Young Gunners lacking in spirit

NO matter how much satisfaction there was to be gained from ending Chelsea’s Premiership challenge, I left our new stadium on Sunday evening, for the last time this season, feeling more than a little disheartened.

When I got home and rewound the Sky gadget to hear the pundits pile such slavering post-match praise upon the Blues gallant second-half performance, I realised why I felt so perturbed.

Sure there was always likely to be an appreciable difference in the commitment levels of a Chelsea team desperately clinging to their title prospects and an Arsenal side with so little to play for. Yet there was a time when the mere tag of top London dog was sufficient motivation for the Gunners and a fired-up home crowd would be guaranteed to generate a cauldron-like atmosphere.