Tottenham vs Arsenal a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
March 6, 2016
1,707 Views
- I’m glad I’ve slept on this before writing this article as I’ve had time to digest the game properly and get the Alcohol out of my body
- What a rollercoaster of emotions, a Liverpool supporting friend summed it up in the week perfectly when he referred to their 2014 title chase “If you support a club that is experiencing a title race for the first time since your support then you don’t know how to react, there’s just all these new feelings”
- And my word wasn’t he right. Tension, Elation, Euphoria, Heartbreak, Frustration all in the space of 90 Minutes.
- Is that two opportunities missed by Spurs. You could say 5 points dropped and what’s the gap to Leicester now…..5 Points
- The “Biggest Ever North London Derby” was never quite going to live up to the hype unless it ended 7-7 with both sides down to 8 Men, but in all fairness it did a pretty good job of trying to live up to that magnitude
- Spurs had what you would arguably have a full strength first eleven bar Jan Vertonghen’s injury and replacement by Kevin Wimmer
- They threw everything at Arsenal in the first 15 Minutes or so, with some speculative efforts and then David Ospina being called into action with a fantastic reflex save from Erik Lamela’s flick
- Arsenal came more into the game and then managed to frustrate their North London Rivals
- Not only that they took first blood with Aaron Ramsey’s clever flick past Hugo Lloris, good build up play from Danny Wellbeck and Hector Bellerin led to the goal. You have to admire the audacity of the finish and also hope that no celebrities die Today either.
- Arsenal in the box seat at half time and looked pretty comfortable until what was arguably the turning point of the game
- Francis Coquelin sending off on 55 Minutes swung the pendulum back in Spurs’ favour. Already catuioned in the first half after doing his best Petr Cech impression he then made a needless lunge at Harry Kane when he was going nowhere. Michael Oliver had no other option but to show him his marching orders
- Then the game came alive and I mean really came alive
- Spurs were in the ascendancy as they looked for an equaliser. Harry Kane thought he found one when his strike was kept out by David Ospina, Ospina was behind the line when it was saved, but even so it looked like a goal. There was no forthcoming signal of the goal and when the GLT replay was shown, it was a fraction of the ball not over the line. As close as you could technologically get without it being a goal. Will Tottenham lose the league by a literal inch?
- But they got their just rewards moments later, an Erik Lamela corner was powered home by Toby Alderweireld after a knockdown. The Belgian Defender showing a Striker’s composure as he powered it into the net. The momentum was with Spurs at this point
- Then a moment to bring the house down. Dele Alli chased a seemingly lost cause as Per Mertesacker looked to shadow the ball out of the play. Alli getting their first and keeping it alive, his back heel found Harry Kane, who after looking up, bent a fantastic shot past the helpless David Ospina.
- The sight of Harry Kane whipping his protective mask off in celebration and sprinting for the corner was a sight to behold, an absolutely world class finish and sheer joy on the players faces as they joined Kane in the celebrations
- While you could have probably heard the roar of the crowd back in Islington. White Hart Lane was rocking at the sight of the Tottenham turnaround
- In fairness David Ospina was the Man Of The Match, with performances like that they certainly won’t miss Petr Cech over the next few weeks
- Tottenham then tried to go for the jugular, Ospina called into action again while Kane pulled an effort wide of the post after losing his marker
- Ryan Mason then came on in a bid to protect that lead but truth be told, I think this where Mauricio Pochettino made his only mistake of the day
- With Arsenal getting pulled apart, Arsene Wenger had to roll the dice and decided to bring on Oliver Giroud as a second striker
- Within minutes the extra forward presence paid dividends, Bellerin on hand again with the assist this time playing in Alexis Sanchez whose first time shot zipped past Hugo Lloris in what was now almost downpour conditions
- A gut wrenching goal for Tottenham to concede, seemingly cruising with a goal and a man advantage they let Arsenal not only back into the game but also the title race
- Could Hugo Lloris have done better, he seemed to not get down quick enough. It was as almost as if the pace of the shot caught him unaware
- That equaliser took the wind out of Tottenham’s sails as they tried to look for a late winner, there prayers were almost answered by an Angel Gabriel.
- His attempted clearance was shanked onto the top of David Ospina’s net, a real heart in mouth moment for anyone in the Red and White colours. What a cruel or hilarious way to win a game that would have been
- A win for Tottenham yesterday and they would have surely killed off the threat of Arsenal this season and made it a 2 horse race for the title
- Eric Dier was lucky not to get sent off, his pull of Oliver Giroud’s shirt right under the nose of Referee Michael Oliver was lucky not to get punished by a Second Yellow Card
- In the grand scheme of things a point helps neither side with Leicester now pulling further clear
- I guess it’s a point gained for Arsenal and two points dropped for Tottenham
- Although a small part of me is just glad it’s all over and we can go back to some way of normality, I’m not going to lie though the result was absolutely gutting
- The title race may have been made more difficult for both sides but it certainly isn’t over
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