Did Arsene Get His Sums Wrong

Interviewed post-match on Sky television after a wonderful piece of opportunism by Jermaine Jenas in the 95th minute had given Spurs a draw in the North London derby which they certainly did not deserve, a frustrated Arsene Wenger insisted that Arsenal should have scored five goals. He was wrong, because in addition to the two goals which they did get, the Gunners created 10 good chances, not half chances, and if they had converted just 50% of those, the final score would have been 7-2 in their favour. And any Spurs fans who find that difficult to swallow should consider the facts.

As early as the 10th minute, a wonderful move in which Hleb found Ljungberg and the Swede flicked the ball through for Adebayor to finish majestically was harshly ruled offside, as replays subsequently proved. Nine minutes later, Freddie Ljungberg missed a good opportunity from 8 yards and almost on the stroke of half-time, Emmanuel Eboue played a sparkling one-two with Fabregas and hit the post, then watched Adebayor sky the rebound (an incident which for the purpose of this survey is counted as just one of 10 chances!). So at the end of a first period in which Arsenal had conceded the now almost obligatory first goal, they could – and should – have gone into the dressing room 3-1 up.

The second half was different because Arsenal totally dominated, running Jol’s plodders to a standstill and passing them out of contention as a succession of chances piled up. Within a minute of the restart, Gilberto screwed the ball wide when put through by Hleb. Four minutes later Kolo Toure, now back to his best, climbed above the Spurs defence to head against the post. In the 53rd minute Cesc Fabregas, who by this time was virtually running the game, volleyed just wide and 5 minutes after that Adebayor saw a towering header crash against the bar with Robinson hopelessly beaten. Almost immediately Gilberto shot narrowly wide, then in the 63rd minute Fabregas’ left flank free eluded the entire Spurs rearguard, allowing Toure to ghost in at the far post for an equaliser that was long overdue. Hleb’s 73rd minute pull-back gave Gilberto yet another chance before Adebayor’s unstoppable header from yet another Fabregas free kick made it 2-1 and the lead could have been further increased when Adebayor cut the ball back from the right for Baptista to head miles wide from just 5 yards with the goal at his mercy.

Somehow, it encapsulated Arsenal’s entire season. A game that could have been a rout ended up a draw that felt more like a defeat, as Jenas found inspiration in time added on, much as Michael Essien’s last gasp equaliser had done for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. But when the standard of Arsenal’s finishing matches the quality of their football, it is they, not Chelsea or Manchester United or Liverpool, who will be leading the way and winning the trophies and, most importantly of all, doing it in style.