For all the beauty and the bravery of Arsenal's football, for all
the doggedness that again made the 11th hour their finest, it is
difficult to envisage their regaining the Premier League title this
season. Not with this back five. Manuel Almunia is hardly the
calibre of goalkeeper you need at the top level and the rest of the
rearguard, while good to excellent individually, have yet to knit.
Nor are the central pair of Kolo Toure and William Gallas
particularly well equipped for an aerial battle. Manchester United
possess a more mature and balanced side. As do Chelsea, for that
matter.
It was fascinating to watch nonetheless. Beforehand, a topic of
conversation had been the theory that you never get an outstanding
match at lunchtime, but this sagged only when, after Arsenal's
first equaliser, it appeared to dawn on both teams that a draw
would be no disaster.
The substitutions put that right and for Sir Alex Ferguson the
satisfaction of putting one over Arsene Wenger must have been
sweet. Wenger threw on Theo Walcott in an attempt to embarrass
Patrice Evra, but it was the left back who prevailed by surging
forward to set up with the splendid assistance of another
Ferguson substitute, Louis Saha a goal for Cristiano
Ronaldo.
While it could be argued that assertions of Arsenal's defensive
vulnerability must be exaggerated in the light of their respectable
record nine goals conceded in 11 league matches, as compared with
United's six in 12 its full extent was revealed by not only
United's second goal, but the most inviting opportunity afforded
Wayne Rooney, who gave the ball to Ryan Giggs, received in return a
rare peach of a right-footed cross and, despite extraordinarily
loose marking, steered a header wide. Poor though Rooney's
finishing was, he utterly outshone Carlos Tevez, whose replacement
by Saha was no surprise.
Wenger seemed relieved. "We were not at our best defensively," he
admitted, "and got caught with both goals." The first came from a
low cross that travelled a long way without harassment and was not
unusual in that. "United are a strong side," he added, "title
contenders without a doubt. At all times they looked as if they
could take advantage of any mistake we made. They have clinical
players. But we are ahead of them [albeit only on the number of
goals scored, which has been every Arsenal supporter's favourite
criterion since 1989] and have a game in hand. By Christmas we
shall know more."
He went on to observe that Chelsea had found "a new consistency"
and they are the next fellow Champions League team Arsenal will
encounter, shortly before Christmas, when they also welcome
Tottenham to the Emirates for one of those derbies Wenger's
predecessor George Graham used to argue were an additional obstacle
strewn before capital competitors in the league marathon.
On this evidence, aerial weakness is more likely to undermine
Arsenal's chances. Neither Gallas nor Toure was especially
enthusiastic about being first to the ball and the contrast with
United's defence, in which Nemanja Vidic's aggression is
complemented by Rio Ferdinand's neatness, was noticeable. A team
have to be strong in the air to win the English championship, which
entails coming away from tough places such as Everton and Blackburn
with points. Of late, Arsenal's attacking brilliance has enabled
them to take a point (a week ago) from an even more rigorous
examination at Liverpool, where Cesc Fabregas emphased his right to
be regarded as the Premier League's most significant performer. But
sometimes in the course of a season a team find themselves being
pinned back and just have to keep heading the ball away. Surely
Arsenal, who will surely recall the powerful Johan Djourou from
Birmingham in midwinter. Almost at the start, they let Ronaldo head
against a post from a corner and the problem was never
rectified.
Fabregas was superb again yesterday, winning the ball and using it
simply and being composed when his opportunity knocked. Eleven
goals would be an acceptable return for a midfielder's season; the
young Catalan has amassed the total with more than six months to
go. Meanwhile Emmanuel Adebayor led the attack with skill and
vigour, playing a crucial role in Arsenal's first goal, which, even
more than the second, epitomised their virtues. There were classy
contributions to the move from Adebayor, who had to adjust to
collect Fabregas's short ball; Emmanuel Eboue, from whose chip
Edwin van der Sar denied Adebayor; Bacary Sagna in squaring; and
finally Fabregas in passing into the net.
According to Ferguson, his United made the clearer chances, and it
was also true that they tended to take the fewer passes in doing
so. The United manager was frustrated not to have won.
"We threw it away," he told the fair-minded viewers of MUTV, and,
although the neutral might have put it differently, you could
understand what he meant. His criticism of the referee was less
convincing: Howard Webb gave a first-rate display. Even MUTV will
show that.
