Tag: chelsea

It is not like Arsene Wenger to go over the top when Arsenal have a good game, just as the Frenchman is usually the voice of calm and reason when the Gunners suffer the setback of a bad performance or result, so it was a bit different to hear the Arsenal boss waxing lyrical about the team after the demolition of Chelsea at the Emirates stadium yesterday.

Perhaps it was down to all the frustration we have had with the Blues in recent years, or ever since Jose Mourinho and the crazy spending of Roman Abramovic changed everything. This certainly was an overdue win but it was the nature of the match that had Wenger buzzing, as reported by Metro.

The boss hailed this as one of the best performances from an Arsenal team for years, suggesting that the first half, in which we scored three good goals and could have had more while completely nullifying any threat from the likes of Hazard and Costa, was close to perfection.

He said, ‘There were times in the first half it was nearly perfect. We played with style, pace and movement, and that’s the style we want to play,’ said Wenger after the match.

‘It’s one of those moments in your life as a manager when you think, ‘Today it is a great day’ – especially in the first half.

‘We wanted to play this high pace and put them under ­pressure, play at the very high speed and it worked quite well.

‘I felt in the last three weeks the team was on the way up and this was a test to see if it was real. We confirmed it — from the goalkeeper to the centre forward you cannot fault any performance.

‘I’d say that was one of our best performances in recent years. The inconvenient facts were to get those recent defeats out of our system and we did that.’

If the manager was using this clash with our London rivals as a yardstick to measure just how well equipped Arsenal are for an assault on the Premier League title then no wonder he was pleased. But should we also take into account how poor the visitors were and keep our feet on the ground until we see whether the Gunners will push on from this performance?

Arsenal fans knew that we were getting a top quality keeper when Arsene Wenger somehow persuaded Chelsea to let us have their Czech Republic international star Petr Cech in the summer and the fact that moaning Jose Mourinho did not want to let his rival Arsene Wenger have the benefit of Cech´s ability and experience made it all the more sweet.

Having said that I did not really believe the Chelsea captain John Terry when he said at the start of the season that the 33-year old would be worth an extra 12 to 15 Premier League points for the Gunners. According to a report in the Daily Mail, however, in which their football experts have gone over the season so far in order to judge just how many points better off we are because of the new number one and it is pretty stunning stuff.

Even ignoring the calming effect Cech and his experience has had on the Arsenal defence and ignoring games we won well after Cech had made saves at key moments, their estimate is that we have 10 points more than we would have had without him.

Carrying that on for the rest of the season would give Arsenal 17 more points and considering we were only 12 points behind runaway winners Chelsea last season and that this year is much tighter, is this proof that the transfer of Cech will secure the long awaited EPL trophy this season?

We will have to wait and see whether it happens yet, but it is being reported by The Mirror that when Arsenal and Chelsea meet in the big Premier League game at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, Jose Mourinho will offer his hand to Arsene Wenger in an attempt to put an end to the long running feud between the managers.

If this does happen, how do you think Wenger should and will respond?

If it is a genuine attempt to ease the tension then I would be surprised to see the Frenchman refuse to shake hands with his rival and it could be a good move for both of them and the clubs, although the media will not be happy as they get a lot of column inches and internet hits from the ongoing saga.

On the other hand I just do not trust the Chelsea boss, as he is famous for doing whatever it takes to gain some advantage. And I think that Wenger is well aware of his mind games. Is it a coincidence that Mourinho is suddenly trying to be nice when he has finally lost a game to Wenger and is in some real trouble with his team’s results and there are rumours that his job could be at risk?

What do you think of all this?