Manchester United are now in serious danger of being kidded out of their fifth Premiership title in six seasons as well as English football's fourth championship hat-trick. Not in the sense of being deluded, but because Alex Ferguson's talented young Englishmen are steadily being upstaged by Arsene Wenger's even younger Frenchmen.
On Good Friday the wand of youth at Old Trafford was markedly lacking in magical properties as United were held to 1-1 by a Liverpool team reduced to 10 men by the dismissal of Michael Owen. On Saturday Highbury's jeux d'enfants saw Arsenal frolic to a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United which reduced the champions' lead at the top to four points - and Arsenal have three matches in hand.
Victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park tonight, when Dennis Bergkamp will be back from suspension, would leave Arsenal poised to go top for the first time since mid-October and increase the pressure on Manchester United, who are running out of games.
While a degree of caution was forgivable in a team who have won only two of their last 18 Premiership fixtures, Kenny Dalglish's tactics on Saturday were as dated and dogeared as a Rothmans Football Yearbook from the Seventies. He played with six defenders and sandbagged his midfield, leaving Alan Shearer up front with John Barnes's lethargic support.
Had Arsenal still been hoisting long balls forward for Ian Wright to run on to there might have been some point to such a negative pattern, but Wenger's team do not play this way, even when Wright is fit. Now when Arsenal use a long pass it is usually employed to switch a movement quickly from wing to wing, a common sight in French football. Even Steve Bould's passes from the back are sacrificing distance for accuracy.
At the start of the season Wenger's playing resources appeared slim beside those of Manchester United but this is no longer the case. On Saturday Arsenal were without Bergkamp, Wright, Keown and Lee Dixon and until recently a broken finger was denying them the comforting presence of Seaman in goal. But the confidence with which the Austrian Alex Manninger deputised for Seaman has clearly spread to Nicolas Anelka and Christopher Wreh, whose goals have maintained the momentum of Arsenal's pursuit of a league and FA Cup double.
Anelka scored twice against Newcastle, driving a shot into the far corner of the net after Wreh's strength in possession was followed by a touch-on from Emmanuel Petit that had found him in space, and then lunging in at the far post to meet Ray Parlour's low cross. Patrick Vieira fired in Arsenal's third from 30 yards after a weak clearance from Nikos Dabizas had gone straight to Marc Overmars, who then combined with Anelka to set up the chance.
At 21 the long-striding, perceptive Vieira has become the biggest single influence on Arsenal's season. Anelka, two years younger, may yet be the catalyst that tilts the honours their way. Certainly he is repaying Wenger's faith in his talents after a difficult introduction to English football.
Three minutes after Arsenal had gone in front Gary Speed headed a powerfully driven centre from Shearer over the bar. Early in the second half Bould probably did trip Barton for a penalty, but the Newcastle man's exaggerated fall merely earned him a caution for diving.
Newcastle are still in danger of becoming the fifth club - after Manchester City, Leicester City, Brighton and Middlesbrough - to reach an FA Cup final and be relegated. When Dalglish succeeded Kevin Keegan 15 months ago this was hardly the double St James' Park had in mind.
After Saturday's match Dalglish responded to most of the reporters' questions with feeble repartee. Asked why he thought Newcastle were not winning games he replied: "Because they're scoring more goals than we are," adding that football was a simple game with simple answers. Not to mention the occasional prattle of simple men.
Arsenal: Seaman, Winterburn, Vieira, Bould, Adams, Anelka (Boa Morte 85), Overmars (Hughes 76), Wreh (Platt 62), Parlour, Petit, Garde. Subs Not Used: Manninger, Upson. Goals: Anelka 41, 64, Vieira 72.
Newcastle: Given, Barton, Batty, Shearer, Barnes (Andersson 66), Speed, Pearce, Hamilton (Ketsbaia 60), Albert, Dabizas, Griffin. Subs Not Used: Tomasson, Srnicek, Hughes. Booked: Barton, Albert. Goals: Barton 79. Att: 38,102
Referee: G S Willard (Worthing).
