Arsenal revel in a narrow win. Expansiveness is so natural to them that last Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Stoke City at the Emirates was treated almost with glee because it could be brandished as proof of maturity. The club face Birmingham City in the Carling Cup final with a conviction that they now have more than one means of succeeding. Arsène Wenger's defence can even be spoken about as more than the handicap of old.
It is, of course, true that Arsenal drew 4-4 at Newcastle United after holding a 4-0 lead, but the collapse came after injury forced the substitution of the centre-back Johan Djourou, who had scored the first goal of his career with the club to put them 2-0 up that day. While the centre-half's departure neither excused nor explained such frailty, his relevance to Arsenal was still emphasised.
Barcelona were wasteful at the Emirates in the first leg of their Champions League tie, but Djourou was also part of the resistance that let Arsenal rally from 1-0 down to win the game with late goals. The defender's own powers of recovery have been remarkable. A severe knee injury threatened to end his career and the sole appearance for the club last season was as a substitute in the concluding match of the campaign.
Arsenal now rely on a defender who once looked brittle. "I give him a lot of credit for two reasons," Wenger says. "I have seen him suffer after the surgery and not be capable of walking. And I saw him work with dedication for nine months. Nine months in a footballer's life is six years in a normal life. He has never shown any sign of feeling, 'I don't want this any more'. At the start of the season, if you had asked me whether he would have played so many games, I would have said: 'No chance.'"
It must, of course, be recognised that 13 starts in the Premier League and five more in the Champions League also reflect the achilles problem that has sidelined Thomas Vermaelen since August. Djourou, all the same, has made the most of his opportunity. He was on loan to Birmingham for four months in 2007 and familiarised himself with life in the less-exalted areas of football. "Arsenal is a great club and a big club," he says. "It was a different fight [at Birmingham]. You are fighting for survival. If you play a derby against Aston Villa it's a different kind of football." The knee injury also compelled him to struggle since he feared that the recovery would be restricted: "You are always thinking: 'Am I going to come back to my best level?' Some players come back and are never the same."
Djourou is beginning to look dependable and that is an element in the larger consistency that keeps the club in contention in all four competitions they have entered. With the exception of the aberration at Newcastle, the side have not conceded more than one goal in any match since 29 December. By Arsenal's standards, that is extreme rigour.
Djourou will be engaging with his former Birmingham team-mate Cameron Jerome in the final, but their last meeting ended in a 3-0 win for Arsenal at St Andrew's last month. Although injuries suffered against Stoke deny the favourites Cesc Fábregas and Theo Walcott, and Jerome has suggested that Wenger's team is weak in defence, Djourou reacted with a serene good humour that suggested neither the centre-half nor his team-mates see any cause for fear at Wembley.
Source: Kevin McCarra, The Guardian on 27 Feb 11
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