30 November 2008
WITH some quiet efficiency, Cesc Fabregas, deep in Arsenal's half, sent a long one to sub Nicklas Bendtner and his finish was clinical. The goal sent Arsenal to the knock-out stage of the Champions League. But in Dynamo Kiev, Arsenal met some hard nuts Tuesday. The visitors must have watched
and analysed Aston Villa's 2-0 stunning of the gunners and tried to apply same approach. If you allow Arsenal space, they will so run confusion into you that you may be wondering what you are doing on the field. Even their foes or opponents cannot but admire them when they start singing song with the ball. They play possession football with so much passion that the ball keeps rolling to their legs. Villa's manager did a pretty good job. The best way to play Arsenal is to mark them even in their own half.
Villa did so from the first minute when Arsenal were still taking it easy and thinking that they could still create something. They never did and Villa were clearly the better side. And when Dynamo Kiev visited, they tried to do same and almost succeeded. Arsenal had many players around the ball, tried to play their possession football but some wrong passes denied them the finesse that was their name. Again, you don't usually crack a team that has pace with short passes. Most times, Arsenal play short passes but move collectively in such a way that they rove with the ball, slicing past opponents with crisp runs. That won't always work when you close them down as Villa did. And interestingly, same thing was about happening at the Emirates Tuesday. The difference was the long pass that cut off the middle and found pacing Bendtner to do the job. Fabregas gave that clinical long pass.The lesson should have been clear to Arsenal. They need a combination of short and long passes that will make for explosion to get past their opponents. And on that night, all their deadly moves were off break-away passes or runs. Will they play this way when they face top- of -the table Chelsea today at the Stamford Bridge?
And is it the approach that can crack Chelsea? Chelsea play direct football. They have the money and players to muscle other teams in England. But the Premiership is not where only the classy shines. That is the culture that makes football thick in England. It is the factor that makes the Premiership the most exciting league in the world even if anyone argues that it is not the best.
With so many injuries on Arsenal's side and Arsene Wenger's principle of producing rather than buying stars, they may continue to play good football but finding it difficult to win titles. But Wenger is also making mark on the business side of football. They sell out their seats in every home game courtesy of their good football. That is money. They make money from transfers and their books yearly appear better than those of clubs winning titles. That is why Arsenal fans may continue to grumble over their non title-ship but the owners, although sometimes sad, cannot complain. But if they lose today, there may be some pressure for a slight shift from the conservative ways of Wenger.
Michael Ballack is very confident Chelsea will beat a side they are 10 points ahead of on the table. When he spoke about today's game, he appeared to be celebrating the William Gallas fuss in the club that appeared to have jolted the psyche of the club and hoping that they would still be unsettled before they meet. Gallas returned for the game against Kiev and unity reigned. Little did Ballack know that it was their time to grumble audibly. And their manager Felipe Scolari did, complaining about the secret meeting of Didier Drogba with Inter Milan's agents. That has upset the man and some quarters in Chelsea.
So, could it be a case to two troubled sides vying for honours to bring back dressing room comradery? Arsenal have a new captain in Fabregas, the Spanish 21 year-old who started on a good note - the victory against Kiev. He plays his first Premiership game as captain today and the weight of captaincy could be heavy at Stamford Bridge. Fabregas is a midfielder who roves from back to front. This will help in communicating with teammates. Interestingly, the lad who was always told what to do will now be doing the telling and inspiring others. The Young Shall Grow. And what a result it could be if they leave Stamford Bridge unscathed today. One or two years back, nobody could have made an outright prediction in favour of Chelsea. But many are doing so here going by the recent travails of Arsenal.
Our own Mikel Obi taunts Arsenal as a team that plays good football but doesn't win enough games to win title. He will be among the players who may want to cut off Arsenal's midfield play and get the ball as fast as possible into the gunners' goal area. One thing is certain. Chelsea do not have the players with the pace and marking abilities to outwit Arsenal the way Villa did.
They will fail if they adopt same approach. That is what will make this evening a real cracker even as the weather will be very chilly. Chelsea will have to play their direct football and hope to muscle Arsenal. If they try to match them on possession football then the gunners may be better for it. And for Arsenal, it is a match they will have to play with their heads, hearts and legs. 10 points below the league leaders is not Arsenal-like and they know it. That is why today's game will be full of passion and the fans may be the winners.
"It's a great feeling to be captain of Arsenal and everybody is giving tremendous support including Gallas. I'll do my best," Fabregas said two days ago.
"They are down now and we expect to win," Ballack.
The match will come live on HITV, the cable television bringing the Premiership and other big leagues to Nigerian homes.
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