THEY played like champions but, given that so little has gone right at Highbury in recent weeks, this spectacular barrage will probably lead to Arsenal being disparaged as flat-track bullies. Arsène Wenger’s men remain 11 points behind Chelsea and there are no extra points in the Barclays Premiership for style.
A wonderful collection of strikes from Dennis Bergkamp, José Antonio Reyes, Patrick Vieira and two from the dazzling Thierry Henry cannot have done Arsenal’s confidence any harm before the return to Europe next week, but, come the final reckoning in May, this game may be best remembered for the absence of any Englishmen in Wenger’s squad, a landmark in the history of the English game. Chelsea fielded a foreign XI five years ago, but they had four Englishmen on the bench.
“I don’t look at the passport, only at the quality and attitude,” Wenger said and no one was complaining, probably not even the watching Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England head coach. Arsenal might have hit double figures against a Crystal Palace side who should not be too dispirited given the number of times that they tested Jens Lehmann.
The most pleasing of Arsenal’s quintet of goals came from Reyes, who, after six strikes in the first eight Premiership games, had failed to score a league goal for four months. Personal problems and a hoax call from a radio station in Spain had fuelled rumours that he wants to return home. One goal will not disperse the clouds of uncertainty, but he did not look like a player longing to get away.
His finish might normally be a strong contender for goal of the month. Last night it struggled to get in the top three and yet, incredibly, the opening phase suggested that a terrible month for Arsenal was about to get worse. The doubts over Ashley Cole’s future and the problems with Reyes were reflected in an error-strewn 15 minutes in which Lehmann almost set a new standard for goalkeeping calamities at Highbury — and the bar is high.
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A back-pass from Gaël Clichy — deputising for Cole, who had reported ill with a high temperature — rolled straight under Lehmann’s foot but, luckily for the German, it did not carry quite enough momentum to trundle over the goalline. The referee’s assistant on that side, incidentally, was Rob Lewis, who last month failed to spot that a shot by Pedro Mendes had carried a yard into the net when Tottenham Hotspur visited Old Trafford. Lewis probably shared Lehmann’s relief when the goalkeeper recovered with, clearly, a few inches to spare.
Lehmann was not the only Arsenal player making sloppy mistakes, but it was not long before the Palace uprising was quashed. Henry had looked potent from the start and soon began to swing the game’s impetus to the other end.
With Vieira growing in stature and Bergkamp orchestrating waves of attacks, Palace must have sensed the coming storm. It arrived in a deluge of three goals in seven minutes just before the interval.
A slick passing move in the 32nd minute invited Bergkamp to finish at the near post. Three minutes later, Reyes scored the second with a crisp drive from 20 yards. Henry must have felt left out and, six minutes before the break, he was thwarted only by a block from Mikele Leigertwood. The resultant corner was played short to the France striker, who drifted into the penalty box before unleashing a cannonball shot.
Henry’s eighteenth Premiership goal of the season was followed soon after half-time by a stylish fourth for Arsenal. Gabor Kiraly is a better goalkeeper than his baggy tracksuit bottoms suggest, but he was made to look a fool as Vieira ran on to Henry’s clever through-ball. With a drop of the shoulder, the Arsenal captain left the Hungarian flat on his face before walking the ball over the line.
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The remarkable standard was maintained when Henry added his side’s fifth 13 minutes from the end, making room for himself just inside the area and whacking his shot past Kiraly with unstoppable force.
It had long since become a rout by the Premiership’s top scorers, but it was perhaps fitting that there should be a reminder of the defensive failings that have undermined Arsenal’s defence of their title. Vieira’s trip on Andy Johnson allowed the England striker — or is it winger? — to score his sixteenth league goal of the season with a blast from the penalty spot. Harsh as it sounds, Chelsea would not have given him the chance.
ARSENAL (4-4-2): J Lehmann — Lauren, K Touré, P Cygan, G Clichy — R Pires (sub: F Fàbregas, 79min), P Vieira, Edu (sub: M Flamini, 61), J A Reyes — D Bergkamp (sub: R van Persie, 79), T Henry. Substitutes not used: P Senderos, M Almunia. Booked: Vieira.
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-5-1): G Kiraly — E Boyce, F Hall, G Sorondo, D Granville — W Routledge (sub: V Lakis, 64), T Soares, A Riihilahti (sub: M Leigertwood, 31), M Hughes, D Freedman (sub: J Kolkka, 64) — A Johnson. Substitutes not used: J Speroni, G Borrowdale. Booked: Riihilahti, Sorondo.
Referee: R Styles.