REVOLUTIONS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE bloodier than this, especially those engineered by the French. Yet as Arsène Wenger’s adventurers continue to rewrite 116 years of English football history with every match, every masterclass, it has almost gone unnoticed that the most significant transformation has taken place within their own ranks: the seamless transition from a very good side into a truly great one.
Unbeatable they may be, but Arsenal are also fast becoming unrecognisable from the team that last tasted defeat in the league. Whereas Nottingham Forest, who used only 18 players, emerged from 13 months of hegemony in December 1979 with virtually the same side that began their march into legend 42 matches earlier, Wenger has deployed 32 players and rebuilt while his team have set a new mark. It can never be proven, but the likelihood is that the Arsenal who left Carrow Road spellbound on Saturday night would also thump the Arsenal who, 482 days and 44 Premiership matches ago, surrendered the 2002-03 title to Manchester United when Mark Viduka’s late goal gave Leeds United a 3-2 win at Highbury.
In goal, David Seaman’s suspect limbs have been replaced by Jens Lehmann’s suspect temperament but far superior agility; in central defence, Martin Keown’s combativeness has given way to Kolo Touré’s composure; for Sylvain Wiltord’s sporadic excellence, read José Antonio Reyes’s consistent menace; and in place of Ray Parlour’s workrate and commitment there is now the touch and vision of Francesc Fábregas.
Out with the old, in with the new; Reyes is just 19 but already as wily as a fox, Fábregas two years younger but with a maturity way beyond his years. On Saturday, when a calf injury sustained in the warm-up ruled out Pascal Cygan, Wenger calmly threw another 19-year-old into the fray and watched Justin Hoyte — slight for a centre half but strong in the tackle and quick as lightning — give another glowing reference to the Arsenal academy on his full debut, albeit that it was his fractionally mistimed tackle on Darren Huckerby that allowed the Norwich flyer to score from the spot. Touré is only 23, Ashley Cole the same. Add Jérémie Aliadière, 21, and Gaël Clichy, 19, to the mix and Wenger has a squad that can keep the Highbury juggernaut rolling for years, no matter how much Manchester United and Chelsea spend in response. Oh, and there is the little matter of Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell to return from injury.
And then there is Thierry Henry. He was at once the conductor and principal soloist in a team that established its supremacy by the simple virtues of quality of first touch, precision of passing, movement off the ball and unanswerable pace in the last third of the pitch. Leading the line one minute, patrolling the flanks the next and, when occasion demanded, dropping deep to tidy up and launch a counter-offensive, Henry had the Norwich camp, let along the neutrals, drooling. He scored once and was instrumental in the other three. Like Paula Radcliffe, he can run and run; unlike her, he can finish.
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Three of the goals were things of some beauty: the explosive surge past five opponents by Henry that set up a tap-in for Reyes, the bout of passing that preceded Henry’s emphatic header, Henry’s crossfield pass that allowed Dennis Bergkamp to add a luscious late flourish. It was a shock when Arsenal managed a scruffy third, Robert Pires pouncing when Adam Drury dwelt fatally on the ball deep in his own area. He who hesitates against Arsenal has lost 4-1.
And no sooner had they triumphed than Arsenal banned post-match triumphalism, Henry emerging from the dressing-room as focused off the pitch as he was flamboyant on it. “We knew that Chelsea had won their game, so the only thing we had to do today was get three points,” he said. “One of the things you have to say about this squad is that if one of us is in a better position (to score), we always try to pick out that guy. So many times, some people could have been greedy, but we just want to make sure we score.” It is a policy that has brought them 19 goals in five matches to date, including the Community Shield.
As for Wenger, the relief at escaping the 55th red card of his Highbury regime thanks to Graham Poll’s inexplicable decision not to send off Lauren for a professional foul on Huckerby at 1-0 was not as profound as his admiration for a team that refuses to be distracted by its achievements. “The players are obsessed with doing well and playing well, and not by the record at all,” he said. “Our attitude must be to try to improve — and there is some room for it.
If you do not play very well and you do not focus, you can lose here (at Carrow Road), you can lose anywhere.” And lose they eventually will. But, for now, Arsenal should simply be savoured.