dixon and shot instantly from the edge of the D, before Luzhny could get to him.
It was his first shot of the game and it went in off the post. He pulled the trigger so early that no keeper could have saved that shot. Not Gordon Banks, Neville Southall on his best day, not Schmeichel or Barthez.
Then Chelsea had a corner. Wise took it, the ball arrowed into a crowd of players, hit Pires on the shoulder and broke to Gudjohnsen, whose close-range volley smashed against the post.
Wenger said this was the turning point. If it had gone in, he said, Chelsea would have won.
After 68 minutes Wiltord came on for Pires, which switched Ljungberg to the left wing.Wiltord was on the right side, with Bergkamp deeper, atlast.
So it was 1-1 after 70 minutes and a very tense game. A lot of tension.
Suddenly Stepanovs went Route 1. He launched a 60-yard pass down the middle, a measured pass. He had hit a similar one, a range-finder, ten minutes before. This one had the same pace and the same low trajectory and it beat the lunge of Desailly, who fell.
Wiltord exploded through middle and lifted the ball over the advancing Cudicini. We saw the ball sailing and sailing and sailing sweetly into the
net.
GOOD SUBSTITUTION, ARSENE!
The crowd sang, “No noise from Chelsea boys.”
Chelsea had the whole of the Clock End which was now silent.
Wenger brought Vivas on for Bergkamp. The applause for Bergkamp was polite, more for who he is than what he had done in this match.
Then Lauren robbed Babayaro and crossed low. Wiltord ran across thebox, checked, pulled back into space 12 yards in front of the near post.And slammed the ball inside the near post for 3-1.
This was the first time that Wiltord has looked a good player for Arsenal.
He made two smart runs and scored two vital goals.His fourth and fifth goals in the FA Cup, following a sweet strike at Carlisle and two at QPR,
Switching to the left for the last 20 minutes, Ljungberg improved.
He is much better on the left. He is a skirmisher-poacher,not a winger. His qualities are speed, tenacity and opportunism.He is good in the thick of the action, and in the box, but not out on the touchline.
Ljungberg is not a winger or a good crosser or even a good passer. He is a small, mobile, determined warrior who can make things happen and score goals – FROM THE LEFT! ONLY FROM THE LEFT !
I love Ljungberg and have done from day one, just as I love Lauren now.But there is not enough end-product.He runs down cul-de-sacs and loses the ball too much.
What else?
The back four were magnificent.
Dixon in his 584th game!
Luzhny, far better at right centreback than left centreback, made only one bad pass to Gudjohnsen.
Stepanovs superb in his first game without Tony talking him through it.
Cole impressed everyone including Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was watching him again.
Vieira’s passing got better and better as the game went on. And he did well to stay out of trouble.
Arsenal can beat Lyon and Manchster United if they carry on defending as well as this.
Blackburn probably in the FA Cup Sixth Round at Highbury, if they beat Bolton in their replay.
February 18th, 2001.