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| Saturday, November 16, 2002 15:29 EST |
Henry scores 'world-class goal'
[Reuters]
LONDON -- The gulf in class that now
divides old rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur was underlined
after 14 minutes of the north London derby when Thierry Henry
scored what is likely to be voted the "goal of the season" next
May.
Arsenal, defending a Tottenham throw-in deep in their own
half, won the ball back with Henry taking possession. Despite
Spurs winger Matthew Etherington chasing back, Henry broke free
into acres of space.
Controlling the ball superbly and seemingly gliding across
the pitch, he powered on, eluding Stephen Carr and Ledley King
before ending his 60-meter run with a left-shot from the edge of
the box which gave Spurs keeper Kasey Keller no chance.
It evoked memories of George Weah's 70-metre run and goal
for AC Milan in Serie A a decade ago and set Arsenal on their
way to an overwhelming 3-0 victory and a return to first place
in the premier league.
"It was a world-class goal," manager Arsene Wenger said
afterwards, "a very special goal. You need special power and
strength to score a goal like that. He also needed it because he
has not scored for a few weeks."
Spurs, looking in vain for their first win at Highbury since
1993 were soon in even more trouble when Welsh winger Simon
Davies was sent off after 27 minutes for two harsh yellow cards.
Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle said Spurs would appeal the
decision, but added: "Arsenal is a hard enough place to come to,
then find yourself 1-0 down and a man down after 27 minutes, but
we will be appealing the decision.
"Simon is scratching his head why he got booked for the
first tackle on Ashley Cole. I imagine Ashley Cole is too."
After that Spurs were reduced to bit-part players in the
unfolding drama. Arsenal dominated the match for the next 60
minutes with Henry having a hand in their second and third goals
which came in the second half through Freddie Ljungberg (55) and
Sylvain Wiltord (71).
Arsenal also had two "goals" disallowed for offside in the
first half and while the north London derby still creates an
atmosphere full of passion that exposes deep loathing between
the fans, there was no doubt about the outcome of the 131st
meeting almost from the kickoff.
Arsenal, buoyed by the millions they earn from the Champions
League, really are in a different league to Spurs in so many
ways.
While Spurs began the season brightly, and even topped the
table for a while, the harsh reality has returned.
Arsenal's victory puts them 12 points clear of Spurs who
have now lost three of their last four league matches and have
slipped into mid-table.
Arsenal might have lost two successive games to Everton and
Blackburn last month, but it is clear that coach Arsene Wenger
has now steadied his ship again.
Sol Campbell, the former Spurs captain whose move to Arsenal
18 months ago was seen as an act of betrayal by the
blue-and-white half of north London, had a masterful game at the
heart of the Arsenal defence who dominated the lightweight Spurs
attack.
Arsenal looked sharper in midfield, more inventive in attack
and have now stretched their scoring record to 53 consecutive
league games.
There has been talk in recent weeks that the likes of
Everton, over-shadowed for years by neighbours Liverpool, and
Manchester City, who have paled into sky-blue insignificance
against Manchester United, were beginning to challenge their
more powerful neighbours. City even beat United 3-1 last week
for their first derby win in 13 years.
At the start of this season Spurs looked like they might
have been closing the gap on Arsenal. Not on this evidence.
Spurs have another crack at Arsenal in the return fixture at
White Hart Lane in four weeks time. A victory is the least they
can for their long-suffering fans after their abject performance
against superb Arsenal on Saturday.
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