SOCCER / Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1: Chelsea did far better than usual against Arsenal but may still not have done enough. Their rivals, behind when Jens Lehmann's error let Eidur Gudjohnsen score, recovered with a Robert Pires goal and will expect to advance from the second leg of this Champions League quarter-final.
Their cause is aided by the suspension of Marcel Desailly, sent off in the 84th minute after a second booking. Referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez had booked him shortly before for a foolish challenge on Lehmann, and he had no option but to show another yellow card when he brought down Patrick Vieira.
This, otherwise, had been a rational affair.
Wenger's harping on the very British character of this occasion could well have been regarded as a confidence trick. Maybe he hoped to fool Chelsea into adopting the typically headstrong attitude of the Premiership, which would stretch the game out and present Arsenal with all the space they crave for rapid breaks.
Claudio Ranieri is too experienced a manager to fall for such a ploy. If he could do nothing to stop his players being touched by the emotion that washed down from the stands, he at least selected a line-up of conservative tenor. With Scott Parker on the right and the security guard Claude Makelele reinstated beside Frank Lampard, Damien Duff was the only concession to unqualified adventurousness in midfield.
They pushed at the visitors whenever possible, yet it was symptomatic of an underlying care that there was anticipation rather than unfettered excitement in the crowd before the interval. Moves were never quite completed. When, in the 27th minute, Makelele pitched a ball through to the left of the penalty area, for example, Parker could not quite steer his cut-back away from Lehmann.
Neither side was beleaguered, even if Arsenal were more likely to produce the build-up of men easy in one another's company. In a characteristic interchange, Pires dropped back to hoist the pass for Vieira to charge away on the left and lift a cross, in the 22nd minute, that exercised Chelsea centre-half John Terry.
Arsenal's best chance of the first-half had originated from a set-piece in the 10th minute after Makelele raised an arm to check Thierry Henry.
Pires curled an in-swinging free-kick, but Sol Campbell's downward header was just off target. On the whole, however, the visitors were contained.
The accent on defence is one of the factors that has persuaded Chelsea to replace Ranieri this summer, but he knows that caution is to the advantage of the team, if not to his personal benefit. The back four is the department that has functioned best under him, rolling out clean sheets in the previous five Champions League fixtures.
Chelsea, at half-time, could be satisfied. Frank Lampard had certainly made sure that Vieira was not permitted to be an overwhelming presence and the versatile Parker was productive. It was the latter who picked out William Gallas after a corner was half cleared and Gudjohnsen's volley from the deep cross was blocked in the goalmouth after 37 minutes. Each team had the answer to the other.
The Spanish referee might have been schooling himself for this tie, so ready was he to view husky challenges of British character without letting his hand snatch for a yellow card. After his researches, however, he must have been puzzled by the modest amount of attacking incident. Tension may have explained that, and he saw Pires and Lampard bump into one another and exchange words as they departed the field at the interval.
The Chelsea supporters, to their joy, were soon to have something of their own to talk about as their team took the lead in the 53rd minute. A ball fired down their left wing appeared to present few problems as Lehmann came out of his penalty area to deal with it, but he was more composed than he could afford to be.
He did not appreciate how quickly Gudjohnsen was peeling away from Campbell in the middle and hurtling towards him. The Icelander was in time to block the goalkeeper's clearance and deserved the luck that had the rebound dropping in front of him. From an angle he steered a shot into a vacant goal.
Taking the lead against these opponents, however, cannot be an utterly carefree moment for Chelsea. An opening goal for them had paved the way to 2-1 defeats by Arsenal in the FA Cup and Premiership last month, and they must wish that they had been able to extend the lead here.
They almost did so when Adrian Mutu flipped the ball back and Lehmann had to block both Lampard's drive and Duff's effort on the follow-up. It was the visitors, though, who were to score, with a trademark flexibility.
The ball was manoeuvred from right to left by Edu and Vieira before Ashley Cole aimed the fine cross that Pires, an unlikely presence at the near post, headed home with accomplishment.
There was deadlock once more but this time it took an entrancing form that promises a compelling return match.
CHELSEA: Ambrosio, Gallas, Terry, Desailly, Bridge, Parker (Cole 72), Lampard, Makelele, Duff, Mutu (Crespo 72), Gudjohnsen (Melchiot 86). Subs Not Used: Sullivan, Geremi, Huth, Gronkjaer. Sent Off: Desailly (84). Booked: Makelele, Desailly. Goal: Gudjohnsen 53.
ARSENAL: Lehmann, Lauren, Campbell, Toure, Cole, Ljungberg (Reyes 78), Vieira, Edu, Pires, Bergkamp (Silva 72), Henry. Subs Not Used: Stack, Keown, Cygan, Clichy, Kanu. Goal: Pires 59.
Referee: M E M Gonzalez (Spain).
