Tottenham 1-3 Arsenal

A compelling and open North London derby not only polarised Arsenal’s strengths and weaknesses across two halves, it also highlighted the difference between the two teams, and underlined the importance of confidence and self-belief. A perpetually pressurised tie, the first instalment at White Hart Lane was heightened further by Tottenham’s poor start to the season, and Arsenal’s rapidly diminishing defensive options. The increasingly beleaguered Martin Jol deployed teenager Gareth Bale on the left wing, and Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane up front. Facing them would be the alien partnership of Kolo Toure and Gilberto- the Brazilian’s colossal carbon footprint threatening to overshadow Arsenal’s impressive start to the season. The equally mobile Mathieu Flamini was named next to Cesc Fabregas in the Arsenal midfield, with Abou Diaby unexpectedly replacing Tomas Rosicky on the left.

The visitors began fluidly, Hleb, Flamini and Diaby combining succinctly before Fabregas felled Michael Dawson with a fierce thirty-yard shot. The ball took a solitary bounce before Emmanuel Adebayor controlled the ball on his chest and lashed a volley toward Paul Robinson’s near post- the England goalkeeper repelling the shot and conceding a corner. Tottenham’s lack of confidence was already evident as their archrivals were manipulating the ball swiftly and effectively.

However, the home fans were given a long-awaited lift when Gareth Bale picked up the ball on the left wing. His cross-field pass was gratefully received by Berbatov loitering on the edge of the Arsenal box. The Bulgarian languidly headed toward the left side again, pursued by emergency central defender Gilberto. A doubt before the game due to his aforementioned mileage for Brazil, he shoddily swung for the ball unnecessarily and conceded a free-kick just over twenty yards outside the Arsenal area. Bale curled his shot inside a seemingly unprepared Manuel Almunia’s near post. Quarter of an hour gone and Martin Jol’s miserable season was temporarily exonerated- the home fans rising to acclaim his team.

The enraptured home crowd were jolted instantaneously by Robin Van Persie’s throw in from the Arsenal right. An utterly unmarked Adebayor volleyed the long throw straight at Robinson who rewarded Arsenal with a corner. Fabregas, Hleb and the ever-itinerant Adebayor were working the Tottenham back four- the former driving forward past Jermaine Jenas and slotting the ball between Lee Young-Pyo and the static Younes Kaboul. Drawing the left side of the Spurs defence out wide, Adebayor turned and played in Hleb who had advanced into the subsequent space heralded by the Togo international. Hleb opted to place a left-footed shot from outside the box, which Robinson palmed away. The influential Hleb and Fabregas combined again shortly afterward to exploit more space between Dawson and Kaboul, Adebayor again the beneficiary. However he struggled to control the incisive pass and Robinson came out to claim in front of the penalty spot. The best chance was yet to come.

Bakary Sagna moved forward from his right-back position and played the ball infield to Hleb. The Belorussian showed exquisite balance to elude three Tottenham markers, before teeing up the hitherto-unseen Abou Diaby who had ghosted inside from the left wing. The young Frenchman drove the ball off the crossbar with his instep- a glorious Arsenal chance missed and old questions were rearing their head again. Concise and flowing approach play, but ultimately impotent. The visitors were dominating possession but looked as profligate as the Arsenal of last season. The hosts looked to compound their rivals’ nimiety as Berbatov lost his marker and sent a deep cross across the Arsenal box to Robbie Keane. Slightly off balance, the Tottenham captain endeavoured to bring the ball down with his chest, although his discomfort led to him handling the ball. He had managed to elude his marker just outside the Arsenal six yard box- the game was becoming more open as a result of Bale’s opening goal. The first half was dismissed with the home side leading by one goal.

Tottenham began the second half brightly, looking to exploit the space left by Arsenal’s desire for an equaliser. Steed Malbranque’s swift step over allowed him to play a lofted pass from just inside the Spurs half. The ball arced over an inert Gilberto and into the path of Berbatov, who had broken clear through the middle. His first touch knocked the ball past Almunia who had charged out of his area to intercept- the Bulgarian declined to shoot for the empty net and opted to take on Kolo Toure on the edge of the otherwise unguarded Arsenal box. Toure went to ground and blocked Berbatov’s impending goal with a desperate last-gasp challenge, and an exceptional chance was gone for the home side. A goal for Berbatov would most likely have made the task insurmountable for the visitors, and prolonged Martin Jol’s tentative tenure all the more.

Arsenal immediately attempted to retaliate with Diaby releasing Adebayor on the left. His return pass saw the lacklustre Diaby forgo the shooting opportunity and indecisively lay the ball off to Hleb, who had been tracked by Huddlestone and was unable to forge an opening. The game’s frantic back and forth nature was mirrored by the crowd- the importance of the next goal absolutely paramount. The profligacy of both sides’ main strike threat continued as Alex Hleb reiterated his poise on the ball by evading Lee and releasing the ever-running Sagna down the Arsenal right. The robust right back powered past Bale to the by-line, just about preventing the goal kick. Given time to pause and pick a pass, he played the ball between the legs of Younes Kaboul to Adebayor, who had found a vacuum in the Spurs defence just to the right of the penalty spot. His somewhat wild swing sent the ball flying into the stand- once again another chance spurned and one that looked to be as crucial as Berbatov’s miss minutes before. Despite causing many problems for the opposing defence, Adebayor was only exacerbating Arsenal’s frustrations further. Such was the open nature of the game, it seemed that with hindsight one of the two missed opportunities would well be the turning point of the match.

Instigators-in-chief Hleb and Fabregas once again carved through the Tottenham midfield once again and found the problematic Adebayor, his run across the box saw Robinson charge forth once again and push the ball away. The striker’s subsequent penalty claims after he toppled over the Tottenham keeper were unfounded and increasingly desperate. The raw and mediocre Diaby was replaced by Tomas Rosicky as Arsenal looked for a more conventional attacking approach- Diaby looked ungainly and inadequate throughout, his first half miss perhaps playing on his mind.

It was the home side’s turn to threaten again, Pascal Chimbonda’s cross from the right saw Huddlestone volley tepidly wide with his left foot, his and Arsenal’s frustration encapsulated in a spot of posturing between the midfielder and Manuel Almunia. The impressive Mark Clattenburg dispelled the petulance admirably with a swift word; his fluid officiating had contributed to a compelling contest throughout the match.

The indefatigable Mathieu Flamini then played a one-two with Gael Clichy and darted infield, before being halted unceremoniously by Steed Malbranque’s lazy trailing leg. Fabregas hurled the ball onto the penalty spot as attack and defence alike charged forward. Paul Robinson decided to get involved, electing to rush forward to meet the massed ranks- Adebayor unsurprisingly rose highest of all and emphatically headed in the equaliser. Robinson would prove to be the easy target for many- however Dimitar Berbatov’s hesitance after beating Almunia was fast becoming the pivotal moment, especially as Arsenal’s attacks were becoming more and more frequent. However, it was Tottenham that had the next chance, and it was another promising one.

A deflected through ball found Robbie Keane, the linesman flagging vainly on the left. Clattenburg decided to overrule his colleague, assumingly because the pass indirectly came from an Arsenal player- however the subsequent confusion seemed to perplex Keane as he dragged his shot straight at Almunia. It was another one-on-one scenario for Tottenham, who were doing their best to undermine the visitors’ profligate reputation. Keane’s bewilderment at the official’s indecision was convenient as another promising situation was diminished- Flamini’s intervention had unwittingly become an excellent through ball to the Tottenham captain, and was another impressive piece of refereeing by Clattenburg. The home side replaced Gareth Bale with Aaron Lennon, clearly looking to introduce more pace into their attacking play. With the game becoming quicker and more frantic it looked an insightful ploy.

Despite Lennon’s introduction the next move came from the Arsenal right- Hleb again linking with Adebayor to create a chance for the largely anonymous Robin Van Persie. Turning his marker the Dutchman struck a left-footed shot straight into the arms of Robinson, a mediocre effort all the more poignant with his disappointing contribution to the game overall. The pendulum-like attacking continued unabated as Jenas’ corner met Berbatov’s unchallenged right boot on the edge of Arsenal’s six-yard box. The home crowd celebrated unfoundedly as Gael Clichy instinctively blocked the ball on the far post- before Berbatov headed over the rebound, this time from an even closer angle. Yet another turning point in the game, spurned by a striker that was so prolific last season- the juxtaposition with the opposition’s Emmanuel Adebayor was becoming all the more stark. Spurs’ protests that the ball was over the line proved to be in vain.

Alex Hleb’s began the next Arsenal attack, finding Van Persie just inside the Arsenal half- Tottenham’s attacking intent evident in the space afforded the Dutchman. Shrugged off the ball by Jenas, he managed to find Tomas Rosicky to his left, who played a short pass to Cesc Fabregas thirty yards out. The lack of any opposition pressure prompted him to pause, take aim and thump Arsenal into the lead, Robinson’s left handed touch rendered inconsequential. Already eclipsing his goal tally from the entire season of old, Fabregas looked to have completed the turnaround, until his slack pass was intercepted and lofted over the Arsenal defence to substitute Darren Bent, who embarrassingly sliced his left-footed attempt wide. Three one-on-ones for Tottenham had been missed before Adebayor polarised the difference between the two teams most emphatically.

Tomas Rosicky dispossessed Chimbonda inside the Arsenal half, the diminutive Czech racing forward and interchanging slickly with Adebayor, before playing in another substitute Denilson, with the freedom of the Spurs left-back position. Taking one touch into the box, the young Brazilian’s shot was lacking any conviction and was cleared straightforwardly by Robinson- the ball breaking to Fabregas just inside the Spurs half. Once again, the gaping holes left by the attacking home side were exposed by the young Spaniard- his low ball heading this time for Adebayor inside the “D” of the Tottenham area. Diverting the pace of the pass deftly with the outside of his right foot, Adebayor spun the ball across Dawson and followed suit with his run, before plucking a sublime twenty-yard volley from the air and into the far corner. The ball had not touched the ground while Adebayor had set himself, turned his marker and triumphantly sealed the victory for his team. Despite missing an easier chance earlier in the game, he had succeeded where Berbatov and most recently Bent had failed, and that was ultimately the difference. Should Arsenal continue to take their chances, then they will challenge. Should Spurs continue to throw away theirs, they may well lose more than their manager.