The Times
March 24, 2008

Grateful Avram Grant reverts to battering ram

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1

Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent, at Stamford Bridge

Roman Abramovich may wish to reconsider his quest for the beautiful
game after this. In the first half, Chelsea played the fast, one-touch
passing football that is closest to their benefactor's heart, and it
got them nowhere. A goal down with 20 minutes remaining, they
converted to the direct, aesthetically unappealing approach that has
been the root of so many bad vibes from the owner's box at Stamford
Bridge, and clawed victory from the clutches of defeat. The result:
Chelsea are now established as the biggest threat to Manchester
United's supremacy this season. Avram Grant, football genius, as they
don't like to sing around these parts.

The Chelsea first-team coach would be permitted a wry smile – as
opposed to his standard expression, which is that of a man who has
returned to find his car clamped at midnight – at his change of
fortune here. Trailing to a header from Bacary Sagna, the Arsenal
defender, he removed Claude Makelele for Nicolas Anelka and Michael
Ballack for Juliano Belletti after 70 minutes, the second substitution
bringing a chorus of disapproval from the crowd and noisy chants
endorsing José Mourinho, Grant's predecessor.

Within 12 minutes, Chelsea were ahead, thanks to the chaos caused in
Arsenal's defensive ranks by the introduction of a second striker,
while the second goal was the work of a free kick from the unwelcome
Belletti. Nobody sang for Grant when his instincts were proven
correct, but there is still time.

This was a milestone for the new manager, with three points taken from
a title rival. All eyes will now be on the visit of Manchester United
to Stamford Bridge on April 26, although Chelsea cannot afford to drop
points between now and then, and need another club to do them a
favour, too, with five points and an inferior goal difference the gap
between them and United – Arsenal, perhaps, who must go to Old
Trafford on April 13.

What Chelsea have going for them is that four of their last seven
matches are at home, and Stamford Bridge remains a stronghold. No team
has won here since Claudio Ranieri's time, although when Sagna ran off
Salomon Kalou to glance a header past Carlo Cudicini in the 59th
minute, Arsenal were shaping to go as close as any. That the goal came
from a corner by Cesc Fàbregas was no surprise. Following on from his
stunning performance in the San Siro against AC Milan earlier this
month, the Spaniard was rising to the occasion in another big game,
pulling the strings, toying with the tempo of the occasion, slowing
the play down, making it react to his bidding. Some of his passes
inside the Chelsea full backs were sublime, the high points of the
creative action. What changed was Chelsea's approach, which moved from
playing Arsenal fruitlessly at their own game to presenting them with
the type of physical challenge that has long been an Achilles heel.

For 70 minutes, Chelsea laboured as Arsenal Lite, with excellent,
swift exchanges of passing and good movement, but to little effect. It
was noticeable that for all their possession their best chance of the
first half came from an absolute hoof out of defence by John Terry,
which dropped at the feet of Didier Drogba on the run, a poor first
touch sending the ball harmlessly into the hands of Manuel Almunia,
the Arsenal goalkeeper.

When Grant introduced Anelka as Drogba's partner, a move which closely
coincided with a rearrangement in the Arsenal back four as Sagna, the
right back, left the field injured, Chelsea abandoned all pretence of
trying to tickle Arsenal into submission.

Out came the battering ram, and there is nobody better to administer
it than Drogba, the Ivory Coast striker, whose scoring form returned
at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. Undaunted by his first-half miss,
he bullied Arsenal's defence to defeat, Kolo Touré, his countryman,
finding his presence particularly undesirable.

What his goals lacked in splendour they made up for in sheer
bloody-mindedness. There was nothing greatly handsome about Chelsea's
72nd-minute equaliser, other than the sheer effort put in by Drogba
and Frank Lampard in battling for a long ball struck by Belletti. When
it finally broke loose, Drogba's finish was smart and decisive, and
his goal ripped the guts out of Arsenal. From there, the worst that
Chelsea were going to do was draw.

In the 81st minute, they upgraded. Belletti struck a free kick from
the right, which Anelka flicked on, Drogba losing Touré to win the
game with a shot on the half volley, struck into the ground but with
enough force to beat Almunia, even though the goalkeeper got his hands
to it. A minute later, Chelsea threatened again, with another Belletti
cross met by Drogba, although this time Almunia tipped it round.

At the end, Chelsea looked belligerent, Arsenal humbled. Christophe
Lolllichon, Chelsea's goalkeeping coach, was sent from the bench by
Mark Clattenburg, the referee, during injury time for throwing the
ball away, but there was little point in winding the clock down in
such childish fashion. Arsenal did not have an equalising goal in them
by that time, and the ineffectiveness of their own attacking
substitute, Theo Walcott, introduced after 75 minutes, must have been
a particular worry to Fabio Capello, the watching England manager.
(Although not as big a worry as the form of Emmanuel Adebayor,
Arsenal's Drogba, must be to Arsène Wenger. He barely showed all
game.)

This was a serious defeat and Arsenal knew it. For a month Wenger's
team had kept their head above water, not playing well but drawing
matches, fooling the world that this was a blip not a slump. Now there
can be no doubt. From five points clear, Arsenal are six points adrift
of Manchester United and no longer in a position to guarantee
qualification for the Champions League. Chelsea's fate may only be to
trot up in second place, but one would rather be in Grant's shoes
right now than Wenger's. And that is the first time anybody has wished
for that this season.

How they rated

Chelsea (4-3-3): C Cudicini 7 M Essien 7 R Carvalho 7 J Terry 7 A Cole
7 M Ballack Y 6 C Makelele 6 F Lampard 7 J Cole Y 7 D Drogba Y 8 S
Kalou 5
Substitutes: J Belletti 7 (for Ballack, 70min), N Anelka 6 (for
Makelele, 70), J O Mikel (for J Cole, 88).
Not used: Hilário, Alex.
Next: Middlesbrough (h).

Arsenal: (4-4-1-1): M Almunia 6 B Sagna 7 K Touré 5 W Gallas 7 G
Clichy 6 E Eboué Y 6 F Fàbregas 7 M Flamini 7 R van Persie 5 A Hleb 5
E Adebayor 5
Substitutes: A Diaby (for Sagna, 71), T Walcott (for Van Persie, 75),
N Bendtner (for Flamini, 88)
Not used: J Lehmann, P Senderos.
Next: Bolton Wanderers (a).
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Telegraph:

Avram Grant's stock rises after Chelsea victory
By Henry Winter at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea (0) 2 Arsenal (0) 1

Of the many surprises this eventful season, the sight of Avram Grant
outwitting Arsene Wenger ranks right up there. Short of Ashley Cole
becoming a referee or Didier Drogba surviving a game without medical
attention, the season may not produce any greater shocks than Grant
getting his substitutions as right as in the 72nd minute here.

Just when the words "taxi for Grant" were forming on thousands of
lips, the mood almost turned into "open-top bus for Grant" when his
changes brought two goals from Drogba. Almost but not quite. Chelsea
fans clearly remain sceptical about Jose Mourinho's successor. The
terrace jury will be out until April 26 when Manchester United visit
the Bridge. In the stock market of footballing fortunes, the wise
broker will buy United in huge quantities, sell every Arsenal share
sharpish, even at a loss, and hold on to Chelsea for a while longer.

There is life in the title race still, but it would be a major
surprise if United faltered now. Five points clear of second-placed
Chelsea, the champions effectively enjoy another point with their
vastly superior goal difference (49 to Chelsea's 32). United also have
the best team with goals all over, and the prolific presence of
Cristiano Ronaldo, surely the Footballer of the Year in waiting.

As United have waxed, Arsenal have waned. Eduardo's injury, William
Gallas' sulk, Wenger's poor team selection at Old Trafford in the FA
Cup: all have served to chip away at Arsenal's confidence. Gallas
sought to rally his nervous players before kick-off with constant
exhortations of "no fear".

Arsenal's captain repeated it, mantra-like, to Cesc Fabregas,
Alexander Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor. He was clearly concerned. For 70
minutes, Arsenal held their own, even taking the lead through Bacary
Sagna, but then old fears rushed back, cramping their movement.

Suddenly, the defence resembled isolated individuals, not a strong
collective. Suddenly, Adebayor stopped making those clever runs.
Suddenly, Fabregas and his fellow-midfielders were outmanoeuvred.
Suddenly, all the doubts came flooding back over Wenger's failure to
strengthen his squad in January. Chelsea recruited Nicolas Anelka.
Wenger refused to open a war chest reported to contain £70 million,
even though the defence urgently required cover and a top-class
left-sided midfielder would have helped.

Fear seeped into Arsenal hearts. Emboldened by Grant's introduction of
Anelka, Chelsea pounced. Drogba, clearly enjoying Anelka's ability to
distract opposing centre-halves, sensed Arsenal's fear and went for
the jugular. Like lightning, Drogba struck twice, ensuring Arsenal
suffered their worst run in the league for nine years.

If the garlands were rightly thrown Drogba's way, Mark Clattenburg
deserves huge praise for his handling of a derby that is occasionally
of the demolition variety.Although young, the Geordie exudes an
authority that players respect and he confirmed his reputation as the
best referee in the country after Howard Webb.

Gathering both captains beforehand, Clattenburg urged them to make it
a good, clean fight and both sides responded. Emmanuel Eboue's fuse
burned for a while but Arsenal's Mr Combustible calmed down
eventually. Even Ashley Cole kept his studs down and his mouth closed.

The only person who really fell foul of Clattenburg was Chelsea's
goalkeeping coach, Christophe Lollichon, who was asked to vacate the
dug-out for holding on to the ball and incurring the wrath of Wenger.
It was the only argument Chelsea lost all afternoon.

They were definitely tested for 70 minutes. Arsenal looked confident
as the game unfolded. Fabregas delivered a sublime pass to Hleb,
before teeing up Robin van Persie. The Dutchman's magic wand of a left
foot almost conjured up a goal; his first touch controlled the ball,
his second drew a low save from Carlo Cudicini.

Back came Chelsea, suddenly going direct as an absorbing game flowed
from end to end. John Terry lifted a long ball forward, which Drogba
initially read well, getting goalside of Gallas. He should have
scored, but misjudged the ball's speed which bounced off his knee.

Tempers briefly flared. Wenger accused Michael Ballack of diving over
a Fabregas challenge. Eboue, already cautioned for breaking early from
a wall, flirted with dismissal with a series of moans.

But this was football played with proper intent, with respect to the
fore. Fabregas produced a superb dispossession of Salomon Kalou. Then
Manuel Almunia saved brilliantly from Ballack and Joe Cole.

The drama was only beginning. The second half produced classic fare,
the tone set from the moment Cudicini denied Mathieu Flamini. Back
came Arsenal again, this time more fruitfully. When Fabregas curled a
corner towards the near-post, all Arsenal players were closely marked
apart from one. Sagna had escaped Kalou and the Frenchman's flicked
header was perfect, angled to bisect Chelsea's keeper and his upright
for his first Arsenal goal. Why teams do not place full-backs guarding
each post remains one of the mysteries of the modern era.

The resolve in Chelsea's ranks shone through. Ballack tested Almunia
again. Arsenal's defence needed to be at their best to resist the
rising blue surge. When Sagna slipped and twisted his ankle, Arsenal
lost one of the pillars of their defence. Reorganising the back-line
produced what Wenger lamented afterwards as a "disturbance".

Too true. Eboue went to right-back, Hleb pushed across to right
midfield, Van Persie shuffled across, allowing Abou Diaby in on the
left of midfield. Yet it was Grant's substitutions that initially drew
most concern, particularly the arrival of Juliano Belletti. Fans cried
"you don't know what you are doing" and chanted for Mourinho.

What happened next was certainly special. Belletti's installation at
right-back allowed the excellent Michael Essien into midfield.
Belletti also made his mark, delivering a long pass to Drogba. The
ball continued through to Frank Lampard and then off Toure and back to
Drogba. With his right foot he sent it racing low past Almunia from 20
yards: 1-1.

Drogba's celebrations were almost as spectacular as his goal, whipping
his shirt off and then throwing himself into the front row of the
stalls. Clattenburg waited patiently to administer the yellow card.
Drogba shrugged his shoulders, and set about embarrassing Arsenal
again.

Clearly enjoying Anelka's company, Drogba plundered his second eight
minutes later. Another Belletti delivery set the scene, this time
Anelka becoming involved, rising above Gallas to flick the ball on to
Drogba. Toure slipped, allowing the ball to travel through to Drogba,
whose response was terrific. Despite being off-balance, he connected
well with the ball, firing it down and in. United, though, were the
big winners this weekend.

Scouting for Capello

John Terry pressed his claim for the England captaincy in front of
Fabio Capello with a typically commanding display - even risking an
ankle injury, such was the strength of one second-half challenge on
Alexander Hleb. Joe Cole wrought havoc with his blistering pace,
floating a superb cross to the back post from which fellow
international Ashley Cole could have added to Arsenal's embarrassment.
Frank Lampard was anonymous by comparison, the substitution of Michael
Ballack indicating that his midfield partnership with the German had
misfired.


Man of the match
Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 9
• Two goals from four shots
• Four dribbles
• Two tackles
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Independent:


Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1: Grant's last roll of the dice leaves Arsenal's
title dreams in tatters

Respect. It is the issue that has gripped English football for seven
stormy days and with 20 minutes remaining at Stamford Bridge yesterday
it was running out fast for Avram Grant. Derision poured on him from
his own team's fans, Jose Mourinho's name ringing out and the Chelsea
manager on the brink of a disaster of his own making.

Two goals from Didier Drogba later and Chelsea's maligned manager at
last had a Premier League victory over one of the big beasts of
English football as well as a foothold in the title race. Respect?
Grant might have to wait longer to hear his name sung at Stamford
Bridge but give the man his due today: within 11 minutes of his two
controversial substitutions Chelsea had completed a remarkable
comeback that puts them second in the table and within five points of
Manchester United.

The dust settles on another Grand Slam Sunday and the head says that
this time these two games have almost lived up to the preposterous
hype. There was a 3-0 victory for United over Liverpool after Javier
Mascherano ran roughshod over the Football Association's new
guidelines for showing respect to officials and was dismissed. Then a
Drogba-inspired Chelsea victory after Bacary Sagna had given Arsenal
the lead at Stamford Bridge.

Before he reached the light, however, Grant had to experience his
darkest moment first. His decision to take off Claude Makelele and,
more controversially, Michael Ballack, on 70 minutes elicited an
extraordinary response from the fans. As the German shook his head so
the Chelsea support began to chant "You don't know what you're doing".
By the time Ballack had trudged down the tunnel the Chelsea fans were
singing the name of Grant's predecessor.

There is nothing in all the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's resources
that can protect his manager from that kind of humiliation. Very
quickly, the reaction of the crowd had made these two substitutions
from Grant feel like a last roll of the dice; one last desperate
attempt to salvage something. Chelsea's 77-game domestic unbeaten run
at home was at stake; Mourinho's legacy hung heavy over him. For
Grant, this move had to work.

That it was Drogba who won the game for Chelsea was bitterly ironic;
he is one of a few players who will for ever be a Mourinho loyalist.
As the Ivorian came off the pitch at the end there was the briefest of
handshakes with Grant but a hug for his assistant, Steve Clarke.
Arsène Wenger tartly pointed out that there was a suspicion of offside
over the first Chelsea goal but even he could not deny that his side
failed to deal with the power of Drogba.

The big winner from this weekend? Undoubtedly Sir Alex Ferguson, whose
United side's lead at the top is extended by two points and whose team
have again shown that they have far fewer flaws than any of those in
pursuit of them. Chelsea conceded yet another goal from a set piece;
Arsenal proved themselves susceptible to the muscle and directness of
Drogba. In contrast, United rumble on, still capable, you suspect, of
much more should they need to produce it.

This is an ever more brittle Arsenal team, whose dream of winning the
title with their beautiful, fragile style of football has surely been
broken on a run of five league games without a win. Since that draw
with Birmingham on 23 February they have thrown away a lead of eight
points over Chelsea. Next season they hope to get all this right, to
mature into a team capable of winning games like this, but that kind
of transformation felt a long way away come full-time yesterday.

For Grant, however, the story could yet be about this season rather
than next. Chelsea play United on 26 April at Stamford Bridge in a
game that will make the difference in this title race and Ferguson's
side cannot afford to drift within striking distance of Chelsea during
the interim.

In the meantime, this was the day which Grant finally got his
substitutions right. Derided for his mismanagement of the Carling Cup
final, he repeated the same mistakes against Spurs in the 4-4 draw on
Wednesday and, with 20 minutes left, the Chelsea fans' confidence in
his ability to get it right was running thin. Ballack was having one
of his better games, but Grant wanted to move Michael Essien into
midfield, Juliano Belletti in at right-back and sacrifice Makelele for
the extra striker Nicolas Anelka.

He was forced into it by Arsenal's goal which was Sagna's first for
the club. Just before the hour, Cesc Fabregas struck his corner to the
near post where, Salomon Kalou had failed to notice before it was too
late, Sagna had run. The right-back got the sweetest of touches to
guide the ball into Carlo Cudicini's net.

One goal down, Anelka and Belletti on and Sagna off injured. Within a
minute Chelsea equalised. Arsenal failed to deal with Ricardo
Carvalho's long ball, it bounced around the box, off Frank Lampard and
into the path of Drogba, who had been offside when the original pass
was played. In the first half, he had clumsily kneed a through-ball to
Manuel Almunia when in on goal. This time he dispatched the equaliser
past the Arsenal goalkeeper.

If that was soft then the second will have hurt Wenger even more. This
time it was a ball into the area from Belletti, headed on by Anelka
and, disastrously for Arsenal, missed by Kolo Touré. With a second to
hit his snap-shot in the box, Drogba slammed in the winner. Could
Almunia have done better? The ball bounced awkwardly but it was
certainly not beyond the powers of the Arsenal goalkeeper to stop it.

There was just a brief flash of that unpleasant Chelsea attitude when
goalkeeping coach Christophe Lollichon made an attempt to announce
himself to the world by withholding the ball from Abou Diaby and was
asked by the referee Mark Clattenburg to leave the dugout. That was a
reminder of the bad old Chelsea, just as the nature of their comeback
felt more like the indomitable Chelsea of Mourinho.

Goals: Sagna (59) 0-1; Drogba (73) 1-1; Drogba (82) 2-1.

Chelsea (4-1-4-1): Cudicini; Essien, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Makelele
(Anelka, 70); J Cole (Mikel, 89), Ballack (Belletti, 70), Lampard,
Kalou; Drogba. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Alex.

Arsenal (4-4-1-1): Almunia; Sagna (Diaby, 71), Touré, Gallas, Clichy;
Eboué, Fabregas, Flamini (Bendtner, 89), Van Persie (Walcott, 76);
Hleb; Adebayor. Substitutes not used: Lehmann (gk), Senderos.

Referee: M Clattenburg (Tyne and Wear).

Booked: Chelsea J Cole, Ballack, Drogba; Arsenal Eboué.

Man of the match: Drogba.

Attendance: 41,284.
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Grant's switches prove there is no substitute for decisive intervention

Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge
Monday March 24, 2008
The Guardian

Here was the Premier League season in miniature for these clubs, with
Chelsea doggedly clambering upwards and Arsenal taking a tumble just
when it looked as if they had a secure footing with the opening goal.
The departure from normality lay in the radical effect that Avram
Grant had. If his substitutions had to be deplored when Chelsea
slithered to a 4-4 draw at Tottenham then the changes he made
yesterday must be applauded

Juliano Belletti and Nicolas Anelka came on to contribute to the
winner, the second of Didier Drogba's goals. The chants of "You don't
know what you're doing" from his own fans when that pair were
introduced to address the 1-0 deficit reflected the lack of confidence
in the Grant regime, but no one is entirely clear about Chelsea's
actual worth nowadays.

There are rational causes for gladness around Stamford Bridge now that
a fixture with a principal rival has finally been won by the Israeli.
What is more, Chelsea have overtaken Arsenal to stand second in the
table, five points behind the leaders Manchester United, whom they
have still to meet on this ground.

The overall situation will please Sir Alex Ferguson and the Old
Trafford squad but Chelsea are at least putting up a fight. They will
be particularly capable of making heads ring if Drogba can go on
landing blows as he did here. The Ivorian must be infuriating to
Stamford Bridge devotees, since it sometimes feels as if he had no
sooner set down his pen after signing for the club than the tales of
his disaffection began to spread.

He was fully engaged yesterday, particularly after the interval.
Arsenal were unlucky since Drogba should have been given offside in
the build-up to the equaliser as the ball was launched through the
middle. Nonetheless, Arsène Wenger's team began to reel from the
moment they opened the scoring. That goal from the right-back Bacary
Sagna exposed Chelsea's deficiencies at set-pieces, just as Tottenham
had done.

The Frenchman broke away from Salomon Kalou and got in front of Frank
Lampard to head in a Cesc Fábregas corner from an acute angle at the
near post in the 59th minute. Before long, Sagna hurt an ankle and he
eventually had to be replaced, a factor that Wenger blamed, in part,
for the outbreak of confusion in his back four. As the Arsenal manager
knows, of course, his squad have to be far more resilient than this in
adversity.

Arsenal have improved this season, but it now looks like the early
stage of a revival. In future, a larger squad will be essential and
so, too, will be an enhanced hardiness because brittleness has become
apparent over the pounding of the long Premier League programme. A
five-point lead has, in mercurial fashion, been converted into a
six-point deficit.

Arsenal's showing here was good enough for a period to suggest that
the club, who had been the last to beat Chelsea on the Premier League
here in February 2004, would repeat the feat. They had been developing
some enterprise even before they scored, with Mathieu Flamini, for
instance, seeing a raking drive blocked by the goalkeeper Carlo
Cudicini after 47 minutes.

Chelsea, by and large, had been toiling. The exasperation would have
peaked when Kalou, with an opportunity at last, had a fresh-air shot
just before the interval. In retrospect it is not too difficult to
explain the downfall of Arsenal that lay ahead. Direct football was
productive and it took no more than a clearance from John Terry for
Drogba to tear through, only for the ball to bounce off his knee as he
raced towards Manuel Almunia.

With 17 minutes to go, the striker was initially offside. Permitted to
proceed, Drogba pushed a pass towards Frank Lampard and when
possession came back to him he shot home confidently, past the left
hand of Almunia. The winner, eight minutes from the close, saw
Belletti clip a free-kick and Anelka nod it into the centre for an
unmarked Drogba to fire into the net.

There might have been a hat-trick for the striker but Almunia made an
excellent save after Belletti had pulled a cut-back to him. This
victory contained traces of the old Chelsea in the steadfastness shown
in a moment of crisis. In addition to seeing Arsenal move in front
they also had to put up with handicaps, such as the hip injury that
hampered Lampard.

It is, all the same, much too soon to declare that a fresh phase of
Chelsea ascendancy is in the making. The hardened sceptic can also
quibble over the precise amount of credit due Grant. His alterations
to the line-up worked but with the team in arrears it took no feat of
imagination to see some worth in sending on Belletti, an attack-minded
full-back, and Anelka, an outstanding forward.

There are more delicate judgments to be made while ferrying a lead to
the full-time whistle and the knee-jerk use of Alex as a third
centre-half just because Tottenham were employing three attackers was
misconceived last Wednesday. Grant, overall, has deserved this
breathing space. Chelsea's consistency against the lesser teams was
not to be sniffed at since other clubs have found it elusive. Now,
too, Grant has taken a prize scalp in the Premier League.

Expressions of gratitude to Chelsea are unfashionable because the
sheer wealth of the club seems to exclude affection for them.
Nonetheless, it is they, with United due here on April 26, who have
sustained a little suspense over the outcome of the Premier League
contest.

How the managers compared

Selection

Avram Grant Michael Essien at right-back made this an attack-minded
team, reflecting Chelsea's need

Arsène Wenger Resisted temptation to start with Theo Walcott,
selecting Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Eboué; arguably strongest
line-up

Tactics

Grant With Makelele deep, Lampard and Ballack supported an attacking
trio. Switched to 4-4-2 before reverting to type in the last few
minutes

Wenger Two midfield holders with Van Persie joining Eboué in
supporting down flanks

Motivation

Grant Touchline demeanour rarely veers from impassive, yet Drogba's
double had Israeli punching the air

Wenger Flashes of frustration before Sagna scored. Mood darkened by
the end as realisation of defeat set in

Substitutions

Grant Introduction of Anelka and Beletti proved masterful and,

ultimately, match-winning

Wenger Injury forced Abou Diaby's entry for Sagna; Walcott for Van
Persie was similarly like-for-like. Bendtner's arrival reflected
desperate times

Verdict

Grant This, possibly, was the day Grant proved his quality

Wenger His team's confidence is ebbing away before his eyes
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Mail:

Avram's wish is Granted as Chelsea star Drogba sinks Arsenal
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1

By NEIL ASHTON

Avram Grant: Tactical Genius.

All those coaching seminars in Israel, all those mistakes in
high-profile matches and all those moments of indecision have finally
paid off.

"You don't know what you're doing," sang Chelsea's fans in the 70th
minute. Oh yes he did.

He brought off Michael Ballack and Claude Makelele, replaced them with
Juliano Belletti and Nicolas Anelka and swapped 4-3-3 for 4-4-2.
Genius.

Three minutes later they were level and eight minutes from time they
were back in the hunt for the Barclays Premier League title.

That appeared to be unthinkable when they threw away maximum points at
White Hart Lane last Wednesday and unpalatable after Bacary Sagna had
put Arsenal ahead.

Suddenly it has become a distinct possibility. Who would have thought it?

Certainly no one inside Stamford Bridge when puzzled Chelsea
supporters began singing the name of Jose Mourinho as Grant made the
substitutions that appeared to land this game right in Arsenal's laps.

The Special One was at home with his feet up in Setubal, switching
between the TV remote, sipping champagne and chuckling to himself as
Chelsea set about surrendering their remarkable 77-game unbeaten run
at Stamford Bridge.

The bubbles had almost burst. Arsenal had the game won.

The spirit of the San Siro swept through the Gunners, confidence
flooded through them after William Gallas's pep talk on the pitch
before the match and they dictated the tempo.

Sagna's goal put them back in the hunt for their first League title
since the Invincibles in 2004.

Forget the draws with Birmingham, Aston Villa, Wigan and
Middlesbrough: this was the real Arsenal.

High energy when the stakes are high. Instead, they are for the high jump.

"We should have won, but couldn't cope with Chelsea's long balls,"
said manager Arsene Wenger.

"Defensively, we have problems."

No kidding.

Gallas failed to clear when Drogba scored Chelsea's 73rd-minute
equaliser and the Arsenal captain, along with central defensive
partner Kolo Toure, were to blame when they conceded another.

"This is a big setback," admitted Wenger. "We are not short of
confidence, but we have drawn four of our last five games.

"We had lapses in concentration and we have paid for it. We have to
swallow it, but we were in control. Chelsea played long balls and we
couldn't deal with it."

More accurately they could not deal with Drogba.

Gallas kept him quiet, making him stew for 45 minutes before he
finally made an impact.

When he did, Drogba was ruthless.

The shirt was ripped off when he slid towards the Chelsea fans after
he lashed the equaliser beyond Manuel Almunia.

Then came his second with a swivelled finish. Almunia got a touch, but
the strike was too clean and too sweet for the Arsenal keeper.

"It was about time he did that," said Grant. "We had a few players who
came back from the Africa Cup of Nations who were not in the best
condition, but he is better now."

Drogba has done for Arsenal. Wenger will not admit it — he is too
stubborn — but his team could not cope with the aerial bombardment
after Grant's impressive changes.

Arsenal were nine points clear of Chelsea on February 23 and are now
one point behind them.

They were six ahead of Manchester United at the same stage, but now
they are lagging behind.

Not quite Devon Loch, but Wenger is flogging a dead horse.

They were in the home straight when they beat Blackburn on February
11, but Wenger has the international week to brood about the worst run
at the club in nine years. That has to hurt.

He should spend the next seven days on Fantasy Island after
complaining that Drogba's first goal was offside, but at least Grant
is living in the real world.

With seven games to go, Chelsea are in the chase. Five points behind
United — who visit Stamford Bridge on April 26. Absorbing stuff.

Little wonder that gladiator Grant entered the auditorium with
something of a swagger. Someone had just told him that he had become
the most successful manager in Chelsea's history with a 76 per cent
win rate in the League (compared to you know who's 75.25). Absurd.

This was the man who could not beat a big team, remember. Beaten by
Manchester United in his first game, beaten at Arsenal in December,
beaten by Tottenham in the Carling Cup Final and beaten by Barnsley in
the FA Cup.

The margin for error is wafer thin, but at least Grant is the first to
recognise it.

"Sometimes the substitutions work, sometimes they don't," he added.

"We want to have two ways of playing and I told John Terry to tell the
rest of the players to switch to 4-4-2. We had two good chances before
we equalised, but I'm just glad the substitutions worked out."

Lucky manager? Well, it is better than being a losing one.
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Mirror:

KISS OF LIFE
EASTER SLAM DAY CHELSEA 2 ARSENAL 1
FROM STAMFORD BRIDGE

Drogba fires Chelsea into second place and turns Grant into real Special One
Martin Lipton Chief Football Writer
Avram Grant turned the title race on its head last night - and
transformed himself into Chelsea's new Special One.

Four days after his tactical tinkering cost Chelsea two vital points
at Spurs, the Blues boss was staring at a cataclysmic defeat which
would have ended his side's remarkable unbeaten home record and surely
spelled the end of his reign.

With Chelsea trailing to Bacary Sagna's close-range header, Blues fans
turned on Grant as he boldly hauled off Michael Ballack and Claude
Makelele, sending on Nicolas Anelka and Juliano Belletti as he
switched to an orthodox 4-4-2.

Chelsea supporters chanted "You don't know what you're doing," and
bellowed the name of their long-lost Special One.

It was as much a statement of contempt as Ashley Cole's behaviour
towards Mike Riley at White Hart Lane four days earlier, the Chelsea
fans seemingly desperate to condemn the manager they have never really
accepted.

But Jose Mourinho himself could not have masterminded such a dramatic
turnaround.

The move which could have killed Grant instead unleashed the predatory
beast within striker Didier Drogba, who capitalised on Arsenal's
sudden defensive disarray to fire a two-goal salvo which turned the
game. Within a minute of the switch Drogba was clearly offside when
Belletti pumped forward, although he had got back into an onside
position by the time his attempted pass to Frank Lampard fell back at
his feet.

And there was no doubting the finish as Drogba drilled into the bottom
corner of the net to haul Chelsea level.

And when he claimed his 13th of the season eight minutes from time to
kill off Arsenal, there was no arguing with the impact on both clubs'
seasons.

This time Belletti's early free-kick found Anelka out-jumping William
Gallas to nod down and with Kolo Toure losing his balance, Drogba was
able to spin and find the other corner despite Manuel Almunia getting
a touch.

It was a shocking way for Arsenal to go down to only their second
league defeat of the season - now the side which could have been eight
points clear a month ago suddenly finds itself out of the top two.

No wonder Grant responded like a man possessed, pumping his fists at
the final whistle after finally picking up the "big" win he has sought
to bolster his reign all season.

Incredibly, Grant has picked up six points more than Arsene Wenger
since replacing Mourinho in September.

And in gaining 57 points out of the 75 available during his reign, he
has a marginally better league record, percentage-wise, than the
Portuguese during his three years in charge.

Not that any of that mattered last night for Grant, who must have been
fearing the worst when Sagna was allowed to get on the end of Cesc
Fabegas' near-post corner and divert home his first Arsenal goal as
Carlo Cudicini paid for failing to have a team-mate on the post. At
that point you would not have given a prayer for Grant. Even though
his side had remained level at the break, Arsenal had been growing in
confidence.

Robin van Persie snatched at one opportunity and Cudicini, all over
the place, was bailed out by John Terry after heading straight to
Emmanuel Eboue before hacking the ball virtually off his own goalline.

Six minutes before the break, Chelsea's uncertainty at set-pieces was
underlined when Gallas turned Toure's header against the post,
although an offside flag had gone up.

Just after Sagna had nudged home, Ashley Cole missed a back-post
sitter and the writing seemed on the wall for Chelsea and Grant.

By the end, though, everything had changed.

Grant lives on, emboldened, invigorated and with the title still possible.

Wenger, by contrast, was a study in dejection. Who would have believed
it? But they still won't chant Grant's name.

Chelsea: Cudicini 6, Essien 6, Carvalho 7, Terry 7, A Cole 7, Ballack
6 (Belletti, 70, 7), Makelele 6 (Anelka, 70, 7), Lampard 7, J Cole 7
(Mikel, 88), Drogba 8, Kalou 6

Arsenal: Almunia 6, Sagba 7 (Diaby, 72, 5) Toure 6, Gallas 5, Clichy
7, Eboue 7, Fabregas 7, Hleb 6, Flamini 6 (Bendtner, 88), Van Persie 6
(Walcott, 77), Adebayor 5

Chelsea v Arsenal

52% POSSESSION 48%

7 SHOTS ON TARGET 6

3 SHOTS OFF TARGET 5

5 OFFSIDES 1

4 CORNERS 2

11 FOULS 14

3 YELLOW CARDS 1

0 RED CARDS 0

ATTENDANCE: 41,824

Man Of The Match: Drogba
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Sun:

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1


CHELSEA fans will not find it easy but they will have to consider a
new chant about manager Avram Grant: You

DO know what you're doing!

Blues supporters were sharpening the knives again for Grant, as he
made a controversial double substitution on 70 minutes with the home
side trailing to a Bacary Sagna header.

They were furious at the introduction of right-back Juliano Belletti
for midfielder Michael Ballack, immediately after Nicolas Anelka had
replaced Claude Makelele.

Chants of 'You don't know what you're doing' rang round the ground,
followed by a chorus for much-loved former boss Jose Mourinho.

Grant had been heavily criticised five days earlier for his
substitutions at Tottenham, where Chelsea conceded a late goal to draw
4-4, and it seemed he had messed up once more.

But this time the Israeli had the last laugh, as Didier Drogba struck
twice to turn the game around.

The winner came with eight minutes left, after the two subs had
combined to set up the Ivory Coast star.

It still was not enough for Grant to get any credit, with the fans
preferring to get stuck into former Blue and current Arsenal skipper
William Gallas.

Yet the result means Chelsea are now Manchester United's closest
challengers in the Premier League title race, only five points adrift.
It was the first time Grant had won against one of the top teams and
they host United at the Bridge on April 26.

Despite all their off-field troubles and claims of in-fighting, they
are hanging in there.

Drogba wants to leave in the summer and has little or no rapport with
Grant. But he is still doing the business.

His two goals made it 13 for his club in a season in which he has
suffered a prolonged injury absence and been on duty at the African
Nations Cup.

As for Arsenal, their title challenge is falling apart.

They had drawn their previous four games to lose top spot and manager
Arsene Wenger had vowed they would get back on track and win the
championship.

But this second league defeat of the season could be a mortal blow.

It was great news for United boss Alex Ferguson. He joked he wanted
both these teams to lose but a victory for Chelsea was far preferable
to one for Arsenal.

Gallas had wanted a win badly and went round his players at the start
eyeballing them all, telling them to show 'no fear'. Yet there
appeared to be fear on both sides, even to tackle, because of the FA's
current clampdown on discipline.

Nobody wanted to put a foot in and it was definitely somewhat tame for
the first half.

There were a lot of long balls from Chelsea and Drogba should have
scored when he raced on to John Terry's hoof. But he lost control and
Manuel Almunia gathered.

Salomon Kalou had an air shot from six yards and Almunia saved
superbly to his left from Ballack.

The game came to life in the second half, sparked by right-back
Sagna's header on 59 minutes.

Cesc Fabregas delivered a corner to the near post and Sagna got ahead
of Kalou and Frank Lampard to head his first Arsenal goal as Carlo
Cudicini scrambled across in vain to keep it out.

Soon after, Sagna had to go off as he twisted an ankle clearing the
ball and the visitors lost their shape.

Grant made his substitutions, putting former Gunner Anelka up front
alongside Drogba and switching Michael Essien from right-back into
midfield.

Despite the vitriol from the stands, Chelsea were level within three
minutes — though Wenger complained it should have been disallowed for
offside against both Drogba and Anelka. His argument was a strong one.
But the linesman missed it and Drogba met Belletti's through ball as
it sailed over Gallas. He took a return pass from Lampard and then
rifled a low shot beyond Almunia.

Drogba whipped his shirt off in celebration, earning a booking in the
process. On another day, it would have driven him demented. But he
merely patted referee Mark Clattenburg on the shoulder and trotted
off.

Gallas and Kolo Toure were struggling to cope with Chelsea's
two-pronged attack and Anelka scuffed a good chance wide.

But on 82 minutes Chelsea bagged the winner. It was started by coach
Steve Clarke, who jumped off the bench to encourage Belletti to take a
quick free-kick.

The delivery was perfect and Anelka climbed above Gallas to flick the ball on.

Toure lost his footing and Drogba swivelled and shot home via
Almunia's outstretched right hand.

As time ticked down, the Chelsea goalkeeping coach Christophe Lolichon
was sent off for not giving the ball back to Abou Diaby.

Not much respect there and none from ex-Arsenal man Ashley Cole, as he
cocked an ear to the Gunners supporters mocking them about the score.

Considering the stick that he had taken all game, we can let Ashley
off for once.