Category Archives: Arsenal

Match Report: Tottenham 2 – 0 Arsenal

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Tottenham Hotspur (2) 2 Arsenal (0) 0

Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, 782 High Road, Tottenham, London N17 0BX

Sunday, 6th December 2020. Kick-off time: 4.30pm

(4-2-3-1) Bernd Leno; Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding, Gabriel Magalhães, Kieran Tierney; Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka; Bukayo Saka, Willian Borges da Silva, Alexandre Lacazette; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Substitutes: Dani Ceballos, Alex Rúnarsson, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Shkodran Mustafi, Mohamed Elneny, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah.

Yellow Cards: Granit Xhaka, Alexandre Lacazette

Arsenal Possession Percentage: 69%

Referee: Martin Atkinson

Assistant Referees: Adam Nunn, Constantine Hatzidakis

Fourth Official: Andre Marriner

VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Kevin Friend; AVAR Mark Scholes

Attendance: A maximum of 2,000 attendees due to UK government coronavirus restrictions

Let’s make no bones about it, the facts are fairly stark. We have gone 566 minutes without scoring from open play in the Premier League, and have lost five of our past eight league games, as many as in our first twenty-two top-flight fixtures under Mikel Arteta. On top of that, Arsenal’s tally of thirteen points is our lowest after ten matches since the 1981-82 season. And we are currently fifteenth in the Premier League. On the positive side, Thomas Partey is back in action today, and Shkodran Mustafi is on the substitutes’ bench as well. Quite naturally, it goes without saying of course, that today’s match against our North London rivals is one that we just have to emerge victorious, no other result will do. Let’s go!

The scene was set quite early on when firm tackles and fouls set the pattern for this electric match between the North London giants, with both teams squandering clear-cut chances to score. We started very much in the ascendancy, with constant pressure on the Spurs goal. But we did not pay attention. As early as the thirteenth minute, Spurs caught us on a typical counter-attack movement; Son Heung-min collected a pass from Harry Kane, ran sixty yards and his unstoppable shot flew past Bernd Leno to give the home side the lead. We responded quickly with attacks on the Spurs’ goal, but we kept getting caught cold with quick counter-attacking play from the home side. The match had more or less became one of containment from our point of view, as we found it difficult to create chances for ourselves, but when we did, the chances came to nothing. However, just after the half hour mark, Bukayo Saka got away from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on the right-hand side, passed the ball quickly to Kieran Tierney before getting into the Spurs penalty area but his low cross was neutralised, sadly. A free-kick saw a great chance for us to score, go to waste, despite some sterling work by Kieran Tierney cutting in to the Spurs’ penalty area from the left-hand side. Three minutes before the break, an Alexandre Lacazette free-kick from twenty yards out, bounced off the defensive wall and away for a corner, which again, led to a wasted effort. Then the unimaginable happened. Right on the stroke of half-time, Spurs counter-attacked again, and a simple pass from Son Heung-min to Harry Kane in our penalty area led to the home side scoring a second goal, courtesy of their captain, which Bernd Leno was unable to stop. Thomas Partey simply just walked off the pitch just before the goal, and was duly was substituted for Dani Ceballos due to injury, but the whistle went for the half-time break as this change happened, with Arsenal disappointingly two goals down.

Just after the restart, a Bukayo Saka free-kick from the right-hand side went through the Spurs defence and was unlucky not to score; a couple of minutes later, a Kieran Tierney cross found Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whose subsequent header went over the bar from eight yards. We certainly had the better run of play in the immediate period after the break, and we started to make a decent account of ourselves. Time and time again, we were knocking on the door of the Tottenham goal, but their organisational gameplan got the better of us, sadly. We were causing problems for them in their own half consistently, and we had our best chance of the game so far when Alexandre Lacazette met a cross from the right and flicked a magnificent header towards goal that Hugo Lloris did well to push to the other side of the post. Eddie Nketiah replaced Hector Bellerin after seventy-four minutes, and after the formation juggled around a bit to accomodate the substitution, we continued trying to find a way to prize open the Spurs defence. We dominated possession, and we attacked as a unit, and defended as one too. By rights, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should have scored with six minutes remaining on the clock, but sadly Toby Alderweireld robbed him at the last minute. But still we kept coming forward, testing and probing the Spurs defence, with Alexandre Lacazette being desperately unfortunate not to score when his snap shot went just inches wide of the goal. Right up until the final whistle, we constistently and constantly tried to score a valuable goal, but it was not to be, sadly.

What is to be done? Our possession in both halves far outweighed the opposition’s, and the stats were mostly in our favour. And yet, after all that, we fired blanks yet again. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was on the missing list for large parts of the match, and Willian looked off the pace and sluggish at times, but Dani Ceballos, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Kieran Tierney were superb tonight. We are light years away from challenging for the Premiership, and it is bcoming obvious to everyone that it is going to be a long, hard road back to a consistent, match-winning team. It’s going to be a tough season.

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Dundalk at Oriel Park on Thursday, 10th December at 5.55pm (Europa League). Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.

FIVE stats that will make Spurs fans feel uncomfortable

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Arsene Wenger has 476 Premier League wins; Tottenham 468 – This despite Wenger not managing in the Premier League until its 5th year, leaving The Arsenal 3 seasons ago. Makes you wonder why Spurs fans chanted “Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay”.

It has now been 4669 days Tottenham won the league – That is over 51 years; is there anyone still alive who saw them lift the trophy?

It has also been 21 years since they won the FA Cup – Their 1991 took them to a record breaking 8 FA Cups. The Arsenal were on 7. The Arsenal now have 14. Spurs still 7.

And 12 years without a trophy – In the last 12 years, many would claim Tottenham have had the better of The Arsenal. But in that time The Arsenal have won 4 trophies; Spurs zero. It is also 8 v 4 in Arsenal’s favour when it comes to finishing higher in the league; proof that even in The Arsenal’s bad times, North London is still red.

Sol Campbell is still their most successful captain in the modern era – In the last 30 years, no captain has won more trophies than the League Cup Sol Campbell lead his side to in 1999. 3 years later he won the double. At The Arsenal.

Keenos

Victory over Spurs will be perfect tonic to Arteta’s struggles

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Arsenal’s abject performance at home to Wolves was emblematic of the struggles Mikel Arteta is experiencing in his first full season as manager.

Arsenal are currently incapable of being able to apply persistent pressure, possess a midfield that passes the ball sideways instead of progressing it and have become utterly predictable in their patterns of play.

These tactical problems seem familiar because it is where Arsenal were at towards the tail end of the Unai Emery era. Following their latest loss to Wolves, the North London Derby will serve as an important litmus test for Arteta’s Arsenal.

In contrast to Arsenal, Tottenham were dogged, disciplined and determined in their quest not to lose at Chelsea on Sunday. Contrast that to the events in north London, where the Gunners looked flat, listless and lost for ideas against a typically well-drilled Wolves side.

After such an impressive showing at Old Trafford to kick off November, Arsenal have endured a wretched run of form since. In three games against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Wolves, they have scored one goal. Their failure to find the back of the net must be fixed  because Arsenal will not start winning matches until they can score consistently.

The North London Derby will be a tell-all tale of whether Arteta is capable of improving Arsenal and, importantly, an examination of the players’ commitment to the cause. Playing against a Spurs side who sit top of the table, a colossal weight will be lifted from Arteta’s shoulders if he can somehow steer his side to victory. However, if Arsenal have to trudge back down the Seven Sisters Road after a heavy defeat, Arteta will face an uncomfortable inquisition from the hierarchy and supporters alike.

There is good reason to believe it may be the latter, too.

Spurs have scored 21 goals in ten league games, going unbeaten since the opening day of the season. Tottenham also boast the best defensive record, having conceded only nine times. They have also passed two tough tests with flying colours, beating Manchester City

2-0 before managing to escape Stamford Bridge with a point.

The two teams were separated by one point before their last meeting in July. Since then, all the progress Arteta made by winning the FA Cup has been lost in recent weeks, thanks to an inability to play football with any kind of fluidity. Contrast that to how Jose Mourinho has got the best out of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, with the fact that he has never lost a home game against the Gunners, and it makes for ominous reading ahead of Arsenal’s trip to White Hart Lane.

As a result, this is as good a chance as the players will get to make amends for another poor performance. Indeed, Arteta has often got the best out of his squad when Arsenal have been billed as pre-match underdogs. This was the case in victories against Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea at the end of last season, so coming into the game as

second-favourites could actually suit the Spaniard’s tactical preparations.

Arteta himself must respond, too.

Whilst he was given some grace with regards to league positions thanks to an excellent FA Cup run, it is up to him to arrest Arsenal’s slide into mid-table mediocrity and push them back into contention for European football. A win against their arch-rivals would do just that, lifting Arsenal back into the top half and on the tail of the top six.

Problems and progress have emerged almost in equal measures since Arteta took charge, but the honeymoon period is over. In order to prove he is the right man for the job, it is time to start winning games.

Approaching his first anniversary as Arsenal manager, nothing would be more valuable to Arteta’s Arsenal than a victory in this vital North London derby.

Zac