Drogba cost £24million from Marseille and is now the finished product; Chamakh cost nothing and has potential. Football is much more than just about money but it is hard not to feel that these two players, the finances involved in their respective deals and their relative experience, represent an accurate approximation of why Arsenal keep falling short.
Arsene Wenger cannot hide from his striking problem
James Olley James Olley
04.10.10
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www.vuvuzelasa.co.zaWhatever your perspective on how large the gap between Chelsea and Arsenal is at present, the latest adjustment to such analysis was most starkly defined by strikers on show at Stamford Bridge.
Both Didier Drogba and Maroaune Chamakh were below par but for differing reasons. The former is still struggling with fitness after starting the season with a groin injury, while the latter is feeling the effects of being thrown straight in at the business end in the absence of Robin van Persie.
Yet, Drogba extended his staggering record against the Gunners to 13 goals in 11 matches with a stunningly improvised finish from the only clear- cut chance he had, while Chamakh promised much only to fluff his lines before fading into anonymity.
Arsenal produced a display in which they pinned the champions back for extended periods but only to result in insufficient penetration and ultimately they were picked off by their more savvy opponents.
The obvious caveat here is that the Gunners were deprived of their focal point in Van Persie; a player who made a difference with a brace that earned an unlikely victory on this ground in 2008. But that, in turn, raises the wider issue of injuries undermining Arsenal's season yet again and the deja vu around the club could become corrosive.
The Gunners played badly and lost against Chelsea twice last season and although the performance was a marked improvement — notably bereft of the preferred spine of the side in Manuel Almunia, Thomas Vermaelen, Cesc Fabregas and Van Persie — the end result is the same.
Wenger believed his side conceded the title far too early two years ago as early defeats damaged morale and with trips to Manchester City, Everton and Aston Villa to come before December, a repeat is a major concern.
Where Chamakh faltered, Drogba prevailed and so the game was done.
“Their strikers were more clinical than ours and that made the difference because apart from that I believe Chelsea suffered a lot,” said Wenger.
“They were on the ropes for long periods in the game. We missed too many chances and in the final third you need to be more clinical offensively and defensively. We had a great team performance and great energy.
“You could see that Chelsea finished with cramps because they had to run a lot, so I give credit to my team. But we have to be more clinical to win titles — we can't lose a game like that.”
But they did. Again. This is, of course, not to lay the blame solely on Chamakh's shoulders — he has adapted impressively since his free summer transfer from Bordeaux — but his profligacy was indicative of a lack of ruthlessness that continues to separate Arsenal from Chelsea and Manchester United. Wenger complained about the failure to award his team a free-kick in the build-up to Drogba's opening goal but should have been more focused on Chamakh's decision to bottle a tackle with Ramires moments later.
The Brazilian consequently picked the ball up, exchanged passes and slid a delicious pass for Ashley Cole, who squared it for Drogba to flick the ball in off a post. Arsenal had looked impressive in possession and perhaps the more likely to score yet Chelsea delivered the hammer blow. Sound familiar?
From that point on, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who coped admirably with the death of his father last week, adopted a game plan that allowed the Gunners territorial advantage in an effort to draw them in and hit on the break. One such foray resulted in Nicolas Anelka, who earlier missed a glorious chance to kill the game as Sebastien Squillaci gifted possession to the Frenchman, being hauled down by Laurent Koscielny 25 yards outside the box.
Alex stepped up to drill an unstoppable free-kick through a gap in the wall created by Florent Malouda's movement. “For us to beat them is always a delight, it's not always pleasant to look at but it was effective and I thought the lads were terrific,” said Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins.
“Sometimes when you're playing this wonderful game of ours you can't always do what you want to do. You have to fight and scrap and I think we have that quality to do so.”
For Chelsea this was an affirmation that their resilience remains intact after defeat to Manchester City and the four-point gap heading into an international break will restore much of the confidence lost at Eastlands.
Arsenal have been here before. There were positives — Jack Wilshere excelled once again while Lukasz Fabianski was largely assured — but a seven-point deficit in October is ominous.
However much Wenger denies it, Arsenal fans feel that deja vu by the bucket load. “That is what people will say but I don't feel that,” he said. “I feel the two teams are really close.”
Drogba cost £24million from Marseille and is now the finished product; Chamakh cost nothing and has potential. Football is much more than just about money but it is hard not to feel that these two players, the finances involved in their respective deals and their relative experience, represent an accurate approximation of why Arsenal keep falling short.
