Arsenal started the game in what has now become known as the typical Arsenal style. In other words, there were enough holes at the back to keep the randy Mr. Tiger Woods entertained for months on end. We were trailing by two clear goals at home from what seemed like Tottenham's only two threatening attacks of the game up until that point. Typical Arsenal defending.
As Adebayor stepped up to convert their second goal from the penalty spot, I felt physically sick. Out of all the Tottenham players who could have scored against us, why did it have to be that lazy, greedy moron? The home fans were going loopy; their beloved Arsenal were two goals down against their most hated rivals at home, and I even heard some isolated individuals singing "you're getting sacked in the morning!" at Arsène Wenger, such were their frustrations with the way things were going. Little did we know that a Sunday miracle was about to happen at the Grove...
Arsène Wenger's decision to not start with either Oxlade-Chamberlain or Gervinho left most Gooners scratching their heads and wondering why he would leave two £11+ million players sitting on the bench. As it turned out, it didn't matter too much, because Rosicky and Benayoun were extremely effective while Theo Walcott had the best 45 minutes of his Arsenal career in the second half, and nearly had a hat trick at the Grove!
I don't want to be too negative after such a thrilling performance, but it has to be pointed out that Rosicky, Sagna and Walcott scored their first home Premier League goals in OVER A YEAR to help the gloriously unplayable van Persie secure a satisfying victory for us Smiling Gooners. Theo Walcott scored against Udinese in the Champions League at home this season, but the last Premier League goal that he scored at the Grove prior to the Tottenham game (that I can remember) was against Chelsea on the 27th of December 2010. Let's hope that we are not left waiting so long for the next one, as the boy obviously has ability and can surely, at the age of 22, only get better. It was so nice to see Rosicky and Sagna on the scoresheet but, as with Walcott, it would be nice if they could contribute a few more goals to supplement the avalanche coming from the man-mountain that is Robin van Persie. All in all, it was the best game that I have ever been to, as I don't think it can get any better than coming back from two goals down against the scum to win 5-2. The celebrations after the game ran well into the night for me, so I'm going to keep this short and not so sweet.
Now the dust and rose-tinted spectacles have cleared from the demolition of Harry's Tottenham, the question must now be asked... would Arsenal have conceded 37 goals in the league this season if we had some of George Grahams boys coaching the defence and goalkeepers? The answer surely has to be a resounding no. Bringing back Seaman, Dixon, Keown or Adams seems like the only solution for us now, as Stevie Bould obviously isn’t able to make himself heard. Bringing back some of the old guard would allow Arsène to do what he does best, concentrating on developing his attacking players and trying actually to get some consistency out of them. As a final point, I would like to say that I doubt that there would be any lack of effort or motivation being displayed by any of our players if they knew that Keown and Adams were waiting for them in the dressing-room at half-time