A Premier League of ups, downs and outs leaves a legacy of flaws

The Champions League finalists finish sixth in the league, Manchester United lose an eight-point lead and Manchester City lose five away games but end up winners

It was the flaws that made for an engrossing Premier League season. Even Manchester City, on their path to the prize, contrived to lose five away games. The new champions will scarcely be in anguish now but such results emphasised that this, to put it kindly, has been a transitional campaign.

One ought to marvel that Manchester United got so close to retaining the title. Expenditure in the transfer market has increased by comparison with earlier periods under the ownership of the Glazers but the outlay still seems relatively small when set against the scale of the club itself. That policy leaves United with a capable team rather than an enthralling one.

No one, for instance, assumes that either Antonio Valencia or Ashley Young, the wingers employed against Sunderland on Sunday, is going to be ranked with Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved from Old Trafford to the Bernabéu in 2009, when he was 24. There can be no claim that his best years had been in the service of United.

In the weekend win it always looked as if Wayne Rooney alone could settle the outcome, as he did. United are not alone in being a prominent side that is, for the moment, best suited to domestic consumption. The last 16 of the Champions League contained only two English sides. Arsenal were eliminated by Milan then and, while Chelsea will meet Bayern Munich in the final, the Stamford Bridge team have come sixth in the Premier League.

In the case of Arsenal one wonders if a touch of panic might be of assistance. Arsène Wenger seems so patient that trophies are still a remote consideration. Depth, for instance, was needed in attack but the transfer of Lukas Podolski from Cologne was agreed only recently. Had another forward arrived sooner, Arsenal would have enjoyed the option, on occasion, of selecting the excellent Robin van Persie as a schemer instead of a spearhead.

It might, all the same, be perverse to dwell on that sort of issue when half the teams in this season's Premier League have had a better defensive record in away matches than Arsenal. For a club of their standing, references to the injury troubles of Thomas Vermaelen do not amount to a satisfactory explanation. Indeed the side lost 4-0 away to Milan when the Belgian was in the line-up.

Vulnerability at even the mighty clubs has intensified the drama of the Premier League. Instead of being the resourceful, steely side of former days, United could find nothing better to do with an eight-point lead than discard it while losing, for instance, at Wigan Athletic and allowing Everton to recover from 4-2 down to draw at Old Trafford.

Nemanja Vidic suffered a grave injury against Basel in December but one would expect United to cope better at critical times, even if their points tally for the season was still large. Chelsea have suffered a greater fall from grace and, given the switch from the unsuccessful André Villas-Boas to the interim head coach Roberto Di Matteo, the improvisatory tone has been inescapable.

There is a craving at Stamford Bridge to see Fernando Torres flourish but the striker instead seems like the embodiment of the Premier League nowadays. He holds the promise of excellence but it is not fulfilled often enough. So it is, incongruously, that a 34-year-old Didier Drogba can look the principal hope for Chelsea, with agitation at the likelihood that he will leave.

Elsewhere the general state of affairs at Stamford Bridge would be envied. Liverpool have made a modest advance by taking the League Cup after a penalty shoot-out with Cardiff City and getting to an FA Cup final won by Chelsea, but it is too much to ask that Steven Gerrard single-handedly supplies the verve in midfield.

Tottenham Hotspur have come fourth, denying Newcastle United the prospect of Champions League football, but their stadium is not big enough to help generate the levels of income that would enhance the squad markedly. Beyond the current circumstances there is a difficulty in telling what we ought to anticipate from the Premier League in the near future.

Touches of austerity can be spotted, even if City are unacquainted with them. Should the forthcoming financial fair play measures have the profound effect sought by Uefa, we could see a dip in glamour that is more than offset by the rise in competitiveness. As it is, the elite have not seemed quite so aloof even if City will be sure that their era is only beginning.

Source: Kevin McCarra, The Guardian on 15 May 12

Arsène Wenger hails turning point that spurred Arsenal's season

Arsène Wenger has highlighted the 5-2 derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur as the turning point in Arsenal's season and the moment when his team were able to repair a damaged relationship with the supporters. Arsenal had entered the game at Emirates Stadium on 26 February trailing Tottenham by 10 points and when their local rivals took a 2-0 lead, they appeared to be in position to finish Arsenal's season.

The frustration of the Arsenal fans had been building and some of them took it out on the winger Theo Walcott, who endured a nightmarish start to the match. But the team fought back, with Walcott setting the seal on the win with the fourth and fifth goals.

"I believe we turned a corner that day," Wenger said. "I believe that game also helped to heal some bruises with the fans. The relationship between the team and the fans is always created by results and the results in the derby even more so, because it is linked with pride. Fans want to see the players fight and on the day, that is what they did."

Arsenal play Manchester City at home on Sunday, in a game with massive implications for both the title and the race for Champions League qualification, having seen their run of seven straight league victories ended by the loss at Queens Park Rangers last weekend. Tottenham, who play at Sunderland on Saturday, sit fourth in the table, level on points with Arsenal and trailing them only on goal difference. Wenger, though, believes that momentum is key at this stage of the season and, despite the disappointment at QPR, he feels it is with his team.

"The dynamic is linked with many ingredients – with the leaders in the group, with the potential people feel they have – but momentum is its own element and that can influence the opposition as well because they feel it on the pitch, too, when they face a team that just refuses to give up," Wenger told the club magazine. "We have felt like that ourselves when we played against a team on a roll. Scoring a goal quickly after going behind, which we have done many times, also helps your belief.

"You will not always come back from 2-0 down but the feeling that you never give up can, of course, be sustained. I never question the attitude of this team, which I may have done in some previous years. But this season, never. I must say Robin Van Persie has done an outstanding job of leading the team, as have many senior players – people like Vermaelen, Arteta, Song, Sagna. They have played a big part in setting the tone in the squad."

Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 5 Apr 12

Flashback: Tottenham 1-2 Arsenal - 1987

Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Arsenal
Littlewoods Cup semi-final replay
White Hart Lane
March 4, 1987

Sunday, March 4, 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of Arsenal’s memorable Littlewoods Cup semi-final replay victory against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

Spurs had got the upper hand in the first leg at Highbury when former Gunner Clive Allen’s goal separated the two teams. Things looked bleak in the return fixture when the striker again registered to put Tottenham in charge.

However, Arsenal mounted a revival after the half-time interval and strikes by Viv Anderson and Niall Quinn sent the game to extra time and, eventually, a replay.

White Hart Lane was picked as the venue for the match after Tottenham won the coin toss - but only at the second time of asking. On the first occasion, the coin dropped to the turf and stuck upright in the mud.

The replay followed much the same narrative as the first two games, as the prolific Allen struck once again to put Tottenham into a commanding position.

With the match in its closing stages, Arsenal appeared to be heading out but with eight minutes remaining salvation was at hand as Ian Allinson beat Ray Clemence at his near post after latching onto a pass down the left.

As the clock wound down, Allinson threatened once more for the rejuvenated Gunners, firing in a shot that rebounded into the path of David Rocastle. The midfielder ran on to the loose ball and knocked it past the helpless Clemence to send Arsenal into the final.

George Graham, in his first season with the Club, said: "This equals anything I achieved as a player and I hope it's just the start of a new era for this club. When I took over this season I wanted to build a platform for success. It's happened quicker than expected.

"I want this to be just the start. I'm so proud of my team. I didn't expect to come back this time, but I wasn't surprised. We are very resilient and have that wonderful never-say-die attitude.

“It's incredible to think how they have responded to me so quickly. I'm a new manager with a new system and they have accepted everything."

Arsenal went on to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley to lift the Littlewoods Cup.

Tottenham Hotspur: Clemence, D Thomas, M Thomas, Ardiles, Gough, Mabbutt, C Allen, P Allen, Waddle, Stevens, Claesen (Galvin).

Arsenal: Lukic, Anderson, Sansom, Thomas (Allinson), O'Leary, Adams, Rocastle, Davis, Quinn, Nicholas, Hayes.

Source: Arsenal.com on 4 Mar 12

Comeback kings Arsenal hope to do same to Milan in Champions League

Arsenal are the new comeback kings after spectacular second-half recoveries against Tottenham and, on Saturday, Liverpool. Robin van Persie scored both the visitors' goals – the second in added time – to snatch a 2-1 win at Anfield after a game in which they had been outplayed for long periods.

The result leaves Arsène Wenger in better heart than he would ever have expected for Tuesday night's mission impossible: overturning a four-goal, first-leg deficit against Milan in the Champions League. "Our job now is to make the impossible possible on Tuesday," the Arsenal manager said. "Maybe we were a bit lucky in beating Liverpool, but we will take results where we can and we have significantly improved our position in the last week. This result gets us away from Liverpool in a substantial way and we have shown in the last two games that we have the quality to produce something special when we need to win matches."

The something special at Anfield was a sensational 92nd-minute winner from Van Persie, a goal of such sublime elegance that it only emphasised Liverpool's deficiencies in the finishing department.

Wenger and Van Persie accepted that Liverpool dominated the game, yet even though Arsenal produced fewer goal attempts, more of them were on target. "We could have been two or three goals down at half-time," Wenger said. "The second half was more level, but we were lucky not to have been killed off by then. Liverpool are a very good side and it just shows how difficult this league is, how hard it is to even claim fourth place, but when you have a quality striker like Robin van Persie in your side you always have a chance. He is up there with the best players in the world at the moment and I am very proud of the way he has become the leader of the team."

Wenger knows he cannot talk in such a manner without being asked questions about Arsenal's ability to keep hold of a player whose contract runs out next season and who is now admired by all the leading teams in Europe, so he was ready with the standard reply. "You can never afford to lose a player of that quality," he said, diplomatically. "Of course we will do anything possible to keep him, I have said that many times already."

The Arsenal manager said his goalkeeper also made the difference against Liverpool, Wojciech Szczesny saving a first-half penalty, and both players echoed Wenger's view that the visitors had ridden their luck.

"We were getting killed in the first half," Szczesny said. "We enjoyed the second half a lot more." Van Persie was even more self-deprecating. "I don't think we deserved it to be honest," he said. "Liverpool played better than we did but we nicked it at the end."

If that verdict does not do justice to the excellence of Arsenal's winning goal, Van Persie was at least willing to pay tribute to the team-mate who supplied the pass. Alex Song had been the provider for Van Persie's previous goal of the season contender against Everton, and the Holland striker said the midfielder's vision was at least as good as his finish. "It was another unbelievable pass from Alex," Van Persie said. "He's a really good player. He can see it and he can do it as well."

Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 3 Mar 12

Derby day delirium

Does it get much better than that? Apart from winning a trophy, I can't think of anything that could have been more enjoyable. Regardless of any pre-text or sub plot around the season, the North London Derby is always vital and the thought of losing is always unbearable. This match just had that extra edge on other derbies. It could even have been as drastic as Arsene Wenger being out of a job because of it had we lost.

Being critical and negative, it's easy and understandable to question why the team can't play like we did against Tottenham every week? However it's not a time to be critical. We just need to revel and enjoy the fact we pummelled our local rivals. If there was one game that the team were going to turn and give everything, we as fans would have chosen that game.

At 2-0 down, considering how abysmal the last two weeks had been, I expected the team to crumble and meekly surrender to a humiliating defeat. What followed was rousing, stunning and genuinely epic. Every player stood up to be counted and after going 2-0 down, no-one had a bad game. Everyone was fantastic and deserves a huge amount of credit. The challenge is to reproduce that level of performance regularly.

Even before going 2-0 down, we weren’t playing too badly, but being down and almost out made the team even more determined. There was an urgency and drive about the team that none of us had seen before. It was partially there in some of the big results we’ve had this season, such as winning 5-3 away at Chelsea, but what was running through the players on Sunday was something completely different.

There seemed to be a ‘win at all costs’ mentality. Those with the cannon on their chest understood what the North London Derby meant to everyone. They fed off the noise of the crowd and hauled themselves back into the game.

This spirit was typified by Bacary Sagna. The team could have felt sorry for themselves at 2-0 down, but when Mikel Arteta’s cross came into the box, Sagna attacked the ball superbly. No-one was getting in his way and ball was going to end up in the net. I mentioned it when we came back against Aston Villa in the cup; it makes such a difference when players take responsibility and make things happen themselves. Every Arsenal player did that on Sunday. Sagna looked back to his best, and having two regular full backs in the team made such a difference.

We started off looking quite open, but after going 2-0 down, the defence tightened up and were fantastic. Thomas Vermaelen looked back to his best and was dominant in the air, Laurent Koscielny was excellent again and Kieran Gibbs put in a fantastic shift.

Initially, it seemed the Sagna header would just be something for us to build on in the second half, but to equalise before half time lifted the crowd and was the biggest momentum swinger in the match. The team performance was superb, but in big games, you often need some individual brilliance. Robin van Persie said before the game that contract discussions won’t happen until the summer, so there isn’t much point in debating if he will or won’t sign a new one. We just have to hope he does because he is the best striker in the Premier League, bar none. His equaliser was stunning and also showed how he took responsibility as the captain to get us back into the derby.

It would have been easy for the team to sit back at the start of the second half having levelled the match and just try and calm the game down. However the adrenalin was pumping, the crowd were buzzing, the stadium was alive and the team roared forward.

Tomas Rosicky, who along with Song and Arteta, bossed the midfield and scored a richly deserved goal. We know that Rosicky isn’t as good as Fabregas or Nasri in terms of technical ability, however what he lacks slightly in that aspect, he makes up for in direct running and commitment. His charge forward just after half time and run into the six yard box was brilliantly timed, and his finish was deft.

We’ve missed goals from midfield this season, and if Rosicky can continue his form and contribute more goals for the rest of the season, we’ll have a great chance of staying in the top four.

Having taken the lead, I immediately thought we were going to throw the lead away somehow. My mind went back to the 4-4 against Spurs in 2008 and the 3-2 defeat at home last season. Mental strength is a phrase that is often overused by Arsene Wenger in his post-match interviews, but to not capitulate and go on to dominate the rest of the match as we did, really did show mental strength.

Theo Walcott was terrible in the first half. He looked so low on confidence. Had we not brought the game level, I think he’d have been substituted at half time. He stayed on, and his goals were extremely well taken. For the first goal, Walcott was on the edge of our penalty area when Rosicky played the ball over the top for van Persie to chase, yet Theo charged up in support and got on the end of the move. His control wasn’t great, but his finish was instinctive and superb.

As soon as he scored, he was like a different player. He was suddenly charging up and down the wing to win the ball and then his second goal was arguably better taken than his first one. The control was much better, and without thinking he dispatched the ball into the far corner. We have to keep Walcott’s confidence up, because whatever people think of him, he can be dangerous and can make a difference.

The fans were understandably on his back in the first half, but his response was typical of the whole team on Sunday.

Arsene Wenger was a man under a significant amount of pressure at the weekend, but he got his team selection spot on. The midfield trio were fantastic, and outplayed Tottenham’s midfield two. The front three interlinked well with the midfield three, and were tearing holes in the Spurs defence, particularly in the second half. Considering this is meant to be the worst Arsenal team in years, and the best Tottenham team in years, just on the evidence of Sunday, North London is definitely still, and will continue to be, red.

The key selection choices for Wenger were on the wings. Most probably expected Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho to start, but Walcott and Benayoun both justified their selection. The manager clearly prepared the team well, and got them in the right mind set for the derby. When 2-0 up, Spurs fans were chanting ‘Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay’. If he’s going to get his team to play like that every week, we might actually agree with Spurs fans on something. It was so refreshing to hear ‘One Arsene Wenger’ ring round the Emirates near the end of the match.

That leads me on to the atmosphere at the ground. The stadium was absolutely buzzing. All the fans rallied round and the majority stayed positive even when 2-0 down. As soon as Bacary Sagna scored, the stadium exploded and the fans were going to do everything possible to help turn the match around.

It was truly fantastic, and was proof of how fans can help the team in important games. When things are going badly, everyone at the club should deserve criticism. When we stuff five past Spurs, everyone deserves credit, and the fans are part of that. I think the atmosphere was even better than it was against Barcelona last season. It was epic. After Sunday, for one of the first times since leaving Highbury, the Emirates is beginning to really feel like home.

I can’t emphasise enough how well everyone played, and how much desire and character came pouring out of the team. It was a day that made everyone proud to be a Gooner. The players really understood what it meant to the fans, and everyone came together in a glorious goal scoring barmy Sunday afternoon. I was really pleased to see Carl Jenkinson come on. He’s a true Gooner who has made it into the first team, and he’ll have loved every minute of his substitute appearance.

Obviously we still face a massive challenge to stay in the top four, but if that win doesn’t give the team confidence, nothing will. Play like that every week, and we’ll have no problem in reaching the Champions League. Instead of worrying about the rest of the season, let’s spend this week with a massive smile and make sure that we ask Spurs fans for the time at five to every hour. North London is red.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 28 Feb 12

Tottenham's ascent leaves Arsenal with bitter lessons to learn

Foreboding is in the air at the Emirates with Arsène Wenger forced to play catch-up with their north London rivals

Usually around this time of year Arsenal supporters begin examining the fixture list to determine when they might celebrate a tradition that has become known as St Totteringham's Day. That is the point in the football calendar where it becomes arithmetically impossible for their local foes to finish above them in the league. Whatever they may be thinking as they head for the Emirates this weekend, however much foreboding fills the air, with unease about Arsène Wenger's thinking and Stan Kroenke's style of ownership back on the agenda, it is lost on nobody that St Totteringham's Day may be cancelled for the first time in Wenger's 16-year reign.

The last time Tottenham ended a Premiership campaign with the upper hand in north London, Arsenal endured a season when their manager, a proven winner who had turned the club around, fell dramatically from grace. It was 1995 and George Graham was sacked as a result of the bung scandal.

Arsenal finished in mid-table. Spurs did a little better, ending up seventh but still way behind Leeds, Nottingham Forest and the champions that season, Blackburn Rovers. A newborn baby then could have grown up to the age of consent and become a parent in the time since Tottenham last looked down on Arsenal.

Will anybody explain the significance of this development to Mr Kroenke on Sunday as he pays a rare visit to the home of his long-distance franchise? The visiting supporters have waited long enough for such a twist in neighbourly relations that they will be raring to mention it. Over the other side of the aisle in the directors' box, the Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy can survey the scene with a sense of serenity he has seldom enjoyed since he began a painstaking, and often painful, game of catch-up.

Among the group who have represented England in the Champions League in recent seasons Tottenham's business model, with a home-grown, hands-on chairman who works closely with his manager and is involved in his club's affairs 365 days a year, is an anomaly. It is a throwback.

Tottenham are backed by the finance of Enic, the company controlled by the billionaire Joe Lewis, but in the running of the club, overseen by Levy, Tottenham remain based on a traditional operation. It is interesting that they are enjoying their most productive spell at a time when Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, under foreign ownership, are no longer set up to function in the same way.

Levy's stock has not always been so high. The experiment with a director of football concept was problematic. The constant changing of management (seven in his first seven years as chairman), with a few clangers such as Jacques Santini and Juande Ramos in the mix, did not give the best impression. But a series of excellent decisions more recently, starting with the moment he hired Harry Redknapp, has had a transformative effect.

Last summer he played the transfer window with a hard business nose and the dividends have been paying out on the pitch for Tottenham all season.

In playing hardball to keep Chelsea's hands off Luka Modric, arranging the loan for Emmanuel Adabayor, securing shrewd deals for players such as Brad Friedel and Scott Parker, Levy has backed his manager wholeheartedly.

In many ways it is reminiscent of the model Wenger enjoyed when Arsenal flourished. He had strong football men behind him who were as steeped in the English game as they were in business. David Dein and the late Danny Fiszman did not always see eye to eye but they worked tirelessly to provide Wenger with the support needed off the pitch. The board were close-knit and, in their own ways, as obsessed by it all as Wenger. They viewed financial matters as important only to serve sporting aspirations.

They were visible in the stands every time Arsenal played, be it the main show, the reserves or the youths. They were the team behind the team.

When Kroenke dropped into Arsenal's AGM in October, at the end of a five-minute speech he joked: "You had better get used to seeing us. Because we will be around." His is a distinctive interpretation of "around". The last game he attended was almost four months ago.

In the American's absence Ivan Gazidis is the face of the current Arsenal board. The chief executive appears to have a difficult job in mediating between the business side and the sporting side and Wenger does not always seem in tune with his messages. While Gazidis has announced some good news with a price freeze for season-ticket holders, Wenger expressed sympathy for the costs loaded on to supporters in an environment where Arsenal struggle to keep up with the wealthiest. "We are far behind the top teams wages-wise but what is true is that our fans pay the price for it," he said. During the week stories emerged of a transfer war chest for the summer but Wenger knocked such stuff back as "not true".

Tottenham offer stability and unity behind the scenes at a time when Arsenal have issues in that area. With Alisher Usmanov hoovering up a few stray shares last week, the "cold war", as some fans have dubbed it, between the American and Uzbeki shareholders is an ongoing struggle. Until such time as it is resolved it is difficult to see Arsenal selling a clear vision for the future.

With former players queueing up to urge Wenger to revamp the team, Lee Dixon has described this as the "most important derby" his old manager has faced. More important than semi-finals? More important than winning the title at White Hart Lane? More important than his first derby match, which came when he had a mere five Premier League matches under his belt and needed to win over a sceptical public – and team – having arrived from Japan? Incidentally, consider how many of the team who won Wenger's first derby back in 1996, before he had really got hold of the team, would walk into the current side: Lukic, Dixon, Bould, Keown, Adams, Winterburn, Vieira, Platt, Merson, Bergkamp, Wright.

The current squad needs more surgery than did the one Wenger inherited. The marketplace makes that difficult. But at the very least the importance of a good summer has been amply demonstrated at both Spurs and Arsenal. Somehow Wenger and his board have to come t ogether and make a better fist of it next time.

Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 25 Feb 12

Arsenal's Theo Walcott turns the boos to a chorus of approval

Theo Walcott departed Arsenal's defeat of Tottenham with the home support chorusing his name but with an admission from his manager, Arsène Wenger, that he had considered substituting the winger as Arsenal trailed and he was the subject of abuse from his own fans.

The 22-year-old had laboured to make an impact through this derby's early exchanges and sections of the home crowd targeted him as a focus of their frustration.

Walcott, whose form has suffered over recent months, appeared to buckle under the pressure when, with his side 2-0 down, he was gripped by indecision when offered the chance to tear at goal and his lack of confidence was exposed by a weak attempt to liberate Robin van Persie instead.

Yet, from that mishmash of a performance, Walcott somehow recovered his poise, particularly after half-time, to register a brace of finishes reminiscent of his eye-catching hat-trick for England in Zagreb in September 2008. They were the winger's first Premier League goals at the Emirates Stadium since December 2010. "The crowd was starting to get on his back," said Wenger, "so you do wonder if you are doing him a favour by leaving him on.

"But I felt that he has the qualities we needed, that considering the rest of the team are hiding [among bodies in-field] he is a player who can be straight, direct and can go behind the defenders. Nobody else is like that. He is a very direct player and you know that sometimes he can miss a first touch but still, considering the balance of our team, I felt it was important to keep him in the side."

The performance and the smartly taken finishes across the Spurs goalkeeper, Brad Friedel, will have been noted by the interim England manager, Stuart Pearce, who was present here. Walcott has been used by Pearce as a central striker in the England Under-21s and he could yet be considered there for the seniors against Holland at some stage on Wednesday night given the withdrawals of Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent from the squad over the weekend.

"You have to get on with the game," said Walcott when asked about the vocal criticism from the stands. "When things are not going too well I can hold my hands up. I didn't have the greatest of first halves. But it just shows the character, not just mine but that of the team.

"It was about trying to forget about that and work hard in the second half and, if you do that, hopefully good things will come to you. It happened for me. Even so, coming off and looking at that result feels unreal."

Harry Redknapp, who had worked with the young Walcott during his spell with Southampton, was deflated in defeat but less surprised by the Arsenal winger's sudden transformation from boo-boy target to match winner. "That's football, isn't it?" said the Tottenham Hotspur manager.

"People are fickle. He's a good player, a player of real talent. I gave him his debut and he's a fantastic talent. His run for the third goal … was it the third goal? I've lost track of the goals, to be honest, but he ran 80 yards to get on the ball [from Van Persie]. Not many people could do that."

The Spurs manager suffered his own abuse, as did his assistant Joe Jordan, from some home fans behind the dug-out and appeared to single one out in discussions with a steward. "It was only one idiot," said Redknapp. "Just one guy, so it was nothing really."

Source: Dominic Fifield, The Guardian on 26 Feb 12

Theo Walcott leads astonishing Arsenal comeback to bury Tottenham

This was a north London derby in keeping with the season's scarcely credible story-lines. When you can have the institution that is Arsène Wenger questioned as never before in a swell of Arsenal supporter angst and Harry Redknapp walk free from the crown court and into the position of England manager-elect, what is a pulsating seven-goal thriller, in which one team clambers back from the grave and the other sleepwalks towards it?

Arsenal's campaign has been marked by wild scorelines, most recently the 4-0 Champions League reverse at Milan. The 8-2 at Manchester United cut them to the core. But this one was rather happier, starring in the same ballpark as the 5-3 win at Chelsea. Expect the unexpected.

Wenger sat slumped when Emmanuel Adebayor celebrated his 28th birthday with the penalty that put Tottenham 2-0 up against his former club. But it was the high point for the visitors, who departed with a dent to their pride and their aspirations to finish as London's top club.

This was a triumph to make the Arsenal support forget their misgivings. It contained Robin van Persie's latest stunning goal and a collector's item from the excellent Tomas Rosicky, his first in the Premier League for more than two years.

But it was Theo Walcott who epitomised the theme of transformation. The England winger endured a wretched first half, his touch heavy and his confidence appearing in pieces. He left the field to a standing ovation, having scored Arsenal's fourth and fifth goals with nervelessly executed finishes.

The Arsenal players milked the applause at full-time and there was talk from the dressing room that the seven-point gap to Tottenham could yet be clawed back. Wenger spoke of everything having been "perfect", apart from the opening five minutes when his team had ceded the advantage to Louis Saha's deflected shot on the counterattack. As is his wont these days, Wenger could not resist a pop at the naysayers, of which there are plenty connected to the club. "Arsenal is alive more than anyone thought before the game," he said.

Tottenham were rendered shell-shocked and their misery was compounded by Scott Parker's dismissal for a second bookable offence in the 87th minute, an ill-timed lunge at Thomas Vermaelen. He will be suspended for Sunday's visit from Manchester United. Parker did not complain and he even went back to say sorry to Vermaelen, reinforcing another motif. Tottenham's performance came to resemble an apology. "We buckled, which is not like us," Redknapp admitted.

The manager said he would have expected to win at 2-0 but at no point could he feel comfortable. His team's second came against the run of play, with Arsenal having responded positively to their nervous start, Van Persie dragging wide when given a second bite inside the area and Rosicky drawing a flying save from Brad Friedel with a flicked header.

The penalty was laced with controversy. Gareth Bale showed his strength to hold off Kieran Gibbs but, inside the area and with Wojciech Szczesny lured into a bolt from his line, the winger went down. It was difficult to see that a touch from Szczesny or any defender had prompted the tumble but, on the other hand, Bale may claim to have felt contact, whether he initiated it or not. Adebayor's composure from the spot was commendable.

Arsenal's revival was ignited when, after Van Persie had struck the post, Gibbs fed Mikel Arteta and his floated cross was headed home by Bacary Sagna. The home crowd completed their whirlwind first-half journey when Van Persie showcased his touch and technique to beat Friedel with a left-foot curler.

Redknapp and his assistant Joe Jordan clashed verbally with Arsenal fans behind the benches but it was Tottenham's players who needed the hard hats. Yossi Benayoun was denied by Friedel from Arteta's fine pass but moments later the stadium was plunged into frenzy when Rosicky timed his run to convert Sagna's cross.

The scene was cleared for Walcott. His first goal was a beautifully clipped effort after good work from Rosicky and Van Persie and it was as though a switch had been flicked. When Alex Song lofted a pass forward in the 68th minute, Walcott's touch was excellent, his low finish instinctive and unstoppable.

Asked whether the five-goal comeback had given Wenger hope ahead of the return against Milan on Tuesday week, he laughed. Arsenal, though, have demonstrated a taste for the outlandish.

Man of the match Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal)

Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 26 Feb 12

Arsenal must make this the norm, Spurs the exception

Arsene Wenger’s stubborn resistance to the voice of the masses has been listed among his faults during Arsenal’s plunge into reduced circumstances this season.

Wenger has often appeared alone with his principles amid calls for changes in personnel, policy and even the manager himself in some cases as Arsenal’s stretch without a trophy extends to seven years.
Even those who argue against a change in Arsenal manager have voiced the view that the current Arsenal manager needs to change.

And yet that stubborn streak, that belief that what he is doing is right, was a compelling force for Arsenal’s good in a north London derby that took all logic and shook it until the bits dropped off.

 

If Wenger had a desire to pander as a populist, he would have bowed to the baying of the mob and substituted Theo Walcott to spare him the volume of criticism he was receiving from his own Arsenal fans as Spurs went 2-0 up in this magnificent exhibit for the Premier League.

Louis Saha’s deflected shot and Emmanuel Adebayor’s penalty, generously given by referee Mike Dean after Gareth Bale’s theatrical tumble in contact with Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, had elevated the frustration levels around Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal were not playing badly but it was the view of many of the paying public that Walcott was – and boy did they let him know it. The exclusion of the exciting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain threw Walcott’s struggles into greater relief but Wenger stood by his original selection.

He admitted later that occasionally you do a player a favour and remove him in the face of such treatment but Wenger stayed true to his belief that Walcott offered a serious threat.

And so it proved during an Arsenal comeback that carried such force that Spurs buckled quite spectacularly, shipping five goals in 28 minutes and threatening to lose even more emphatically than they eventually did.

Walcott, on the receiving end of some fairly X-rated abuse from some Arsenal fans in the first 45 minutes, added the final two flourishes in swift succession to finish off a comeback fashioned around goals from Bacary Sagna, Robin van Persie and Tomas Rosicky.

It was such a transformation in fortunes that, when Walcott was replaced by Oxlade-Chamberlain with nine minutes left, his name thundered around the stadium, accompanied by a standing ovation.

Fickle old football. And that fickle nature was scattered around like confetti with Walcott, Wenger and Spurs manager Harry Redknapp playing the central characters.

Seven days earlier, Spurs fans were united in ironic song at Stevenage as they pleaded “Arsene Wenger – We Want You To Stay” with Arsenal in desperate straits following a Champions League mauling at the hands of AC Milan and an FA Cup exit at Sunderland.

If Arsenal and Wenger were not quite on their knees going into this game they were certainly badly wounded. Rarely had Spurs looked so in command of north London’s football territory. And in Redknapp they had a manager who was almost assuming the role of “The People’s Choice” as the man most likely to succeed Fabio Capello as England coach.

Redknapp’s CV is no more dented by this loss than Arsenal’s problems have all disappeared as a result of 90 minutes – particularly a first half – that scrambled the senses of many observers.

At its conclusion Wenger announced: “Arsenal is more alive than anybody thought before this game.” There was certainly plenty of life on show in a performance that did not simply contain the attacking decoration that has been their trademark in the past – but also a character and resilience that saw them creating chances and applying pressure even when they were behind.

Arsenal’s season has contained some wild results such as an 8-2 defeat at Manchester United and a 5-3 win at Chelsea – add this to another madcap moment in this campaign. Wenger suddenly has his sights trained on fourth place once more but if this season has told us anything, it is that the evidence suggests Arsenal are the team that cannot be trusted completely.

There was so much to admire from the Gunners here. The fluid play, the support for Van Persie – although his most magical moment was all his own work, a precise finish that curled tantalisingly beyond Spurs keeper Brad Friedel to put Arsenal level just before half-time.

Fit-again Sagna gives balance and attacking threat as he scored once and was involved in creating one of Walcott’s goals, while Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen persisted long enough to ensure any lingering Spurs threat was snuffed out.

And yet all praise for Arsenal comes with a giant note of caution attached. It does not suit their purposes to play like this against Spurs if they are to retreat back to the timid at Liverpool next week.

For Spurs, it is a not time to throw the baby out with the bathwater on the strength of one desperate afternoon. A fairly horrendous defeat cannot undo so much good work done this season. Once wounds have been tended, they still lie seven points ahead of Arsenal in third place.

If Redknapp was angry at Spurs’s capitulation, he saved it for the dressing room. In his post-match inquest he was measured and tried to put the performance into context while giving Arsenal their full credit.

There were points of concern for Redknapp, however, especially in the manner they threatened to collapse even before actually doing so. The pace of their play has been a high point all season but here Arsenal carried all the tempo and momentum, which Spurs were unable to contain.

In the face of Arsenal’s vibrant attacks, captain Ledley King looked to be struggling in his fight to keep playing despite being unable to train. He laboured throughout and Redknapp admitted to his struggles later.

Spurs faded badly as Arsenal thrived and Scott Parker’s sending off, while an irrelevance here, may have serious implications when he misses Manchester United’s visit to White Hart Lane next week.

The midfield battle was lost so decisively that Redknapp made alterations at half-time with the scores level. Sandro and Rafael van der Vaart replaced Saha and Niko Kranjcar but the horse had bolted.

The game was up long before the end, allowing Arsenal’s players and supporters to revel in the luxury of such a commanding lead in the closing stages, using the humiliation of their neighbours as a healing force on those recent wounds.

The trick for Wenger and Arsenal is to somehow make sure results and performances such as this are not isolated incidents. The task for Redknapp and Spurs is to make sure they are.

Source: Phil McNulty, BBC Sport on 26 Feb 12

Arsenal frowns turned upside down

The front page of the match day programme for this always emotive fixture featured the headline 'Time for Heroes' and, belatedly, a handful of Arsene Wenger's players answered the call before a euphoric Emirates Stadium audience.

After the horrors of their thumping defeat against AC Milan in the Champions League and the equally depressing FA Cup exit at Sunderland in the last couple of weeks, this was the first time in more than a decade when Arsenal fans gathered for their annual home battle against Tottenham with pessimism pulsing through their veins.

That Arsenal's recent demise has coincided with an impressive rise for their long-time second rate neighbours has merely heightened the agony for Wenger's wavering disciples and on Sunday they reached a point where yet another defeat would simply not be tolerated.

It was not that Arsenal fans arrived at the Emirates Stadium wanting to see their team lose, in the hope that it would bring some much needed change of direction at their club. No, contemplating a loss against Spurs is not a prospect any true Gooner could contemplate, but many were ready to turn against their team before a ball had been kicked in this 150th league North London derby.

The mood of pessimism hovering over Wenger was confirmed as he looked to take the sting out of a potential revolt by appealing for the fans to stay behind his team, while Robin van Persie used his programme article to suggest Spurs are ahead of Arsenal in the Premier League because 'they have invested a lot of money in the last few years and that is reflected in their league position'. A far from subtle hint from the captain that investment is needed to put Arsenal back on track.

When Spurs then cashed in on Arsenal's defensive frailties to storm into a 2-0 lead after 34 frantic minutes, the Arsenal hordes were edging towards a point they have rarely been in Wenger's historic reign as their manager. While not quite in open revolt against their manager and his team, the anger amongst the Emirates choir was rising by the second.

It was not that this Arsenal performance had been as pitiful as those against AC Milan and Sunderland, as Tottenham's early advantage was somewhat fortunate in a first half that had seen the home side dominate possession and have the best of the chances. However, these supporters have had enough hard luck stories to last them a lifetime of late and they didn't want to be patronised by another.

Theo Walcott was on the receiving end of the most vitriolic abuse from the fans around the press box, though Wenger was not alone in escaping on a day when his defence again looked incapable of holding back any kind of tide that flowed in their direction.

Then, just as it seemed life could not get any more unbearable for Arsenal fans apparently facing up to the reality that the Wenger glory days were over for good, their misery came to a most sudden and glorious end.

Within 11 minutes of a game that could have finished off their campaign in miserable fashion, Arsenal scored three thrilling goals, as Bacary Sagna, Van Persie and Tomas Rosicky struck to transform this game and maybe the immediate future of this club and their manager.

Further goals from the previously maligned Walcott gave a disbelieving Arsenal public salvation that seemed out of reach just half an hour before, inspiring Wenger to hail his troops and insist he never lost any faith in their abilities.

"Arsenal is alive more than anyone believed prior to this game," claimed a defiant Wenger. "The drive of the team, the style we wanted to play and everything about this performance was perfect. Despite a bad start, we refused to lose this game and now we can feel it is still possible to finish ahead of Tottenham.

"If you look at our run in the league in recent months, it has not been bad and now we have to try and build on this performance and try to take this level of performance and spirit into our upcoming matches."

This was quite a collapse for a Tottenham side who have looked solid and superb for most of this season and just for once, Redknapp will take some of the blame for their defeat. Even when his side were 2-0 ahead, they were being overrun in midfield and he confirmed as much by throwing Sandro into his midfield at half-time.

Scott Parker may have been player of the season for Spurs, but he was unable to hold his attack-minded side together alone, with Sandro's arrival doing little to end the increasingly painful story for Spurs in the second half.

"I didn't even feel comfortable when we were 2-0 ahead," conceded a downbeat Redknapp, whose misery was completed when Scott Parker was sent off for a second yellow card three minutes from time. "We were getting overrun in midfield and that is why I decided to change the formation and put Sandro and Rafael van der Vaart on at half-time, but they had all the momentum by then.

"We buckled after they scored their first goal and it's not like us. Now we have to respond to this as we have Manchester United at home next week and it's a massive game for us. We are still well placed to finish third, despite this setback."

One day of glory amid a more widespread landscape of despair does not cure all ills, but after so much heartache, this was a day when Arsenal fans remembered how to smile once again.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Robin van Persie
When Arsenal appeared to be heading towards what would have been a fatal defeat, their captain did all he could to lift them and after two first half near misses, his stunning equaliser paved the way for victory.

WALCOTT WONDER
Was this the day Theo Walcott finally came of age as an Arsenal player? Berated by irate Arsenal fans as he turned in a typically erratic first half display, he left the field to a standing ovation after his two second half goals. "I considered taking him off as the fans were on his back in the first half, but Theo gave the perfect answer," stated Wenger. "I still believe in Theo."

ARSENAL VERDICT
There is a danger that this solitary heroic performance will paper over the cracks that remain in this Arsenal side, but the passion and commitment that has been lacking of late returned in abundance.

TOTTENHAM VERDICT
With a 2-0 lead established, Redknapp's men looked certain to wrap up the third place finish they have craved all season, but they now have to respond positively to this almighty setback.

Source: Kevin Palmer, ESPN Soccernet on 26 Feb 12

Defending becoming a forgotten art for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal

The top Premier League sides are losing their discipline and ability to compete in Europe, as demonstrated by this season's high-scoring matches

After a fortnight that demonstrated English clubs' inability to control football matches in Europe, Arsenal's 5-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur was a perfect demonstration of the utterly anarchic football favoured by Premier League sides this season.

Arsenal won the game despite their defence looking extremely prone to quick breaks in the opening half hour. Equally, Tottenham raced into the lead and were then unable to retreat into a good defensive shape and withstand pressure. 5-2 was a freak scoreline – but so were 8-2, 1-6, 3-5, 3-3 and 1-5. All these results have come this season between the five English sides that have contested Champions League football in the past 12 months.

None of the top sides want to be submissive, to be seen as the underdog and play reactive football. That is the major difference between England and other major European leagues, where the food chain is more established. In Spain, barely any sides attempt to dominate possession against Real Madrid or Barcelona, and even Real know their place against Pep Guardiola's side. In Italy the game is played at a much slower tempo, and in Germany games between the bigger sides are generally tense, tactical and with counterattacking a key factor.

In England, everyone wants to play football. Arsenal went to Manchester United and played the "Arsenal way" despite having an inexperienced back four, a squad yet to reap the benefit of deadline day signings and a side exhausted after the midweek trip to Udinese. They conceded eight. United threw men forward in the derby defeat to Manchester City, even when down to 10 men and likely to be exposed on the counterattack. They conceded six. Chelsea played a suicidally high defensive line at home to Arsenal, when it was clear Arsenal's attackers would outpace their backline. They conceded five. There are other factors – injuries to key defensive players and some brilliantly inventive attacking play. But naivety has contributed, a refusal to change strategy to suit the situation.

Sunday's game broadly suits the pattern. Tottenham played deeper than usual, but the use of two central strikers indicated they were going to be direct and purposeful with their attacking. It worked well early on, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Louis Saha dragging the Arsenal centre-backs out of position and creating space for midfield runners, but Tottenham found themselves unable to compete in midfield, and invited more pressure than they could cope with.

On the other hand, despite Arsenal eventually winning the game comfortably, their early problems surely could have been avoided with a little more caution. Tottenham were only the second side this season to arrive at the Emirates and put two strikers high up the pitch. (The first was Fulham, who earned a point having gone ahead. Manchester United fielded Wayne Rooney behind Danny Welbeck, but Rooney generally battled with Alex Song rather than the centre-backs). Therefore, unusually at home, Arsenal didn't have a spare man in defence – but still pushed both full-backs high up the pitch, and left two against two at the back. They constantly looked uneasy when they lost the ball, when simply dropping Song or one of the full-backs deeper would have provided some cover.

A separate problem for each individual side is the lack of control they are able to exert upon matches. Control, an intangible quality that is impossible to measure, is the hallmark of every great side. It doesn't matter how a team seek to control a match – whether it is with long periods of possession or sensible defensive organisation, the best sides look comfortable when in the lead, rarely threatened and able to conserve energy ahead of their next fixture.

Yet Tottenham looked nervous when 2-0 up, allowing Arsenal chances to get back in the game. When Arsenal took a 3-2 lead, not even the most optimistic Arsenal fan had the confidence they would be able to kill the game – they had to go for the fourth and fifth goals to make sure. Conveniently, that was when they were at their most dangerous – Tottenham had to push up and leave space at the back for Theo Walcott to exploit. Like away at Chelsea, Arsenal could enjoy facing a side playing high up the pitch, yet putting little pressure on the man in possession.

It is this lack of control that is costing English teams in Europe. With a fluid Barcelona side the template for continental success, it's an inconvenient truth that English clubs perform better in Europe when they are defensive, organised and functional. Manchester United's Champions League win in 2008 coincided with their meanest defence in the Premier League era in terms of league goals conceded. Arsenal reached the final in 2006 with a run of 10 clean sheets, which seems unthinkable now. Liverpool's win in 2005 is inevitably remembered for the goalfest in the final, but that was completely at odds with their approach in the knockout rounds. Chelsea got to the semi-finals or further when José Mourinho, Avram Grant and Guus Hiddink were happy to defend, whereas Carlo Ancelotti couldn't get past the quarter-final when Chelsea were routinely putting seven goals past Premier League whipping boys, and defeating their title rivals.

It's not easy to change from a Premier League mentality to a European mindset, as English clubs have found out this season. Those used to a more patient approach are better equipped. Milan are not four goals better than Arsenal in terms of raw quality, but they had a clearer gameplan and knew how to attack Arsenal. Similarly, Chelsea's willingness to leave spaces for Napoli to counterattack into was bizarre. These matches sum up the lack of adaptability, the lack of control.

This is all anecdotal evidence, but the statistics support the theory that continental success comes at the expense of league excitement. When the Premier League enjoyed its best run in Europe, between 2004-05 and 2008-09, the goals per game average in the Premier League was down at around 2.5. In the previous five seasons, when England had no European Cup finalists, it was over 2.65. Since 2009, it has risen to 2.8.

Small margins, but it fits the pattern. To enjoy putting five past Spurs, Arsenal fans must be content with shipping four in Milan. Well, not quite, but there's a trade-off – and 4.9 goals per game in matches between the top five isn't indicative of great quality.

Source: Michael Cox, The Guardian on 27 Feb 12

Wenger's reaction to the Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham Hotspur match

on the performance…
Arsenal are alive more than anybody thought before the game. Today we gave a performance that on the spirit side, the technical side, the drive of the whole team, on the style of the game we want to play everything was perfect despite a very bad start. I felt in the first five minutes Tottenham started well, after that it was all us for 85 minutes.

We were always on top of the game. We were 2-0 down but refused to lose the game and kept going no matter what happened. Once we were back to 2-2 you could see that if we maintained the pace, we would win the game. We had a good balance between offence and defence, between creativity and going into the space behind the defenders and good maturity.

We had a great spirit. I must say the way we want to play football depends on the pitch and this was the first time in three games that we played on a football pitch that is really a football pitch. That helps as well.

on Theo Walcott’s display…
The crowd was starting to get on his back and you wonder if [it won’t] do him a favour by leaving him on. But I felt that he has the qualities that, considering the rest of the team, are highly needed. He is a player who can be straight and go behind the defenders - nobody else is like that. He is a very direct player, he can sometimes miss a first touch but considering the balance of the team I thought it was important to keep him in the side.

on the defence…
I felt we were a bit nervous at the start and when we slowly became calmer the two centre backs were outstanding. They had an outstanding game today but I felt they started a bit nervy.

For the first goal we were caught on the counter attack and the second was not a penalty. We played against a team with Saha, Adebayor, Gareth Bale, Modric - you cannot dream they do not get any chance at all in the 90 minutes.

on finishing above Tottenham…
It is still possible. I felt even before the game that it was possible if we keep our consistency. Everyone in the Premier League can lose points. They have a difficult schedule, and we have a difficult schedule, but if we continue to play like that, why not?

on Tottenham’s substitutions…
They felt flooded in the middle of the park and couldn’t get to the ball. They tried to stop us from dominating the midfield but it didn’t stop us. I felt we were technically faster and superior in our passing.

on injuries to Rosicky and Vermaelen…
Unfortunately we had some bad news for Rosicky today, and Vermaelen as well. Vermaelen has an ankle problem, and Rosicky a back problem. I don’t think they will be available for Wednesday, whether they are available for Saturday is a big doubt.

Source: Arsenal.com on 26 Feb 12

26 February 2012: Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham Hotspur, Emirates Stadium

Brilliant. Superb. Wonderful. Jubilant. Joyful.

Think of the best word you know and add it to this list.

Because that is what it feels like to be an Arsenal fan right now.

The red-and-white hearts of North London have been tested this season. Their side’s at times indifferent form has been exacerbated by a fine campaign from their near neighbours in blue-and-white.

That is why 99 per cent of the Arsenal fans inside Emirates Stadium on Sunday would have taken a 1-0 win of any kind over their near-neighbours and old rivals. In fact, their side served up a five-goal comeback that will surely enter the annuls of North London history.

Five minutes before half-time they were trailing 2-0 in the most unfortunate circumstances – Louis Saha’s horribly-deflected opener and a hotly-disputed penalty dispatched by Emmanuel Adebayor.

However Arsenal were level by the whistle thanks to Bacary Sagna’s powerful header and Robin van Persie’s superb curler.

Parity was the least the hosts deserved, they had been the better side throughout but had been 'picked off' twice on the counter.

They would kick on after the break. The tireless Tomas Rosicky, superb on the day, poked home a third six minutes after the restart then Theo Walcott sent Emirates doolally with a brace inside three minutes.

Scott Parker’s late dismissal completed a dismal day for Tottenham. And, having matched Chelsea’s three-goal win over Bolton on Saturday, Arsenal returned to fourth place.

Few inside Emirates Stadium will have cared too much about that during this stunning, sensational 90 minutes.

However they might have been aware that the gap to third-placed Tottenham is down to a more manageable seven points.

Last season, Arsenal had led 2-0 and lost 3-2 in this fixture. A result that saw some suggest the powerbase in the north of the capital was changing.

This afternoon, Wenger’s men reversed that feat and went two goals better to prove they are still very much a force.

It was a reminder to always keep faith in your team.

The build-up to this derby had been unusual. Tottenham came into it as genuine title contenders and highly hopeful of finishing above their North London neighbours for the first time in 17 years.

For Arsenal, Kieran Gibbs and Laurent Koscielny passed fitness tests to replace Johan Djourou and the injured Francis Coquelin. However Rosicky and Yossi Benayoun for Aaron Ramsey and Gervinho were tactical changes.

It was a little more artisan than artiste and suggested that Arsenal were preparing to roll up their sleeves.

After the most unfortunate of starts, that is exactly what they would do.

The game had barely settled before Tottenham went ahead after four minutes.

As they did so often in the first half, Tottenham spread the ball wide to Adebayor on the left. His presence drew the Arsenal defence and he sent Saha running free down the middle.

Vermaelen came back to cover but the Frenchman let fly from the edge of the area. The effort hit the Belgian’s legs and looped high over the wrong-footed, sprawling Wojciech Szczesny.

When your luck is out, your luck is out.

Arsenal sought a leveller immediately. They had two half-shouts for a penalty when Gibbs went down and Parker appeared to handle. In this case, the two halves did not make a whole.

Then Sagna raced down the right and his cross eventually found Van Persie. The Dutchman’s first shot was blocked but the return fell to him and he fired just beyond the far post.

By the midway point, Arsenal had wrestled control of the game and were pressing forwards.

Van Persie’s low, long-range shot whistled just wide. From the corner, Rosicky nudged a near-post header towards the far corner only for Brad Freidel to produce a wonderful tip over.

However Arsenal’s ambition always meant they might be picked off. In the 24th minute they were nearly counter-punched to the canvas.

Adebayor chased down Gibbs, who tried to shepherd the ball back to Szczesny. The keeper’s clearance fell to Kyle Walker who rifled his effort just over the bar.

It did not stop Arsenal attacking.

Parker clipped Van Persie just outside the area but Arteta drove his free-kick straight into the wall.

However, Tottenham still seemed to have space when they did go forward. In the 34th minute, Luka Modric sent Gareth Bale through the middle. He managed to hold off Gibbs and knocked the ball past Szczesny before going over in the box.

Referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot and, though the keeper went the right way, Adebayor squeezed his penalty into the corner.

The scoreline betrayed the game. Arsenal had been asking most of the questions but that had allowed the visitors too much space through the middle.

Tottenham were too good to refuse it.

Wenger’s men desperately needed something before the interval. In fact they would get more than they asked for.

In the 40th minute, Van Persie swivelled a low cross-shot against the far post. The ball went out to the left and was eventually returned by Arteta. Sagna attacked the cross like a centre forward to power a header past Freidel.

Suddenly there was doubt in the Tottenham defence. Three minutes later they allowed Van Persie to get the ball on his left foot just outside the area.

It was a fatal mistake.

The Dutchman curled home his 29th goal of the season into the top corner and it was surely one of his best.

It was all Arsenal going into the break. The flow of this passionate end-to-end game has been that way anyway – even if the score had fluctuated wildly.

Two changes at the break suggested Redknapp was more concerned by the first 45 minutes than Wenger.

Sandro replaced Nico Kranjcar and Rafael Van der Vaart replaced Saha.

The changes made no immediate difference. Arsenal had finished the first half in rampant mood and it was the same straight after the restart.

Arteta found the excellent Benayoun in the area and the Israeli tried to slide a shot towards the corner. The stretching Friedel fingertipped the ball past the upright.

Then, in the 51st minute, Arsenal grabbed the lead for the first time. Sagna went overlapping down the right and sent in a low cross towards the near post. Rosicky had shown wonderful desire to reach the ball and deserved to touch home his first league goal of the campaign.

Throughout the game, the decibel level at Emirates had touched the top of the scale. As the Czech international wheeled away, the noise was phenomenal.

This was no ordinary derby.

Having taken the lead, Arsenal lost a little urgency. However they were still in control and, just before the hour, the tireless Rosicky slid a ball into the path of Walcott on the right.

With the angle narrowing, he fired a low cross-shot inches beyond the far post.

The Englishman had been quiet thus far but, just past the hour, his game would catch fire.

In the 65th minute Van Persie pulled the Tottenham defence to the left in a similar manner to Adebayor way back when in the first half.

It left Walcott in space on the right and, when the captain found him, his chipped finish was immaculate.

Three minutes later, Song sent a lofted ball down the right-hand channel to release the winger once more. This time he steadied himself and cracked home a fifth.

The Emirates was in ecstacy.

With the game won, Arsenal eased off and Tottenham fought for pride. Bale’s cross-shot was the closest they came and Parker’s second yellow was inevitable after his went through on Thomas Vermaelen.

Wenger even brought on Carl Jenkinson at the end. It was the full back’s first appearance in more than three months due to a back injury.

But, more importantly, as a life-long Arsenal fan, the young full back knew exactly what this victory meant.

A great day to be a Gunner.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 26 Feb 12

Arsène Wenger, like Arsenal wins over Tottenham, cannot go on forever

The Arsenal manager knows there is now more than just pride at stake when the north London rivals meet

Arsène Wenger was at a low ebb on Friday. His heavy cold embodied the subdued mood at a faltering club about to meet Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates. In modern times, the fixture has often been about pride alone, but the days are gone when the visitors sought something so small as a mere, isolated win over Arsenal.

Tottenham, third in the table, will have hopes of maintaining or extending the 10-point lead over them. Whether they achieve that or not, the scrutiny of Wenger and his employers will continue. Supporters understand the value of prudence but also believe that the virtue is being taken too far.

The "Arsène Knows" sign could have been decommissioned a long time ago. While fans may resist vilifying him in the near future, he is the cause of as much frustration as Stan Kroenke, the American who holds the majority stake in the club. The latter may attend the encounter with Tottenham, even if the mood in the Emirates has an undertow of animosity towards the owners as well as the visitors.

Followers of Arsenal have, all the same, just begun to express dissent. They may still be glad of possessing costly season tickets that start at almost £1,000 considering that there is a waiting list of 40,000. Nonetheless, those who can attend the games do not feel so very privileged any more.

Their tone still tends to be quizzical rather than mutinous towards Wenger but that could be changing. "Everyone will mention him and Sir Alex Ferguson," said Andrew Mangan, editor of arseblog.com, "but Ferguson is there because he has kept on winning things." It seems that a knack for disappointment has been honed at Arsenal.

Defeat in last season's League Cup final did not seem so very astonishing despite the fact that opponents Birmingham City had taken the silverware on the way to relegation. It sometimes feels that Arsenal are dogged in their capacity to fall short. Whatever is said of the League Cup, it could have stopped the constant references to Arsenal lacking a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.

On that occasion the side first survived the final against a dominant Manchester United before prevailing in a shoot-out. The sense that this is now a distant event is underpinned by the realisation that the match was staged at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

There is no seething mob confronting Wenger even now and while he should be spared that after all the wonders once accomplished, a scepticism is on the rise that can undermine a manager in its own fashion.

"The idea of him staying forever isn't as obvious as it was," says Mangan, before attempting to understand Wenger's circumstances and intentions. "Is it wilfulness or stubbornness or is there something going on in the background that he is covering up? It would be sad if it ended in acrimony."

Wenger could regard himself as unlucky when, for instance, his side reached the final of the Champions League, only to appreciate that the game was a lost cause because the opponents were a Barcelona lineup hailed as among the greatest teams in history.

That was a day when Arsenal were hopelessly disadvantaged, but there are accusations that the club also confounds itself. Wenger is poised when justifying his situation. Only Blackburn and Wigan have a worse defensive record in away games in the Premier League. The Arsenal manager's response is not so very comforting for fans.

"We conceded eight at Man United and four at the beginning of the season at Blackburn," he said. "So overall I feel since then we have stabilised our defence." Followers of the club would wonder why such debacles had even been feasible. The loss of four goals without reply to Milan in the first leg of the last 16 tie in Champions League did not suggest that all ills have been cured.

The quick-witted Wenger also referred to the fact that his club had at least got to the knockout phase, leaving everyone to ponder the Manchester clubs who are out of the competition and busy instead in the Europa League. Who can blame him? Opportunities for oneupmanship do not come often enough for Arsenal.

He has been criticised by people such as the former Arsenal manager George Graham. Wenger can cite ill-fortune as in the serious injury to the centre-half Per Mertesacker, who was bought in the summer. Then again, he is probably not as great a loss as that suffered by United when Nemanja Vidic's season was ended by cruciate damage.

The Frenchman tries to ignore the remarks of Graham and others. "I fight for what I can master," Wenger said. "It's a waste of energy and of time to speak about people who have opinions. They are entitled to have an opinion, that I respect. It does not mean this person is necessarily right. We live in a world where you have to accept that. I can completely live with that. That is not the most important for me. The most important for me is that we turn up with a good performance on Sunday."

It is part of the punishment of a manager in difficulties that everything he has ever done becomes open to re-examination. Wenger was asked, for example, if he might not have signed the excellent Gareth Bale who went to Tottenham instead. "We had full-backs at the time. We had Clichy, we had Cole. After we were more keen on [Theo] Walcott, Walcott was a lot of money."

Arsenal did pay Southampton £5m for him in 2006, with Tottenham stumping up the same amount for Bale when too he arrived, also from Southampton, a year later. Wenger also praised the fact that Redknapp has taken the former Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Manchester City.

"He's done well," Wenger remarked of Redknapp. "Having said that, if the player was allowed to play as well against Man City, maybe they would have a more realistic approach. I was always against the case that you can loan the player and he cannot play against you. He should be allowed to play against you as well."

It was an odd argument since Arsenal have no contractual connection at all to Adebayor and perhaps it reflected unease in Wenger over his general situation on the approach to the north London derby. The often ironic Wenger was almost emotional about the test to come this weekend.

"It's vital for us," he said of the scene anticipated at the Emirates. "Arsenal v Tottenham is a passionate game," he said, "you expect that. It's only a passionate game if your fans stand behind you and give absolutely everything like the players will do."

He will prize the devotion of those onlookers as well as the sacrifices made to afford the season tickets, but it was notable to hear Wenger take such a populist stance. He often seems above the fray. On this occasion, the emotion that simmers within Wenger will almost certainly surge to the surface in a game that will go some way to determining Arsenal's season.

Source: Kevin McCarra, The Guardian on 24 Feb 12

London and Manchester: a tale of two cities dominating the Premier League

Twenty years on the top flight has turned many former big hitters into small-town clubs

Every time the hype and anticipation surrounding Spain's El Clásico series of grudge matches starts up in earnest, as it did last week for Barcelona's 2–1 Copa del Rey defeat of Real Madrid, it is remarked rather smugly in this country that at least the Premier League can boast more than two teams capable of winning the title.

That is still just about true, though by common consent – Roberto Mancini, Sir Alex Ferguson, André Villas-Boas and a few others – the number presently stands at three. Viz, the two Manchester sides and Tottenham Hotspur, and even that number may reduce should City open up an eight-point gap over Spurs on Sunday afternoon. The rest of the chasers are already looking at an even bigger chasm to bridge, and as the Manchester United manager said last weekend it would take a collapse by all three teams at the top of the table to give Chelsea and Arsenal a glimmer of hope.

Three teams is only slightly better than two, though what the Premier League can rejoice in and La Liga cannot is that two of those three names are new. Manchester City have not won a league title since 1968, have had 22 managers since Joe Mercer, have been all the way to the third tier of English football and back and were everyone's favourite joke club until three or four years ago. Spurs have never quite gone in for comedy to the same extent but you could have raised a laugh just a few seasons ago with the notion that they would be leading London's challenge for the title with Chelsea and Arsenal floundering in their wake.

So the argument that the Premier League is more competitive than La Liga is not without merit, particularly as Arsenal and Chelsea are still in the Champions League and are still capable of mounting a convincing domestic challenge most seasons, and not forgetting it is less than a month since the bottom-placed team rather grandly prevented United ascending to the top of the table by beating them 3-2 at Old Trafford. There is more to English football than a rivalry between two teams, as is the rather unhealthy case in Spain, though increasingly the Premier League is becoming a tale of two cities.

Consider the facts. In the 20 years of its history, the Premier League has been won only once by a team from outside London or Manchester, and unless Liverpool or Newcastle are going to be absolutely amazing in the coming months, this season will conform to the usual pattern. The only exception to the rule, Blackburn under Jack Walker and Kenny Dalglish, was 18 years ago and acknowledged even at the time to be a one-off, never to be repeated achievement. In the first year of the Premier League Aston Villa were runners-up and Norwich finished third. The next few years saw Blackburn, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Leeds claim what might be termed podium finishes, though since the turn of the century the London-Manchester duopoly has tightened its grip. Only Liverpool, runners-up twice and in third place three times, have managed to get a look-in at the top in the past 11 years, apart from Newcastle, who managed third place in 2003. That means, of 33 possible podium places, only six have ended up outside London or Manchester since the 2000-01 season.

Liverpool and Newcastle, as it happens, are still the likeliest challengers to the duopoly, though not so likely that London or Manchester need be worried. At least not the leading teams in London and Manchester. Arsenal and Chelsea will be well aware that fourth place is still up for grabs, and Liverpool supporters in particular confident that once a toehold in Europe has been gained it can be used as a springboard to much greater glory. But as things stand Dalglish has yet to reverse the slow decline that has been his club's story since they won their last title 22 years ago, and Newcastle have still to prove they can match the standards set under Kevin Keegan and Bobby Robson.

Elsewhere, however, the wastage is even worse. Everton and Leeds, among the last winners of the old First Division title, have slipped well out of contention. Leeds, like Nottingham Forest, have even slipped the odd division. Aston Villa have more in common with Midlands neighbours Wolves and West Brom in fearing relegation more than aspiring to achievement, three Lancashire clubs could easily be relegated – not that Blackburn, Bolton or Wigan have been doing much of late at the other end of the table – and although a certain level of success can presently be claimed at Stoke, Sunderland, Norwich and Swansea it is on a regional rather than national scale. That is not to denigrate the considerable achievements of Tony Pulis, Martin O'Neill, Paul Lambert and Brendan Rodgers, just to point out that it will be a while before they are acclaimed outside the Premier League.

Abroad used to be that England was a country with an astonishing number of professional clubs and an incredible depth to its league system. That largely remains the case, though it is being obscured by the view that London and Manchester are synonymous with English success. The rest of the world can just about grasp that London, as a major capital and population centre, can contain a bewildering number of professional teams, though Spurs joining Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League bracket gives it an unusual potency. Manchester is a provincial city – that's why both its teams carry its name – and although United's unparalleled success in the last couple of decades has been the single biggest factor in shutting out the rest of the country, City's wealth now seems likely to continue the process.

For how long is anyone's guess, but the predictions made at the beginning of the Premier League, that it would eventually work against small-town teams and favour big clubs from big cities, appear to be coming true. It is just that 20 years ago no one had Liverpool and Birmingham or Newcastle, Sheffield and Leeds down as small towns. And no one imagined the number of big cities would be just two.

This afternoon's big matches – City v Spurs, Arsenal v United – would have been pretty big at most points in the game's history. London v Manchester has always been a rivalry within the overall context of English football, but where it used to be a subplot, it is now the whole story. It is true that more teams are involved in England, and there is comfort in that, but the situation is not so far removed from Spain that the Premier League can afford to feel smugness or superiority.

Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 21 Jan 12

Devastating derby day

The defeat to Liverpool was frustrating, the destruction against Manchester United was horrific, the embarrassment of Blackburn was bad, but losing to Spurs brought pain, anger, anguish, frustration and general lamenting of our season to a completely new level.

I said in my last blog that any progression in the last couple of weeks would seem almost meaningless if we lost to Tottenham. It feels like we’ve gone even further back past the Blackburn defeat. Regardless of whether the performance was good or not, it’s incredibly difficult to accept losing to shadow dwellers.

The performance wasn’t terrible as we controlled long periods of the match, however in the mind of every Arsenal fan it will be, and should be, judged as not good enough. Defensively we were too open again, didn’t convert a couple of great chances and didn’t create enough of them to get a result out of the game.

15th with seven points from seven games tells its own story. Title chances went weeks ago, top four hopes are fading fast, the top six is beginning to look like a challenge, even the top half would be nice at the moment.

To be honest, I don’t want to go into the game in much depth as it was incredibly painful to see us lose to them, plus our problems are much the same as they have been throughout the season. If we are serious about making the top four, Arsene Wenger has no choice but to get tough and be realistic about the side. He needs to be more ruthless about who isn’t performing. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may only be a raw talent but has scored twice in two starts and plays with a freedom that isn’t seen in the rest of the squad. Theo Walcott’s half decent start to the season has dissolved and he looks very light weight going forward. Despite scoring at the weekend, Aaron Ramsey has struggled to impose himself on games. Is it time to try someone else?

The problem is that we’ve had a massive chunk of bad luck with injuries in the last few weeks, so often players haven’t been available to make necessary changes to the starting XI, and that was compounded at the weekend. This is clearly a team in transition, a team in need of stability and a team that is still becoming accustomed to playing with each other. Having so many key players missing from injury has definitely hindered attempts to get momentum into our season.

Having four centre backs out injured would seriously damage all Premier League teams, as would having your best player from the previous season unable to play a game until February. Even if we wanted to make a change in the centre of midfield, Tomas Rosicky’s form has been poor and Abou Diaby is also injured. It’s not like the treatment room is emptying either. Two of our best performers in the season have now gone in as well. Bacary Sagna suffered a fractured fibula at White Hart Lane and will miss at least three months of the season. Given our recent timescales with injuries, we can’t realistically expect to the Sagna play again until February or March. Wojciech Szczesny has got a back problem and will miss at least the international break.

Injuries shouldn’t be used as excuses for our failures, as there are deeper lying problems within the club, but undoubtedly they haven’t helped.

We are now heavily reliant on Carl Jenkinson. He can’t be faulted for effort or commitment in games, but the bare facts are that he is inexperienced and isn’t near the level of our injured right-back. The sale of Emmanuel Eboue is now looking like a mistake. The Ivorian may have divided opinion, but at least we’d be able to rely on him (most of the time) to capably fill in at right-back. I also think his positive attitude and popularity amongst the team is being missed.

Now, having Emmanuel Eboue would in no way solve our numerous problems, as much as I’d like it to or mythically imagine it could do. However it’s an example of what seemed like a minor decision to sell him, combining with other minor decisions that have left us with major issues. The first port of call for blame has to be Arsene Wenger. I’ve said it many times on this blog, I think he is a fantastic manager and I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done for Arsenal Football Club, but the team is now on the verge of a disastrous season. For a club built around our self-sufficient business model, not making the Champions League could have so many negative impacts. Ultimately, to succeed off the pitch in a business sense, we have to have a successful team on the pitch. Few can claim that our current team is successful.

Should we not make the Champions League, I can see Arsene Wenger leaving at the end of the season. I think he has to be given the rest of the season to try and turn it around, because trying to find a manager mid-season would create even more unrest and disruption to the playing squad. Not just for the sake of the club, but for Wenger himself, I’m desperate for him to turn things round. Unfortunately, I’m struggling to see how it’s going to happen at the moment. We absolutely have to make sure the defence is solid, we have to create more chances, and we have to take those we do create. It sounds so simple, but it’s what we need to climb the table. Obviously it’s made harder by our lack of personnel in key positions, but it’s time for the players, manager and coaching staff to look at themselves over the international break and question whether they are giving and doing everything they can to get Arsenal out this substantial hole. I wouldn’t mind betting that in the majority of cases the answer is no.

Having said all of that, we can still have a slight sense of injustice about the game at White Hart Lane. Rafael van der Vaart controlled the ball with his arm in the build-up so the goal shouldn’t have counted. He then ran into the crowd when on a yellow. I think it’s a stupid rule to get booked for going into the crowd, but the rule exists so it should have been applied. It was either no goal, and possibly a second yellow for the handball, or a goal and a second yellow.

The winning goal was another once-in-a-lifetime strike, like Danny Rose’s goal for Spurs against us in 2010. I doubt Kyle Walker will ever a ball in the same way again so as it just serves in front of the goalkeeper. Our defending in the build-up to the goal was abysmal though. Its basic stuff to mark men from a throw in, and we didn’t do it so some could argue we deserved to concede a goal from that situation.

One of the only positives from the game was Francis Coquelin. As at Old Trafford, he stood out above the more established players around him. If Song has to continue as a centre back, Emmanuel Frimpong will have to get past Coquelin to get into the team. However, I could see Coquelin playing as a right back in Bacary Sagna’s absence, especially if Jenkinson struggles with the rigours of regular Premier League and Champions League football.

We now have the boredom of an international break where we’ll all cross everything that we don’t get more injuries. I’m just waiting to hear that Robin van Persie has been kicked when playing for Holland so he disappears for the rest of the season. If that happens, it won’t be unreasonable for most fans to write the season off completely.

I’m worried for the rest of the season. We’re one injury from not even getting near Europe. I don’t want to have to write about another defeat for a number of weeks, and especially not one against Tottenham. It wasn’t the final straw, but it’s fair to say there aren’t many left.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 4 Oct 11

Five things we learned from Tottenham Hotspur's win over Arsenal

Spurs need more steel in midfield, Arsenal are still dozing at set-pieces and Harry Redknapp's side are more equipped to make fourth place

This was no way for Arsène Wenger to celebrate his 15th anniversary in charge
Rarely over Arsène Wenger's lengthy tenure at Arsenal has he taken his team across the capital with the watching world sensing they arrived at White Hart Lane as underdogs. After all, the Frenchman had lost only four of his 36 previous meetings in all competitions with Spurs. Yet, in slipping to defeat, the Arsenal manager's biggest regret might have been that Tottenham Hotspur hardly needed to play well to claim the spoils.

The visitors had enjoyed the majority of first‑half possession, creating clear-cut chances – most notably for Gervinho – and had shown character to recover their deficit and reimpose their poise in the early exchanges of the second period. Yet, despite the tidy performances mustered by the likes of Francis Coquelin and Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal still lost to stretch their winless run away from home to eight games. That is their worst sequence since the winter of 1991‑92.

The reality is that there remains a fragility to this team's defending which is not likely to be swiftly solved and that sense of vulnerability will nag away in tight contests against pedigree opponents. Spurs only clicked sporadically on Sunday but Arsenal always felt the likelier to crack. Wenger had conceded in the build-up that his side were "still in the rebuilding phase with our confidence" after recent away drubbings. This result will not have helped, even if his players' performance, at times, deserved better.

Tottenham needed more steel in midfield to prevail
Harry Redknapp had been bold in his team selection, omitting Sandro and selecting Jermain Defoe to partner Emmanuel Adebayor. But the inclusion of free spirits in Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric in midfield alongside the leggy running of Gareth Bale left only Scott Parker, himself keen to gallivant upfield at times, across the centre as defensive cover. At first glance it appeared a wonderfully attack-minded decision, inviting Tottenham to pour forward at every opportunity and unsettle vulnerable opponents.

But Arsenal actually outnumbered their hosts in the middle, their narrow trio of neat, ball-playing midfielders drifting into pockets of space around their counterparts and enjoyed too much possession for Spurs' comfort. Indeed, the home side's opening goal felt rather against the run of play, with Van der Vaart's inability to track Alex Song's burst after the interval critical in Arsenal's equaliser. Sandro's introduction 64 minutes in felt like an admission that the tactic of all-out attack had rather backfired, with the Brazilian's subsequent contribution to the winning goal labouring the point.

Emmanuel Adebayor's moment came as a provider, not a scorer
There was to be no goal against Arsenal for Emmanuel Adebayor as a Tottenham Hotspur striker but his former team-mates still departed bruised by the Togo forward's contribution. A player who once delighted Arsenal's fans at Tottenham's expense, and was briefly loathed at both north London clubs during his sojourn with Manchester City, is now reinventing himself as a Spur and must have craved personal reward here. Yet the nearest he came to considering how best to celebrate a goal – there would surely not have been a repeat of the end-to-end dash and slide on the knees in front of the visiting support which almost sparked a riot at Eastlands back in 2009 – was an opportunity early in the second half which was choked wonderfully by Wojciech Szczesny. Instead, he became a provider, drifting into space to deliver the precise cross which was dispatched wonderfully by Van der Vaart just before the interval. Adebayor will have an opportunity to make his own mark at the Emirates later in the season. But, as Ledley King had suggested prior to kick-off, "it's just nice to have him finally on our side now because, when he's on his game, he's unplayable".

Arsenal can doze whether they are intent upon man-to-man or zonal marking
Wojciech Szczesny had revealed his team's recent switch from zonal to man-to-man marking in the build-up as Wenger attempted to address far too much lax defending over recent times though, if that had been born of a desire to tighten up at conventional set pieces, then Arsenal are still prone to dawdle, even at throw-ins. The sloppiness Wenger has so grown to fear reared up again 17 minutes from time when Sandro was allowed to charge away from the dawdling Ramsey and Mikel Arteta and collect Benoît Assou-Ekotto's throw, the Brazilian reaching the by-line before delivering his cut-back. In the chaos that ensued, Kyle Walker fizzed his shot from distance into the corner. Szczesny, so excellent in denying Parker, Van der Vaart and Adebayor previously, and subsequently Defoe, will have felt he might have done better, though he should never have been exposed like this.

Tottenham Hotspur may be best equipped to challenge for fourth
These clubs will only be judged properly and accurately at the end of the season but, at present, it seems far likelier that Tottenham's challenge for the fourth Champions League qualification place will be more prolonged and coherent than that offered by Arsenal. The visitors may have impressed at times here but they remain prone to slipping back into bad habits: over-playing in the attacking third, lacking concentration at the back. They lie 15th, already some eight points of fourth-placed Newcastle United, six from a resurgent Liverpool and five from their bitter rivals across London. Spurs, like Arsenal, have been denied key players already this term but they have now recovered from their own dire start to rattle off fourth successive wins. Luka Modric is still theirs, and Adebayor and Parker are fine additions. If they can eke more games from King, and welcome back Michael Dawson as soon as possible, then Harry Redknapp's squad appears to boast far more depth than that of Wenger.

Source: Dominic Fifield, The Guardian on 2 Oct 11