Who really wins a smackdown of these tactical minds?

	Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger (left) and Chelsea's José Mourinho represent two wholly different approaches to coaching. Ben Radford/Getty Images

LONDON -- Monday morning hangover. And not just because my head is still swirling from all the pints me and my buddies Kevin and Keogh downed at a series of pubs, starting at the Scarsdale, moving on to Morrison's, and finishing it all off at the Ifield.

No, my real hangover is from the thrills of Sunday's Chelsea-Arsenal match, one of the most memorable times I've ever had at a soccer stadium.

First off, we sat with the visiting supporters -- Arsène Wenger's Red Army, as they like to call themselves -- and they were brilliant. They occupied a small corner of the jam-packed Stamford Bridge, but drowned out their Blue-clad counterparts like Wolfmother taking on the London Symphony Orchestra in a "Battle of the Bands."

One of our favorite cheers: Shhhhh..., mocking the noticeable silence from the Chelsea fans. Another fave: Your support is [bleeping] [bleep].

But they saved their best for former Gunner Ashley Cole. It started with a rain of sterling notes, issued from the "Bank of Russia," and reimagined with Cole as the Queen and signed by Chelsea capo Peter Kenyon. Then every time Cole touched the ball, Arsenal's fans let him have it, and by the end of the full 90, even I believed that Chelsea's terrific left back was an effin' a-hole. (The most convincing proponent of this opinion was the 9-year-old kid in front of us.)

The game, which ended 1-1, was not a work of art. But it was played with heart and speed, and there were occasional "holy-bleep" moments of grace and skill. Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor glided through Chelsea's ballyhooed defense all day long, tiring it out enough to open spaces that Mathieu Flamini eventually exploited for Arsenal's goal. Chelsea subs wingers Arjen Robben and Shaun Wright-Phillips created the much-needed velocity and pressure that led to Michael Essien's late equalizer.

To my mind, though, this match, like most titanic clashes, came down to the managers. Against a side like Sheffield United or Wigan, Chelsea and Arsenal will win playing their ordinary game. But when the big boys rumble, the extraordinary is necessary. Question is: Which manager can get their players to do something extraordinary?

José Mourinho and Wenger are, at their cores, the same person. Both are passionate and skilled tacticians. Both are fine psychologists -- as modern coaches must be -- capable of melding egos and pulling a great deal from unexpected combinations of players.

But they apply all of this differently. Wenger -- who resembles Martin Landau more and more every day -- is the reserved professor of English football. He enjoys his place in the ivory tower, teaching his youthful charges his scholarly philosophies about beautiful soccer and youth's ability to carry the day. His back line on Sunday averaged 21 years of age.