For the moment responsibility for preserving the Gallic influence on the English championship originally wielded by Eric Cantona has passed from Arsenal's FrancoDutch mix to Chelsea's blend of Gaul and Garibaldi. Arsenal would now be in closer touch but for the spirit of French resistance which Gerard Houllier seems to have engendered in the Liverpool team without actually having to field a French player.
On Saturday Arsenal's run of four successive victories stalled in the face of the new resilience Houllier appears to have brought to Liverpool's football since Roy Evans's departure ended the sort of dual control which only works with learner drivers.
"This was a very unusual Liverpool performance," Houllier explained. "I don't think it was an outstanding game in terms of attacking football. Maybe we should have done more in the first half. In the second Arsenal laid siege to us and we couldn't breathe.
"Please don't think I like that type of football," he added, "but in this type of game it was pleasing to see the character and discipline we showed in defending. For two months I've been trying to get strength and stability into our football when we lose the ball and today, when possession was lost, we did not start shaking like schoolboys."
Given the sort of goals Liverpool have been conceding this is surely a significant advance. Certainly there was a collective spirit in the side which has not always been evident in recent seasons and Houllier even regarded a brief post-match spat between Paul Ince and Steve Harkness as an encouraging sign.
Against that there was the inescapable fact that a team containing two of the best young strikers in the English game, Robbie Fowler and Michael Owen, did not create a clear scoring opportunity, although Patrik Berger's excellent through-ball did find Owen putting a half-chance into the side-netting in the 10th minute.
The match also left unanswered the question of how well Liverpool's defence would have coped had Dennis Bergkamp not been injured and unable to offer Arsenal the subtler touches their attack needed in the crowded areas near goal. Certainly Arsene Wenger felt that greater shrewdness was required to break down Liverpool's stifling cover.
"Usually we create chances and don't score," said the Arsenal manager, "but today we just didn't create chances." Since his attack consisted of a partly fit Marc Overmars, the newly recovered Nicolas Anelka and the lively but limited Luis Boa Morte this was hardly surprising.
The strong forward runs of Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit's carefully flighted passes could not compensate for Arsenal's inability to get around the back of Liverpool's populous defence. Ray Parlour was as tireless as ever in his efforts to find a way through but his distribution remains as erratic as that of an American paper boy; the passes are as likely to miss the front lawn as hit the front door.
Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Keown, Bould (Upson 32), Grondin, Parlour, Vieira, Petit, Overmars (Garde 84), Boa Morte, Anelka (Wreh 87). Subs Not Used: Mendez, Lukic. Booked: Bould, Keown.
Liverpool: James, Carragher, Babb, Staunton (Matteo 62), Heggem, Berger, Ince, Redknapp, Harkness, Fowler, Owen (Riedle 88). Subs Not Used: McAteer, Friedel, Thompson. Booked: Babb, Ince, Redknapp.
Referee: G Barber (Pyrford).
