By Myles Palmer
FOOTBALL is about players and on this sunny Saturday morning in London we don’t know which players will be playing.
But it could be that the 11 players of Chesea have never played 90 minutes together.
That lack of fluency, lack of harmony, lack of understanding, will be the decisive factor in today’s game.
That is the reason Chelsea will not win.They might draw, but they will not win.
Six years ago Arsene said that if you buy more than three new players in the summer, you take a technical risk. You upset the stability of your team.
CHELSKI signed 11 new players for £110 million in one summer.
Yesterday I heard that John Terry did not train in the morning.If he was having treatment, fair enough.
If Terry does not play, Arsenal will win, definitely.
The papers predict Bergkamp and Henry up front, Wiltord wide on the right.
I firmly believe that Lehmann is more reliable than Cudicini, and that Mutu is an artful player who will get the nod over Crespo, a physical player, so Lehmann will have work to do.
He will have one-on-one saves to make.
If Lehmann keeps a clean sheet today, Arsenal can roll through the winter and pick up a lot of points in their next 15 games.
It would have been a lovely day for Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira to welcome his good friend Claude Makelele to Highbury for the first time.
But the day is spoiled for PV4 because he will not be playing.
Arsenal will miss Patrick hugely, but I still think they can shade it.
Liverpool was a big win for them and a one-goal win – and Chelsea could be another one-goal victory.
RIO FERDINAND goes back to Elland Road, which could be lively, but Man United will beat Leeds today.
I’m still getting daily phone calls on the latest versions of September 23, when Rio missed his drug test.
The News of the World have Rio’s mobile phone records but an injunction has been issued. I’ve read the warning letter to the papers from Rio’s solicitor.
The FA know what exactly what happened and may have known since September 23.
What punishment will Rio get?
I just don’t know and I’m not gonna guess.
MARK PALIOS is raw, but trying to do what’s right for the integrity of football.
And he can’t do that if he loses his present job.
ARSENE is 100% right to say there should be far more drug testing to prove English football is clean.
He should have said that five years ago.
Enjoy your weekend!
18th October 2003