Arsenal 1 Chelsea 1
On Sunday I decided to try an experiment.
Could I just relax and go to the game and enjoy it with the punters?
Could I be an Arsenal fan for a day?
On my way to the tube station I meet Chelsea Kevin and Eddie at my local shop and Kevin says it will be a 1-1 draw and I agree.
“It’s got 1-1 written all over it,” I reply.
Eddie says, “The police have interviewed Frank Lampard about the burglary at Reina’s house. He hasn’t got an alibi for 7.30 to 9.30 p.m. on Tuesday night !”
At Kings Cross I get on the Piccadilly Line and it’s a train full of opinions.
“I think Diaby’s got it, ” says one geezer.
Two guys are talking about the title race.
“I’ve always hated Man United but -“
“Yeah, but how good was it to cheer on the scousers the other night?” says his mate.
I reckon Arsene will go 4-5-1 without Baptista and play for a draw. Drogba will trouble them, and if Essien is in midfield he might tank right through the whole Arsenal team, Toure included. I hope it’s a good game but I don’t expect to win. If it’s disappointing game I can come home and have dinner and watch Real Madrid v Seville, which might be a good game.
Arrive at the Emirates, meet Ian Grant and his son Jamie at the Media Entrance, see white-haired Terry Neill go in and talk to blue-jumpered Bob Wilson. In the Upper Tier I’m sitting next to a young couple. He has an Arsenal shirt and a rockabilly haircut and his girlfriend is in white jeans and red cardigan.
When the Chelsea players come out to warm up, Drogba isn’t there.
When Arsenal come out, Rosicky is missing.
Chelsea have Kalou, Joe Cole and SWP and Arsenal have Fabregas wide on the right. It’s Fab4-Denilson-Gilberto-Diaby, plus Baptista. Why play Fabregas wide? That makes less sense than playing Rosicky wide.
As the game starts, the couple are really into it, anxious when Chelsea threaten, and clapping everything Arsenal do. They’re twentysomethings and diehard Gooners.They are so enthusiastic that they help me get into it. Unfortunately, after 25 minutes I can’t see how Arsenal are going to score.
When Mourinho walks out into the Technical Area the crowd sing, “F*** off Mourinho !” When he goes out a second time they sing, “Sacked in the summer, you’ll be sacked in the summer !”
The atmosphere is good but a lot of it is negative and the noise includes a lot of whistling against decisions by referee Alan Wiley, who infuriates the crowd again and again.
Fabregas and Denilson are sometimes making two five yard passes where I’d rather see one ten yard pass. After 40 minutes I still can’t see how Arsenal can score and I hear myself complain to rockabilly’s girlfriend: “We could play here till midnight and not score. Baptista’s useless, we’re playing with ten men.”
She doesn’t reply but moments later, when Boulharouz is sent off, she cheerfully says, “It’s ten against ten now !”
Boulharouz had clattered into Baptista in the box, a 24-carat howler, a kamikaze challenge which is an obvious penalty.
Gilberto slots one of the coolest penalties you’ll ever see and Arsenal are 1-0 up at half-time.
Second half, Chelsea’s 10 men show more desire and precision and when a corner is headed out by Gilberto, Shaun Wright-Phillips whips in a killer cross and Essien dives in front of Gallas to glance a header into the far side of the goal for 1-1.
There’s a crisp exchange of passes on the edge of the Arsenal box, Joe Cole scores beautifully but he was offside earlier in the move. Those two passes are more incisive than any Arsenal produced,
For me the highlight of the day is an amazing spurt by Gael Clichy, who intercepts in front of SWP, wins it on the stretch, gets up off the deck in full control the ball and finds Baptista to start a terrific breakaway. But Hleb cuts in and misplaces a short pass intended for Fabregas.
Chelsea have late chances, Lehmann makes two saves, a Terry header fizzes past the angle, and Eboue fires a cross-shot that hits the bar.
So this draw wins the title for Man United and that’s great because it proves that you CAN compete with the billionaire who bought the Premiership in 2005 and 2006.
On the way home I get to West Hampstead on the tube and realise my experiment has failed.
I’ve been a journalist for so long that I can’t think like a fan, even for one day, I can’t give the players the benefit of the doubt every time. Instead, I’m thinking, “This squad’s going nowhere. I’m sorry, Arsene, but you’ve only got half a team. This squad will not win anything.”
For the media, this is a Chelsea story. If they win, it’s : Chelsea keep the title race alive. But if Arsenal win, it’s : Man United grab the title back after three years.
By being so feeble, by being unable to beat 10 men, or even look like beating 10 men, Arsenal have made Mourinho look good.
Basically, my job here is to tell you what I think on any given day. If I don’t tell you what I think, I’m wasting my time and I’m wasting your time.
THIS IS WHAT I THINK : Baptista and Adebayor are not good enough.
Adebayor should be at Portsmouth. He’s not a natural striker. He’s improved and scored 12 goals, without which Arsenal would be mid-table, but he’s not good enough. He’ll improve next season but he still won’t be good enough. He is a lion-hearted chaser of mistakes and rebounds, but he isn’t good enough to play for Arsenal and never will be. That is the bottom line. That is the truth. Adebayor, Baptista and Aliadiere are not good enough to play for Arsenal and until they are replaced by players who are good enough, this club will not win any more trophies.
On the day that Manchester United win the league they are 21 points above Arsenal, who have played a game more.
To close that alarmingly huge gap Arsenal need a dynamo, a leader, a powerhouse. They need a Vieira or a Keane or an Essien. And they need a big stopper at centreback. And they need two new strikers, not one. If you want to compete with Manchester United and Chelsea and Milan and Barcelona, you need two more strikers, plus Henry, Van Persie and Bendtner. A year later, if Bendtner makes it, you can sell one striker.
That young couple next to me are loyal fans who have belief. They’re really into it and they’ll always join in with “We’ve got Cesc Fabregas !” and they’ll keep coming back. But they’re being conned because they’re watching a cheap young team that cannot win anything. Arsenal have built an expensive stadium and can’t afford a great team to put in it.At Highbury we used to see Bergkamp, Overmars, Anelka, Vieira, Pires, Lee Dixon, Ray Parlour and many players with great qualities.
But now Justin Hoyte is saying , “We’ll win the league next season” and Eboue says, “We’ll win the title.” Excuse me, lads, but neither of you has ever won the title. You don’t know what it takes to win the league.You haven’t earned the right to comment on who will win the league. You are talking out of your arses. So please shut up and do your talking on the pitch.
My consolation is that I can see Real Madrid v Seville, an intense clash between second and third, coming a day after two killer passes by Ronaldinho provided goals for Iniesta and Eto’o and clinched a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad. Spain’s big clubs have been knocked out of the Champions League and that has pepped up an already tight La Liga run-in.
Seville’s work ethic is fantastic and their high-tempo start leaves Madrid struggling to keep up.
Just before half-time Kanoute sends a cushion-header back into the D and Maresca’s left-foot volley rockets past Casillas. Bloody hell ! What a goal ! It’s compelling entertainment and Real Madrid eventually beat them 3-2 with Ruud van Nistelrooy scoring twice, Robinho once, two assists by sub Guti.
It seems to have been quite a long Sunday since I woke up at 7.24 a.m. and my first thought was, “I forgot to tape the fight !” Luckily, a re-run of the world super-welterweight title fight was on Sky at 8 a.m.
Oscar De La Hoya, 34, took a look at the style of Floyd Mayweather, 30, in round 1 and lost that round, then dominated up to round 8, then ran out of steam in rounds 9 to 12 and lost a split decision. A good, honest fight with hardly a clinch.
My son Michael’s pals Ajay and Joel stayed here on Saturday night and they watched it at a friend’s house in Willesden. Michael said, “The fight didn’t start till quarter to five. Both fights on the undercard went 12 rounds and by the start of the 12th we were all more knackered than De La Hoya, could hardly keep our eyes open. Ajay fell asleep in Round 6 after one beer too many.”