Derby Disappointment

Football can be really deflating sometimes and that is certainly how I felt after Arsenal's 2-1 defeat at Tottenham in the north London derby at White Hart Lane.

Before the match even kicked off the natural nerves set in as there was the usual pressure to get a result in what is considered one of the biggest fixtures in Arsenal's yearly calendar. Getting victory over your bitter rivals is always paramount and anything other than that is simply not good enough, although admittedly Spurs are very tough opponents. As much as I dislike Spurs and the defeat is a bitter pill to swallow, I can't really deny that they deserved the win. Yes, I did just say that! Hopefully I won't have to say that sentence again next season!

Adding to the pressure of it being a derby match, there was also the chance to move up into third, albeit temporarily, but instead we wasted the opportunity to get back into the top four and allowed our London neighbours to leapfrog us in the table. The result itself was hard to take but it was more the manner of the performance that hurt the most. We really were poor and made it all too easy for Spurs and as manager Arsene Wenger conceded "we gave two cheap goals away". He wasn't wrong either! They were poor goals and the defending in general for most of the game was dire. Rather than being able to celebrate his 700th Premier League game in charge of Arsenal with a win, Wenger was left with a big feeling of disappointment.

The day had already got off to a frustrating start when my taxi turned up late meaning I missed the start of the game. I arrived at the pub shortly after Mesut Ozil's 11th-minute opener and was able to greet my friends, including a Spurs fan celebrating his birthday, with a big grin on my face. Danny Welbeck raced down the wing before sending a cross into the box, which Olivier Giroud mishit before Ozil volleyed beyond Hugo Lloris for his third goal in as many games.

It actually felt like it was then going to be our day and we could've doubled our advantage within four minutes of the restart but Santi Cazorla's strike was superbly saved by Lloris. But as soon as Tottenham equalised through the first of Harry Kane's two goals after 56 minutes we didn't really show any signs of getting anything out of the game. Gunners' goalkeeper David Ospina did well to keep out Eric Dier's flick but when the ball fell to Kane the goalkeeper was stranded and he was able to shoot into an empty net.

Ospina, who returned to the side after keeping four clean sheets in as many games, made several excellent saves throughout the game but the visitors couldn't capitalise and simply didn't create enough chances at the other end. Being without the injured Alexis Sanchez didn't help our cause but there can be no excuses. Even without the top class Chilean we really should have done far better!

Arsenal almost retook the lead on the hour mark but Welbeck's curling effort was superbly saved by Lloris. From the resulting corner Laurent Koscielny's header was comfortably saved by the French shot-stopper. Giroud later wasted a glorious opportunity when he headed way off target after being picked out by a great cross from Ozil. Those misses proved costly for the visitors as Spurs came up with a late winner.

Kane has a bright future ahead of him and is a superb talent and the 21-year-old broke the hearts of the Gunners' faithful with a headed goal four minutes from time. My initial reaction at the time was a very critical one towards Ospina as I said to friends he really should've done better and at least dived to try and save it. On reflection that was very harsh as Ospina put in a decent performance and, in fact, it was actually a fine header from Kane.

Arsenal will need to pick up form very quickly to ensure they do not fall behind in the race for a top four finish. Wenger has never finished below Spurs in the table and if they are to avoid that happening a much-improved performance will be needed against Leicester in the next game to kick-start a positive run of form.

Watching the highlights back wasn't pleasant viewing but, although the result was painful, I was not going to let it stop me from doing my weekly Arsenal blog and I didn't want bias to cloud my judgement. I still think we will finish above Spurs but they were worthy winners on the day.

The defence that had seemed a lot more solid in recent weeks were very shaky and the longer the game went on it was no real surprise to see Spurs get on the scoresheet. It is just baffling how we can go from a superb defensive display at the home of champions Manchester City last month to this shoddy display at Tottenham. We really must get a lot more consistent. Every time it looks as if we are turning a corner a blip happens.

We need to get back into form soon as February is likely to be a decisive month for Wenger's men. The FA Cup tie with Middlesbrough, the first leg of the Champions League against Monaco, and trying to get back into the top four. We need to make sure that come the end of February we are still fighting seriously for all of those and not let it all disappear from our grasp in one go.

Focus must now turn to getting back to winning ways in the league when we host Leicester. The huge feeling of deflation should act as motivation to make sure we put in a far better performance in our next match.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS