By Myles Palmer
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Arsene’s 500th game was a yawn.
He did not pick Bergkamp or Reyes, which was right.
Instead he started with four wingers : Henry, Pires, Hleb and Ljungberg.
First 2 minutes were exciting, first 20 were OK, after that it was dull dull dull.
Hleb and Del Horno looked as if they had been there for years. Two class players.
LJUNGBERG was injured in the act of shooting after 12 minutes.
Clever pass by Hleb to Henry on the left, good ball to the far post, the Swede goes for it boldly, shoots over the bar from a narrow angle, his knee catches Del Horno’s leg, he tumbles into the advertising board, the Spaniard pulls him up, he carries on playing, but goes off on a stretcher after 25.
After 24, referee Graham Poll does not see Gallas kick Ashley Cole on the foot, inside the box, after he has exchanged passes with Hleb.
Second half was much ado about 0-0 until 73, when Senderos stepped up to play Drogba offside as Lampard took a quick free kick.
Drogba was just offside, but the flag stayed down.
Senderos chased Drogba, nudged him, and Drogba’s knee connected with the ball and knocked it inside the near post.
A fluke, a Luther Blissett goal.
The back five played well for Arsenal.
Hleb is Pires with Freddie’s bottle, a dribbling passer with tenacity, a player of true Champions League quality.
So Chelsea have two 1-0 wins, one at Wigan in the 93rd minute, one with an offside fluke goal.
LAST NIGHT I was on Newstalk 106 FM again.
I said most managers only have one box of tricks, one way of playing, and that Chelsea are Porto with an £80 million bench.
I also said, “Arsenal never achieved tempo. Arsenal without tempo is like gin without tonic, it’s not exciting, it’s tasteless.”
Dominic Fifield of The Guardian and Joe Lovejoy of The Sunday Times were on after me and I wanted to hear what they said.
But last night I was unable to connect with the Newtalk 106 website to listen to the show online. The “settings” on my computer may have changed, or something.
THREE FRIENDS phoned on Sunday night to talk about the match.
The third was angry.
“I detest him now. He didn’t want the ball ! He put himself in places where he couldn’t get the ball ! He is the Audley Harrison of the Premiership. He only fights palookas, he only fights hand-picked opponents. He’s a big pussycat. Why can’t people see it? How is he captain? We’ve had Frank McLintock, Tony Adams, Vieira, great captains. Why is he captain of Arsenal? It’s an insult to the club ! It’s ridiculous. I’d love to know what Fergie says privately about Thierry Henry. I’d pay money to hear that.”
“Did you see him in the tunnel?” I asked.
“No.”
“It was the usual peace and love vibe. He was joking and shaking hands with everybody. OK, he’s known Gallas since ’92, they went to Clairefontaine together, they’ve been friends ever since.”
“Fine, be friends AFTER the game.”
“Fred Street told me that the difference between a footballer and a professional footballer is that the professsional has a mean streak. He seeks to take advantage of his opponent in every way he can. He said : I couldn’t have been a pro, I’m too nice, I didn’t have that edge.”
“We lost a lot when Freddie went off. He was up for it.”
It’s now Tuesday lunchtime.
My friend may have calmed down.
August 23rd 2005