SOCCER/ ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: ARSENE WENGER said the "funny" thing about Didier Drogba was "he doesn't do a lot" after the Chelsea striker had taken centre stage in another victory over Arsenal.
The Arsenal manager, who was left to bemoan perceived refereeing injustice, felt that Chelsea’s 3-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium was unfair on his team. Yet he was forced to admit that Drogba, Arsenal’s nemesis in recent seasons, did have the golden touch at present.
Drogba scored Chelsea’s first and third goals in a result that improved his club’s hopes of winning the Premier League title, with the second coming via a Thomas Vermaelen own-goal. Drogba has now scored 10 times in 11 games against Arsenal.
“He’s a good player,” said Wenger of the Ivory Coast striker, who now has 14 goals in all competitions this season. “It’s funny because he doesn’t do a lot but he is efficient in what he does. You would be surprised by the number of balls that he touched today. Drogba is in a period where he kicks the ball and it goes in.
“You can’t tell me that for the first goal, the ball went where he intended it to go. At the moment he just goes for it and it goes in. The first was the goal of a striker in complete confidence.”
“Maybe I’m just lucky,” said Drogba, with a smile. “I like to play against Arsenal because they used to be the team that people supported in France [where he grew up] and so I supported them as well. But since I’ve come to Chelsea, I’ve done a job for my team.”
Wenger complained bitterly about the referee Andre Marriner’s decision to disallow a second-half goal from Andrey Arshavin, which would have cut Chelsea’s lead to 2-1. Marriner penalised Eduardo da Silva for a raised boot on the Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech, moments before Arshavin found the net.
“I personally believe that that wasn’t a serious decision,” said Wenger. “How can he see Eduardo kicking the ball out of Cech’s hands when there was a Chelsea player in front of him? That was a massive mistake by the referee. I just think that we made mistakes and the referee got the turning point of the game wrong: 2-1 is different to 2-0 at the start of the second half. The referees this year . . . our game with Man United, the Chelsea game . . . they have been decided by the referee.”
Wenger went on to state the case for the use of video-replay technology. “The referees don’t want video but it’s difficult to understand why not,” he said. “Why doesn’t he ask? Because he’s too scared to be intimidated, to be under pressure to use the video.”
Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, made the point that he felt his team ought to have had a penalty at 0-0, when Bacary Sagna put his arm around Nicolas Anelka’s waist inside the penalty area. Ancelotti took issue with Wenger’s contention about the disallowed Arshavin goal.
“They are upset because they lost,” he said. “I think it was a foul on Petr Cech. It was a very good performance from us. In the defensive positions we did a fantastic job. It’s true that Arsenal kept the ball in the first half but we didn’t concede opportunities and we counter-attacked well. Drogba scored two goals and for me that was a good job.”
Wenger complained that “absolutely everything went for Chelsea”. He added: “The score is a very unfair reflection of the game but it is the score. The first shot on goal they scored and with their second cross they scored.”
Wenger is convinced that Arsenal, who trail Chelsea by 11 points, albeit with a game in hand, are not out of the running.
“Our challenge has taken a big blow and the damage done at Sunderland in last weekend’s defeat was deeper, confidence-wise, than it should have been. Chelsea are in a very strong position but they can, for me, still drop points. I’m convinced of that. The problem we will face now is that people will not believe in us. We have to make sure that that doesn’t diminish our belief.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez believes the 2-0 victory over Everton in the 212th Merseyside derby could prove to be a turning point in their season.
A 12th-minute own goal from Joseph Yobo and Dirk Kuyt’s close-range effort 10 minutes from time flattered the visitors, who were second best for most of the game.
However, considering their poor start to the season, which was compounded by Wednesday’s failure to qualify for the Champions League group stages, Benitez was keen to accentuate the positives as the Reds moved up to fifth in the Premier League table.
“I think it was really important for us. . . A derby is always very difficult and also very important so a win today could set us up for the rest of the season.”
Guardian Service
