Arsene back on the right lines
FOOTBALL is all about fine lines. Specifi cally, the fourinch ones surrounding the pitch and the same thickness of woodwork that forms the goals.
Three times Arsene Wenger was that close to a defeat that would have put even greater pressure on the Arsenal board to end his 21- year tenure at the club this summer.
With better luck and more justice, Manchester City could have put Arsenal out of sight long before the north London club’s suffering fans celebrated a famous victory with the renewed scent of silverware, and purpose, in their nostrils.
Yet it is hard to begrudge Wenger his success as, after weeks of personal turmoil and far- too- personal abuse, the footballing gods smiled on him yesterday afternoon.
The Gunners had begun to ride their luck five minutes before the break.
Leroy Sane burst down the left fl ank and crossed, Sergio Aguero’s knockdown probably crossed the line before Petr Cech could save and Raheem Sterling hammered in the rebound for good measure.
But wait. Far in the corner, assistant referee Steve Child stood with his fl ag raised, indicating he felt the original cross had gone out of play.
Slow- motion replays showed it had not.
The Hawk- Eye goal- line technology system installed at the stadium could have indicated that in an instant, only the Laws of the Game allow it to operate solely within the goal itself, meaning that, in the 21st century, we are still subjected unnecessarily to human error.
The other two instances involved the woodwork, which twice came to the rescue as City continued to look the more dangerous of the two teams in the second half.
Yaya Toure crashed a superb shot goalwards in the 79th minute, only for Cech to tip the ball with the end of his fingers on to his right upright. Then, just three minutes later, Kevin De Bruyne floated over a corner and Fernandinho’s powerful header rattled the crossbar. By then, though, two actual goals had gone in.
A first half in which City had totally dominated had been marked with just one single effort on target, an Aguero header Cech touched over the bar.
Wenger had maintained the back three he introduced at Middlesbrough on Monday and a more cohesive performance from the fourman midfi eld in front of them meant that, even though Arsenal were limited in their play, they did
look uncharacteristically resilient. All of that was thrown out of the window just after the hour mark when, from their own corner, Aaron Ramsey conceded possession cheaply and the ball- watching Nacho Monreal gave Aguero a fiveyard head start in a chase to goal – and there was only going to be one winner.
Same old Arsenal? Apparently not. Instead, Monreal redeemed himself 10 minutes later, stealing in at the far post to convert Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain’s deep cross and take the game into extra- time.
Arsenal had been more progressive throughout the second half and continued that into the extra period.
That finally paid off when Mesut Ozil’s free- kick was headed goalwards by Laurent Koscielny and mis- kicked somewhat by Danny Welbeck but fell kindly to Alexis
Sanchez, who poked the ball into the back of the net.
City have been keen admirers of the Arsenal contract rebel for some time and yet for 100 minutes the Chile international had done nothing to justify that level of scrutiny.
All the traditions of football narrative had pointed to him being the difference between the sides but, in the fi nal reckoning, nobody can say this was anything other than a long- awaited team performance from Arsenal.
Hector Bellerin defl ected a Fabian Delph shot into the side netting while the other 10 players fought gallantly and collectively to keep a desperate City side at bay.
It was anything but pretty but it was at least effective. Not what the football purists had come to expect but suddenly effectiveness was the order of the day.
It seems there is only one line, fi ne or otherwise, that Wenger cares about going forward: a dotted one at the bottom of his contract.
Was this the day the Frenchman showed he really can reinvent himself and justify another two years at the helm?