Familiarity has been a common theme in my blogs recently,
more so from a slightly negative perspective. But there will be no such
negativity this time, as the latest batch of déjà vu saw us revisit a memorable
day in February as The Arsenal once again saw off claims of a power shift to come from behind to batter Sp*rs in the North London derby, by five goals to
two.
The first 20 minutes were centred on returning airhead
Emmanuel Adebayor, who was rather amusingly ignored pre-match by Bacary Sagna,
before he then put the visitors 1-0 up after ten minutes after some suspect
defensive play from our back line. He was then deliciously sent off for a
horrific “tackle” on Santi Cazorla, and due to his uncontrollable idiocy, Sp*rs
had to play the remaining 70+ minutes with ten men.
This seemed to switch Arsenal into gear, having spent
almost all of the first quarter on the back foot, and it was from a rather
unlikely source that we found ourselves level on the 25 minute mark. Theo
Walcott’s cross was met by the towering Per Mertesacker, who rose highest
(hardly surprising) to head home superbly in a similar no-shit fashion that saw
Sagna get us up and running in February’s edition of ‘hit Sp*rs for five at the
Emirates’.
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| We've got a Big Fucking German! |
Everything clicked after this, and two more goals prior to
half time saw us in a seemingly unassailable lead. Lukas Podolski’s scrappy
shot bundled home to give us the advantage via a mouth-watering deflection off
another returning rectobite William Gallas, before Olivier Giroud got amongst
the action with a neat finish despite being borderline assaulted by Jan
Vertonghen, after Cazorla made the most of a great advantage played by the
excellent Howard Webb.
All we had to do in the second half was keep the momentum
going and not give Webb a reason to make the match up ten verses ten, and the
game appeared to be over after Cazorla got his well earned goal on the hour
mark. It was about as route one as Arsenal can get. Wojciech Szczesny’s goal
kick was flicked on by Giroud, gathered by Walcott who released Podolski, whose
inch perfect cross was smashed home first time by Cazorla. Goal of the game for
me, and it should have been from there that we went on to really put T*ttenham
to the sword with the idea of six or seven not totally far-fetched.
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| Cazorla celebrating his goal. |
The players had other ideas though, and clearly
had a genius master plan to re-enact the famous February result. Fine by me in
hindsight, but after Gareth of Nazareth made it 4-2 with 20 minutes to go, the
home crowd dipped into that familiar sense of insecurity, and painful memories
began to emerge of a previous comeback that saw us balls up a 4-2 lead at home.
It wouldn’t be Arsenal if there wasn’t a slight sense of drama, right?!
All for nothing though, as substitute Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain (who apparently is seething over only being offered £45k a week, despite having three years left on his contract – nice one Matt Law)
broke clear after some delirious defensive passing from the Spuds, to tee up
Walcott who deserved his goal playing the final minutes in the centre forward
position.
5-2 it finished, and another glorious reminder that North
London is still, and always will be, red.
| I swear I've seen this before... |
Cazorla rightly earned the Man of the Match plaudits, and
it was great to see the little Spanish magician back to his best pulling
strings in midfield, alongside a fired up Jack Wilshere who is getting better
and better with each returning game. Mikel Arteta had a much more assured
performance than last week against Fulham, and I was surprised Sp*rs didn’t
press him as much as other clubs have in recent weeks to great effect.
Szczesny’s return in goal was refreshing, and despite
conceding two goals he wasn’t called upon too much to keep Sp*rs out (although he really needs to work on his distribution), as it was
more the visitors incessant wastefulness and poor decision making that cost
them in the final third, than the goalkeeping heroics we had to deal with as
Hugo Lloris pulled off a string of fantastic saves to stop the game heading
towards the clichéd ‘cricket score’.
We made fewer errors at the back too, despite the opening
goal that was exceptionally avoidable. And even Andre Santos made a positive
cameo without any heart in mouth moments. Happy days.
It was all about the offence though, and as previously
mentioned it was another exceptional performance from young Theo Walcott whose
game is going from strength to strength right now. His potential has always
been obvious, but what has let him down in the past has been his poor
decision-making, clumsiness with the ball at his feet, and lack of end product.
Well, there has been none of that this season. With nine goals and seven
assists so far this season (having started largely from the bench), he’s
Arsenal’s most potent attacking threat and has already built up an impressive
understanding with Giroud that the Frenchman admits is ever improving.
The fact that his contract situation remains unsolved is a
grave concern to everyone associated with the club. At 23 years old, it’s a
fair assessment that he has his best years ahead of him, but the longer this
saga drags on the likelier it appears that they will be realised elsewhere.
| Theo Walcott - Sign Da Ting |
Over the summer I said keeping Walcott was of more
importance than the van Persie drama, and called for Arsene Wenger to give the
Englishman what he wants. If that was a dubious claim then, well it certainly
isn’t now. It goes back to that old depressing ‘market value’ debate, and
Arsenal’s reluctance to pay our top stars what they are worth, whilst the likes
of Wenger and Ivan Gazidis earn the top wages as Manager and CEO in the
division. It will be criminal if Walcott is allowed to leave because the club
refuse to offer him the extra £20k a week he desires. After all the investment,
faith and patience that has been shown in him, not forgetting that he also
ticks an important ‘home grown’ box, losing him would be the biggest blow to
this club in recent years. He’d go to a rival, and he’d punish us. Of that
there is no doubt. So give him what he wants, sign him up long term, and build
an attack around the talent he possesses, and understanding he’s gaining with
both Giroud and Podolski.
As Walcott frequently reminds us, it’s up to his agent and
the club to find common ground. With any luck they will, but in the meantime
let’s hope Theo can keep this fine form up, and the team can build on this
impressive display.
It was the 5-2 last season that inspired us into a run of
form that saw us win seven out of eight games, and something similar now would
propel us up the League and possibly back into a competitive position, whilst
also ensuring our progression in Europe. Every fixture in the next month and a
half is on paper very winnable, and whilst obviously it would be too much to
expect 11 wins from 11 given the wacky League we operate in, a decent run would
put us in great shape for the New Year.
After a rough few weeks it’s good to be back to winning
ways and be able to write about something positive, and even better when it’s
at the expense of the mob from up the road. The mood is buzzing, and rightfully
so. Credit must go to the Manager and team for the way in which they bounced
back, and also to the fans who provided an energetic atmosphere that no doubt
played its part.
People will point to the red card as the ‘defining
moment’, and say how it changed the game, but you can only play what’s in front
of you. Andre Villas-Boas can say whatever he wants about how Sp*rs ‘controlled the game’
(I know, right?), but there’s only one fact that matters, and that’s the full
time score line.
Arsenal 5 Sp*rs 2. Again. And I’m all up for keeping this
as a biannual occasion.
Follow me on twitter: @mattlittlechild
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