Arsenal Vs Spurs: Recap, Highlights And Analysis

Arsenal travelled to White Hart Lane on Sunday to take on Tottenham Hotspur. Here is the full recap, all the highlights and analysis from the 2-0 loss.

Well, what a disappointing afternoon that was. After both Manchester clubs had failed to win their respective league matches, the door for the top four had opened ajar. Arsenal, who again tested Arsene Wenger’s new 3-4-3 system with varying success, couldn’t even muster a peek around the wooden frame.

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Tottenham Hotspur were far superior to their bitter rivals in every department. They were physically dominant, they controlled possession, they suffocated their visitors with a relentless high press and were stifling in the defensive third. Spurs were excellent; a farcry from the mess that Arsenal currently are.

The first half started in worrying fashion. After a slightly nervy and broken opening period, the game settled into a pattern: Spurs dominated possession, controlled the game and dictated play, Arsenal sat deep, remained disciplined and compact, and looked to threaten on the counter-attack. It is an approach that Wenger adopted in the FA Cup semi-final win over Manchester City and one that his side attempted to replicate on Sunday.

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Spurs, though, were able to dissect the Arsenal ranks with greater effectiveness than City were, creating a number of excellent chances. The first came to Toby Alderweireld, flicking a header over the bar from a corner after meeting the ball from a darting, near post run. The second fell to Dele Alli after Harry Kane’s shot fell right to his head at the far post, with the attacking midfielder surprisingly heading wide under pressure from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, The best of which, though, was Christian Eriksen’s, who skewed his far post volley onto the crossbar after Son Heung-Min’s blocked shot had squirmed through to him as the result of a dynamic counter-attack.

Arsenal created little, especially earlier in the half, but did engineer a couple of openings just before half time. Aaron Ramsey dribbled a shot from a pulled-back Mesut Ozil corner which should have been struck with more conviction; the Welshman curled a side-footed shot towards the far post that Hugo Lloris was able to palm around the corner; Alexis Sanchez looped a speculative effort up and over the French goalkeeper, beating him and the post in tantalising fashion.

It was a nervy first half, though, for the Gunners who needed to show signs of life in the second half on the counter to keep Spurs honest.

And they were unable to do so whatsoever.

Arsenal had looked a little more competitive after the break, before, in rather predictable fashion, crumbling. The first goal came through Dele Alli, with the midfield twice collecting loose balls amid a host of disinterested and unaware Arsenal defenders, before finishing well from Christian Eriksen’s well-saved shot by Petr Cech.

The second goal came just a matter of moments later. With Arsenal still reeling from conceding, Harry Kane picks up the ball in the left channel, drives at Gabriel Paulista, before slipping the ball past him, forcing the mistake and going down once clipped, winning the penalty. Kane subsequently stepped up and smashed the penalty into the bottom corner, consigning Arsenal to a much-deserved two-goal deficit.

The game continued to be played in a competitive manner, with Arsenal pressing for a lifeline late in the game. But if not for a couple of very good saves from Petr Cech, keeping out Kane and Alderweireld, this could, and perhaps should, have been a far worse afternoon.

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The 2-0 scoreline was flattering for the visitors and leaves them hoping for a late-season miracle to haul their way back into the top four. There is a growing gulf between these two clubs, and Sunday only proceeded to enhance and entrench the conclusion that Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs are now the dominant force in North London.

Highlights

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