Champions League Quarter-final draw: The Champions League quarter-final draw has authorised a double-or-quits wager. All of Chelsea's losses will be cleared at a stroke if, just this once, they can at last beat Arsenal.
The long-suffering Claudio Ranieri would no longer be asked to account for FA Cup failure against Arsene Wenger's side in each of the four seasons since he became manager at Stamford Bridge. The fans, in triumph, would instantly be blessed with total amnesia on the topic of the 16 consecutive matches without a win over Arsenal since 1998.
So rare is a collision of English clubs in Europe that the tie will be fascinating for the mental nuances as much as the subtle touches of the footballers.
When a team develop a habit of overpowering a rival there comes a moment when, with psychological jujitsu, their strength can be used against them. Deny it as they will, every Arsenal player is bound to recognise the irony and ignominy ahead if they should happen to falter precisely when victory carries with it a bigger prize than ever.
Disappointment against Chelsea is far from inconceivable. Proliferating ambitions can be destructive, and the Highbury club are alert to the risk of exhausting themselves by fighting so fiercely for the FA Cup and the Premiership as well as the Champions League.
After beginning the quarter-final, they take on Manchester United twice in succession in the league and FA Cup, with players sacrificed between those dates to international games which include an England friendly in Sweden. Wenger does not anticipate sympathetic treatment.
"I cannot see Sven-Goran Eriksson not selecting Arsenal players and Man United players and Chelsea players, because then he would be in a situation where he has no players," Wenger noted. "It's certainly the most difficult (period) I have faced since I have been here."
Arsenal have to tolerate the England fixture, conclude their business with Ranieri's team and pace themselves for Premiership fixtures in April against Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds and Spurs.
Wenger has never taken the domination of Chelsea for granted. "It was always hard games," he said, "and they always performed very well. Maybe we had a psychological advantage because we have beaten them (before)."
Only a clownish mistake by Carlo Cudicini - who was yesterday ruled out of both matches by his broken finger - deprived Chelsea of a draw in this season's Premiership fixture at Highbury, and Eidur Gudjohnsen gave them a first-minute lead in the match at Stamford Bridge. They were ahead, too, at the interval in the FA Cup tie despite a linesman's mistake that chalked off a valid goal from Jesper Gronkjaer.
Wenger, concerned about injuries that might beset a "compact" squad, is steeling himself for a "Premiership-style" struggle with Chelsea and is a little rueful that the draw "takes a bit of charm off a European Cup tie".
The scope for amusement is limited, although the manager did suggest Dennis Bergkamp could use a boat to get to Stamford Bridge if the Dutchman, with his fear of flying, cannot tolerate a Champions League away match without unusual travel arrangements. Though Arsenal are experiencing more varied pressures, it will still be impossible for Chelsea to play as if they have nothing to lose. In particular, they could lose a manager.
Chelsea need, as best they can, to echo the panache of Thierry Henry, and there will be relief if all doubts are assuaged about the form and fitness of Ranieri's best buy of the season, Damien Duff.
English clubs have not met in the European Cup for 27 years. The unexpected success of Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest over Liverpool absorbed England then, but 1977 could pass for an age of innocence by comparison with the cash-crazed, celebrity-choked era in which Chelsea and Arsenal meet.
