Harry Kane was the difference as Arsenal lost the North London derby 1-0 in what was a less than happy return against bitter rivals Tottenham at Wembley.
The Spurs striker missed a few other decent chances, but his brilliantly taken 49th-minute header proved decisive as the host controlled the second half.
The first half was a fairly even affair with both defences on top at a ground where Arsenal have won some big games in recent years. But the Gunners barely had a look in after Kane's goal. Any NLD defeat hurts, especially with Spurs now seven points above us in the table, but for me the most disappointing fact of all is that we mustered only one shot on target in the whole match.
Petr Cech kept the score down with some key saves, but was unable to change the outcome of the game, while he also had a moment of madness with a poor kick that almost cost a goal.
Although this was always going to be a tough game, on paper the Arsenal line-up looked exciting, especially with new signings Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang both starting. With the likes of this duo, Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere on the pitch, it had the potential to be great, but in truth we barely threatened in attack. Being denied by a tight offside call and forcing one decent save out of Hugo Lloris is about as good as it got for us.
Kane looked to be in on goal after just nine minutes, but fortunately for Arsenal Shkodran Mustafi was on hand to make a crucial challenge to put the ball behind for a corner.
One of Arsenal's best moments of the first half came when Wilshere produced a defence-splitting pass for Aubameyang. I genuinely thought he was onside, albeit very narrowly, but the linesman raised his flag and the attack was halted.
Spurs wasted the chances that came their way in the first half with some poor headed efforts. Cech comfortably saved the efforts from Christian Eriksen and Eric Dier, while Kane's flew over the crossbar.
In a half of few chances Hector Bellerin tried his luck five minutes before the break, but the Spanish defender's effort failed to cause any real danger to Lloris in the Tottenham goal.
The game's only goal came in the opening minutes of the second half as Kane rose highest to power a great header beyond Cech from Ben Davies' cross.
From that point onwards Spurs bossed most of the rest of the game and really should have doubled their advantage soon after, but somehow Kane headed wide.
Although Spurs were on top, the fact they kept wasting chances gave Arsenal a glimmer of hope as Eriksen's free-kick was tipped over the crossbar by Cech. But the Gunners failed to capitalise on the few opportunities that came their way and the closet the came to scoring was when Lloris parried Wilshere's curling effort after 68 minutes.
Tottenham continued to enjoy the better chances, but both Dele Alli and Erik Lamela sent their shots off target. Those missed chances really should have come back to haunt Spurs, but substitute Alexandre Lacazette missed two great chances for Arsenal late on. The striker had time and space when the ball came to him from Bellerin's cross, but somehow he managed to blaze his first-time effort over the crossbar. Lacazettte then latched onto a through ball from fellow substitute Alex Iwobi soon after, but this time he shot wide in what was a big let off for Spurs.
That really should have seen us nick a point against our rivals in what was Nacho Monreal's 200th appearance for the club, but in truth Spurs annoyingly deserved their victory.
We outclassed them in a 2-0 victory at the Emirates back in November, but unfortunately this latest performance was nowhere near to that standard.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Tottenham fan Anthony Rayment believes his side were more than worthy winners and weren't caused too many problems at Wembley.
"Arsene Wenger spoke recently about balancing attack and defence," said Rayment. "It seemed that Arsenal in the first half tried to soak up Tottenham pressure and defend solidly and then hit fast on the counter.
"The counter never seemed to happen however and, although Spurs were frustrated, Arsenal were not much of a threat.
"Second half Spurs did what they did against Liverpool and piled on relentless pressure. Kane getting his goal early was vital as it meant Arsenal had to come out, which plays right into Spurs' hands.
"Tottenham should have had a few more with Arsenal's keeper being their best player. It would have been criminal if Arsenal had stolen a point at the death and Spurs deserved the win.
"Tottenham look odds on to get top four, but I have no idea about Arsenal. Everything behind the front three looks a mess away from home and top four looks very hard for them now."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Not only do any defeats to Spurs hurt a lot, but we also have to wait a long time before we can attempt to get back to winning ways in the league as the next outing isn't until next month.
Focus must now switch to the Europa League as our next two matches are the two legs of our round of 32 tie against Swedish side Östersunds FK. We go into the game as huge favourites and really should be winning both legs, although with Arsenal you just never know what is going to happen next.
Of course we need to make sure we don't underestimate Graham Potter's side, who have reached this stage of the competition on merit, but this is virtually our only chance of getting Champions League football next season. It is a long shot as there are still top sides left in the tournament, but we have to take it very seriously.
The two-legged tie and the Carabao Cup Final clash against Manchester City are the remaining games left in February, so this month will decide if we can at least get any trophies this season. Let's at least make sure we do this bit right!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
No comments:
Post a Comment