Spurs Win a Discourteous Point

In a perfect world the last ever North London derby at Highbury would have been an occasion worthy of its setting, but it was not to be. A lacklustre first half performance saw Arsenal overshadowed by Tottenham, more as a result of their own shortcomings than the quality of the visitors’ football. They gave the ball away too easily and they rarely pressurised Spurs effectively when the visitors had possession.

Fortunately, a combination of Jens Lehmann’s brilliance and poor Spurs finishing allowed Arsenal the luxury of finishing the first half all square and after the interval the Gunners took the opportunity to have a greater say in the game. They should have taken the lead in the 60th minute when Robin Van Persie ran on to a through ball with only Robinson to beat and squeezed his shot narrowly wide. Then six minutes later Spurs showed that they were so desperate to win that they were prepared to ignore Eboue lying injured. First Carrick, then Davids disdained to put the ball out and the Dutchman’s cross was run in by Keane for a goal that discredited the visitors and provoked a furious touchline exchange between Arsene Wenger and Martin Jol, who inexplicably (and hypocritically) declared in his post-match interview that he hadn’t seen the incident.

In the light of this, the magical goal that substitute Thierry Henry fashioned from Adebayor’s pass in the 84th minute was the least Arsenal deserved and the signal for a period of sustained pressure from the home side which promised more. But in the end, despite Davids’ red card, they were denied victory by a combination of determined Tottenham time wasting and the extraordinarily inaccurate decision of fourth official Rob Styles that only 3 minutes of extra time was warranted.

In the circumstances, it proved impossible to give this most atmospheric stadium the spectacle it deserved. The cumulative pressure of Premiership and Champions League fixtures deprived Arsenal of much of their customary flair and vitality, especially in the first half, and while Lehmann, Toure and Pires were outstanding, there were disappointing performances from Abou Diaby, Reyes and Adebayor in particular. As for Tottenham, the way in which they fashioned their goal and the comments made by the management afterwards erased the favourable impression created by their first half performance and suggested that although they may yet win the right to play in the Champions League, they will not be worthy of it.