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Arshavin: could this magician have been our Wembley hero?
Inquest into Arsenal strategy as cup hopes end
AS Boney M would have christened him, Andrey Ar-Ar-Arshavin, Russia’s greatest goal machine, was the missing man as Arsenal slipped out of the FA Cup at Wembley on Saturday.
Just one step from the final, the Gunners needed his sorcerer’s touch but afforded him just a late substitute’s appearance.
Arshavin’s stunning four goals at Anfield on Tuesday – a simply beautiful salvo in which he appeared to be playing Liverpool by himself, while team-mates watched with the same dropped jaws as their fans – must have made Arsene Wenger think again about his tactics.
As much as he thought he needed muscle to contest with the lumpy Chelsea midfield, his team was short on craft and cunning.
It wasn’t just Arsenal who needed a lift in their 2-1 defeat, Wembley as a whole did. This should have been a spectacle, but the action on the moley pitch was lamentable.
Players with big reputations on both sides failed to impress. Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie, and even Cesc Fabregas were all sluggish for Arsenal. Nicolas Anelka, John Terry and Didier Drogba, whose rash of wild shots were only eclipsed by his fortunate late winner, were just as disappointing for Chelsea.
Picking Frank Lampard as the man-of-the-match must have been like a game of pin the tail on the donkey. He played one good pass. Off the pitch, it was ordinary too. Maybe Arsenal have been away too long, but Wembley – our national treasure – was lacking in excitement.
Sour grapes from a loser? Maybe, but we are yet to see a decent match involving any teams since they ripped down the Twin Towers. It’s a place buried by the thud-thud earache of a sound system so loud it drowns out supporter songs in the warm up.
Maybe these teams have been spoilt. Annual Champions League expeditions to places like the San Siro, the Bernabeu and the Nou Camp are full of more memories than those long cup trips to Cardiff ever were – and the same goes for the new Wembley.
Supporters seemed more keen on their hot dogs and even in victory the Chelsea fans seemed underwhelmed, a little blasé. The whole nation will be supporting Everton in the final. Only late trains, tinny mobile phone music on buses and the cast of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps can bring a whole country together in shared irritation in the way Chelsea can.
In the end, the only person at Wembley who seemed to really, really care was the poor kid who Setanta picked out after the final whistle, zooming in on his face which was burned red with tears as he drummed his fists against the railings. Poor kid reminded me of my own childhood tantrums when Arsenal lost to Spurs in 1991. What I didn’t realise when Gazza fired in that heart-breaking free-kick was that Tottenham would win the FA Cup that year and then do just about nothing from that moment on.
That bawling child doesn’t realise it now but Arsenal, in contrast, always seem to have something to look forward to each season.
They might end up empty-handed again this term but the kid with the tear-soaked eyes only had to stay up late on Tuesday to realise all is not lost. He’ll want an Arshavin shirt come Christmas. |
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