THEY pronounced the last rites on Real Madrid’s ageing
galácticos and, last night, Arsenal’s young guns appeared to usher another group of celebrated names towards retirement. Dashing and daring, Arsène Wenger’s mesmerising XI all but handed the pensioners’ bus passes to the shamefaced representatives of the Old Lady of Turin.
Italian reporters were as breathless as Emerson and Patrick Vieira as they tried to come to terms with the beating inflicted on the the runaway Serie A leaders. Juventus’ inability to keep pace led to them losing Mauro Camoranesi and Jonathan Zebina to late red cards as well as the suspension of Vieira for the second leg of this Champions League quarter-final.
Fabio Capello and his players may still be recovering from this trouncing, which could have been even more comprehensive, when the second leg kicks off next week.
“One Arsène Wenger” they sang around Highbury and this felt like the sort of performance that the man they call the Professor had been plotting for a decade. Victory in the Bernabéu had required the odd dash of good fortune but Wenger could hardly have made this closer to perfection if he had been controlling his players by remote control.
“My only regret is that there was not one more goal in it for us,” he said, but no one willing on England’s last team in this competition was complaining. Across Europe, Barcelona will not be the only team being willed on for the exuberance of their football. Wenger spoke of “fluency, speed and technical quality”. He talked of developing “a culture of the game” and not only is it beautiful on the eye but cheap in the pocket. Arsenal’s back five cost £5 million, that of Juventus cost £100 million.
From Kolo Touré to the sensational Francesc Fàbregas to Thierry Henry, who took great delight in skipping over outstretched legs throughout the second half, Arsenal’s players excelled. So dominant were they that Jens Lehmann was hardly required to intervene.
Juventus were a prized scalp for the only two English sides to lift the European Cup in the last couple of decades. Manchester United’s conquest in Turin in 1999 is almost as celebrated as the final itself while victory for Liverpool last season propelled Rafael Benítez’s side on their magical journey to Istanbul. Mugging the Old Lady will make Arsenal supporters believe that this could be their year.
From the zestful, up-tempo way that Wenger’s players set about their work, they were ceding experience, power and reputation but certainly not confidence. Anyone doubting Arsenal’s determination only had to watch Robert Pires beat Vieira in the air. It was the highest the effete winger has leapt since his infamous dive against Portsmouth in the season of the Invincibles. If it seemed a one-off victory for the flyweight, it was to be repeated to sensational effect in the build-up to Fàbregas’ first-half goal.Pires for Fredrik Ljungberg was the only change to the Arsenal XI that had conquered Real and, while the Swede had been superb against the Spaniards, an untypically grafting performance from Pires more than compensated. “If Robert is winning tackles, that’s a very good sign,” Wenger joked afterwards.
With Gilberto shielding the back four, Pires and Fàbregas were pushed forward to snap around Emerson and Vieira and it was to work to perfection. As well as making it difficult for Juventus to build from the back, it kept Arsenal on the front foot and high up the field.
That partnership of Pires and Fàbregas combined to create the game’s first decent opportunity after 16 minutes but, from the Frenchman’s backheel, the teenager snatched his shot. He was to atone before the half was finished.
Even when Juventus did threaten Arsenal’s goal, it was self-inflicted danger from a rushed clearance by Philippe Senderos. David Trezeguet had a headstart but, to huge acclaim around Highbury, Touré was quickly back to clear up the mess. The defender’s clean steal of the ball was a perfect challenge — and one to deprive Zlatan Ibrahimovic early in the second half was even more finely judged — but Pires, of all people, was to surpass it.
Vieira was beginning one of those purposeful runs forward in the 40th minute when his compatriot suddenly appeared with a sliding tackle and stole the ball away from his feet.
While the former Arsenal captain dusted himself down — it was probably shock more than physical discomfort — Pires scuttled towards the Juventus area and fed Henry. It was still going to take something special to find a way past Lilian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon but, having collected the ball just outside the penalty area, Fabregas proved that special is in his repertoire. A drop of the shoulder to create some room and a low, placed shot through Thuram’s legs sent Highbury into raptures.
Juventus were disappointing almost as much as they had been in both games against Liverpool last season, not that their failings were attracting English concerns. The absence of Pavel Nedved, suspended, and Alessandro del Piero, injured, may have deprived Capello of the two players most likely to fill the void between midfield and attack but, in Adrian Mutu and Camoranesi, he was hardly bereft of talent.
Their problem was that they were being overrun, a pattern that was not to change whatever Capello said to his players at half time. Arsenal were even more vibrant after the break, driving Highbury into a frenzy with a succession of chances that should have yielded more than the Henry goal.
Buffon had been forced into decent saves from Fàbregas and Henry when the goal came in the 69th minute, another superb, slick passing move of the type that characterises Wenger’s team at their best. Alexander Hleb was the first provider, sliding a measured ball through to Fàbregas. The obvious option for the teenager was to turn and shoot and, momentarily, it appeared that he had chosen badly as he turned back on himself to square the ball to Henry.
It was, of course foolish to doubt him and, with Buffon out of his goal, Henry could turn the ball into an empty net. The humiliation was still not complete for Juventus as they lost Camoranesi and Zebina to second bookings. It will take more than the return of Nedved and Del Piero to shake Arsenal’s self-belief.
STAT ATTACK
- Arsenal have never lost a European tie after winning the first leg by two or more goals. They progressed to the next round on each of the previous 17 such occasions
- Excluding qualifying matches, this is the sixth consecutive Champions League knockout tie where Juventus have lost the first leg. They recovered to win on aggregate on three of the previous five occasions
- Thierry Henry has scored six goals in his past five Champions League matches against Italian opposition. He scored three goals in two meetings with AS Roma and two goals in two games against Inter Milan
- Juventus have only once recovered from a first-leg deficit of two goals or more to win a European tie. After losing 3-1 away to Atlético Madrid in a Uefa Cup semi-final, first leg in 1964-65, they won the return match 3-1 before winning a replay by the same scoreline
- Arsenal equalled AC Milan's Champions League record of seven successive clean sheets last night. An eighth in the Stadio Delle Alpi would bring an even greater reward - a Champions League semi-final
BILL EDGAR
