Soixante-neuf! Not only was this Tottenham's first league victory at Arsenal for 17 years, it was their first success against one of the "big four" on their travels in 69 attempts, and it was a Frenchman who scored the winner.
Most of the spirit and flair of France's win at Wembley in midweek seemed to be with the home side in the first half, in which Samir Nasri effortlessly picked up where he left off against England, yet the second half was a different story and Arsenal were repeatedly opened up through the middle. Younes Kaboul was an unused member of the French squad on Wednesday, but he played the whole game here and it was his flicked header four minutes from time that sealed a famous victory.
Gareth Bale spent the first half getting almost no change from Bacary Sagna down the left, but when he turned up in the middle in support of Jermain Defoe five minutes into the second he took advantage of a masterly flick by Rafael van der Vaart to score the goal that changed Spurs' afternoon. The flying Welshman is a ridiculously short 3-1 with some bookmakers to pick up this season's footballer-of-the-year reward, yet only once here, at the end of the match, did he leave Sagna flailing in the manner that earned him so much admiration against Inter's Maicon. Even then he messed up the final delivery after galloping away, his failure to find either of his targets in the centre preventing Spurs posting a 4-2 result that would not have flattered their second-half superiority.
Bale can be marked out of matches when he stays on the wing, which is what happened in the first half, when Nasri's greater licence to roam in from the right saw the Arsenal player take up more dangerous situations. Nasri gets up and down as well, and though Arsenal were not doubling up on Bale, the winger frequently found himself with two players to beat simply because Nasri's natural inclination is to help his defence. Often he would station himself just in front or alongside Sagna, in fact he was in exactly that position when he played the ball from the edge of his own penalty area to set up Arsenal's second goal. The ball was swiftly transferred through midfield and out to Andrey Arshavin on the left, his cross allowing Marouane Chamakh to score with a first time shot.
Nasri had claimed the first goal himself, making a superbly timed run to stay onside and provide a target for Cesc Fábregas's astute pass. If his first touch was not the greatest, neither was Heurelho Gomes's attempt at a smothering save, and Nasri's determination allowed him to score from a narrow angle. With Fábregas and Nasri continuing to find space and each other with the greatest of ease it was difficult to see Spurs coming back, until Harry Redknapp switched things at the interval by throwing Defoe on up front and moving Van der Vaart to the right, intentionally or otherwise freeing up Bale.
"We had to go for broke at 2-0 down," said Redknapp. "Gareth didn't do anything wrong in the first half, their full-back just played him very well. He got in tight and didn't allow him much space, and it's very difficult in that position when you are staying out wide waiting for the ball. You are not going to go past the full-back every week. In the second half he popped up in a few different positions and that's what got us the goal."
After Spurs had equalised through the most ludicrous of penalties – Arsène Wenger did not attempt to deny that Fábregas had handled the ball but disputed whether the original free-kick should have been given – Bale popped up again on the opposite wing to help set up the winner. Laurent Koscielny bundled him over, Van der Vaart arrowed in an excellent free-kick, as he had been doing all day, and Kaboul's head did the rest.
It was billed beforehand as a game featuring the four strongest candidates to date for player of the season – Fábregas, Nasri, Bale and Van der Vaart – and Spurs finished the stronger in that department, too. Without having one of his most impressive games, Bale demonstrated his match-altering ability, and Van der Vaart just demonstrated his ability. Fábregas was less assured in the second half and blotted his copybook with the penalty, while Nasri began like a train and finished completely out of puff.
"We were in a good position but could not maintain our focus and urgency," said Wenger, who withdrew Nasri 12 minutes from the end. "We faded, some players dropped, especially the ones who played Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday. It was fatigue in the end. Chamakh had a good chance to score a third, he was clear but he checked because his legs had gone. I do not feel Nasri's quarrel with William Gallas was a factor in the game [the Arsenal player refused to shake the hand of his compatriot before kick-off] because at least he started well. He just could not maintain the pace."
Undiplomatically, though not undeservedly, Redknapp made Gallas his man of the match. "I don't know where we'd have been without him, after losing King and then Dawson," the Spurs manager said. "He was outstanding, and he's really helping Kaboul come on." Allez France, as Arsenal used to say.
Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 20 Nov 10
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