The Hindu : Sport / Football : Gallas strike helps Arsenal beat Chelsea

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Tuesday, Dec 18, 2007
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Gallas strike helps Arsenal beat Chelsea

LONDON: Arsenal snapped its three-year winless streak against Chelsea with gritty determination — and a former Blue.

William Gallas scored Arsenal’s winning goal against his former club in the 1-0 victory on Sunday, heading in a corner from Cesc Fabregas in first-half injury time at Emirates Stadium to keep Arsenal one point ahead of Manchester United in the Premier League. United beat Liverpool 1-0.

“I was really surprised to see the ball come onto my head but sometimes you have to be lucky,” Gallas said. “Today I was a little bit lucky as Petr (Cech) is usually a good, good goalkeeper.

“But it is more important to win and I feel the boys did need to win today against a good team. Everybody knows Chelsea are very strong.”

It’s the second time this season that Gallas has saved Arsenal against one of the “Big Four,” with the defender scoring a last-minute goal to salvage a 2-2 draw with Manchester United last month.

“He pops up when you need it, when you want it and he’s a leader and that’s the best definition of a leader,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “He did that against Man United in the last second and it shows that he’s a winner.” — AP

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