Arsenal still can’t handle wily Drogba
Old foe scores in US friendly
HIM AGAIN. Always him. Just when Arsene Wenger thought the coast had cleared, up popped the striker who haunted him for 12 years to torment Arsenal’s defence once more.
Didier Drogba might be winding down his glittering career in Montreal but, presented with one final chance to irritate Wenger — as he had so often for Chelsea and Galatasaray — he gleefully accepted. His calm finish for the MLS All- Stars took his tally to 16 goals in 16 games against Arsenal but this time there was no angst at the final whistle for Wenger.
A penalty from Joel Campbell and a late tap-in from Chuba Akpom ensured Arsenal won this exhibition match 2-1. The performance was a step up on their rusty efforts in Lens, where they drew 1-1 seven days ago.
But there was significance to Drogba’s strike. He is 38 now and cannot throw defenders around like rag dolls as he did in his pomp but he remains wily. Confronted by the inexperienced pair of Rob Holding and Krystian Bielik, he took advantage.
‘Drogba is a poacher,’ Wenger observed. ‘He can do that in the box. When I see him in the box, fighting with young defenders, I always think there is danger because you know that he can get the upper hand and score a goal. That’s what he did.’
There is the reason why Wenger must move quickly. This is no slight on Bielik, who was caught in two minds as he tried to clear his lines before Drogba popped up, or Calum Chambers and certainly not Holding, who caught the eye with his assurance. ‘He has adapted surprisingly in a very good way,’ Wenger said of his £2million recruit from Bolton. ‘He reads the game well and understands what’s going on. He anticipates well and that’s a quality, at such a young age, that you don’t find a lot.’ But Arsenal cannot go into the new campaign with inexperienced defenders when the stakes are going to be high from the off; when all those aiming to win the title will be sprinting from the start.
So with Per Mertesacker sidelined until 2017 after knee surgery, Wenger has a pressing concern about the heart of his defence that is occupying his mind more than the quest for a new striker.
What if they are vulnerable in the opening weeks, when three of their first six assignments are against Liverpool, Leicester and Chelsea? Wenger is arguably under greater pressure from supporters than at any time in his reign and a topfour finish will not placate them this season.
‘It’s never enough,’ conceded Wenger, whose side face Mexican club Chivas in Los Angeles tomorrow.
‘I personally believe that no matter what you do, it’s never enough. You have to give absolutely everything to take the best out of the team.
‘I believe that we know what we have to do, because we were second last year, we had 18 teams behind us. It’s a big ask, because when you look at the Premier League, every club is hugely ambitious. You look at the cheques that everybody signs and it’s quite scary.’