I have written more times than I or Arsène Wenger would care to remember about the need for Arsenal’s key men to stand up and be counted. Yesterday, three games too late you might say, they did that, by and large.
At 2-1 and a man down, there were staring into the abyss. If they had lost, that would have been it for their title hopes. Plenty would have written them off at that point, especially since losing Francis Coquelin was tough in two ways. First, it came as they were gaining some ascendancy. Second, they might have cause to feel aggrieved. I thought Harry Kane could have avoided the Arsenal’s man challenge. Instead he invited it, figuring it was too good an opportunity to miss. It sounds cynical but I don’t blame Harry. That is the way of the modern game. Wenger did not object too much afterwards.
Arsenal rallied to get a point and when you have lost your past two League games and there are question marks over your big-match temperament, grabbing a draw against the tide can be worth as much as a win.
Alexis Sanchez has not shown the form of last season, certainly since he came back from injury in January. Aaron Ramsey is another who has been accused of going awol of late. Yet they both scored excellent goals. There was even a silver lining in the form of stand-in keeper David Ospina, who made two fine, instinctive saves. Ramsey and Mesut Ozil could have contributed more but as a team they gutsed it out — not a phrase commonly used of the Gunners.
Spurs should not be too downhearted. The midweek loss to West Ham was not wholly surprising. A run of six wins had to end and defeat by a confident West Ham at Upton Park under the lights was neither an upset nor a disaster.
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“There was even a silver lining in the form of stand-in keeper David Ospina
Like Arsenal, they could not afford another reverse, however, and they started well, nearly always first to every ball in the first half. The third quarter yesterday was further proof that they are a hugely tenacious side who eke every ounce of strength and burst of speed out of their bodies. They stepped up a gear when they had the man advantage, knowing this was their chance to regain the initiative.
Kane gave an interview before the match saying that teams did not want to play Spurs. That might be taking it a little far. He might have been better advised to say that teams know they can never relax against his side. They always fight to the end — and that is a quality that has not normally been associated with Tottenham teams in recent times and which may yet win them a first Premier League title. And they can play.
Nobody better encapsulates these qualities than Dele Alli and Kane, who combined for the second goal. Some might criticise Per Mertesacker’s ponderous approach to cover Alli as the ball went down to the corner flag. I prefer to give Alli credit for a superb back-heel, which was followed by an outstanding piece of skill from Kane, whose shot could not have been more precise.