Celtic 0 Arsenal 2: THE SPEED and movement of Arsenal hurtled them into the group stage of the Champions League. A recovery at the Emirates next week is inconceivable for Celtic.
Their supporters had relished this occasion from the moment the draw was made, but it is a sign of the visitors’ excellence that it is now a night to be forgotten.
At the close the noise in the stadium came from the jeering chants of Arsenal fans. They will also have talked eagerly afterwards about this further proof of their team’s growing prowess. It is true Celtic’s captain, Gary Caldwell, committed a mistake that led to the opener and then put through his own net. Nonetheless, Arsenal would surely have won by other means if that had been asked of them.
There was a fevered first-half at a time when the season is meant to be warming up gradually. If there was an initial contentment for Celtic it was because there had been no clear chances, but they were powerless against a deflection off William Galls that put the visitors ahead in the 43rd minute.
It is against the traditions of the Scottish club to find pleasure in attempted stalemate and their new manager, Tony Mowbray, has never been attracted to attritional football, but Celtic, above all, yearned to show that they would not be swept out of the tie. They could do little about the goal that left them lagging.
The main way to have denied Arsenal then would have been for the captain, Caldwell, to show a judiciousness that ought to accompany the armband. Instead, he fouled Cesc Fabregas in an area where no challenge was needed. Robin van Persie tapped the ball to the Arsenal captain and he thumped a free-kick that clipped the back of Gallas, who knew nothing of the goal he had scored before he celebrated it. Artur Boruc, the Celtic goalkeeper, had been left helpless .
The superiority of the visitors was not in dispute and the desire to impose themselves had been vigorous. But they were compelled to scramble in a first-half that, although full of incident, lacked glaring opportunities.
Celtic, in European matches at this stadium, are customarily formidable. In the light of that, it was significant that there were such low expectations of them in the tie.
That attitude was a reflection of the sudden belief that Arsenal will stop being the beautiful yet vulnerable side we have seen for a few years now. A 6-1 win at Goodison is always liable to have people revising their opinions.
The Celtic manager did not dwell on that game. Mowbray’s preference this week was to highlight the way Arsenal pressed the opposition to recover the ball. In his mind, Arsene Wenger is developing more rigour in the line-up. There were no concessions last night, with Arsenal fielding the same selection that had run amok on Saturday.
Arsenal had a slickness and menace that was unanswerable. They were not to be shaken either when Alex Song was so effective in front of the back four. Celtic Park grew quiet for a while not simply because of the goal but because the reaction was muted.
Although Mowbray brought on two forwards in Marc-Antoine Fortune and Scott McDonald, it was Arsenal who were incisive in the build-up. Only the finishing was unreliable in the opening phase of the second-half, with Denilson and Robin van Persie both missing the target. The absence of an effective response from Celtic threatened to press the mute button on the match.
A real roar did not swell up until Gallas came close to levelling the score as he put Fortune’s cross just beyond his own near post.
Arsenal, operating at a higher level, doubled the lead after 71 minutes. Abou Diaby, newly on for Andrey Arshavin, rolled the ball to Gael Clichy and the left-back’s cross was turned into his net by Caldwell.
The captain has a history of own goals but it is the measure of Arsenal’s excellence, though, that no rational person could claim he was the cause of the loss.
All the credit belonged to Wenger's side. Guardian Service
CELTIC: Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, Loovens, Daniel Fox, N'Guemo (McCourt 76), Scott Brown, Donati (McDonald 56), Maloney, McGeady, Samaras (Fortune 56). Subs not used: Zaluska, Naylor, Flood, O'Dea. Booked: Daniel Fox, N'Guemo, Loovens.
ARSENA
L: Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Song Billong, Fabregas, Denilson, van Persie, Arshavin (Diaby 69), Bendtner. Subs not used: Mannone, Eduardo, Ramsey, Silvestre, Eboue, Gibbs. Booked: Clichy.
Referee:Massimo Busacca (Switzerland).
