The Spurs youngsters are not as strong as their manager, Harry Redknapp, had hoped.
That Tottenham began tonight intent on treating the Carling Cup as a testing ground rather than a trophy could be taken as a testament to their elevated status. Winning the tournament in 2008 triggered an orgy of celebration at White Hart Lane – and apparently left them so intoxicated that their form collapsed and Juande Ramos was eventually ushered out the door – but this is no longer considered a competition in which victory would ignite wild revelry.
Instead tonight's line-ups confirmed that Harry Redknapp viewed it as a forum in which youngsters audition for potential roles in the swisher surrounds the club now inhabits, as Spurs started with a side greener than the one fielded by Arsenal, usually the most snooty of clubs when it comes to the Carling Cup.
Perhaps the fact that Arsène Wenger upset convention by picking the strongest team he has thrust into this competition since the 1998 semi-final against Chelsea can also be construed as an acknowledgement that Tottenham are a rising force, one whose ballooning confidence it is worth taking the trouble to deflate. If that was the mission, then it was mostly accomplished.
For most of this match Arsenal assailed Redknapp with evidence that his squad is not as strong as he had hoped. There was some encouragement for Redknapp in the second half, when he revolted against Arsenal's attempt to put Spurs back in their place and gained a foothold by introducing Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon, but when Arsenal responded by throwing on some of their bigger guns their supremacy was restored.
In the end, perhaps the most satisfying lesson Redknapp will have taken from the evening is that there remains at least one position in which Arsenal do not have greater depth than their uppity neighbours. Lukasz Fabianksi made that point by contributing some trademark faffing to Robbie Keane's equaliser.
Redknapp also learned that Jake Livermore has the enthusiasm but not yet the guile to thrive at this level and, less understandably, that Giovani dos Santos is no closer to finding his Mexico form for his club. The Spurs manager also received confirmation that Wilson Palacios should not be uprooted from his deep role – for he was entirely irrelevant as an advanced midfielder in the first period, personifying the missing link between defence and attack. In the second half he switched with the Brazilian debutant Sandro, who thus moved into a more advanced position, but still struggled to make an impact.
There can be no quibble with the 21-year-old's eagerness to get involved – the supposed resemblance to the illustrious Sócrates was at least apparent in his authoritative gesticulations and he ran, tackled and sought the ball with gusto. He seldom got it but he never hid – and one swivel and run in the 82nd minute hinted at better things to come. The only conclusion that can be drawn on him after this is that he is not an instant miracle-worker.
Another debutant, the 18-year-old Steven Caulker, also found Arsenal testing opponents. No surprise there. While winning the player of the year award while on loan at Yeovil Town last season he did not come up against forwards as elusive as Carlos Vela and whoever else he was supposed to be tracking tonight – was it Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky or Jack Wilshere? It varied and the rookie occasionally struggled to keep up, his bemusement even affecting his ability to perform the most elementary tasks as he failed to cut out Wilshere's cross for Arsenal's opening goal, scored by Henri Lansbury, a tyro who tired but initially benefitted from being surrounded by experienced team-mates.
Generally Caulker steadied himself, but he still goofed to present a chance to Rosicky early in the second half and later emulated Sébastien Bassong by giving an Arsenal forward an easy excuse to tumble in the box.
That, of course, is certainly not enough to deduce that he will never become comfortable among the elite. What we can say is that Redknapp, with Michael Dawson and Jonathan Woodgate long-term injury victims and Ledley King usually unable to play two games a week, will hope that the back and hamstring trouble currently afflicting Vedran Corluka and Younes Kaboul does not turn out to be serious.
As for Spurs' other debutant, Stipe Pletikosa could not be faulted for the Arsenal goals but did err in the final minute of normal time when he came to intercept a Wilshere freekick but only got close enough to make desperate, flagless semaphores at it. It is far too early, of course, to deduce that he is less reliable than Fabianski.
Source: Paul Doyle, The Guardian on 22 Sep 10
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