| Match report
Spurs put in a stern defensive
display to thwart Arsenal's attempts to grab all three points from
this match, which had seen Tottenham take the lead against the run
of play, but with very little of the possession to do much
with. It had taken 2 minutes and 23 seconds for Spurs to get a
touch of the ball, as Arsenal played it around at the back from the
kick off. This was to be the pattern of the following 93 and a
bit minutes.
Ryan Mason was an interesting choice to be slotted in alongside
Etienne Capoue in front of the back four, while Kaboul was
reinstated next to Vertonghen, with Naughton keeping his place at
right back. Otherwise, it was the team that lost to West Brom,
minus Chiriches. How they would face up to Arsenal was the
question we were asking, with a sea level change in performance
needed to stop us getting a mauling.
Not much really happened in the opening stages. Oxlade-Chamberlain got a yellow card for a late, late tackle from behind on
Capoue, when Spurs broke away and a better ball from Lamela might
have set up a good chance. The same player was denied getting a
cross in by a dogged tackle from Rose, but Vertonghen did
considerably worse when he went to challenge Welbeck on the halfway
line, but the England striker flicked the ball past him and he was
away. Kaboul came over to block his shot as he got to the penalty
area.
Tottenham's final pass was loose and ended up finding a red shirt
mostly, but they sat off Arsenal a bit, inviting them into the Spurs
half, looking to hit on the break. However, the flow of the game was
mainly towards the Tottenham goal, with little pressing on the home
side's back four allowing them to play the ball out easily. However,
in the first twenty minutes, Hugo Lloris only had to field two weak
low shots from Ramsey and Welbeck.
Wilshire flew in on Mason and got a yellow card, after he had wanted
on for a nudge on him earlier. From the free-kick, Adebayor had a
header at goal, but without too much threat. Arsenal threatened the
Spurs goal, but without meaning it, when a Oxlade-Chamberlain cross
came off Rose and caused Lloris to paw it away from the crossbar.
Every time Arsenal got the ball in the box they showed their
professionalism. Players went down, claims for handball every time
the ball hit someone and jumping at the man and not for the ball.
Lamela got booked for a few tackles and the one he picked up a
yellow for was on the Gooner captain Arteta, who needed quite a bit
of treatment before leaving the field. This brought Flamini on ... a
red card waiting to happen if the refereeing up to that point was
anything to go by.
Spurs picked off a pass and Chadli broke, feeding Mason's run to the
left wing, but his ball aimed at Adebayor didn't have enough on it
and the keeper caught it without trouble. Wiltshire tried to get a
penalty running at Rose, but his appeals were turned away, as he lay
on the floor and the Arsenal physio was busy again.
Spurs were getting more offensive and Naughton's ball in to Adebayor
was laid off to Lamela, who returned the pass, but Ade was behind
the ball and could only keep the ball alive with Naughton's second
cross in deflected for a corner. It was played deep by Eriksen to
Capoue but he could get past Mertesacker. Then Eriksen nearly got on
the end of Adebayor's pass, but Arsenal won it at the expense of
another corner, which came to nothing, but the next saw Jan force
Mertesacker to head low at his own goal, with only a dive by the
Arsenal goalie keeping the ball out.
The pantomime booing for Adebayor only accompanied a good finish to
the half for Spurs. Chadli was released through the left channel
although he produced a weak cross shot that went to the goalie and
Emmanuel tested his reflexes with a quick shot on the turn. It got
even better for Spurs when Ramsey pulled a hamstring in trying to
foul a Spurs player as they broke away and had to be subbed.
A quick break at the start of the half saw Mason's right wing cross
headed out for a corner, but it came to nothing (no change there
then). Arsenal then broke and had Tottenham out-numbered but
Cazorla's cross was kicked out by Kaboul in the six yard box. From
the corner, the ball was played straight to Christian Eriksen, but
he mis-controlled the ball and Gibbs fizzed a cross in which almost
turned out to be a shot, but was too high. A slick passing move
found Ozil in the box, but his low shot was kept out by Lloris' save
and from the resulting corner, the ball went out for a Tottenham
throw on the other side of the pitch.
Kaboul was clearing crosses that were coming into the heart of the
Spurs box from wide areas, but the first shot on target came ten
minutes in from an Eriksen free-kick, which the keeper took in the
top corner. However, as they played the ball out, Eriksen nicked the
ball off Flamini and the ball ran to Lamela, who put Chadli in on
the right. The big Belgian stroked the ball across the goalkeeper
and into the inside of side netting on the other side of the goal to
put Tottenham ahead in the 56th minute. minute. He got a
booking for cupping his ear to the crowd in his goal celebration ...
so I look forward to all players who do so getting yellow carded in
that case (Stephen Gerrard a regular user of the gesture ... either
that or he is getting old and his hearing isn't what it used to be).
It was a free-kick at the other end that almost got Arsenal back in
it a couple of minutes later. It was swung in from the left to the
far post, where Adebayor was beaten to the jump by Mertesacker and
his header down was stopped on the line by Hugo, who had the
presence of mind to palm it away as the ball ran loose. When Ade did
win the ball in the air, at the other end, he was off-side.
Poch made his 62nd minute substitution by bringing on Lennon for
Eriksen, with the thinking behind it, I imagine, to add some pace
getting back when on the defensive. Arsenal threw in their last card
with Sanchez coming on for the disappointing Wilshire. Lennon might
be fleet of foot, but not of mind, as he lost the ball on halfway
and Arsenal broke, with only Sanchez's poor control in the area
letting Spurs off from what could have been a dangerous situation.
The Arsenal crowd were moaning (at least they were making some
noise) about the ball being played back all the time, but you would
have thought they were used to that. The bookings were being dished
out by the weak referee too quickly, with Lennon and Adebayor
getting cards, for less than dangerous challenges, with the threat
that one of these would turn red sooner or later. Kyle Naughton had
the ball played at him from point blank range and with the penalty
awarded against him at West Ham United, at least the match officials
got this one right. Mason saw yellow when Ozil just got a toe to the
ball as he had committed to the tackle as Spurs started to started
to get heavily punished. It is all very well booking a player if it
is deserved, but then they have to play carefully for the remainder
of the match.
Chambers blazed a shot that flew just over from 25 yards and that
was the pre-cursor to a goal for Arsenal, when a cross came in from
the left, after Lamela had cleared back towards his own goal.
Welbeck completely missed his kick, but Oxlade-Chamberlain was
behind him and shot high into the net from six yards out to beat
Lloris with 73 minutes on the clock.
Younes Kaboul was playing a skipper's role in winning a lot of what
was played into the area, but others were tiring and Arsenal were
finding space around the box. Chadli went off with Bentaleb coming
on and then Danny Rose took a knock that brought Eric Dier on. That
was only before the fool in the black shirt booked Rose. What for,
nobody knew. If it was for not getting off the pitch quick enough
you could have said that about both Arsenal players in the first
half who were both injured as well. How often do we see
players waste time against us and not get punished if that was what
Rose was shown the yellow card for ?
Lennon brought down Chambers on their right wing near the dead ball
line, but the cross from the free-kick was defended away. Then the
Arsenal man pulled Lennon's shirt off him, as he robbed him of the
ball and looked to get away. Spurs started to sit deep again and
cede possession to Arsenal, looking to break away when they could,
but that wasn't often. Dier broke on the right wing, but dug out a
cross that went behind for a goal-kick.
All the excitement in the crowd from the goal turned to jeers as the
ball was not moved forward quickly enough for them, but with Arsenal
players throwing themselves to the floor (Sanchez in particular),
they were looking for a second yellow for a Spurs player rather than
a second goal. Towards the end of added time, the only noise you
could hear was the Spurs fans.
The pressure from the home side as time ran out built, with Dier
making two interventions to conceded corners as Arsenal looked to
fashion chances in the box. With Tottenham closing players down
higher up the pitch, but not without having enough back to cover,
the final whistle blew on a point for Tottenham, who might not have
had the possession in this game, but played with energy and some
good passing.
The yellow card count of 6-3 to Tottenham was farcical, as it wasn't
a particularly dirty or even niggly game. But Tottenham defended
with heart. Kaboul was outstanding and the full backs had a tough
time but stuck to their tasks. Mason didn't look out of his depth
being thrown in to a game like this, while everyone appeared to
realise the importance of getting something out of the game after
the two home defeats. Poch got the tactics just about right,
but the turning over of possession will be of concern, when Spurs
were trying to see the game out, along with the use of the ball when
in promising positions. So, still things to work on before we
play Besiktas and then Poch's old team Southampton, who are still
second in the table.
It will be a busy week !!
Hellwyn Ballard |
