Newsgroup: it.sport.calcio
Titolo: ritornano le coppe

Arsenal home in on Cup glory
BY MATT DICKINSON, FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT
Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1
THE strikers keep whingeing but Arsčne Wenger will not mind as long as his
team keeps winning and, after their 3-1 victory over Chelsea yesterday,
Arsenal will be confident that they can go on to lift the FA Cup in May.
Drawn at home in the quarter-finals, they have only to beat Bolton Wanderers
or Blackburn Rovers, from the Nationwide League first division, to reach the
last four and justify their status as favourites.
Two goals from Sylvain Wiltord knocked out the holders yesterday and,
temporarily, eased Wenger's difficulty in keeping all four strikers content.
After public disagreements with Dennis Bergkamp and Kanu last week, Wiltord
had become the latest player to voice his frustration at not playing.
"I was disappointed not to play (against Lyons last week) because I thought
I had been doing my stuff in the team," the former Bordeaux player said in
an interview with a French newspaper. "I don't always understand the choices
of the coach. I am 100 per cent with (Nicolas) Anelka putting on the
pressure to improve what you want. It exists in all jobs. It seems younger
players cleaned the boots of older ones in the past, but now they want to be
on top right away and people will have to get used to the new generation."
However, Wiltord's brace after coming on as a substitute should keep him
quiet for a couple of weeks and Wenger is far from perturbed by the
competition for places that is echoed at Liverpool, where Michael Owen,
Robbie Fowler, Jari Litmanen and Emile Heskey are fighting for two starting
roles.
"At Manchester United, the players have been together for a long time, but
our players are learning to cope with a new situation," Wenger said.
"Wiltord is used to playing regularly and now he does not always play when
he wants to, but, when you have four world-class strikers, you will always
have two who are unhappy."
At least Wenger has European Cup Champions' League and FA Cup campaigns to
keep his players occupied. For Chelsea, hopes of silverware this season are
dead after a disappointing performance at Highbury.
They may suffer further yet if the Football Association's disciplinary
department decides to examine the video of the game yesterday, in which
Celestine Babayaro appeared to tread on Fredrik Ljungberg's ankle and trip
Bergkamp.
The Nigeria defender also swung an arm at Lauren during an 18-player męlée
shortly before half-time which resulted in bookings for Dennis Wise, Jimmy
Floyd Hasselbaink and Thierry Henry, but, compared with recent matches
between the London rivals, it was not an explosive affair.
"I was scared we could lose players for stupid reasons, but the referee
(Graham Barber) had the right attitude," Wenger said. Claudio Ranieri, his
Chelsea counterpart, was similarly relieved that the official did not take
stronger action, but he could not resist a dig at Patrick Vieira. "When
anyone touched Vieira, it was like they touched God," he said. "He was
unpunishable."
Vieira was Arsenal's best performer in a match that demonstrated to Wenger
that his team is ready for a rigorous few months as they chase honours on
three fronts. They entertain Lyons in the Champions' League on Wednesday and
then travel to Old Trafford on Sunday, when anything less than victory will
make Manchester United uncatchable at the top of the FA Carling Premiership.
The FA Cup draw has been kind to them as well and Wenger saw signs that his
team is coming to its best form at precisely the right time. "The last time
we played Chelsea and they came back to 1-1 we didn't react, but this time
we found more mental strength," he said. "Our reaction made the difference
and shows that we have much more confidence."

 Arsenal home in on Cup glory
carissima raganella gracchiante...
cominci a rompicchiare...
:o)
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