And so, thankfully, North London has turned red once more. Honours even for this season; bar the inevitable two-legged Europa League tie that's sure to be drawn on Friday, that is...
I like the above image - it encapsulates my love for Arsenal and at the same time my 30-year career in the print business. Lovely!
This is the game that I look most forward to/dread the most in any season, so I - along with thousands of others I am sure - felt the pain of absence from the ground partcularly keenly. And I'm sure that, especially in a game like this, the players miss the extra intensity that the crowd gives them.
And so to the game - and there are several talking points from it.
Firstly, the absence of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the starting XI, which according to 'sources' was down to his late arrival at the ground - and it's not the first time that he has been late. I've seen a photo of his extremely distinguishable vehicle stuck in a traffic jam in Muswell Hill just after noon; quite simply, he should have left home earlier.
Seeing as Arsenal won, I think that we can say that Arteta's decision to drop him from the team 'for disciplinary reasons' was correct. Had they lost... well, that would have led to an entirely different reaction. I think that it's right to impose standards on the players - as one should in any employment situation - but there is of course a precedent for letting one's captain get away with stuff at our club; George Graham had a different way of dealing with Tony Adams. But that, of course, was pretty much a different era.
And so Lacazette came into the side in his place, and along with the inclusion of Smith Rowe (for Willian) I think this made a lot of sense, as that meant that the Arsenal press was going to start from the very top of the pitch. Although this was made redundant by Spurs' 'tactics' - such as they were. Because Arsenal dominated the ball from the first minute, and the opposition barely had a kick. Much of the attacking was going down the Arsenal left, where Bale - who looked utterly disinterested throughout - was failing to track back and help the over-faced Doherty, as Tierney roasted him time and again. Xhaka fired over. Partey almost put Saka through. Lloris's hurried clearance from way out of his goal left his goal exposed, but the ball didn't quite fall right. And then the impressive Smith Rowe's 25-yard thunderbolt crashed against the bar with the Frenchman grasping at thin air. So close!
A minute later, things improved even more as Son finally had the opportunity to break into a sprint - and did his hamstring, to be replaced by the charming Erik Lamela (of whom much more is to follow). Many big games are coming up for Tottenham, including the Carabao Cup Final in 6 weeks; it may be touch and go for Son. Hey ho...
Arsenal continued to dominate. Partey shot wide from distance. Laca did the same from considerably closer. Everything was still coming down the Arsenal left, where Hojbjerg was having to do Bale's dirty work for him. And still Spurs hadn't had a shot. In fact they'd barely been in Arsenal's half.
On 28 minutes, Lamela inexplicably flicked his foot at Xhaka as they stood together. Three minutes later he did the same to Luiz. Goodness knows what possesses him to behave like that, and the frustration for Arsenal fans was that referee Oliver didn't see either incident - both of which would have been deserving of a booking.
And just a couple of minutes later, with their very first shot, Tottenham were ahead. With what not even I can deny was a spectacular finish from... Erik Lamela. Bale's long crossfield ball was cushioned back into the box by Reguilon. Moura - comfortably Spurs' best player on the day - laid it back to Lamela, and he rabona'd it into the far corner (for those who don't know what a rabona is, it's a technique first used in Lamela's home country of Argentina - although not thought up by anybody called Rabona - where the player crosses his kicking foot behind his standing foot to strike the ball). Stunning, of course - although if he had a right foot he wouldn't have needed to bother. Just saying...
Half-time, and Pepe came on for Saka, who was feeling his hamstring. Just a precaution, and to be fair the boy's not been at his best in the last couple of weeks. A combination of lack of rest, and finding himself a target for rotational fouling, have led to his very high standards slipping slightly (magnificent 87th-minute assist for Aubameyang against Benfica notwithstanding). And truth be told not much happened for a little while, as Mourinho made a couple of changes himself - including removing the ineffective Bale from the fray.
And finally some meaningful second half action as Lacazette, running on to Pepe's incisive through ball, was thumped by a despairing Davinson Sanchez. Now, Laca had already completely miscued his shot, but the ball was still in play and Sanchez's challenge was both clumsy and reckless. I know that Spurs fans cannot understand why that's a penalty, but a challenge like that is a foul anywhere else on the pitch, so how can it not be a penalty?
Lacazette, yet to miss a penalty for The Gunners, sent Lloris the wrong way as he found the very corner of the net.
And still plenty of excitement to follow, as first Lamela finally found his way into Oliver's book for a lunge at Partey on 69 minutes, and then 7 minutes later put his arm into Tierney's face as he attempted to fend him off. Second yellow, and if that was a little harsh (perhaps a BAFTA nomination for Tierney there), then we shouldn't forget the snidey kicks in the first half that went unpunished. Anyway, he's a Spurs player, and was already very much on my 'snidey' list, so who cares?
Two minutes later, this: https://streamable.com/79phu0. Ball long gone, quite deliberate, and... nothing. At the very least that's a yellow card, and possibly a red. But, as The Shearer Law dictates, an England captain can do no wrong in the Premier League. I hope that they look at it retrospectively. Here's the moment of impact - and it's far worse than what Lamela received his second yellow for:
And here's a funny thing, which shows the continued Arsenal mental fragility. With 11 men against 10, Arsenal suddenly retreated into their shells. Actually, I'm going to put that mostly down to the appearance of Willian, who replaced MotM Smith Rowe. But for whatever reason Arsenal were firmly on the back foot for the rest of the game, as Harry Kane finally began to play a bit of football (as opposed to auditioning for the WWE). He had a goal disallowed for offside (a brilliant header, to be fair), and had two presentable free kick opportunities, the first of which crashed against the far post - with the rebound falling to Sanchez; his shot headed away by the solid Gabriel. And whilst I looked on between my fingers (my daughter actually left the room) Arsenal held out.
Afterwards, Mourinho was his usual charming self, He had the good grace to admit that Spurs had been poor, especially in the first half, but the bad grace to blame referee and VAR for the penalty award. For me there was no doubt about the award, and that's just sour grapes. Still, why should I care - anything that makes Mournho miserable makes me happy. And as for Jermaine Jenas' performance on MOTD2... such biased (and blatantly incorrect) punditry shouldn't be permitted, and I wish it had been Wrighty in there with him and not Keown, who hardly defended his club's honour.
And so to the return leg with Olimpiakos on Thursday, and a tricky game at West Ham on Sunday. Back after that. Stay safe. And don't forget... North London Is Red!
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