Kevin Whitcher
Emmanuel Adebayor was a key factor in Arsenal defeating Spurs more than once when he wore an red and white shirt. And he continued that trend yesterday in the colours of the opposition. Andre Villas-Boas’ team were on top for the first period of this game before the striker’s lunge and subsequent red card reduced his team to ten men for over 70 minutes. This allowed Arsenal the space in midfield to take the game to the visitors and rack up five goals.
Fortunately, Spurs were only one up at the time of the dismissal. The Gunners’ offside trap was not what it used to be and needs to be looked at carefully, perhaps as closely as some opposition managers do. However, given the break, Arsenal took advantage, and critically, balls across the face of goal created more opportunities than going through the middle. There is still an element of tip-tap at times, but the drive provided by Cazorla and Wilshere meant that the Gunners moved forward more often than they have of late.
Theo Walcott had a big game, delightful and frustrating in turns. His cross for Mertesacker’s equalizer was a thing of beauty and if he could do that consistently I’d have a lot less qualms about awarding him the contract his agents are seeking. But Theo’s consistency in performance echoes that of the team.
AVB was preparing his subs to switch his formation to 3-5-1 before the critical third Arsenal goal went in. With Jermain Defoe halfway between providing some kind of outlet and trying to nullify Mikel Arteta – which he was managing before Adebayor’s dismissal – Spurs were outnumbered in midfield and unable to get any real kind of foothold in the game.
In the second half, when Bale’s run and strike made it 4-2, there were some nerves in the crowd, with memories of two goal leads being surrendered fresh in the memory, and certainly in this particular fixture in recent seasons. That Bale went close again moments later did little to calm the crowd, and not too many of the away section were leaving early. Walcott’s goal addressed the fears and Arsenal took the much needed three points.
It was strange to see William Gallas wearing the Spurs armband. Senior pro, yes, but after what happened at Arsenal it was an eye opener. Maybe Villas-Boas is not fully cognizant of the events of 2008. There can’t be too many players that have captained both clubs. Sol Campbell is an obvious one, perhaps Pat Jennings may have worn the armband on isolated occasions at either club? The trivia kings out there can enlighten me.
One other thing that struck me was that, given Santi Cazorla had flown across the Atlantic and back in midweek to sit on the bench for Spain, he had an excellent match once given the extra space to work in. Perhaps this travel fatigue thing isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
I caught ‘Match of the Day’ this morning and was interested to hear Vincent Kompany state that Arsenal were “the best team we’ve played this season” in discussing whether Spurs could finish above Arsenal. I am assuming he is not including the Champions League in that, nor the Community Shield. One suspects when Chelsea or Manchester United meet them in the league, that view might change. However, it is still an opinion that indicates how well Arsenal can play – as they did at Eastlands. Everyone enjoyed the euphoria of a derby win yesterday, regardless of the circumstances, but moving forward, it is the consistency of performance that is the big issue for this team.
It is a facet of recent seasons that, when the manager has begun to come under pressure, his team can respond and win just enough vital matches to avoid the kind of scrutiny that would end up turning the majority against the Arsene Wenger. They have certainly always been able to squeeze into the top four (or top three last season, which proved significant). But on the assumption that the manager will be signing a fresh contract next summer, and that he will then be around until 2017, how is this team going to create the kind of euphoria experienced yesterday on a more frequent basis? I’d be interested in the views of those who do believe that Arsene Wenger can bring back the glory days to Arsenal regarding what they see as the reasons for the recent decline in results and performances, and how they think this can be addressed to bring much-needed consistency.
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