Lucky Arsenal are rescued by Will (Gallas) power against Twente

Published 00:00 14/08/08 By By Martin Lipton Chief Football Writer

Two of the men who let him down finally showed the leadership to get Arsene Wenger's side out of trouble last night.

But while William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor wiped the smile off the face of Twente boss Steve McClaren, the anxiety that made Wenger look flustered for the first hour will not be forgotten.

In the end, simple goals scored in the last 27 minutes ensured Arsenal can take it easy at the Emirates in a fortnight and maybe once again ask the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Denilson and Theo Walcott if they can handle the responsibility.

Wenger will rightly feel those goals were the start of the payback required from players who have tried his patience more than most in 2008.

It was Gallas's refusal to take up the moral burden of captaincy, far more than the injury to Eduardo, that really started the collapse of the Gunners' title challenge last season. And while Adebayor's goals dried up when needed most, what really stuck in the gullet of Arsenal fans was his summer-long dance with Barcelona and AC Milan.

The best way of redeeming those sullied reputations is through vital contributions when required and while neither goal was pretty, their value was immense.

Gallas got enough of a touch to turn in Robin van Persie's 63rd-minute free-kick, giving Arsenal leeway where things had been distinctly twitchy.

Then nine minutes from the end, Adebayor found space from Walcott's cross to force the ball past Sander Boschker.

Yet this was a vision of what Arsenal could be like if Cesc abregas is absent for any length of time - and will force Wenger to spend before the transfer window shuts.

Last night, as McClaren saw his hopes of masterminding a Champions League upset cruelly dented, Wenger's relief was palpable.

Forget the scoreline, this was a brush with financial catastrophe averted with more than a modicum of good fortune, as Wenger's enforced faith in his kids was shown to be based on optimism more than realism Ramsey looked like a 17-year-old struggling to keep his head above water on only the 15th senior start of his career. He and Denilson found themselves outplayed by Cheick Tiote and Wout Brama.

Had Twente possessed an out and out goalscorer - Marco Arnautovic twice feebly failed them - it might have been a very different story and Arsenal could have been left with the £25million that group stage participation guarantees hanging in the balance.

Wenger will not be misled by the result and neither will the fans.

They all know the kids are not yet ready and the squad looks thin. But a win is a win.

FC Twente: Boschker, Wilkshire, Wielaert, Douglas, Braafheid, Brama, Tiote, Janssen (Heubach 89), Denneboom, Arnautovic (Gerritsen 90), Elia (Huysegems 83).

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy, Eboue, Denilson, Ramsey, Walcott (Randall 82), Adebayor, van Persie (Bendtner 89).

COMPUTER

FC TWENTE v ARSENAL

GUNNERS NOW A SAFE BET

BALL POSSESSION
49% 51%

FACE TO FACE
3 Corners 4
5 Offside 3
85% Pass completion 87%
23 Tackles 22
17 Fouls 12
1 Cards 2

SHOTS

5 off target 3
2 on target 4

HERO OF THE MATCH Romano Denneboom (FC TWENTE) 8 Gave Gael Clichy a torrid time and caused problems all night

VILLAIN OF THE MATCH Aaron Ramsey (ARSENAL) 4 The sort of debut that makes you wonder when the second chance will come

ANORAK The last time Steve McClaren faced Arsene Wenger, his Middlesbrough team lost 7-0

NEXT THREE GAMES
ARSENAL Sat Aug 16: WBA (h) Prem Sat Aug 23: Fulham (a) Prem Wed Aug 27: FC Twente (h) CL#