West against north is London's culture clash. In the blue corner, the naked ambitions of the arriviste; in the red, the quest for the moral and footballing high ground of the idealist. For Arsenal, there is a perfect way to win; for Chelsea winning is perfection. The battle lines were drawn years ago, the opposing positions sharply defined. The recent history of both clubs cannot be written in isolation.
When Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, there was talk of a raid on Arsenal for Arsene Wenger, Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry. Only the avaricious Ashley Cole has crossed London, in 2006, but "The Invincibles" were topped by the muscle of money; since completing the 2003/04 season unbeaten, they have never finished above Chelsea. These are two clubs who tell a tale of 21st-century London, both able to testify that overseas investors have bought up slices of the city.
A Russian owns Chelsea, while Arsenal's major shareholders are an Uzbek (Alisher Usmanov) and an American (Stan Kroenke). But, in the last decade-and-a-half, both have undergone a radical change of identity on the pitch as well. Boring, boring Arsenal became scoring, scoring Arsenal. Chelsea veered from the King's Road style council, who lacked the substance to top leagues, to ruthless, relentless winners.
Arsenal's French evolution is attributable to one man, Wenger; Chelsea's Russian revolution was funded by Abramovich but executed by Jose Mourinho, the apparatchik whose trait of independent thought became an issue. And in the past few years the contrasts have been starkest. Since the takeover, Chelsea have spent £457 million (Dh2.65 billion) in transfers alone, racking up huge annual losses. Self-sufficiency remains a distant objective.
Arsenal have moved to a £390m ground, funded by consistent qualification for the Champions League and an enduring ability to buy low and sell high. While Abramovich built a team, Wenger built a ground as well as a succession of sides. The Frenchman coined the phrase "financial doping" to describe Chelsea. "Professional football is about winning and balancing the budget," he said in January. "That's the basic rule, one I fought for. All the rest is half-cheating."
Chelsea disagree. Three years after his departure, Mourinho remains their attack dog. "There is big pressure at this club [Real Madrid] as you cannot be like the manager at Arsenal and ask for five years to try and win one trophy," Mourinho said last month. "Can you imagine if I said to Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, 'Please give me five years and I will try to win you one trophy'?" But silverware brought validation for Mourinho. Chelsea's dynamics are different and Carlo Ancelotti is their eighth manager in Wenger's time at Arsenal.
He is the utopian economist while Mourinho was the charismatic puritan. Each imbued a club with his respective ethos. Each has a representative on the pitch. Cesc Fabregas is the quintessential Arsenal player; he will always decorate a game, whether or not he decides it; Frank Lampard, Mourinho's disciple, is the definitive Chelsea footballer; capable of class but invariably and initially efficient.
To Wenger's frustration, this has been a one-sided rivalry. Chelsea have four consecutive wins and nine in 13 games. Yet victories have not always produced the plaudits Arsenal's endearing elegance generates. "It is difficult to know why people think that Arsenal play the better football," Florent Malouda said after Chelsea's second successive 6-0 win at the start of the season. "Even when we finished top, people still said Arsenal played better than us."
Statistically, Chelsea, scorers of 107 goals in 2010 alone, are the great entertainers; stylistically, Arsenal are. Ancelotti's more attacking blueprint is an indication that Chelsea are no longer content to be the masters of the 1-0 and 2-0 win. Indeed, there is a sense that each is starting to copy the other. The bench at Stamford Bridge has begun to resemble a sixth-form college. Josh McEachran, aged 17, Gael Kakuta, Jeffrey Bruma, Patrick van Aanholt and Daniel Sturridge are involved more frequently. In Ancelotti, Chelsea finally have a manager willing to trust teenagers.
At Arsenal, meanwhile, there is a recognition that tributes are less important than trophies. Mourinho was quick to realise how winnable the Carling Cup is. Belatedly, it appears Wenger has come to the same conclusion. A-listers were drafted into the team who beat Tottenham Hotspur last week. An increasing appreciation for Chelsea means they may not remain doomed in the age-old battle for hearts and minds. A shift in thinking from Wenger could finally render Mourinho's criticisms outdated.
Each may be learning from the other.
7pm, ADMC Sports 3 & 5