| Match report
While much was made of the
relative expenditure of the two sides coming into the match, there
was always going to be a bit more than that to the eventual outcome
and while the Gooners fans were jumping up and down to get excited
about a 1-0 win, it was far from as convincing as some would leave
you to believe. Spurs were by no means at their best and have
still got some way to go to get the understanding within the team
that the home side showed in their organisation and compactness.
Perhaps more worrying for
Spurs than losing to the Woolwich Wanderers was the loss of Etienne
Capoue to a nasty challenge from Cazorla, who repeatedly got away
with the sort of niggly challenges that you associate with Arsenal,
but this was one which saw the French midfielder leave on a
stretcher in considerable pain and with his lower leg in a splint.
Tottenham started with the
same team as against Swansea City the previous week and Erik Lamela
was on the bench, although Spurs had no cover at centre back in
reserve. With two 1-0 wins behind us, it was a chance to take that
good defensive form into the match.
The thought that our newcomers might be over-awed was dispelled in
the first few minutes when it was the referee who suffered from
derby atmospherics. Giving Arsenal two free-kicks just outside the
box for soft fouls, Santi Cazorla had two opportunities to get shots
on goal. The first, which was slightly to the left of the box,
brought a flying save from Hugo Lloris to push the shot wide, as it
looked as if it would creep inside the post. The second free-kick
was more central and the Spaniard tried to sneak the ball in at
Lloris' right hand post, as the Spurs wall jumped. Fortunately for
Tottenham, the ball went a foot wide of the goal.
After Giroud headed lover a corner and then headed one weakly at
goal from 18 yards out, Spurs started to get into the game, with
Townsend and Chadli getting joy wide on either side of the pitch.
Chadli nut-megged Jenkinson with a back-heel to put Rose away and
then Townsend pulled a ball back from the dead-ball line for Soldado
to shoot at goal, but a defender blocked it.
19 minutes in, Walker won the ball and allowed Townsend to take it
on, firing a shot at goal from fully 25 yards out, but a deflection
took it way wide. As usual, Spurs failed to make anything from the
corner. But three minutes later, Spurs went a goal behind, when
Arsenal moved the ball from midfield and Rose came infield, leaving
Walcott space out on the right and the ball low to the near post was
turned in past Lloris by Giroud. It was a goal that Spurs should
have known about with that movement and finish having been used
before by the home side and it didn't help that Dawson had dropped
back while Vertonghen and Rose tried to play offside.
Some weak defending down the right by Chadli, Dembele and Rose in
the 25th minute allowed Walcott to finish the move with a shot from
a narrow angle that Lloris had to shovel out, with Dawson there to
clear the danger. Spurs were handing possession over to Arsenal far
too easily in this period of the game and it put them on the back
foot, with no obvious out ball, as Soldado was finding it hard
playing the lone striker. It took until nearly the half hour for
Szczesny to make his first save as Townsend cut in and unleashed a
powerful low drive from 22 yards that the keeper had to dive to his
left hand post to push the ball away. At the other end, as play
continued, Spurs were outnumbered, but a pass to Aaron Ramsey saw
the Welshman shoot way over when he should have hit the target.
Spurs almost suffered deja vu from last season, when Walcott was
sent through the middle and Lloris raced out of his box and managed
to just get to the ball first as it looked like a mis-timed
challenge would bring a red. As it was the ball broke to Walker, who
raced away only to be cynically brought down by Rosicky, who was
booked.
Seven minutes before half-time, Gibbs gave the ball away as Dembele
nipped in to pinch it, but when he took the ball into the area, he
dallied and was crowded out before giving away a foul. Townsend came
closer, cutting in from the right again, but a low shot was straight
at the keeper.
The second half started with Spurs knocking the ball about and
winning a couple of corners, but the Gooners were working hard to
close them down on the ball. Soldado went down a little easily when
a quick throw saw the ball bounce over him, but Koscielny had two
hands in his back as he floored the Spanish striker. Unfortunately,
Referee Oliver wasn't so willing to give a soft award in the box as
he had outside the box for the home team.
A bad foul by Flamini on Rose as he cut inside brought a free-kick
and a yellow card for the debutant, but Chadli's shot from the dead
ball went over by a distance. Walker won a soft free-kick when Gibbs
came into the back of him, out on the right wing, but again, it came
to nothing. When Arsenal broke just after the hour, with Vertonghen
and Rose caught up-field, Dawson was faced with Walcott and Giroud
running at him, but managed to get the ball as it was played inside.
The next time that they broke away, Giroud's shot took a deflection
but Lloris got across to his right with his dive to tip the ball
wide.
Spurs were building play very slowly and it didn't help things when
Dawson gave the ball away in the centre circle, Arsenal broke and
were four on three, but the through ball was met by Lloris diving
out at Walcott's feet. Cazorla brought down Capoue in midfield,
falling on his ankle, but also hand-balling it and kicking the ball
away. Referee's decision ? Free-kick and that was all. That was the
end of Capoue's involvement and Sandro came on, with Lamela making
his debut at the same time for Townsend.
After the changes, Spurs got the ball into the box and it fell
outside to Defoe, who hit it on the turn. A deflection saw Szczesny
dive left to tip it wide and Paulinho got the loose ball, playing it
back for Saldado, whose shot his a defender, with cries for a
penalty going up. The loose ball was then hit wide by Walker from
outside the area. The next attack was at the other end and Giroud
set up Walcott, whose shot was well kept out by Lloris, but the ball
ran towards the right hand post and Walker did well to baulk
substitute Monreal from scoring with his first touch.
The remainder of the game fizzled out, with Arsenal playing
strong-arm tactics, fouling Spurs players at will with no punishment
by card from the match official and all Spurs had to show for it was
a free-kick worked left and Chadli firing over, while Lamela had a
shot from inside the box, but the power was taken off it by a
defender, as it rolled through to the goalie. Spurs got ragged in
their passing as they tried to force an equaliser and Arsenal were
happy to hold onto the ball to run time down. Walker missed his kick
when Soldado pulled a ball back across the box following a scramble
from a corner and that summed up Tottenham's game. A game where
there was little of the passion needed to have Spurs pushing onto
Arsenal a bit more. The lack of pressure put on their defence,
especially in the first half, allowed the home team to play their
way out of trouble, but at the end, when Spurs started getting the
ball into the box with more attacking players, the red back line
panicked with clearances anywhere … including up in the air in their
own box.
While there was only one goal in it, Spurs lacked the attacking
threat to try to grab an equaliser. Lamela thrown on at the end
didn't give him much opportunity to get involved in the match and
Defoe struggled against the giant Arsenal defenders, while Soldado
had little decent service.
By the time the next Premier League game comes around, our squad may
well be much changed again, with rumours of a bid for Blackpool
midfielder Tom Ince going around the crowd at the match. I am not
sure that he is the key to turning Spurs into a winning machine,
whereas, Christian Eriksen might have had the bit of guile we needed
to unlock the defence here.
AVB doesn't quite have to go back to the drawing board, but while
not losing any more points than he did at this match last season,
the tactics sheets that he and the coaching staff dream up should be
spruced up to give Spurs more of an attacking style and leave other
teams worrying about what we do rather than us setting up to deny
them right from the start.
Ted Maul |
