Football: England strikers' claims tempered

Arsenal. . . . . . . .2

Sheffield Wednesday. .1

THE MAN all the centre-forwards in the land want to impress, including two in this encounter, was elsewhere. Had he been at Highbury on Saturday Graham Taylor might have learnt something new. Ian Wright, who set up both Arsenal's goals from the left wing, had a blissfully easy time of it against a depleted defence and still contrived to get booked. If he cannot keep his temper in check when the going is good, say his detractors, how will he fare when it gets tough?

No worse than David Hirst, it seems. The fuse of Wednesday's striker is meant to be longer but with double trouble in the form of Bould and Adams bearing down on him throughout, he too was shown the yellow card and might have seen red had he not been pulled off. His manager, Trevor Francis attributed the substitution to the injury Hirst sustained in a spectacular volley that kept Wednesday improbably in touch for the last hour of the match.

However, in the international arena forwards come up against skulduggery much subtler than anything the Arsenal defence is capable of, and Hirst did seem to have mislaid his rag.

There were four other bookings in a first half that saw brutal competitiveness overshadow a performance of fleeting, rugged brilliance by Arsenal. 'To win championships you need physical presence,' Francis said afterwards but without Carlton Palmer his players could not match the Gunners in that department either. Arsenal won 2-1 in goals, but also 4-2 in bookings.

George Graham, the Arsenal manager, confessed that he felt exhausted just watching it, though not as exhausted as the players will be by the end of September. By then, he pointed out, a quarter of the Premier League programme will have been completed in much less than two months.

There was grace to compliment the grind. Ray Parlour's invention in midfield was a joy to watch, as was his early goal, smacked from roughly the same spot where Paul Merson, who also shone, later doubled the lead. Attacking the cheery facsimile of what the North Bank will one day look like, Arsenal could not convert further superiority into goals. Adams hoisted the best chance of the half over the bar with a thoroughness suggesting that he for one will not be taking over where Gary Lineker left off.

David Hirst will be out for four weeks after an X-ray yesterday revealed that he had cracked an ankle bone at Highbury.

Goals: Parlour (8) 1-0; Merson (27) 2-0; Hirst (33) 2-1.

Arsenal: Seaman; Dixon, Winterburn, Hillier, Bould, Adams, Jensen, Wright, Campbell, Merson (Smith, 82), Parlour. Substitutes not used: Pates, Miller (gk).

Sheffield Wednesday: Woods; Nilsson, Warhurst, Hyde, Pearson, Shirtliff, Wilson (Harkes, 65), Bart-Williams, Hirst (Jemson, 76), Williams, Worthington. Substitute not used: Pressman (gk).

Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).