06/05/2000  Arsenal 2 Chelsea 1

Chelsea were forced to cling onto the FA Cup final to save 
their season as Arsenal striker Thierry Henry must have left 
boss Gianluca Vialli wishing it was him - and not Chris Sutton 
- on whom the Blues boss splashed out £10million last 
summer.

For there may have been seven other Frenchmen in the two 
squads at Highbury - four of them established internationals - 
yet Henry was simply a class apart from the rest.

He embarrassed Frank Leboeuf for his first strike on 21 
minutes, left Marcel Desailly red-faced for his second just 
three minutes after the break and thereby took his tally for 
the season to 25, with 10 of them in his last nine games.

Nicolas Anelka is now thankfully just a distant memory, yet 
while Henry probably cost less than the reported fee of 
£10million, the comparisons with Sutton - who was left on the 
bench at Highbury even though his side were struggling - are 
hardly even worth making.

And so, as Henry shone amid the bright sunshine in North 
London, Arsenal, barring something of a mathematical miracle, 
guaranteed their place in next season's Champions League, 
while ensuring that Chelsea cannot reach Europe through the 
Premiership.

The FA Cup final was meant to have been the celebration of 
a successful season for the Blues but it now represents their 
one remaining opportunity in which to save their season from 
relative failure.

Jut as worryingly, they may have raised themselves to beat 
Liverpool last weekend following a verbal blast from Vialli 
after their defeat at Old Trafford.

Yet it was only in the final quarter at Highbury, when they 
were already 2-0 down, that the Blues showed any real 
commitment, endeavour or finishing power as substitute Gustavo 
Poyet scored a consolation effort with 11 minutes left.

Inconsistency continues to dog Vialli's side and while 
Chelsea and Arsenal have both had mixed fortunes this season 
at both home and abroad, it is not hard to see which side are 
clearly on the up now.

However, the reasons go much further beyond the chasmic 
difference between Henry and Sutton, or the defensive 
frailties of Leboeuf.

In Chelsea's defence, only Marcel Desailly was anywhere 
near his top form in the first-half and he seemed increasingly 
annoyed by the failings of those around him - Leboeuf, Bernard 
Lambourde and Mario Melchiot - as passes went astray and 
errors were made.

Both sides had half-chances in the opening exchanges, with 
Gilles Grimandi first heading narrowly over and then managing 
to block George Weah's goalbound shot from close range with 
his thigh.

De Goey saved Henry's near-post header and then tipped over 
a drive by Ray Parlour, and, even though Leboeuf himself 
headed just over from a corner, the writing was on the ball 
when the Frenchman made the first of two glaring errors.

He was spared the first time around by de Goey as, after 
Leboeuf had been all too easily dispossessed by Emmanuel 
Petit, striker Dennis Bergkamp put Henry clean through and the 
Frenchman was denied by the Chelsea keeper.

Just two minutes later, however, Leboeuf attempted - and 
failed - to chest down Patrick Vieira's through-ball and Henry 
was again bearing down on goal.

This time, he made no mistake as he swept around de Goey, 
allowed Leboeuf to dive in with a last-ditch attempted tackle 
next to the post, neatly stepped inside him and tapped his 
shot home.

Arsenal increasingly assumed control of the game and 
Leboeuf, perhaps unsurprisingly some critics might say, 
hobbled off before the break to be replaced by Emerson 
Thome.

With captain Dennis Wise attempting in vain to inspire his 
side, Chelsea did manage to pose more of an attacking threat 
before the interval, with Zola firing two long-range efforts 
just wide.

And then, when David Seaman could only parry Wise's low 
shot, Lee Dixon swooped to clear from two yards out just as di 
Matteo was threatening to pounce.

However, even though Arsenal were forced to replace Marc 
Overmars with Nigel Winterburn at the interval, it made no 
difference as Henry duly put the home side 2-0 up within three 
minutes of the restart.

This time it was Desailly whom he went past with far too 
much ease after Bergkamp had played him through as his pace 
and strength took him around his compatriot before firing a 
left-footed shot past de Goey from a tight angle.

It was a superb finish and although Henry somehow managed 
to injure himself during his celebrations, he was soon back in 
the fray.

And the arrival of Kanu - a hat-trick hero when the Gunners 
came back from 2-0 down with 16 minutes to clinch victory at 
Stamford Bridge last October - only adding to Chelsea's 
problems as he twice threatened de Goey with cross-shots.

Chelsea did muster something of a minor rally in the final 
stages as Flo struck the top of the bar and then Poyet scored 
with 11 minutes left after Grimandi had failed to clear a 
cross by the Norwegian.

However, just like much of Chelsea's season, it was too 
little, too late - and while Arsenal go from strength to 
strength, only the FA Cup final can save the Blues now.

The French connection, it seems, is working only at 
Highbury.