Misery for Given, Faroe tale for Gunnar

AT least it didn’t ruin his World Cup dream.

That, of course, had already been punctured in Paris by two Frenchmen with strong Emirates Stadium connections, but the sight of Shay Given leaving the pitch on a stretcher, oxygen mask over his face was at least greeted by respectful applause from Arsenal fans who had largely been making their own entertainment by barracking Emmanuel Adebayor.

Given’s season is over, his shoulder having been wrenched apart by a save he must have made a million times since donning the gloves as a kid. Abou Diaby launched a low, long-ranger, down went the goalkeeper to his left and round the post went the ball.

And then he didn’t get up. Not properly anyway and a game that failed utterly to live up to its pre-match hype was destined to be extended by eight full minutes.

Given must now be regarded as a doubt for the Republic of Ireland’s European Championships qualifiers in September but it is City’s more immediate prospects without him that will concern Roberto Mancini.

The whole world knows City have spent billions on high-profile internationals from across the globe, from Argentina to Togo, and more will no doubt be arriving in the summer. Yet now, with Given gone and number two goalkeeper Stuart Taylor still recovering from a knee injury, their hopes of Champions League qualification appear to rest with a man from one of football’s most obscure out-posts, the Faroe Islands.

A man called Gunnar Nielsen stepped off the bench to replace Given and complete the final portion of his side’s clean sheet. It was the 23-year-old’s first taste of first team football apart from a few games on loan at Wrexham and he became the first Faroe Islander to appear in the Premier League.

Now it seems he will be needed to repel first Aston Villa and then Tottenham in the next two games, with both opponents just happening to be direct rivals for fourth place and the shot at the Champions League that goes with it.

So for City the thin goal line between success and failure will now be guarded by a man no-one had ever heard of and is not even first choice for his tiny nation, population 48,000.

“Shay is a massive, massive player for us and it is always difficult to lose a massive player, especially a goalkeeper,” City captain Kolo Toure said afterwards. “But we saw a young goalkeeper come on into a really hard game and he did well. I’m sure he can be very important for us.”

Toure was one of three former Gunners making a return to the Emirates. Patrick Vieira was the other and the ageing Invincible was applauded off early in the second half before the cheers turned to a torrent of jeers as Adebayor, the third of the triumvirate, trotted on with his hair in bizarre bunches.

Adebayor’s previous misdemeanours had been well-documented as in September, having just made an acrimonious departure from Arsenal to accept City’s wad of cash, he celebrated a goal in a 4-2 victory by celebrating wildly in front of the travelling fans. And then there was the little matter of the boot raked down the face of Robin van Persie . . .

This time the man from Togo behaved himself and added extra zap on the pitch to a contest that badly needed it. City made it clear from the off they had come from a point and Arsenal, with little to play for and too much talent on the treatment table, weren’t able to force them into a rethink.

Carlos Tevez and Craig Bellamy were busy but neither looked like shooting let alone scoring. Arsenal’s most nervous moment came when Adebayor, using those lanky legs to skip past two challengers, fired in a cross that hit Sol Campbell on an arm as he slid in to block.

It would have been a harsh award and did not appear to have been even entertained by referee Mike Dean. Campbell was the game’s top performer too, putting in a faultless stint in front of Fabio Capello.

The England manager doesn’t often let people know what he is thinking but surely he must be mulling over taking the 35-year-old, who was at Notts County earlier in the season, to South Africa.

Arsene Wenger certainly believes Campbell would not let his nation down. “I just see that many centre-backs are injured so why not?” he said. “He has the experience and it is up to Capello to decide.”

MATCH RATING * – If ever an afternoon failed to live up to the hype this was it. Adebayor wasn’t even fit to start and not even his eventual arrival could raise the temperature to anything higher than lukewarm, on the pitch at least. Only the injury to Given, and Adebayor’s extraordinary hairstyle, will stick in the memory.

REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral) 6 – Angered the Arsenal fans with a few decisions that went against the home side but once Adebayor was on the pitch everyone forgot the official was even there.