Arsenal will trust that Islington Council approve their planning application for a new home tonight with rather less fuss than Arsene Wenger's team eventually overcame Aston Villa here yesterday. But it is doubtful whether the proceedings will be quite so enthralling.
A goal in stoppage time from Thierry Henry, his second of the afternoon and his 21st of the season, restored Arsenal to second place in the Premiership after Leeds United and Newcastle United had exploited earlier kick-offs to move above them.
At half-time Arsenal were 2-0 down and deservedly so. For 45 minutes Aston Villa were the better-organised, more alert team and took their chances with alacrity. Wenger's attack, so sure of itself against Juventus in the Champions League five days earlier, now laboured in vain against sound defending.
Enter Sylvain Wiltord, scoring for Arsenal within two minutes of being brought on for the second half along with Martin Keown, who replaced a struggling Matthew Upson. The rest was mainly about the re-entry of Henry as one of the Premiership's most reliable match-winners.
Afterwards Paul Merson blamed "schoolboy errors" for allowing Arsenal to save the game and certainly mistakes by Lloyd Samuel and George Boateng contributed to Henry's goals. That said, Villa were forced to defend with increasing anxiety by the sheer pace and sweep of Arsenal's second-half performance.
Either way, the win confirmed Arsenal as the most likely alternatives to Liverpool as champions and everything points to a momentous meeting of the teams at Anfield two days before Christmas, a match Patrick Vieira will now miss after yesterday's booking. Given Vieira's consistently massive presence in midfield his gratuitous foul on Boateng could have important repercussions.
The success Villa had in curbing the influence of Vieira, Ray Parlour and Robert Pires was largely instrumental in their taking such a strong hold on the match in the first half. Yet it was the strength in the air of Dion Dublin that initially undid Arsenal. From the outset Sol Campbell had stayed as close to Dublin as Molly Malone but after 21 minutes a long kick from Peter Enckelman, the Villa goalkeeper, found the Arsenal centre-back coming a poor second as the pair went for the ball.
Dublin's nod-on took a deflection off Campbell and caught his partner, Matthew Upson, in no-man's land, allowing Merson to put Aston Villa ahead with a canny flick over the advancing Stuart Taylor.
Ten minutes before half-time nothing but an exceptional victory for Villa looked on the cards. One of Steve Staunton's long, left-footed free-kicks from the right was met by Lauren with a misdirected header which forced a panicky half-clearance.
Alan Wright drove the ball back towards the goalmouth where Dublin's backheel let in Lee Hendrie, whose shot was blocked by Campbell only for Steve Stone to score adroitly from the ricochet. At that stage, given the solidity of Staunton and Olof Mellberg at centre-back for Villa and the composure of Samuel, a promising 22-year-old Trinidadian, on the right, the prospect of Arsenal scoring three times looked remote.
"At half-time we talked about starting the second half well and not conceding a sloppy goal," John Gregory, the Villa manager, reflected later. As self-fulfilling prophesies go this was a masterpiece.
In the 47th minute Parlour, sent to the right-hand byline by Pires, was allowed sufficient space by Wright to produce a centre which brushed two defenders on its way to Wiltord, who scored with a sharp left-footed volley. Thereafter, despite the occasional opportunity, the initiative remained with Arsenal.
In the 73rd minute Vieira caught Samuel in possession on the left and from the midfielder's low cross Henry's touch and finish brought the scores level. Now it seemed simply a matter of time before Aston Villa's recent past caught up with them.
Last Wednesday they had led at West Ham from the first minute only to concede an equaliser in stoppage time. Yesterday the goals denied Wiltord by an offside flag and Pires by a goalline clearance merely delayed the inevitable.
Halfway through the four minutes added Enckelman's weak kick reached Ashley Cole who fed it tamely towards Boateng. But as the hitherto excellent Villa midfielder hesitated Pires pounced to send Henry clear for the winner.
Gregory said he was proud of the way his team had played. But the words were uttered through gritted teeth.
"This win showed that we have the character to win the title," said Wenger. But before that happens Highbury may have to live on its nerves a while longer.
ARSENAL: Taylor; Lauren, Upson (Keown 45), Campbell, Cole, Vieira, Ljungberg (Wiltord 45), Parlour, Pires, Henry, Bergkamp (Kanu 67). Subs Not Used: Grimandi, Stack. Booked: Lauren, Vieira, Bergkamp, Henry. Goals: Wiltord 46, Henry 72, 90.
ASTON VILLA: Enckelman; Samuel, Wright, Mellberg, Staunton, Stone, Boateng, Barry (Vassell 78), Hendrie, Dublin, Merson. Subs Not Used: Angel, Myhill, Ginola, Bewers. Goals: Merson 21, Stone 34.
Referee: A Wiley (Burntwood)
