match report – player ratings – Video
This is how you win a North London derby. You play the opponent out of the park, somehow your goalkeeper is the man of the match despite his overall and rather glaring inferiority, and by the end his fans have lost their minds to such an extent that one of them assaults said goalkeeper.
“Nobody wants to see scenes like that,” except, you know, I do. Obviously I don’t want Aaron Ramsdale to get hurt, but I want his fans to be angry and miserable, insane with despair. That fan will rightly be punished, and I think Richarlison should be scrutinized very closely for his part in such last-minute antics, but that was the culmination of an Arsenal performance that justified the three points.
The team was as expected. No surprises from Mikel Arteta. The first few minutes were a bit cautious, as with any big game, but we got to the top quickly and stayed there. There was jitters about Spurs and their highly experienced goalkeeper which was evident on the first big chance of the game, this time Lloris making a good save on Eddie after making a mistake. However, a greater danger was yet to come. Thomas Partey released Bukayo Saka down the right, entered the box with Sessegnon happy to show him her right foot, not thinking his keeper would cross into her own net, but that was exactly what he did. And I laughed.
I mentioned that Ramsdale is man of the match, which doesn’t necessarily match my impression of the game in general, but yesterday was very important for us. The Spurs are really just a moments team because of their quality up front, and they had something. Son’s clever move presented him with a good goal view, but Ramsdale made the save with his legs. It wouldn’t be the last time he thwarted them. Frustrating is such a good word. He saw, he saw, he thwarted the absolute shit out of them.
We nearly had one of the greatest North London derby goals of all time when Partey’s sensational volley bounced off the post, but it wasn’t long before the lead was doubled. Lloris kicked it out, Saliba hit Kane out of the air (he did it all day), Saka took it, played it inside Odegaard to shoot into the bottom corner. It’s one of those that seems almost impossible to save in real time, but on replay you wonder if the keeper should have done better. Perhaps a better goalkeeper would have done better, like when Ramsdale made a save on Kane right at the end of the first half. Just before Hojberg dropped to the ground to try and fool the ref for a penalty which, to be fair, he was unwilling to do despite the commentators throwing shit at us for a few seconds. Stupid Tyler, stupid Neville.
When you’re down 2-0 at home in a derby, you expect the players to get a little buzz in the dressing room, and there was more on Spurs in the second half. Although more is relative. When you set the bar that low in the first half, the marginal improvement seems big. However, Ramsdale was the man again. Kane tried, Ramsdale made the save. Sessegnon had a great chance and I think this was our goalkeeper’s choice of saves. Watch the replays again as Ben White literally yells at the Spurs player to try and talk him out of it. It is fun.
However, Ramsdale wasn’t all about saves. There was safety in his game, safe hands, if you will. The nervousness that spread from his goalkeeper to his team was evident; at the other end he gave us a measure of calm from set pieces and crosses that was so important. Not to mention the fact that this back four, compared to the one that started in May, is a real unit. The center halves, oof. White again excellent (with 8 clearances to his name), and while Zinchenko has these odd moments in games that someone of his technical ability should avoid, he is an incredible footballer. I swear he had spring-heeled boots for some of the aerial duels with Kulusevski, much taller, and with the ball he’s very smart.
Eddie, who worked very hard all day, had a great chance to make it 3-0 with a pass from Xhaka, but the first touch was a bit wide. However, I don’t think that should define his performance. He contributed a lot to our dominance of the game, he held up well when necessary, he earned us some good free kicks from his clumsy defenders, but he must have had that on his mind when he went to sleep last night, no doubt. He’ll just have to score a couple against United next weekend.
There was some pressure from Spurs, some head tennis in the box, a shot from Richarlison that was as tame as his tough-man nonsense at the end. Tomiyasu entered but the concert was over. The Spurs knew it. Arsenal knew it. You just have to avoid any nonsense and it will be won. The silliness came at the end when Ramsdale was ready to kick off the game, laughing at Richarlison that he can’t stand that. He’s always had thin skin, but when you combine that with being a Spurs player, he’s like a walking Durex with a shitty haircut (and no Premier League goals all season!).
I mentioned the fan who kicked him, and look, obviously that kind of thing is completely out of character, but football fans are sensitive. They spent the entire game pestering Ramsdale, and when they picked up a bit late in a game when they were deservedly beaten, they couldn’t take it. Let the relevant authorities deal with it. However, the footage of Mikel Arteta on the pitch, watching Granit Xhaka fall back into a possible melee, was quite amusing. The boss was never the fastest player in his day, but there was a Walcottian change of pace when he came back to make sure he didn’t follow through.
The Arsenal players took it to the other extreme, celebrating with the traveling fans who were in loud voices throughout the game. And why not? After what happened here last season, one or two ghosts were put to rest, not to mention the fact that after the result in the Manchester derby, the win put us eight points clear at the top of the table. Don’t think for a second that the manager will let them rest on their laurels or become complacent. The mantra of one game at a time will be reiterated, but there are some performances and some results that deserve a little more and this was absolutely one of them.
Later, Arteta said of our first win at White Hart Lane since 2014:
I am very happy for two reasons. One, because I saw a team with a lot of courage, determination and quality, and they really wanted it today, to come here and win the game. And the other, because we have a job in which we are really privileged to be able to make a lot of people happy and when you have this opportunity, you have to try to do it.
So the pleasure of sharing the victory with the fans was a great feeling and then everything we do, all the suffering, the hours of work, makes a lot of sense when you have moments like this.
Our position in the league and what remains of this month is certainly something that deserves further discussion, but not today. Sometimes you just need to enjoy a little. I’ve said this before about this season: I’m determined to enjoy it as it is. Of course, a lot has been invested in the possible end result, but regardless of everything else, the best thing we could have done this weekend was to win this football game… and we did.
What Arteta has done with this team is phenomenal. Yes, we can have a few concerns about certain things, that’s completely normal, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying a North London derby win. It was three points, but it felt like something else. Enjoy it for today, or for as long as you want. I’m not here to police anyone’s celebrations, unlike some.
That was brilliant. Important. And a lot of fun.
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Ok, let’s leave it there for now. James and I are recording the Arsecast Extra for you later this morning. Keep an eye out for calls for questions on Twitter @gunnerblog and @arseblog on Twitter with the hashtag #arsecastextra, or if you’re a member of Arseblog on Patreon, leave your question in the #arsecast-extra-questions channel on our Discord. server.
We should have the podcast for you by lunchtime. Until then.
