The Gunners are through to the next round of the Uefa Champions League with a game to spare Neal Collins That’s more like it. Arsenal’s emphatic 4-2 win over Czech champs Sparta Prague on Wednesday will have the rest of Europe sweating – and boy, did the Brits need a result like that after the disappointment of Manchester United’s loss to Anderlecht, Leeds’s last-minute draw with Barcelona on Tuesday night and Rangers’s 2-0 surrender against Sturm Graz on Wednesday. Arsenal, who had already qualified, have now clinched their group, leaving big-spending Italian champions Lazio in their wake. And all this with Nelson Vivas and Oleg Luzhny as their bizarre centre-half pairing in the absence of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Gilles Grimandi. Manager Arsne Wenger, who will hardly be encouraged to desert Highbury for the England job after this display, said: ‘We wanted to finish top of our group and I always felt we would create chances. “We have more experience than in the last two years and you could say that the improvement is down to quality and spirit. We looked comfortable in European competition tonight but there was little pressure on us. As for how strong we are, we’ll see in the next stage.” Captain Lee Dixon beamed: “The main thing was to win and top the group and that’s what we have done. I think we cleared two or three off the line – they were not a bad side and knocked it around well. “It was difficult – we scored so early and the lads took their foot off the pedal a little bit.” But what early goals, though. First England midfielder Ray Parlour blasted in a 22m shot after just three minutes, then Cameroon Olympic golden boy Lauren added a second off a brilliant cross from the superb Frenchman Robert Pires.
Thierry Henry should have made it 3-0 after just 10 minutes; then, in the 35th minute, Lee Dixon followed up a Henry free kick and, at 3-0, it was all over.
David Seaman dropped two clangers (first the ball, then Sparta forward Marek Kincl) and Labant scored from the penalty spot, but a Kanu goal six minutes after half-time made it 4-1 before Tomas Rosicky scored a brilliant second consolation for the Czechs. Group B runners-up Lazio join Arsenal in the second stage after their 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk of Ukraine. Claudio Lopez scored a hat-trick after Donetsk had gone 1-0 up in Rome. So far, European Cup holders Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Valencia, Deportivo de La Coruna, Paris Saint Germain, Lazio, Spartak Moscow and Arsenal have qualified for the last 16 with a game to spare. Rangers have to beat Monaco at Ibrox in a fortnight to make it, Manchester United must beat Dinamo Kiev at Old Trafford and Leeds need a point at Milan.
I can still see four British teams in the last 16, but it will take some finger-crossing.
Late changes to TV schedule:English Premier League, Chelsea vs Spurs live on SuperSport Extra2 at 4pm on Saturday; English League (Worthington) Cup: West Ham vs Blackburn at 9.30pm on Tuesday on SuperSport International; Liverpool vs Chelsea at 9.30pm on Wednesday on SSX2