The game began at a ripping pace and promised to be a classic. Arsenal had their best team on the field but Chelsea was missing Drogba, Essien, Carvalho, and Malouda. These absences meant that the Avram Grant era went retro Mourinho, as Chelsea decided to run up the back of any Gunner audacious enough to attempt to receive the ball. They left Shevchenko up top with Joe Cole behind him in hopes of developing a counter.
The key thing to note was that Arsenal matched Chelsea's physicality from the opening bell and after ten minutes the crisp start had turned into a chippy affair.
Ashley Cole , who was booed at each touch, went to war with Eboue and Sagna on the by-line. Flamini and Fabregas clattered into Mikel and Lampard. Terry was in fine form as Russel Crowe in the back until Eboue left his foot in at the end of a searching run. As Terry attempted to launch the ball into orbit with a melodramatic hack, his follow through found the bottom of Eboue's studs and three of his precious metatarsals cracked. You could hear the impact through the television and he was done for the day, sealing the game as a war. Why not? It's football in England, the London derby...
Arsenal lost its rhythm at this point and to be fair Chelsea looked dangerous on a few of their counters. For all of Sheva's woes, it's still scary when he gets an open look at goal. But Kalou and Wright Phillips were so bad they managed to take the sting out of most of the attacks. Arsenal, having trouble through the middle, were trying to get down the sides. Hleb never found his way into this game. Eboue broke out down the right after a clearance and was bladed on the sideline in retaliation for his tackle on Terry. He went out of the game with a bad knee. Two casualties in the first half.
Ben Haim took Terry's place in the back. I actually quite liked him at Spurs but for Chelsea his caveman brow and heavy shoulders make him look like the Mossad. The goal came when Fabregas bent a typically heavyweight corner to the far post. Cech, the only goalkeeper who has never misjudged a cross in his life, misjudged the cross and could not get his fist to it. Ben Haim had too much faith in his large keeper and was left stuck in the mud as brave Sir William Gallas rose above him and pounded a headed ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Arsenal.
And that's the way it stayed. I could prolong the description of the second half but there's not much point. The game stayed violent and ugly until Chelsea began to extend for the equalizer in the last twenty minutes. Arsenal had a few outlandish opportunities to score the second but couldn't get it done. The game finished 1-0. Gerry and I stayed for a few pints and talked football. I was exhilarated and knew the rest of the day would pan out perfectly. Which it did. The next day I wondered about writing a blog-did I have the right to crow about a 1-0 win at home against a team devoid of its skilled players? Yes, by God. It's Chelsea. Kick ‘em while their down. Plus, we battled them physically each minute and won in the end. Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Flamini, and even Fab never let a challenge go begging, not once, and that's the difference for the Gunners this year from last. The last whistle came after Fab missed an open goal and then employed a vicious scissor tackle on the back of Ash Cole. What better symbol for the new Arsenal than its best player trying to murder a traitor?
At midweek Arsenal drew Blackburn in the Carling Cup. The two teams have a brutal history with one another and Arsenal has not had the best time against Hughes' boys, who are a more dangerous attacking team this year than last, with Santa Cruz in good form. The Professor played his youth squad at Ewood and they delivered early, with Diaby receiving an early cross from Sagna, striding clear and finishing far post from a tricky angle. Eduardo, who just scores and scores, scored. 2-0. It looked like a breeze but Santa Cruz got one back before half.
In the second he got another and the game heated into the pitched affair everyone expected. Eduardo won for the Gunners in extra time. 3-2 and on to the semi-final. The only sad news from this is that
Lassana Diarra , whom we stole from Chelsea for a song and who has played extremely well when given the chance, announced officially that he is disgruntled with his lack of time and will seek an exit. Boo. Dear Mr. Diarra, the Professor always makes you wait... at least a year before stepping into midfield. Ask Abou Diaby, a man every manager in the world would take in a heartbeat at market price. Plus, the season just about to get busy and you will start playing a lot. Oh well.
The next bit of bad news came a day later when it was announced that our
Champion's League draw is AC Milan, the cup holders. It will be a fantastic quarterfinal but it's kind of a shame that the contest will take place so early in the competition. I think our reaction as Gooners was, oh well but bring it on! They are old and sneaky but we are young and good.
Then the Spurs game, the crosstown derby, which we have not lost in 8 years. Setanta Claus kept me from seeing this game, which is a huge bummer. I'm at my mom's house and it's an hour drive to the nearest soccer pub, provided Baltimore has one, which I'm not sure about. I'll accept the word on the street, which is that we got outplayed more or less completely and Robbie Keane choked a penalty and a volley from the six to keep us in it. The game was 1-1, Fab and Adebayor combining on Arsenal's first goal in clinical fashion. What can you say about Fab? He's the engine room, tactician, and talisman this year and his back heel on stride to Adebayor was lovely. Arsenal have never lost a game in which Adebayor has scored. The announcers are fond of talking about this. I find it confirmation that Adebayor, much as I love him, scores in easy games and not in tough ones. This was a good goal for him and I'm told he played the entire game well and that Hleb did too, which is great.
Arsenal won the game in the dying minutes when Bendtner rose high on a corner, virtually unmarked, and buried a header for the victory. Three wins this week against tough opposition and both luck and character held. Arsenal have Portsmouth on Boxing Day and that should be a nice skillful game.
I have said all along this year that for Arsenal to win the league they will need their attacking midfield core to score by committee. That's Hleb, Fab, and Tomas scoring 10 each in all competitions and Diaby and Flamini adding 5 or 6. In addition, though, a forward must emerge as a killer. Adebayor is now top scorer in the Premiership but still on shaky ground in the pitched battles. Bendtner and Eduardo are coming along very nicely and the Great Dane might be just the thing. He is huge, powerful, and composed.
Happy Christmas Gooners!
Dear Setanta Claus, Please let me see my Gunners on Boxing Day... It's been an important week at the Emirates, beginning with