Blues still a bone of contention for Wenger

FOR one horrible moment, history appeared intent on repeating itself. An Arsenal attacker lay stricken on the turf, felled by a clumsy tackle from a defender clad in blue and white; on the sidelines, Arsene Wenger watched on, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

For St Andrew’s in February 2008, read the Emirates in October 2009? Not quite. Theo Walcott, the player clattered from behind by Liam Ridgewell on Saturday, had not suffered the kind of career-defining injury endured by Eduardo at the studs of Martin Taylor.

The England winger has strained medial knee ligaments and is likely to miss tomorrow’s Champions League trip to AZ Alkmaar but will be back soon enough.

But the ripple of anxiety which spread through this arena when Walcott crumpled to the ground provided grim proof that, while Eduardo’s scars have healed with the passage of time, his club’s psychological wounds are still raw.

This had been billed as the chance for Arsenal to banish some west midlands ghosts, to expunge the memory of the day their hopes of landing the 2007-08 league title began to splinter, like so much brittle bone.

In a sense, they did. Birmingham were swatted aside easily enough and there was never a serious chance that they would inflict grievous harm on Arsenal’s title chances, as they did 20 months ago by snaffling two points with an injury-time penalty.

But, in so many ways, Arsenal have yet to truly move on from that fateful trip up the M6, a point underlined by Wenger’s reaction to chants of “There’s only one Martin Taylor’’ from the away contingent.

“That’s frankly atrocious,’’ he snapped. “They will not be remembered for the quality of their taste with that kind of remark. I didn’t say a word (when it happened). I just thought: ‘That’s low’.

“I just put that in the ranks of stupidity, you want to forget about it and not talk too much about it because there’s not a lot to say. One person starts to say something stupid and everybody follows, even intelligent people. People lose their identity and their sense of responsibility.’’

Wenger was also unhappy with Ridgewell’s challenge, calling it a “cut-through tackle’’, although he purposefully steered clear of the kind of controversy which followed the Eduardo incident, when he suggested Taylor should have been banned for life.

“I don’t want to go overboard because one of the beauties of the English game is a total commitment,’’ he said. “We have to cut out what is really dangerous but we have to keep the commitment that makes the league more attractive than any other league.’’

Whether Wenger would have been so sanguine had Walcott suffered more serious damage, or Arsenal dropped points, if another issue. The latter was never likely once Arsenal had eased into a two-goal lead in the first 17 minutes, thanks to delicious finishes from Robin van Persie and Abou Diaby, although they did over-complicate matters by gifting Birmingham a goal just before half-time.

Vito Mannone, having nudged ahead of the fit-again Manuel Almunia, flapped hopelessly at a high ball and Lee Bowyer duly hooked in from close range. If that was a reminder of Arsenal’s time-honoured failings, so was much of the second half, when they pinged passes around at will without mustering a killer blow. Birmingham even threatened an equaliser, with Mannone palming away Ridgewell’s cross-shot, before a swift break allowed Andrei Arshavin to bend into the bottom corner.

It was an inauspicious start for Birmingham’s new owner Carson Yeung, who cut an impassive figure in the posh seats, but at least Birmingham can harbour genuine hopes of narrowing the financial gulf that currently separates them from the likes of Arsenal.

“We are at the start of something big,” Lee Carsley, the midfielder, said. “We are not going to be gazumped by clubs like Stoke, which was happening in the past.

“These are positive times for the club and we are looking forward to what is to come.’’

REFEREE: Lee Probert (Wiltshire) 6: Might have clamped down on some hefty Birmingham challenges earlier than he did – especially in Ridgewell’s case – but he was generally sound.

MATCH RATING: *** Arsenal were typically elegant, in the first half at least, and their victory was justified. Birmingham were blunt.