Well. Well. Well. That was quite an experience, was it not? Mixed emotions during the game, and still plenty of the same the next day. But all that matters at the end of the day is the result. And the three points, of course.
Lots to unpack. Let’s get right into it: Arsenal were unchanged from Tuesday’s romp over Chelsea. Tottenham, by contrast, had had a full two weeks of rest - Arsenal had played no less than 4 times in that period - but, Big Ange, you picked what for me looked like the wrong team, mate.
Davies was never likely to be able to keep up with Saka for 90 minutes. For all his flaws, I was expecting Emerson Royal at left back. He has pace, at least. Plus what you need against Arsenal is legs in midfield, because Arsenal’s midfielders don’t stop running. So the choice of Hojbjerg baffled me. Bissouma or Sarr, surely? And finally. I’d have started Richarlison; for all that he wasn’t likely to last the game. Surely Ange would have seen the need to try to upset the equilibrium of Arsenal's formidable centre half partnership? Oh well…
The concern for me was that Spurs were fresh, whilst Arsenal were likely to be jaded; both physically and mentally. Relatively, at least. The way the first half went - apart from the scoreline - seemed to illustrate that to me. Spurred on by the rabid masses of orcs in the stands, Spurs came out of the traps pretty hard, and were unlucky not to be ahead by the time Arsenal took the lead from Hojbjerg’s inadvertent flick from Saka’s near post corner.
It had made for mostly quite uncomfortable viewing up to then, with Arsenal sitting in a deep and narrow block as they had at The Etihad, and continued to do so until Saka’s breakaway goal - selling Davies a massive dummy on the way - from Kai Havertz’s raking crossfield delivery.
Spurs could perhaps have had a penalty a mere 10 seconds prior, and even before then had had an equalising goal chalked off (rightly, but it was incredibly tight) for offside.
3-0 at half time, as King Kai headed home unchallenged - this time from a corner from the other side; delivered with pinpoint accuracy by Declan Rice. Marking? Non-existent. Arsenal were in dreamland; strutting their stuff - I certainly was from the comfort of my sofa at home - and made all the more enjoyable because it felt so unjust on Spurs.
And certainly to these three Neanderthals, whose abuse of Rice as he went to take the corner got its just desserts. The guy in the Spurs shirt was seen leaving the ground seconds later.
Look, I’ve got no desire to offer them any sympathy. At that point, they’d failed to take any of three decent chances, and none of their penalty appeals felt quite right. But whilst they are undoubtedly a decent side going forward, their defending leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Sheer naivety at set pieces exposed them twice - they appear to have paid no attention whatsoever to Arsenal’s brilliant corner routines - and to leave a keeper already known to be flaky on crosses alone to deal with Ben White was frankly negligent. I especially enjoyed watching White un-velcro one of the keeper’s gloves prior to one corner; he's the absolute King of Sh*thousery. And for all that they can probably get away with asking the unbelievably swift Van Der Ven to sweep up their messes, they simply need to be smarter all round.
At 3-0, I was supremely confident that Arsenal would see the game out professionally and with little difficulty. How wrong could I have been?!? And perhaps it remained too easy as the second half wore on, as what was surely a loss of concentration from David Raya led to Romero - who had a terrific game, by the way; channelling his aggression properly for a change - firing the ball past him to reduce the deficit on 64 minutes. I can really offer no explanation for Raya’s lapse but, however you dress it up, trying to chip the ball over two onrushing attackers into the very centre of midfield with one’s weaker foot was not a bright idea. There was simply no need for it.
And that, of course, gave them hope where there had been none. The momentum shifted. All of a sudden Arsenal’s 4 games in a fortnight looked to be starting to catch up with them, as they dropped back into ultra-defensive mode and relying on breakaways - all snuffed out by VDV of course. Mentally and physically, those fixtures looked to be taking a toll; for all that they stayed resilient.
The introduction of the lunatic Richarlison had by this time added momentum to the Spurs attack, as he launched himself around the pitch like an enraged bleach-blond bull. Fortunate, indeed, not to see red for one totally reckless and unnecessary challenge on his compatriot Gabriel. But he really stirred things up, and Spurs drove on relentlessly. But, of course, it was all so unnecessary, Senor Raya!
And Spurs got further reward when Rice’s somewhat unintentional kick through Davies on the edge of the box - he didn’t know that he was there; but that’s a foul all day - gave Spurs an 87th minute penalty. Quite how Michael Oliver, standing two yards away, failed to give it in real time is hard to fathom, but it took just one look at the VAR screen for him to award it. Son’s finish was clinical. Kane-like.
Which left three minutes, plus whatever injury time was left (a further 6 minutes, during which my heart rate went over 120bpm!), for Arsenal to hang on in the face of a barrage. Thanks mainly to Raya’s command of his area, they managed to do so. And to give him his due he showed real personality not to shrink into his shell following his error - he really stood up to be counted, and showed great strength of character where others may have melted. He's not the tallest of goalkeepers by any means, but he dealt with cross after cross after cross with aplomb.
And so it was that what had looked like a stroll in the park - a procession, in fact- had turned into something else entirely. And it was more with relief that any other emotion that the players were able to go and salute the fans. I’ve said it before, and I reckon I’ll say it again; results are the only thing that really matter at this stage of the season. And if Tottenham and their fans feel hard done by, that’s merely the delicious icing on the chocolate cake of success. The table does not lie.
A word for a few individuals now: firstly, Kai Havertz who had as good a game in a red shirt as we’ve seen. He led the line superbly, occupying the central defenders, dropping deep to link up with the midfield and making telling run after telling run. Plus yet another goal (Waka Waka) and the assist for Saka.
This was a player, remember, who we were struggling to understand at the beginning of the season. But his stats are suddenly looking very decent; that’s now 12/6 PL goals/assists this season, of which 8/5 have come since February 17th. A remarkable streak, and he has been transformative.
Secondly, Bukayo Saka. Starboy has frankly been looking a little jaded over the past few weeks - Arteta rarely gives him a break - but there have been signs of life over the past couple of games and here he was back to his best. He tormented Davies all afternoon, worked hard out of possession, and got a goal and assist to boot.
And finally, Gabriel. Another really strong and influential performance from the big Brazilian. Where Saliba’s performances have perhaps plateaued recently, Big Gabi has really stepped it up. I remember worrying early on in his Arsenal career that he was a little clumsy, and often had a mistake or a crucial piece of poor distribution in him. No longer; indeed not for a long time now. He’s an absolute colossus, and had another superb game.
Another three points, then, but with City also winning it’s ‘as you were’ at the top. Three games left for the Gunners, and we need not only to win them all but for City to somehow not win all of theirs. Quite what it will mean for this group to end up with 89 points and it still not be enough, I’m not sure. It’ll hurt us fans; so goodness knows what it will mean for the players to come even closer than last season, but to again fall just short.
But let’s remain optimistic. We need to rely on others - wouldn’t it be hysterically funny if Tottenham, needing to beat them to qualify for the Champions League, do a job on them (they are unquantifiably City’s bogey side) in their penultimate game. We’re all Spurs that night, for sure!
So we move on. Bournemouth at home on Saturday lunchtime. Remember the scenes last season?
I’d hope for something more comfortable this year. But one step at a time. In the interim, let's bask in St Tott's Day.
COYG!
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