Before I get into the game, just consider for a moment that groups of fans fought before the match, and how stupid that is. You may have seen the pictures; it appeared to be far less violent than such clashes in the hooligan era, but blood was spilled and the riot police were called out to parade around on their horses and swing their truncheons menacingly. This isn't a sublimated religious war, like the Celtic-Rangers rivalry, or a separatist stalking horse, like Barca-Real, or Communist-fascist enmity like Roma-Lazio. It's just two football clubs with grounds that are close to each other. I'd like to see the clubs take some leadership in bringing rationality to the more rabid fanbase. You can't expect the blogs or the players to do it, though idiotic antics such as Wilshere's go far beyond the acceptable. Sermon over.
First off, great game, right? Tackles were snapped into, pressure was relentless, work rates were phenomenal. All the players internalized the importance of the game. Recent stumbles by both squads intensified their desire. Though he was not perfect over the course of the match, I even thought Michael Oliver had an excellent game. He managed to keep in control and kept proceedings moving. You don't get the close calls away; the players all know that. And the result was a fair one, though frustrating for both sides.
For once, Wenger out-tacticked his opposition, Two years ago I proposed to some of you that we ought to use Ramsey as a "false 9" to increase mobility, and that's pretty much what happened today. Pochettino flunked his exam today by failing to make the changes that would have sealed the three points for Spurs after they went up a goal and a man.
Let's start with the midfielders. Coquelin's yellows were both a trifle soft but both were justified. Yes, Dier should have been sent off for what was actually more of a second yellow than Coquelin's. But life is not fair and to their credit the players didn't sulk. Until the sending off, I thought Coquelin was very good. He'll learn from this. He's a very important player for us and still one of the first names to go on the team sheet, after he gets back from suspension anyway. Elneny was also good, though perhaps a tad too controlled, not making a lot of tackles. Ozil did his job, I thought, and seemed a little more defensively committed.
Ramsey, Welbeck, and Alexis did their usual position-swapping throughout the game. Giroud always works hard, but this was a game where speed was important and the game may have passed him by were he a starter. Welbeck always looked a threat. He's going to improve, too. Ramsey's goal was very well taken, and he put himself about all game. His pass completion rate was very low (60%, I believe), though that's a bit deceptive because all the pressing from both sides meant that there were a lot of interceptions. Still, Ramsey and Alexis lost the ball passing and on the dribble at a very high rate. But end product is how an offensive line is judged, and there were two fine goals from Ramsey and Alexis.
The defensive line looked rather shaky, I thought, even with the cover Coquelin and Elneny provided. There were failed clearances, sliced clearances, and missed marks. Bellerin's two assists excuse him for getting beaten so often on his side; Gibbs did much better than I feared filling in for Monreal. Those two fullbacks have electric speed, which atones for many sins. Mertesacker and Gabriel were worrisome at times. Koscielny is the sort of CB that is best suited to playing against Tottenham, but he was not available. Per is majestic defending crosses, but that didn't seem to be Spurs' mode of attack yesterday.
Ospina deserves a ton of credit for stepping up when it mattered most, and after a long layoff too. He was fine. I do believe he's been working on his technique on punts and goal kicks; they seemed to travel ten yards farther than they used to, and pretty much where he wanted them to go. He really is an excellent GK and it's a shame that his horrible error against Olympiakos cost him so many cup appearances. I was hugely impressed by his response today.
Perhaps we didn't cover ourselves in glory, but this game showed a fighting spirit that bodes well for the future. There will be no time to think about the past as the fixture list stays crowded. A win at the KC Tuesday would mean another Cup clash this weekend and a postponement of that game. I like that, because that game in hand may be important if the leaders stumble. Yes, I know that fifth place is more likely than first, based on recent form. But it's all to play for. We visit West Ham and Man City and have the opportunity to help ourselves against them. All a team can do is win their games; we already held Tottenham twice and beat Leicester twice and can inflict no more damage on the teams currently above us. They won't win the rest of their games,
Barcelona seems more of a distraction than an opportunity now.
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