Source: Daily_Mail
Celtic 0 Arsenal 2: Gallas lucky dip rocks Scots but flukes don't hide class
Even if their goals lacked the finesse of any one of the six they put past Everton last weekend, they were no less significant.
Because here in the first leg Champions League play-off at a pulsating Parkhead, a fluke of a finish from William Gallas and an own goal from Gary Caldwell provided further evidence of what Arsene Wenger meant when he told this newspaper last week that his Arsenal team are ready. That, in the words of their master and creator, they will 'get there'.
Not since 1983 had an English team come here and won a competitive European tie and while the absence of Englishmen in Arsenal's line-up might prompt followers of Nottingham Forest to argue their 26-year record remains intact, Wenger and his players should take great pride in their performance.
This was the kind of display they too often failed to produce in recent seasons. A timely demonstration that they now possess substance as well as style.
At Everton on Saturday they destroyed their opponents in a manner we have long associated with Wenger's teams. But here came proof that they now also possess the ability to tough things out and defend a lead, yet it would be unfair to say they won ugly when someof their football against a determined Celtic was such a joy to watch.
Given the obvious void in class, it was always going to be difficult for Tony Mowbray's side to compete. But Celtic made it difficult for Arsenal with a courageous, committed display. They ran hard, chased hard and tackled hard, so much so that Wenger was not always calm enough to give visiting fans a wave.
