Written by Mean Lean on Wednesday, 22 September 2010 09:24

Whoever edits the football footage at White Hart Lane will have another night off, the printing company can put their feet up because they will not be needed. The hot selling DVD's of a few years back may well become a collectors item as order was restored in North London last night.

There seems to be plenty of talk coming from the darker sides of North London since the beginning of the season, well nothing has changed I guess. Their chests have been puffed out since walking into the big playground after having achieved their first 4th place finish since before I can remember but having bigger fish to fry has meant that they could no longer field their strongest line up and overpower our youngsters, as they so proudly managed in the past.

Perhaps a Tottenham first eleven would have struggled with overpowering the 2010 vintage as this Arsenal team visibly showed plenty of fight and commitment to win the ball back when not in possession of the ball.

I was surprised to see Jay Emmanuel-Thomas start on the bench as I thought this would be his chance to prove his worth but in hindsight you can understand why Carlos Vela was given the role. Vela has been an impact substitute so far and has impressed on more than one occasion when coming off the bench. Wenger would have wanted to know if Vela was ready to play the central role if needed as he is higher up the pecking order and closer to the first team.

Tottenham started the quicker of the two teams as you would expect away from home in a north London derby but as the minutes ticked away, Arsenal slowly but surely wrestled back the right to play football. A team that has Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson and Samir Nasri is always going to have the ball for long periods and that was certainly the case in the first half.

Tottenham who boasted to have a stronger bench than Arsenal were found chasing Arsenal shadows for much of the half. Jack Wilshere playing in his preferred attacking central midfield position as opposed to his more conservative senior role, stood out like a sore thumb.

Driving through the Tottenham midfield, majestically waving his magic left foot around pinging passes left to right, playing one-two's and setting the tempo. Tottenham's only response was the usual response. No not play better football, but to hack into Wilshere whenever he got on the ball.

The goal was coming and unsurprisingly it was Wilshere who played a massive part in the goal. The combination play on the left was superb, Wilshere overlapped Rosicky and the Czech found his run, Wilshere's cross into the box was every strikers dream, It was also probably every attacking midfielder's dream as Henri Lansbury was left unmarked in the box to prod in from close range.

I loved watching the celebration, Gibbs, Lansbury and Wilshere shaking fists and hugging each other. Players who have been at the club since childhood, some even joined before their ages reached double digits. This is why these players can effortlessly keep the ball, almost without having to think about it. The big spenders like Manchester City, Real Madrid and formerly Chelsea cannot buy 10 years worth of time.

It was nothing less than the team deserved.

After the goal I felt that we were not capitalising enough on our possession. We were creating triangles all over the pitch but the imagination around the box or the extra bit of brilliance wasn't quite there on enough occasions.

Vela who didn't have a bad game, didn't get himself involved as much as perhaps he would have wanted. The movement off the ball in and around the penalty box wasn't always on offer from the Arsenal players.

The Tottenham defence were standing firm until they were broken from a fantastic run from left to right from Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere played an inch perfect defence splitting pass, the linesman wrongly raised his flag for offside when replays clearly showed that he was at least level with the last man. Bad decision.

Redknapp must have felt somewhat twitchy at half time watching his players spend the best part of 45 minutes chasing boys in red and white shirts so he threw on Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon in an attempt to get back into the game, in fairness the home team improved and they got their equaliser. Robbie Keane was standing outside the box, Johan Djourou stepped up perfectly to play the striker offside, well at least that is what the rules state. The same linesman who missed Gibbs' perfectly timed run, this time allowed an offside Keane to take the ball and place his shot towards goal. Keane's effort wasn't struck with much power and Lukasz Fabianski will be disappointed with his attempt to save the shot, as it bounced off his hand and into the net.

We had been by far the better team until this point but if you do not score the goals then you are always open to being pegged back.

After the Tottenham goal, Arsenal steadied themselves once again, dusted themselves down and got the passing game working once more. Vela headed over and Eboue blasted wide when picking out better positioned players in the box would have been the more sensible option.

With twenty minutes to go, Arsene sent on Chamakh and Arshavin for Vela and Rosicky, a clear sign that Wenger wanted the game won. In years gone by Arsene may not have risked so many first team players at this early stage of the competition.

Laurent Koscielny continues to impress me, one recovery sliding tackle on Aaron Lennon who was just about to pull the trigger was absolutely breathtaking and as good as any defence splitting pass or cross field ball. Lennon took too long and got hit by the deadly Cobra.

The game was dragged into extra time after Arsenal failed to break the Tottenham defence further but that wouldn't last for long as Arsenal were awarded their second spot kick in a matter of days, it was Nasri who was felled in the box once more. Harry Redknapp has accused Nasri post match of going down too easily, no doubt we will read about moaning Harry in the media or maybe not.

Nasri did as he should at the weekend, picked himself up from the turf, collected the ball and slammed it home from the spot to put Arsenal back in control again. Penalty kicks appear to be like London buses, another one followed shortly after the first of the game. Chamakh was blatently tugged back inside the penalty box, even the linesman would have seen that one. Nasri calmly rolled the ball in the opposite corner as his first. I suspect we will be waiting and checking our watches at penalty bus stop for a little while now.

I had spent a good ten minutes complaining about Andrey Arshavin's application and contribution to this Arsenal team with a mate of mine before he set off charging towards goal after a quickly taken Wilshere free kick, Arshavin fired the ball across the keeper and into the net on his weaker left foot, a finish that not many of the Arsenal players would have managed to pull off, especially on the weaker side.

Never have I witnessed a player who can give so little for a team and then produce so much. That is the story of Andrey Arshavin.

The one downside to the game was the usual problem, nothing new but still very frustrting. Kieran Gibbs looks to have done some damange to his foot and had to be taken off for Gael Clichy, a massive shame for the lad as he produced yet another promising display. He has been pushing Clichy very hard for a first team spot and if he has to spend a long time out it could be crushing for the guy. I hope he heals fast and damage is not as bad as first thought.

I must admit to feeling a little down that we couldn't get the fifth as payback for a couple of years ago and I had to snap myself out of it. The modern spoilt Arsenal fan ey?

A fantastic evenings work me thinks. Dumping those lot out of the only competition that they have a realistic chance of winning, exorcising some old demons, Jack the boy Wilshere shining in his natural position but most of all I really loved the collective defensive work when we didn't have the ball. The training ground work is really paying off at all levels of the club it seems.

Anyone fancy a DVD? nah, beating then lot is nothing special. This is the norm for Arsenal football club.

Fabianski (6)
Eboue (7)
Koscielny (7.5)
Djourou (7)
Gibbs (7)
Denilson (7.5)
Lansbury (7)
Wilshere (8)
Nasri (7.5)
Vela (6.5)
Rosicky (7)

Please note that ratings are only my interpretations of the game and that others will have differing opinions

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Comments (16)

• 22-Sep-2010 11:11 | | Zama
  

  Hey ML the site looks great. Good job. I have to agree with you about Kos. You are not the only one with a man crush on him

• 22-Sep-2010 11:47 | | Man United Killer
  

  Hey ML..How are ya..greetings to fellow gooners...let me say this "though you have done a good job of making this new site.I kind of miss the old one already.maybe it was because i didnt know this change was that close.I didnt have enough time to get used to the new idea"..just by the way
  Now to business..Koscielny was impressive yesterday but Wilshire is going to be something else.Overall it was a good performance and I am happy about the way we controlled the game.Tottenham must be dreaming if they think they can ever be better than us...to the dreamers i say "Not in God's lifetime..go jump off a cliff"
  I do have a few questions though:
  Is it just me or sometimes we tend to overp*** the ball thus losing it to the opponent in their penalty box?
  Is it just me or sometimes no one wants the responsibility of trying to score lest they miss-especially long shots.
  Is it just me or Gibbs seems a better left back (and a better crosser of the ball too) than clichy? in fact he crosses better than all the left backs-Sagna included.
  Can this squad win the league or the CL?IMHO the FA and Carling will be a more realistic target.I say this because though the squad is good,we are 'not there yet' to win the league or CL both in terms of squad quality and mentality..
  I hope i am wrong though..GOD BLESS THE ARSENAL!!
  

• 22-Sep-2010 12:23 | | Gino92
  

  Blimey ML!!! I was going to comment on the match but when I got to AV site, I had to do a double take because I almost didn't recognize it. This is so much better on the eyes. Looks very nice. And clean too. Good job with the design. It will definitely take some getting used to. It is hard to get the old site out of my mind, you know... Although I like the new site better, I still do miss the old one.
  
  Anyway, good job by the lads yesterday. Not too sure what happened in the second half (they were very lethargic compared to the first half) but they pulled together in extra time and won. That is all that matters, and long may it continue. Gibbs just cannot be seriously hurt again, can he? It doesn't sound good, hearing Wenger describe it. What a shame! How come we seem to lose a player per match. At this rate, we won't have anybody left by mid-October. It is simply amazing and mind-boggling that Arsenal players seem to sustain long term injuries at every opportunity. Are they made of gl*** or something? I just hope that the news tomorrow is not as bad as it appears to be right now.
  
  As for Fabianski, I have had enough of him! Pretty much the only decent save he was forced to make, he blew it! After all the good work by Koscielny and Djourou all match long. We should send him on loan or sell him and give Wojchieh Szsezsny (sp?) a chance to really impress or learn from any mistakes he might make.
  
  Go Gunners!

• 22-Sep-2010 13:10 | | dkgooner  - Congratulations ...
  

  ...on the new website ML. Reminds I need to sort mine out :-)
  Glad you also thought Djourou and Denilson had good games. I've seen people whingeing about them again on other blogs - no pleasing some people. Kos was majestic - and keeps doing it game after game. Wilshere left me purring again. Fabianski - well he had so little to do, it's hard to rate him. A wee bit harsh to knock him for the goal. Many are hyping Szczesny but he's only really had reserve team football and half a season at a third division club. If he wants to throw his toys out of the pram, let him. But I'd agree that Fabianski should be the one to go on loan this time and prove himself. Mannone looks just as good. Problem is, who would want to take Fab? It won't happen though - best get used to the idea.
  Funny story - as normal time finished, I had to go and fetch my wife from work 15km away. Toyed with the idea of texting her: "Extra time - can you wait half an hour?" but thought better of it. When I got back, I logged into the Grauniad and thought the score must be one of their typos.

• 22-Sep-2010 13:16 | | Waterboy
  

  Loving the new website and great to see the boys knock Spurs out of the League Cup!
  
  Despite the win I agree wholeheartedly with your comment that 'the imagination around the box wasn't quite there on enough occasions'.
  
  Can't help but feel this is because the likes of Nasri and Rosicky (who are natural Central Attacking Midfielders) are playing out of position of the wings and don't offer the penetrating off the ball runs the likes of Walcott do.
  
  Don't get me wrong I highly rate both Nasri and Rosicky and think that playing those particular individuals on the flanks enables the team to further dominate possession.
  
  That said, I would much rather see Rosicky or Nasri rotate in that Central Attacking Midfield role with Fabregas or Wilshere sitting in the deeper playmaking role alongside Song or Diaby and the likes of Arshavin, Vela, Walcott or Lansbury playing on the flanks.
  
  Great to see Djourou back in the team too!

• 22-Sep-2010 13:50 | | Mr H
  

  ML, great game last night (afternoon for me), was psyched, and couldn't wait for my favourite Arsenal blog. When I found it, whats this... Everything is different... So shiny and sparkly! Good stuff, something else worth celebrating.
  
  Feel sorry for Fabianski, although it's no excuse, I think he was waiting for the offside to be called and was caught out by the shot. However, as a pro 'keeper, you shouldn't think about offsides, or anything other than keeping the ball out of the net.
  
  I cannot get over what a GREAT defender we have with the Cobra. He is the man! totally owned the Sp**s attack last night, and yes that tackle on Lennon was near to as beautiful as Wilshires p***es to Gibbs and Lansbury. I really hope Gibbs is OK, he really must be close to pipping Clichy for first choice LB.
  
  Loved watching the Lane being dominated by Goons, bigger team, my Arse-nal!!!!

• 22-Sep-2010 19:29 | | Eastside Gooner
  

  We won without Wenger that means we can do without Wenger.

• 22-Sep-2010 19:57 | | Mr H
  

  Yes we won with Wenger in th stands, but we wouldn't have won without the influence of Wenger on the pitch. Which other managers would have bought Kos? Who would have developed players like Wilshire? Who would have had the vision to get MC, AA, TR7, Nasri etc?
  
  So no, we cannot do without Wenger, or maybe you would prefer some ruthless Sheikh or Mafia linked Russian oil oligarch to turn our wonderful club into a Man City or Chelski. Stop the 'in Wenger we rust' rubbish and get behind the club, it's chosen manager and it's chosen players.

• 22-Sep-2010 20:25 | | MeanLean
  

  Good evening all,
  
  I am glad some of you like the site, it will take some getting used to but it is an improvement on the last one. The red was a bit of an eye killer at times.
  
  Eastside Gooner injecting a bit of humour into the comments I see.

• 23-Sep-2010 04:52 | | richie  - What a marvelous night
  

  ML nice one! I can now read AV without dark gl***es & magnification.
  
  Obviously for a long time now its been a far more important game for the spuds than it has for us, but it's still enjoyable now and then showing them up for the tupenny-hapenny "footballing team"? they are.
  
  Especially at the "chicken coup" or whatever it is their emblem denotes?
  
  I'd like all gooners to bombard the Champions league with E-mails complaining. It can't be right that a team can be included in the CL competition when they haven't been a champion in more than 50 years can it? We need a rule change surely. Otherwise it'll be an open house any old 2bit team will get in....................
  
  A word on our defense. Arsene couldn't you and your bloody scouts have found us a Kos & Squilla before now? Gooners am I wrong? With those 2 we'd of easily ended up with the kings silver on display
  in the last 5 stretch. Are there any real gooners out there that are worried that they our centeral defenders are French?
  
  A further word on Arsene using a stronger team in the Carling.
  I still don't think AW is taking the CC any more seriously than before. He used the least valued competition to give the kids expirence over the years, in my humble opinion a great idea. The thing is in case anyone ain't noticed recently our "Kids" have suddenly got all grown up.
  
  Djourou after being out for an age did fine for a 1st outing
  KG has been giving Clishy competition
  (Lets hope we're wrong and he returns quickly)
  And then there's Jack
  (Who unless my eye's deceive me bossed the middle of the park)
  
  One word of caution Weakhands Fabianski won't work.
  Not yet, not for a while not until after Arsene sends him out on loan.
  He needs to play, he needs expirence.
  
  Bask in the glow.........its great to be a Gooner

• 23-Sep-2010 05:08 | | richie
  

  We won despite Arsene's choice of phone company. Mind you I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the spuds fitted a blocker close to where Arsene was conducting from.

• 23-Sep-2010 11:39 | | CHGooner  - Congratulations...
  

  On the new look site. It does look decent I must say. I also want to come on and say that whilst we mustn't get carried away, I am really beginning to get my belief and LOVE for the team back in spades something that had completely ebbed over the last few years for me and lots of other gooners. It is not about trophies won (although they are nice of course) it is about YOUR club, YOUR team, YOUR players out there performing and fighting for YOU. That is what a supporter feels, that is why we care so much. I DO love the fact that we now have some local players who know what playing Tottenham really means, I DO love the fact that we are no longer brushed off the ball easily by any physical challenge, I DO love the fact that we attack with purpose and speed and not just lots of pointless p***es.
  
  ML last season I came on your site to ask you if you REALLY thought we could beat Chelsea or Man U because I felt we couldn't. Now I feel WE CAN. We might not of course but we can, and we won't be thrashed and humiliated, that is for certain.
  
  I really can see this TEAM now, I really hope they do win something but if they don't I'll still love them, unlike the teams we have had with the likes of Senderos, Gallas, Denilson, Adebayor, Eduardo (I know Denilson's still here but even he looks like he may be showing a bit more of a positive attitude) who were not winners, were not purposeful and were a collection of egos much of the time.
  
  Back to the real Arsenal!
  
  Come on you REDS!!!!
  
  
  
  
  

• 23-Sep-2010 12:20 | | Mr H
  

  With the news that Chelsea, Liverpool and Man C all getting knocked, it leaves us with just Man U to worry about. Maybe the Mickey mouse cup will be in the cabinet soon enough.

• 23-Sep-2010 12:26 | | MeanLean
  

  There certainly is a good chance of success in that competition, especially as our younger players are now a part of the first team squad these days.
  
  There is no reason why we cannot fight on all fronts with the amount of competition we have in our squad. All long as injuries to not come and wipe our squad clean.
  
  Thanks CHG, glad you like the site. There certainly seems to be more fight from the players this time round. I really really like the look of Koscielny, think he will become fantastic and yes it is very early to make concrete judgements.
  
  I also feel that we can beat the likes of Chelsea, the Mancs etc but we need our top players playing.
  
  I have a feeling that Chelsea could now go into a little slump. I back Money City to get the better over them this weekend and we should be Brom that will be interesting with the Chelsea game following.
  
  COYG!

• 23-Sep-2010 12:55 | | MeanLean
  

  Glad you can finally remove the shades. Just don't sue AV for damage to eyes

• 23-Sep-2010 15:44 | | MeanLean
  

  New My Vision post up.

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