Looking Forward

Arsenal (Home)

Premier League

Saturday 29th October 2005

Although Spurs have not hit top gear yet, the need to grit their teeth and tighten up against Arsenal will be necessary to ensure they do themselves justice.

In goal, the Gooners will put Jens Lehmann between the posts.  His shot-stopping is his strength and he does not like being challenged in the air, so Mido might have fun, as might Jermain Defoe, as the German custodian does not like having his feet stepped on.  In reserve, Sunderland's Mart Poom has been on the bench, while Manuel Almunia is also in the squad if required.  Both are capable keepers, but may be lacking the edge of competitive action in the Reds' side.

The defence will be missing Ashley Cole, but Sol Campbell will be back in the middle of the defence, probably alongside Kolo Toure.  The two don't seem to play that well together, but with the other options being dodgy French centre-half Pascal Cygan or the inexperienced Philip Senderos, Wenger will most likely opt for the African, who can lose his position sometimes.  At full-back, Lauren and Gael Clichy are likely to feature.  Both prefer attacking to defending, which might leave Spurs some space to get into behind them, with Tainio and Lennon wide in the midfield.

In the opposing midfield, Gilberto, Cesc Fabregas, Pires, Ljungberg and Flamini are the choices, but Alexander Hleb is missing with a knee injury that will keep him out for some time.  Pires is dangerous with his dives into the box, while Ljungberg can also produce the unexpected fall.  Neither Fabregas nor Flamini have a desire to get involved in the physical side of the game, so it is a shame they are unable to face Davids in confrontational mood.  There is skill in this part of the side, but the tactic used on them recently by West Brom and Man City was not to give them time on the ball and keep the hassling going to make them move the ball quicker than they wanted, thus resulting in them turning over the ball.

With Terry Henry supposed to be less than likely to play, Wenger might pair the young Goons Reyes and van Persie, with his old Dutch Bergkamp on the bench.  Reyes finishes well, but not often enough as to be regarded as the finished article, while van Persie cannot claim to have settled after his jailing for an alleged rape in Holland.  Spurs' defence will not face a physical threat from the forwards, although that will come from set-pieces, but the movement off the ball by the Arsenal strikers will need to be tracked and the players will also need to hold their positions.

Spurs will undoubtedly miss the competitive nature of Edgar Davids in midfield after picking up his fifth booking at Old Trafford last week, but I imagine Teemu Tainio will come in to replace the Dutchman.  It is a shame we are also not able to play Wayne Routledge against the Gooners, but Aaron Lennon has shown a healthy disrepect for noted defenders and he might yet cause problems for the visitors.  Mido's physical presence will also make the visit uncomfortable, while King and Dawson will be up for the derby.  

I would have gone for a home banker, but with Arsenal's players coming back for this match, I think that this might just take the result back towards their favour ...

PREDICTION : -  Tottenham Hotspur  2    Arsenal  2

For more information on the opponents and their history, including full result history of matches between the two teams, click here.

Coverage

TV :  
North America - Fox Soccer Channel (Sat Oct 29 05:00AM Pacific, Sat Oct 29 06:00AM Mountain, Sat Oct 29 07:00AM Central, Sat Oct 29 08:00AM Eastern, Sat Oct 29 07:00AM Central, Sat Oct 29 08:00AM Eastern)
North America - Fox Sports en Espanol (Sat Oct 29 09:00AM Pacific, Sat Oct 29 10:00AM Mountain, Sat Oct 29 11:00AM Central,  Sat Oct 29 12:00PM Eastern)

Radio :  
BBC LONDON Digital Radio (live coverage) - Also available on Sky Channel 902.
BBC Radio Five Live (live coverage)  606/939 MW

If available on BBC radio, it can be heard in these countries on these stations ...
Australia (Melbourne) SEN  -  116 AM  Live Transmissions: TWI, Saturday. 12.45 & 1500 matches
Australia (Syndey)  Radio 2  -  1611AM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 12.45 Match
Singapore Media Corp Radio  -  93.8 FM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
South Africa  SABC (Radio 2000)  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
Uganda  Radio 1 (English) 90.0 FM, Radio 2 (Lugandan) 87.9 FM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
North America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Carribean)  Sirius Satellite Radio  Live transmission: Saturday - 12.45, 15.00 (TWI) & 17.15 (BBC) Sunday - 14.00 & 16.05 (BBC) Mon, Tue, Wed - Various times (BBC)

Internet :
www.spurs.co.uk   Live webcast  - subscribers only
Planet football - http://play.www.planetfootball.servecast.net/downloads/sky/spurs-pl04-kean0.ram (free - only available when match is on)

Robinson

Stalteri
Dawson
King (c)
Lee

Lennon (Reid 74)
Jenas
Carrick
Tainio (Pedro Mendes 80)

Mido
Defoe (Keane 83)

Unused subs: 
Cerny
Naybet

Lehmann

Lauren
Campbell (c)
Toure
Clichy

Ljungberg (Van Persie 66)
Flamini (Pires 46)
Gilberto
Fabregas

Bergkamp
Reyes (Cygan 90)

Unused subs: 
Almunia
Eboue

Tottenham Hotspur

King 18

Pires 78

   
Defoe (foul) 
Dawson (Lehmann falling over him)    
Lee (foul) 
Tainio (foul) 

   
Gilberto (foul)   
Flamini  (foul)

It is rarely possible to enjoy a North London Derby until it is over, but in this case, it was not possible to enjoy what Spurs had done until I had calmed down about the disgraceful display in the second half.  Not of Spurs, but of Arsenal's gamesmanship in trying to get back into the game by foul means instead of fair.

The falling over and acting to get free-kicks and Spurs players booked was worthy of one of the more "theatric" European sides.  Lehmann's antics were frankly sickening and he succeeded in getting Defoe and Dawson cautioned with little trouble, such is his ability in the throwing his arms up in the air stakes.  The way things went for Arsenal in the second period, you would have thought that they were champions elect and once more we are desperate for a 'homer' to take charge of one of our games.

Arsenal's antics and Bennett's loss of control fo the game led to Pires capitalising on Robinson's fluffed punch to grab a draw for the visitors.  They way they celebrated their goal (making their most purposeful runs of the game right along the length of the East Stand in front of the Tottenham fans) and at the end of the game, they were the most grateful for the point.  It is a matter of fact that we have not won against them for six years, but at the moment they are running scared.

With Davids ruled out by suspension, it was always going to be a tough task for Tottenham, even though Arsenal were missing Henry, but having Ljungberg and Reyes back.  Tainio made a more than adequate replacement for Davids and his terrierish tackling upset some of the more gentile Gooner midfield, while also exhibiting a good turn of speed to race away from opponents and also some good bits of skill.  With Jenas and Carrick both putting in fine displays alongside him, Spurs set about humbling the other lot in the first half.

The fact that Spurs out-passed, out-played and out-thought Arsenal in the first half, limiting them to a couple of crosses into the Spurs box.  The visitor's play was shabby and really lacked any precision or passion, as they were often second best, as Spurs showed their eagerness to compete and close down the Gooners, when they had the ball.  This was typified by Ledley King's superb sliding tackle on Reyes as he broke into the Tottenham box, while Ljungberg slid five yards into the Spurs net with nobody around him.

The bookings went Arsenal's way in the first fifteen minutes.  A crude jab at Jenas' ankle brought Gilberto a caution, while Flamini produced a nasty tackle on the same part of Tainio's anatomy.  How Toure escaped without a yellow (at least) for a number of fouls from behind and a late, high second half kick on Dawson, I don't know.  Maybe Mr. Bennett does ?

When Gilberto once more brought down Lennon from behind (a yellow card offence usually), Spurs were given a free-kick by Bennett, rather than having the advantage played, as Stalteri ran unchallenged into the area.  Referees really do not understand the frustration fans incur when such decisions are made.  If there was advantage, then go back and book the player to at least make it worth while stopping the play.  Carrick's free-kick evened things up, as Campbell gave his full concentration to preventing Mido getting off the ground, thus leaving Ledley to make a perfectly timed run and jump to really power the ball past the German keeper.  The crowd enjoyed the goal only slightly less than the Spurs captain !!

Rattled, Arsenal continued to give the ball away with the object of the boos - S. Campbell - being the main culprit.  When Toure was played into trouble, Mido nicked the ball off him, nut-megged him and tried a cheeky chip over Lehmann, but put it too high.  Any time Arsenal got near goal, the Spurs players were willing to throw themselves in front of any effort and Tainio and Dawson excelled at this.  Arsenal were not so keen to get in the way of the Spurs shots and Carrick and Jenas fired in efforts from 20 yards out.  Carrick's fizzed wide of the goal with Lehmann helpless and Jenas struck a fine shot that the keeper managed to get something on and divert it over the top.

Twice the Tottenham fans almost had the ultimate to cheer.  Shaky all afternoon, Campbell headed one ball back towards his own goal and the goalie had to grab it and then a cross from Stalteri on the right was almost sliced into the goal off his foot, but it went narrowly wide.  From the corner, Mido got a free header, but could not direct it on target.  As in last year's fixture at Highbury, Lehmann once more made great play that Defoe had stood on his feet as they waited for a corner to come in.  A yellow for the Spurs striker, but nothing for Lehmann, who put his head into Defoe in the same incident.  A shame then that Defoe's wriggle past two defenders and low cross was nto able to be reached by Jenas to add a second goal right before the half-time whistle.

Wenger was obviously unhappy about the first half, with Flamini going off and Pires replacing him.  Spurs began the second half slowly and failed to close down the other side as quickly as they had in the first half.  This resulted in Arsenal having more possession, but still they failed to make a lot of it.

I find some of the things that Arsenal do quite despicable.  When Lehmann went down holding his head as a corner was about to be taken, he held the side of his head away from the crowd behind the goal.  I think that the ref did pick something up to take off to the fourth official, but the German keeper made great play of his head hurting (probably all that thinking we made him do).  Then, when the corner came in, he gathers the ball, barges into Dawson, who gets on with play and pushes him back, only for Lehmann to take a dive and roll around a bit.  This caused a confrontation between players from both sides and a yellow for our centre half !!

Lee then saw yellow for a trip on Fabregas, as he ran onto a through pass and took the foul rather than bother about the ball, immediately pointing for a penalty.  Spurs though play by different rules.  Defoe was tight on the left wing, but managed to work his way with great skill past two defenders, only for one of them to lunge at him in the area.  Now, if he had raspberry on his short, he would have taken the proffered leg and won a penalty, but no.  He is Spurs and stayed on his feet to hit a low shot that Lehmann kept out with his foot.  Straight away another flash of yellow saw Tainio in the book for a swing at the ball that failed to connect with it and also failed to connect with Ljungberg, but such an expert faller is he, that the ref was suckered in.

The move that probably changed the game came when the Swede pulled a hamstring and was replaced by van Persie.  He produced a shot that Robbo saw late, but got a good hand to and then the Dutchman failed to reach Pires' through pass as he ran through the centre.  His pace was causing problems, but it was Reyes who won the foul for a free-kick that led to the equaliser.  His squeal after Stalteri's tackle was worthy of Ned Flanders and certainly loud enough to impress Bennett.

The ball was put over and Robinson, coming out of shadow into the sun, half-punched, half-pushed the ball away to the back post, but Pires was there to side-foot a volley into the open gap between defenders and into the net.  His celebration and Campbell's were designed to incite Spurs fans and they succeeded.  But where was the referee's card ?  Firmly in his pocket.  

The remainder of the game saw Arsenal pick up possession as Spurs cleared the ball or turned the ball over to them, but they did not carve out another decent chance.  Robinson ran out to the right edge of his box to meet Pires, as he broke down the line, making Spurs fans' hearts leap into their mouths, but the England keeper blocked the shot with his legs.  When Cygan replaced Reyes, you know it was the same old Arsenal.

What this game proved to me was that the team we have has greater potential than Arsenal's at this moment in time.  While some of our players have less Premiership experience than theirs, they have welded together into a good unit and for the future, they look to be heading in the right direction.  Arsenal, with Pires, Bergkamp, Campbell, Lehmann and Ljungberg, look like a team in decline.  They are still well experienced and use that to the full in trying to get back into games whichever way they can.  

In the next few years, I think I know where I would rather be watching my football.  And I will be seeing it the way it was meant to be played.

MEHSTG TOP MAN : -  MICHAEL CARRICK

Purcell Cole

LEHMANN :  Always looks dodgy on crosses and why didn't we put Mido on him to unsettle him rather than Defoe ?  Well beaten by King's header and also by Carrick's shot, which flew inches wide.  Did well to tip Jenas' shot over the bar.  Unbelievable antics when hit by something from the crowd (the consensus seems to be a conker) and when he bumped into Dawson and got some back.  The bloke is a liability and I am surprised more teams don't play on him.
CLICHY :  The one player who had a good game for them.  Pacy and difficult for Lennon to get past, he was impressive.
CAMPBELL :  Slow, indecisive, really poor distribution, lack of positional sense, do I need to go on ?  His elbow in Tainio's face was supposedly helping him jump.  Yeah, right.  Glad we have King after this pale shadow of our captain demonstrated to the watching England coach who should be in his mind when Germany 2006 comes along.  The best run he made all day was the one in front of the Spurs fans to celebrate their goal ... showing just how much it hurts when he gets booed !!
TOURE :  Please someone explain to me who Dawson gets booked for giving Lehmann a nudge while Toure gets away with more than van Persie.  Three tackles from behind and an outrageous jump over the back of Mido (who admittedly didn't jump, but when he did he got a free-kick given against him) failed to convince Bennett to reach for his pocket
LAUREN :  Despicable display from a player who got away with an elbow in the face last season.  This time, having brought Mido down, he felt it necessary to lean over him and give him mouthfuls of abuse.  Again Bennett saw it all, but did nothing.  This behaviour is more inclined to wind up the crowd than a lot of other things that go on.  For a strongly built player, can't take a tackle without falling over.
FABREGAS :  Light-weight midfielder, who showed no stomach for the battle.  Stronger built than some of our midfielders, but didn't want to get stuck in and flitted around the periphery.  Supposedly skillful, but showed little of his ability and was harassed out of it.
FLAMINI : Light-weight midfielder, who got pulled off at half-time.  Put in two bad challenges on Tainio, one shirt-pull (a favourite of the Arsenal players) and one a late tackle on his ankle which got him in the book.  Didn't make any memorable contribution to the game and didn't live up to the rhetoric that Wenger spouts.
LJUNGBERG :  Back from injury and then left the pitch with one.  Spent most of his time on the pitch face down on the floor or moaning at the ref for those nasty Spurs players tackling him fairly.  Shame he couldn't have stayed on, as he was not doing any damage at all ... apart to his own reputation.
GILBERTO :  Tall, strong and good in the air, Gilberto would be a fine replacement for Vieira, but he hasn't got the desire of the Frenchman and lacks the ability to dominate other players.  I am sure Wenger was pinning his hopes on the Brazilian taking over Vieira's mantle, but he looks like he has made a mistake.  Booked for a really late tackle on Jenas and only kicked Lennon as he was the smallest player on the pitch.
BERGKAMP :  Old man of the Arsenal side.  Looked it today.  Fell like an OAP on ice and moaned to the ref more than old-time about the price of bread.  Didn't get the space he needs and although he showed some nice touches, they were in areas where they didn't matter.
REYES :  A typical lightweight who can't handle a tough tackle.  Stalteri's on him for the free-kick that lead to the goal was "won" rather than anything else.  He obviously has inner ear problems, because he couldn't stand upright for long.  Even when someone jumped up with him to head the ball and he got bumped into, he started limping and had to be comforted by Ljungberg.
PIRES :  Objectionable player who whinges and whines when he gets tackled.  It just had to be him who scored didn't it.  His celebration might have been deemed suitable for a yellow card though.
VAN PERSIE :  Showed a bit of pace and nous, but he didn't hurt Spurs.  Robbo made a great save from him and he showed that he hasn't got the desire to go in where it hurts, as a couple of times a bit more bravery could have earned him a goal.
CYGAN :  Lucky he didn't spend too long on the field, so didn't have much time to cock things up. 

JERRY HALLOWELL

The one they did get was a mistake by Robbo and he will hold his hand up to that, but who was marking Pires at the back post ?  When you watch the Spurs goal, for all the Arsenal defenders in the area, most of them moved away from the middle of the goal to the back stick, while Ledley King had a free run in on the cross to head home.  Our defence did the opposite. Packing the goalmouth when the free-kick came over, there was nobody on the line, leaving Pires a straight shot on goal.

With pressure building on Spurs, they started playing percentage balls forward, which invariably were won by their defenders.  Only Defoe showed skill and determination to hold the ball up and run at their players, almost bringing a goal with a wriggling run that brought a fortunate stop from Lehmann.

Carrick was the star of the show with a great offensive showing in the first half.  Getting forward to hit a screamer of a shot that flashed wide is what we all want to see more of him doing.  I also lost count of the number of times he was back in defence heading the ball away or breaking up play.

An honourable mention should also got o Michael Dawson, who was a rock alongside Ledley.  Winning headers, throwing blocks and using the ball really well, he is going to be a fantastic signing and I hope all those other teams who hesitated in snapping him up will be green with envy.

Jenas and Tainio played very well in midfield too, with Lee and Stalteri making good ground up the line.  If only the ref had played on when the Canadian was through !!  Mind you, sod the advantage.  It was one of the hardest headers I have ever seen from a Spurs player and must be about the best goal Ledley has scored.

A bit disappointed on losing two points, but buoyed by the fact that we were better than them over the 90 minutes.  I would rather be a Spurs supporter than a Gooner (that goes without saying) in the next few years, as Spurs are on their way up and that lot are not.

MATTY GREEN