Everyone knew that a win probably wouldn't be enough, but there was no shortage of supporters who were living in hope at Highbury yesterday afternoon. Just how many was demonstrated after 25 minutes when Fredrik Ljungberg hit a poor shot from the edge of the area at Michael Oakes's goal and as the ball hurtled into the crowd the loudest cheer ever to greet a Spurs goal at their north London neighbours' ground broke all around the stadium.
Beside the press box a season ticket holder started to weep, the tension clearly too much. On the pitch the players immediately stepped up the pace, clearly sensing what had happened. Asked afterwards about the moment he heard the news in the dug-out, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said simply that it was too early in the game to become excited. "Three nil at that stage and yes, I would be, but 1-0, no, it wasn't enough so early in the game."
While the English game's most prized piece of silverware was being returned to Alex Ferguson's side, in north London they were already thinking ahead. Most of the 38,308 supporters who stayed on to salute their team for the final time this season clearly feel that what came to an end yesterday was simply the club's first reign as Premiership champions under Wenger. The manager himself is already anticipating the additional demands that an assault on an expanded Champions League and an attempt to regain the title at home will bring.
"Nobody can play the number of games that will be involved," said Wenger afterwards, "and we will be looking to add players to the squad. But you have to be careful because what we have here at the moment is very good and the most important thing will be to keep the players that are with the club now.
"Some of them need a rest now, but with them we got 78 points again, the same as last year, with a better defensive record and a better goal difference, but unfortunately we have won nothing and that must be down to the fact the Man U have improved."
Whether the Frenchman can keep everybody remains open to question, though, with many in the crowd openly waving striker Nicolas Anelka goodbye as he came off to a warm ovation in the 62nd minute. It says a great deal about how well the Premiership's Young Player of the Year has done on the pitch this season that the fans remain so enthusiastic about him despite his habit of telling the press back home how unhappy he is at the club.
Wenger, though, insists that the team's leading scorer is "95 per cent certain to stay". If he does go, however, Kanu's presence means there should be no shortage of goals next season, though elsewhere there is still, Wenger admits, a certain thinness to his squad. This will start to be addressed over the summer he says, although, in a final sideswipe at his rival Alex Ferguson, Wenger pointed out that the £24 million United spent on Dwight Yorke and Jaap Stam was beyond Arsenal's reach and precluded competition on genuinely equal terms. What is certainly true is that, while Wenger has shown himself capable of building a fine team, he has yet to show he has what it takes to put and keep together a great squad. Having the likes of Kanu to come off the bench and score, as he did again yesterday producing the only goal of a game Arsenal completely dominated in the 67th minute, is one thing. Blaming Nelson Vivas for the goal at Elland Road last week, when the initiative, if not the title itself, was lost, is another.
Wenger can be in no doubt after yesterday that if Arsenal are not to get left behind then standing still in the coming months, as they did in this win over Villa, will simply not be good enough.
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Adams, Vivas (Ljungberg 15), Parlour, Petit, Vieira, Overmars (Diawara 79), Bergkamp, Anelka (Kanu 61). Subs Not Used: Bould, Lukic. Booked: Adams. Goals: Kanu 67.
Aston Villa: Oakes, Ehiogu, Calderwood (Stone 79), Southgate, Watson (Vassell 72), Scimeca, Draper, Grayson (Delaney 72), Wright, Joachim, Merson. Subs Not Used: Barry, Enckelman. Booked: Scimeca, Watson, Draper, Southgate.
Referee: D Gallagher (Banbury).
