By Myles Palmer
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MOURINHO had three home games coming up: Arsenal, Fulham and Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final first leg.
So he told his boys to keep it tight and see what happened.
Wednesday night’s 0-0 draw was a good contest in which ref Steve Bennett was hardly involved.
It was an excellent game of football in which a lot of good passing was nullified by a lot of good tackling and covering.
After it, Arsene said Chelsea were “worthy champions”.
Mourinho does not talk to the English press now.
BERGKAMP and Reyes were dismal, as they were against Blackburn.
But Arsenal might have gone ahead when Pires hit the bar (2 minutes) and when he shot wide (16).
Bergkamp is too old at 35 to play two games in four days and there was nobody making runs into the box for his passes. He missed Freddie.
Right now, Reyes could not trap a medicine ball.
SENDEROS was magnificent. So was Vieira.
And Pires was good too.
Senderos now looks like a real defender who is always in the right position. He is 20 and will learn as he goes along.
His improvement in recent weeks has been astonishing and the team has become stable.
And Gilberto protects the centrebacks, as everyone knows.
Summing up, the 0-0 was a good match, even if it was not a great game like the 2-2 at Highbury.
On Wednesday, Chelsea were saying : We will be champions anyway. And Arsenal were saying : We won’t roll over and let you walk it.
Accepting the Arsenal first half challenge, and lacking a bit of rhythm from not playing for 10 days, Chelsea said : We don’t want to lose to you. We didn’t lose at Highbury and we don’t want to lose now.
But the contest was a healthy one. If this is the way Arsenal and Chelsea intend to compete over the next couple of years, and this is the respectful way they want to relate to each other, that’s fine with me.
There were no goals, but that’s quite rare. I don’t reckon Arsenal and Chelsea will play many 0-0s against each other in the near future.
I expect to see goals, but also, realistically, a few draws.
What Arsenal did last year was exceptional. What Chelsea have done this year is exceptional.
What will happen next year, I don’t know.
All I know is this : Chelsea spent £92 million on new players this season and they still can’t beat Arsenal.
ONE OTHER THING : I’m not teasing you.
When I say I’ve heard that Arsenal will sign three players, one a superstar, that’s all I’ve heard.
I don’t know which players Arsenal will buy.
When I say Shaun Wright-Phillips has his heart set on playing for Arsenal, that is what I believe to be the case.
Only time will tell if I’m right.
My sources often contradict each other.
Obviously, all journalists know interesting things they can’t write because they have promised not to.
Or because it’s libel.
I accept the inevitable : fans who ask, “Who are we getting? We all want to know who we’re getting.Give me a call if you hear anything.”
I’m not holding back. I’m not teasing readers.
When I hear something exciting, it will take me only 30 seconds to write it here.
Until then I’m quite happy to see how this season plays out.
The future will be here soon enough. Until then, I enjoy the present.
22nd April 2005.