It is very straightforward to reel off the five biggest British derbies and by most estimations Arsenal v Chelsea would not be one of them. Yet as I repeatedly tell my girlfriend, size isn’t everything and when the Gunners square up to their neighbours to the west the universe usually tilts on its axis and strange things occur. Some local encounters struggle to live up to their hype. This isn’t one of them.
Ashley Cole transfer
The headline-dominating saga that dragged through the summer of 2006 may not be directly linked to when the London giants butt heads, but this protracted – and highly contentious – transfer certainly ratcheted up the rivalry for all subsequent derbies.
For full context it’s important to place each club’s standing back then among the famous titbits that accompanied the move (most notably Cole ‘trembling with anger’ at ‘only’ being offered 55 grand a week to stay at the Emirates). Arsenal were the recent Invincibles who resented Chelsea – aided heavily by Abramovich’s fortune – muscling in on their two-way title tussles with Manchester United.
The loss of their left-back to their moneyed usurpers turned the resentment into open warfare.
A Wembley dust-up
A few tetchy challenges aside the 2007 League Cup final looked like it might pass without incident. Deep into injury time Chelsea were 2-1 up and protecting their lead and sure, John Terry had earlier been nigh-on decapitated - and forced to leave Wembley unconscious on a stretcher – but everyone could see Diaby had meant to clear his lines and not boot the diving centre-back square in the chops.
Then, in the 94th minute, all hell broke loose. A scuffle between Toure and Mikel ignited into a mass brawl so severe it necessitated the two managers to intervene on the pitch. The ensuing melee was eventually calmed by Howard Webb who dished out three reds and two yellows for the worst of the culprits.
Wenger shoves Mourinho in touchline handbags
The simmering feud between the pair had gone as far as words could take them. In 2005 the self-proclaimed Special One abandoned his successful strategy of pressing the Frenchman’s psychological buttons with a half-smile and went full-on for the throat. “I think he is what you call in England a voyeur. It is a sickness”.
Wenger responded in kind: “When you give success to stupid people it makes them more stupid sometimes”.
Considering that tasty tit-for-tat was nine years prior to this touchline argy-bargy – with Mourinho airing his famous ‘specialist in failure’ putdown only months earlier, too, and countless other barbed comments made in between – is it any wonder it ultimately led to physical confrontation?
Though Wenger arguably wins this shoving exchange the sight of an erudite 64 year old resorting to basics only confirmed that no-one gets under a rival’s skin quite like Jose.
A massacre turns into farce
It takes something pretty spectacular to demote a 6-0 thrashing to the second paragraph of match reports and when that thrashing is dished out by one title contender to another it can only be a half-time alien invasion or the wrong player being sent off. On this occasion it was the latter.
On seeing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain claw a goal-bound effort past the post referee Andre Marriner bizarrely brandished a red at Kieran Gibbs and despite vehement protestations from both players stuck to his decision.
The mistaken official later ‘expressed his disappointment’ for his actions. Well, quite.
This was Wenger’s 1000th game in charge of the Gunners and by his own admission ‘one of the worst’ days of his career. The same can certainly be said of Marriner.
Nine men Arsenal accosted by Costa
By 2015 the fiery reputation of this fixture was set in stone. Then along comes Diego Costa into the mix and takes it to another level entirely.
Here two Arsenal players were dismissed – Santi Cazorla and Gabriel – in yet another dismal defeat to their local foes with the latter having grounds for grievance after taking umbrage at Costa not once but twice laying his hands on team-mate Koscielny. An arm is then raised by the Gunners’ defender but it amounts to admirable constraint considering the barrage of provocation he is now facing from Costa at his ‘cutest’.
Should Gabriel have walked? Possibly. Should Costa? Definitely.