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The top two clash at Highbury on Saturday, and this time there will even more
at stake than usual. Chelsea's big spending in the summer no doubt caused
concern and envy at most clubs in the country, but none more so than Arsenal,
who saw their position as London's biggest club seriously threatened for the
first time in years. Not only that, but while Arsene Wenger's fingers were kept
from prying in the Highbury purse, Claudio Ranieri had unlimited wealth at his
disposal.
However, Wenger has always maintained that, although a little more money would
be welcome, he did not envy the sudden riches across London: "It was a huge
surprise to me that the change was made so quickly at Chelsea, because Ken
Bates looked quite confident to manage the financial situation down there. What
will the new resources do to Chelsea? I don't think it is a concern of ours,
because we do not want to sell our good players to anyone. We want to maintain
the stability here that we have developed in recent years," he said.
"To build a great team is not all about money. First you have to create the
spirit and togetherness within a squad and that is not easy."
He joked: "They must buy a new coach as well then to get everybody on. When you
have money you can buy, it is as simple as that."
Arsenal were dismissed by some people but have still managed to stay unbeaten
in their first eight games, as have Chelsea.
The rivalry between the two clubs took another twist after the controversial
scenes at Old Trafford, with Bates suggesting that Wenger should be punished
along with his players: "Managers who criticise referees should be banned from
the touchline and if they can't control their players they should be suspended
themselves." Wenger will be keen to make a point to Bates at Highbury,
especially as Arsenal currently top the Fair Play league.
But there is only one league The Gunners really want to be top of, and that
means they will need to beat Chelsea. They managed that on New Year's Day last
season, but not without a dramatic finish. Marcel Desailly's ninth minute own
goal had given Arsenal the lead, and it stayed that way until the last ten
minutes. Gio van Bronckhorst and Thierry Henry made it 3-0 with two goals in a
minute, only to have a nervy finish when Mario Stanic and Emmanuel Petit pulled
goals back. They wouldn't mind similar tension this time around, as long as the
result remained the same.
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