Dreadful Tottenham help Arsenal with perfect result

Arsenal were gearing up for the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Liverpool on Thursday. Instead, an appeal from the visitors was successfully lodged and the game has been postponed.

There has been a huge outcry from some Arsenal supporters who feel that given the Reds only had three known players absent from Covid – more are believed to have tested positive since – that their other absences shouldn’t factor in.

However, they can barely field a first team and the disappointment majorly stems from not being able to play a heavily weakened Liverpool side. That’s the truth. If the shoe was on the other foot there would be equal clamour for postponement.

In any case, the show goes on and should Mikel Arteta‘s side navigate their way past Liverpool over two legs then they will face the winner of Chelsea vs Tottenham. After the first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, your money is on the Blues being the opponents in the final.

Dreadful Tottenham help Arsenal with perfect result as they lose 2-0 to Chelsea in Carabao Cup semi-final ahead of North London Derby

Tottenham were dreadful.

Their first half showing was laughable as they cracked in every duel and succumbed to Chelsea’s excellent energy levels. The change of formation worked for Thomas Tuchel’s side and they looked ruthless.

Ben Davies’ hilarious own goal will feature on every highlight reel going as Spurs failed to lay a glove on their opponents.

But it’s only 2-0. It is near enough the ideal result for Arsenal.

Having had their first leg postponed until Thursday January 13, Arsenal then play Tottenham in the North London Derby which, it needn’t be said, is an unbelievably important fixture for the club. The gap is narrowing and Spurs have fixtures in hand, and even at this stage in the season Arsenal can’t be losing ground.

So with Spurs playing their second leg in midweek the Premier League match, that they are only 2-0 going into the home leg will do Arsenal a favour. They’re far from out of the tie, at least on paper, and they will have to put on a strong showing in front of their fans with their full team. The situation is nevertheless far from ideal.

It may not count for much, but with Arsenal now being done over by the fixture list with the North London Derby sandwiching two semi-finals against Liverpool instead of having the FA Cup to rotate, the fact that Spurs have to go gung-ho in the second leg may help their cause.

This, of course, without delving into how average Spurs looked and how damning the assessment was from Antonio Conte post-match. He knows they’re far off and if they play like that while Arsenal continue to reach levels close to those of late, then regardless of tired legs or not Arsenal will fancy themselves.

2-0 is that kindly dangerous scoreline. Spurs really have to go for it in the second leg.