quote:Once the darling of the media, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had quickly been transformed into villain-in-chief and the theory being offered was the tactics he has employed to conquer the Premiership has destroyed the magic the English top flight was previously famed for.
Chelsea's inept performance in losing to Barcelona on Tuesday night did little to suggest cream of the English league football is a crowd puller just now, with negative and spiteful gamesmanship winning out over attacking flair, but all of us at Highbury hoped Arsenal would prove that excitement was still alive and well on these shores.
Ignoring the fact that Arsene Wenger's men didn't have a single English player in the ranks wasn't easy, but at least this was a Premiership team who would live and die by their ambitious philosophy. Up against a Real Madrid side who have proved conclusively over the years that their defence is as reliable as a straw fence in a hurricane, this game promised to bring some much-needed joy back into a sport that is being eroded by the angry and bitter approach Mourinho insists on adopting.
In what could only be viewed as a snipe at Jose Mourinho and Chelsea, Wenger vowed to restore some credibility to the Premiership. 'This game was a great promotion for football,' he added. 'It was played in a great spirit and that must be good for the game. We are the last Premiership side in the champions League now and we are proud of that. Our aim is to represent England with dignity and style and fight as hard as we can to keep this run going.'
