EYEWITNESS: Richard Osley's view on Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0
CHELSEA 2 ARSENAL 0
EYEWITNESS report from STAMFORD BRIDGE
By RICHARD OSLEY
THIS was a bit like an impressionist artist halfway through a masterpiece and standing back to admire his work, only for an elephant to come trampling through the art studio with a paintbrush wrapped in its trunk and a tin of black paint. Splish, swipe, splash, splosh, it's all over in a flash. Ruined.
Once again, Arsenal's artists saw their unfinished article trashed by the muscle of Chelsea. Arsenal had more possession, passed the ball better but had no answer to the juggernaut of Didier Drogba. With two goals, he was the difference. For the first, he exposed sloppy defending with a typical poacher's goal from a corner. That was avoidable, but for the second, he flattened the Arsenal defence like a bull. Defenders bounced off him like cartoon stooges in a Batman comic. The bottom line: From Senderos to Vermaelen, manager Arsene Wenger still hasn't found a way of stopping him.
At 2-0, Chelsea basically said: "Have the ball, we don't mind", safe in the knowledge that however beautiful and intricate Arsenal's passing approach play would be, it would rarely amount to a threat Peter Cech's goal. Andrei Arshavin's close range half-volley, stabbed away by Cech with his legs, was the closest they came to scoring. What Arsenal needed was a powerhouse striker to burst through the Chelsea backline, rather than trying to pass around it. I.e. Not Theo Walcott.
Wenger will be criticised for his comments afterwards, mocked for noting Chelsea's lack of flair. He was of course right - but as has been said two thousand times by anybody who has seen Arsenal in the last two or three years, the pretty way doesn't always win you trophies. The patience is now wearing thin for some of those with red and white scarves at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea fans - that big swarm of people at the Bridge that you never saw in the 1980s and 1990s - baited their Arsenal counterparts about their lack of championship win in the last five years. It's actually been a few year nows since their own team won a big one. Certainly, they have been upstaged by Manchester United in the last three years. Neither William Gallas or Ashley Cole has won a title since swapping sides, but then you are winning a London derby like this, those stats don't count for much.
Beaten from the eighth minute, the Gunners contingent tried a few feeble chants about John Terry. There was a lack of imagination. Try for size: 'You're not captain anymore'.
There were sneers in retaliation as the Chelsea fans got to their feet and sang back: 'You're not English anymore' to the Arsenal team. Pleased with themselves, they then returned to their seats to watch the striker from Ivory Coast win the match for the team managed by an Italian and owned by a Russian.
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