What a win. What a game. What a weekend.
I got home from the Islington Sports Bar and Grill late last night and re-watched the game. I was buzzing throughout, kebab in hand and content in the knowledge that I had booked this morning off work.
Tottenham fans, as Tottenham fans do, got ideas above their station in the week leading up to the game.
They forgot that they are not a big club, that they had gone a decade without a trophy and had failed to win at the Emirates in the Premier League since February 2010.
Spurs fans believed that two years of finishing above Arsenal made them the superior team. Whilst this temporary rise in form did lead them to qualify for the Champions League at Arsenal’s expense twice, Arsenal always held the upper ground. Always had the class.
A few weeks ago we sang about having our Arsenal back. A few in the media derided this. But yesterday showed exactly what fans were singing about.
The Emirates was rocking. The ground and fans often singled out as being quiet, when the reality is it is no worse than White Hart Lane (or Wembley), Anfield, West Ham or Old Trafford. Yesterday the Arsenal fans were the 12th man.
And on the pitch the players gave as much as the fans did.
When Spurs equalised, Eric Dier ran towards the Arsenal fans shushing them. Stephan Lichtsteiner stuck one on the half dozen Spurs players celebrating. One man standing toe to toe with them.
Then all of a sudden we saw something that had been missing for years at The Arsenal. Passion and togetherness of the players.
The usually quiet Aaron Ramsey got himself involved, looking to swing it out with Dier. Then all of a sudden, from nowhere, youngsters Matteo Guendouzi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles came out of no where to back up their mates.
They were not wearing bibs, they were not warming up. They were sitting on the bench and legged it down the touchline. Guendouzi sticking one on Dele Alli will only further increase his place as a fans favourite.
From 1-nil up Arsenal very quickly went 2-1 behind. At half time, no one was that worried.
Arsenal had dominated the game, unlucky to not have scored 2 or 3. It was only a Son dive that separated the teams.
Son showed Tottenham lacked class throughout the game. He was throwing himself to the floor at every opportunity. Like there were banana skins on the pitch and he kept slipping on them.
Banana skins. Another example of Spurs lack of class. The fan should be banned for life. Sacked from work. I actually hope the black lads who support Spurs stick one on him, make it clear he is not welcome anymore.
Back to Son.
The response to his dive has been odd. There was no contact, yet people still say it was a penalty. He threw himself to the ground. He was not taking evading action. He cheated and should be banned.
In the second half, Unai Emery made changes. Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette came on.
It highlights where Arsenal are these days that we had players of the quality of Lacazette and Ramsey on the bench.
The rest of the game is a bit of a blur. Arsenal won 4-2.
There were a couple more flash points. And everytime Spurs tried shithousing, Arsenal players were there, en masse, backing each other. It was a team spirit we had not seen since Martin Keown, Ashley Cole, Lauren and Thierry Henry stuck one on Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The cream eventually rises to the top. And that is what happened yesterday.
Tottenham being better than Arsenal for 2 seasons did not change decades of dominance. Of one club winning trophies regularly and the other winning 2 League Cups in 27 years.
Moving forward, this game could kill Spurs. They are not a very good side, and will end up closer to Manchester United than the top 4.
Arsenal are 19 games unbeaten, making the media and pundits eat their words, and are back.
We really are back.
Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 