Arsene Wenger took one of the biggest gambles of his Arsenal career and ended
up with a pot of Spanish gold in the UEFA Cup.
The Gunners ran riot against high-flying Deportivo La Coruna and made entry
into the quarter-finals via next Thursday's second leg practically a formality.
Wenger, balancing the priorities of chasing a Champions League place in the
Premiership and second-class glory in this season's European arena, left skipper
Tony Adams, victim of a groin strain in a Thursday morning warm-up, Kanu and Ray Parlour
on the bench.
Instead he banked on the speed and penetration of Marc Overmars and Freddie
Ljungberg on the wings and top scorer Thierry Henry through the middle.
And he was rewarded by a thrilling romp, Arsenal's best scoreline in Europe
since they thrashed Standard Liege in the second round of the old Cup Winners'
Cup six years ago.
Arsenal's five goals included a fifth-minute header from stand-in captain Lee
Dixon, a glorious double by Henry and an outrageous final flourish by Dennis
Bergkamp and substitute Kanu.
Deportivo's hopes of a comeback from 2-0 down at the interval briefly billowed
when Djalminha, their gifted Brazilian play-maker, notched a hotly-disputed
penalty on 54 minutes.
But then he was sent off six minutes later for a second bookable offence and
the rest was inevitable.
Arsenal scored only their fourth headed goal of the season through Bergkamp on
Saturday but had clearly been practising the aerial art. Henry's far-post launch
which made it 3-1 in the 67th minute was a beauty.
Yet even that paled in comparison to Kanu's outrageous dummy which he sold to
goalkeeper Jacques Songo'o in notching the fourth 12 minutes from the end after
replacing Overmars.
And Bergkamp's 30-yard free-kick rocket five minutes later, after he stayed on
the pitch despite Wenger's attempt to substitute him with Parlour, rounded
things off.
Even Wenger, though, must have been surprised at the first-half lethargy of
Deportivo, who are a clear six points ahead at the top of the Spanish League and
have a side packed with Brazilian pedigree plus other multi-internationals from
Yugoslavia, Holland, Argentina and Spain.
In their four previous away games, though, they had managed only one point and
clearly failed to adjust quickly enough to the wind and chill of the unforgiving
British winter.
Djalminha tried to surprise David Seaman in the first minute with a shot at goal
direct from a 30-yard free-kick but it went straight down the goalkeeper's
throat.
And before Deportivo could try any more tricks, the apparently experimental
Arsenal side were tearing into them with typical Premiership gusto.
It was the kind of long ball you could expect to see any Saturday afternoon
which led to the opening goal. Martin Keown's hook forward was caught on the
blustery wind and drove Henry out wide to the left of the Deportivo area.
But the Frenchman, just back from a domestic ban, chased after it, doubled
back to tease right-back Manuel Pablo before firing in a cross which went over
Bergkamp for Dixon to steer home a stooping header.
Seaman gave the Gunners a scare, flapping at a corner and being fortunate when
Jokanovic's return header went straight at him.
But then Bergkamp almost grabbed a brilliant second Arsenal goal, superbly
controlling Dixon's cross with thigh and head before conjuring a volley that
Cameroon keeper Songo'o did well to keep out on the quarter-hour mark.
Henry and Keown both put headers just over the far-post angle as Arsenal's
power and pace produced a string of corners.
And just when Deportivo's patient probing was beginning to suggest a route
back into the game, Arsenal hit them with a second goal of stunning simplicity
just before the half-hour.
Bergkamp bisected two defenders with the precision of his pass and Overmars
sped past both of them to deliver a low cross which was an open invitation for
Henry to sweep in at the near post.
Just a minute later Bergkamp, finding vital space yet again, was chesting down
Grimandi's needle-point ball into the box and rattling Songo'o's fingers with
the power of his drive.
Deportivo seemed bemused by the speed and penetration of the Arsenal breaks
although when Djalminha fizzed over a free-kick from the right the leaping Turu
Flores was unlucky when the ball grazed the top of his head and fell just the
wrong side of the far post.
But when Wenger's men came off at the interval they had produced one of their
most exhilarating 45 minutes of the season and there seemed no logical reason
why it should not continue.
Yet two moments of almost criminal carelessness opened everything up again
early in the second half, culminating in the Spanish side grabbing an away goal
from a disputed penalty.
First Keown allowed an innocuous ball to roll under his foot and felt obliged
to wrestle down Roy Makaay, earning a booking that will bar him from next week's
second leg.
Then, in the 54th minute, the back-tracking Fredrik Ljungberg impetuously
challenged the busy Flavio from behind and even though contact, if indeed there
was any, was minimal the Argentinian's dramatic sprawl was enough to convince
the referee. Djalminha cutely slotted the penalty straight down the middle as
David Seaman dived left.
Just seconds later, though, in an increasingly feisty contest Djalminha was
booked for taking a dive when challenged by Dixon and it was to prove costly
when he later merely nudged Gilles Grimandi in the chest with his forehead to
earn a red card on the hour.
Suddenly the match was there again for Arsenal's taking even though they had
made a dreadfully disjointed start to the second half.
And it looked just a case of what kind of lead they would build for the return
when Henry powered home a header from Emmanuel Petit's flighted right-wing
free-kick in the 67th minute.
Kanu, finally in on the action to the delight of the crowd, seemed to have
completed Deportivo's misery when he raced onto a misguided header by Donato.
He left Songo'o on his backside before walking the ball in - incredibly the
Nigerian's first goal since a memorable hat-trick against Chelsea in October.
But Bergkamp had one more shot in his bulging locker - a howitzer that left
Songo'o groping thin air as the Arsenal crowd cruelly chanted "Adios".
Teams:
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon, Keown, Luzhny, Grimandi, Silvinho,
Ljungberg, Petit, Overmars (Kanu 66), Bergkamp (Parlour 83),Henry (Suker 76).
Subs Not Used: Winterburn, Adams, Manninger, Malz.
Booked: Keown, Ljungberg, Grimandi.
Goals: Dixon 5, Henry 30, 67, Kanu 78, Bergkamp 83.
D Coruna: Songo'o, Pablo, Naybet, Mauro Silva, Romero,
Djalminha, Conceicao, Donato, Jokanovic (Victor 53),
Makaay (Pauleta 74), Flores (Fernando 68).
Subs Not Used: Schurrer, Fran, Scaloni, Kouba.
Sent Off: Djalminha (61).
Booked: Conceicao, Djalminha, Fernando.
Goals: Djalminha 55 pen.
Att: 37,837
Ref: Atanas Ouzounov (Bulgaria).
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