{"id":6720,"date":"2022-10-01T16:58:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-01T15:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6720"},"modified":"2022-10-05T22:26:37","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T21:26:37","slug":"five-months-is-a-long-time-in-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=6720","title":{"rendered":"Five months is a long time in football"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color:#fff;display:inline-block;font-family:Roboto,sans-serif;color:#a7a7a7;font-size:11px;width:100%;max-width:594px;\"><div style=\"padding:0;margin:0;text-align:left;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/1429318883\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color:#a7a7a7;text-decoration:none;font-weight:normal !important;border:none;display:inline-block;\" rel=\"noopener\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div><div style=\"overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:0;padding:66.66667% 0 0 0;width:100%;\"><iframe src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/1429318883?et=5Pg_dzvrTNl0-k-iRBkmLA&amp;tld=com&amp;sig=gT4zKUlb8-r4BTejGt5S5xk7f8aHN0g6eBKxAGfEETk=&amp;caption=true&amp;ver=1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" style=\"display:inline-block;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>On a glorious autumn afternoon in North London Arsenal destroyed Tottenham in a one-sided contest which Arsenal dominated for the vast majority of the game. Trev\u2019s excellent preview alluded to the defeat in early May which was so damaging to our morale and our Champions League aspirations. There were questions asked about our mental resilience and Tottnumb fans crowed about the gap between us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, this game was played in a feverish atmosphere. I suspect other Gooners shared my nervousness before the game and during it I suspect my blood pressure was unhealthily high &#8211; at least until about the 70th minute. Arsenal have an excellent record at home against the Spuds and started with high intensity pushing the Spuds back continually. Martinelli and Saka were bright as buttons on the flank whilst Partey and Xhaka dominated midfield where our extra man threw into doubt the wisdom of the way Conte set up his team. Martinelli and Xhaka went close but the first big chance fell to the away team with Richarlison getting first to a cross with an untidy scuffed shot. Ramsdale saved well but I suspect Richarlison was offside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>White and Xhaka went reasonably close and then Arsenal took the lead with a superb and uplifting goal. The ball was rolled across the box after a 22 pass move and Partey swung his right foot 20 yards out. We\u2019ve seen this movie many times before and it never ends well, in fact it usually ends high up behind the goal! This time was different! The ball swerved beautifully high into the top right corner and Arsenal had a deserved lead.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 1 Tottenham 0 (Partey, 19 minutes)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So far, Tottenham had been playing in what the commentators called \u2018transition\u2019. To my untutored eye they were playing long-ball football and relying on the pace and power of their front three. Call me a cynical Arsenal fan but I could see no difference between this unattractive, rather random approach and those of Mourinho and Esp\u00edrito Santo. Nevertheless, football is neither fair or inclined to award the spoils automatically to the more aesthetically beautiful or cohesive side and we all started to fear that Arsenal\u2019s very high-octane offensive approach might leave them short of cover if Tottnumb managed a breakaway.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The referee, Anthony Taylor, was letting the game flow and appreciating the context of a derby that was fiercely contested but never malicious. I thought Romero might have been booked for a foul on Jes\u00fas but the referee was pretty consistent. Arsenal were starting to concede space out wide which the Marshdwellers\u2019 wingbacks could exploit. Emerson Royal seemed manifestly incapable of doing this but Perisic fired wide when he had a decent chance on the left-hand side of the area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then it happened! Arsenal were caught out by a Tottenham break but their loose passing looked to have lost them their chance. Saliba produced a superb clearing header which (in his only mistake of the game) Xhaka miscontrolled and Richarlison was brought down quite clearly by an impetuous Gabriel. It was a clear penalty and Harry Kane (who gets plenty of practice taking spot-kicks in the North London Derby) fired it down the middle to equalize.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 1 Tottnumb 1 (Kane penalty, 30 minutes)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A far post Kane header when he might have done better on 37 minutes was straight at Ramsdale and the suspicion was growing that Tottenham were taking control. Jesus lifted the pessimism with a brilliant dribble and close- range shot and a minute later our mercurial striker produced a fine piece of defensive play dispossessing Richarlison near our box. The question might be asked why he was back there doing that job but his work rate is phenomenal and it was a very important intervention. Neither H\u00f8jbjerg or Bentancur are creative players and Tottnumb\u2019s play was still very different in style to Arsenal\u2019s but the presence of three international goalscorers was a concern as the interval approached. Half-time arrived with a feeling that Arsenal had lost momentum and that the Spuds might have sucked some of the life out of Arsenal\u2019s verve and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Half-time: Arsenal 1 Tottnumb 1&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Arsenal supporters felt deflated at the interval, it was clear as soon as the second half began that Arsenal were determined to regain their momentum. Jes\u00fas felt he had a good claim for a penalty ignored by the referee but a couple of minutes later his frustrations disappeared as Saka cut in past three defenders and fired in a fierce left foot shot. Lloris blocked Saka\u2019s shot but the ball hit Romero and bounced back to him. Lloris then dived over the ball and Jesus pounced getting around behind him to run the ball into the net.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 2 Tottnumb 1 (Jes\u00fas, 47)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Brazil can afford to ignore Jes\u00fas for their World Cup squad they are either richly blessed or their manager is an idiot. The fact that he prefers Richarlison may suggest that the latter conclusion is the right one! Jes\u00fas\u2019 speed, touch and physicality caused all three of the Tottnumb defenders major headaches although he missed a good chance on 52 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tottnumb started to get more possession and H\u00f8jbjerg missed a decent chance on 59 minutes failing to emulate Partey in a similar position. Arsenal were now again clearly the better side and the main reason was the quality of Partey, Xhaka and \u00d8degaard in midfield.Tottnumb were not looking able to control the game but their speed on the&nbsp;&nbsp;break was always a worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then came five minutes that irrevocably changed the game. On 61 minutes, on our left wing around halfway, Royal aimed a malicious challenge at Martinelli raking his studs along the back of his leg. Anthony Taylor hesitated momentarily before brandishing a straight red card. It was the correct decision and underlined not only the relative hopelessness of the Tottnumb cause but also the mediocrity of a player that was an alternative option for us when we signed Tomayisu. Strike one for Edu! (Bloody Edu!)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arsenal needed to find a third goal to put the game to bed and did so five minutes later when sustained pressure inside the penalty area saw the ball transferred to our new attacking sensation (Xhaka!) and he thumped the ball home for his first NLD goal. It was richly deserved after another brilliant performance in this wide left role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Arsenal 3 Tottnumb 1 (Xhaka, 67 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Conte is very much a creature of habit and decided to make five changes (four in one go). That two of them involved Son and Richarlison going off, suggested that his priority was respectability rather a glorious revival. The rest of the game was played largely in and around the Spuds\u2019 box and Arsenal looked likely to increase the score most notably when Tierney, on for Zinchenko, hit a terrific left foot shot well saved by Lloris on 89 minutes. Partey, Jes\u00fas, \u00d8degaard and Zinchenko were replaced by Tomayisu, Sambi, Nketiah and the aforementioned Tierney and Gooners everywhere, particularly the lucky ones in the stadium, luxuriated in the enjoyable and unusual situation of a tension free denouement to the game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final score:&nbsp;&nbsp;Arsenal 3 Tottnumb 1&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was a wonderful occasion for Gooners everywhere. Over the next few days we will undoubtedly dissect and replay some key moments. It is very notable that this season we have played teams that inflicted heavy and damaging defeats on us last year and with the exception of ManUre, beaten them all comprehensively. It is particularly encouraging to beat our noisy neighbours and in so doing revealing what I thought was a huge difference in the quality of our football compared to theirs. There have been whispers growing in volume that the quality of the Spuds\u2019 performances have flattered to deceive and today they looked markedly inferior to an Arsenal team that maintained an intensity and possession based game to which Tottnumb had no answer. A penny for Harry Kane\u2019s thoughts as he considers the prospect of struggling on in a side so devoid of midfield creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But who really cares about them?! We were excellent today and there were a number of standout performances. I thought the pick of them were Partey, Saliba, Jes\u00fas and Saka but Man of the Match was undoubtedly Xhaka. He is a player reborn in a new role and the benefit to the team is clear to see. Nobody played badly but I worry about Gabriel who does some stupid things from time to time. I\u2019m not sure we wouldn\u2019t be better served by bringing in Tomi and moving White to play in the centre although it should be noted that Tomayisu plays left centre back in a three for Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to avoid the mistake of prioritising this game above the other challenges that confront us but we all know Spuds who have been insufferable since May. They are silenced now and North London is Red and vibrant again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy, Gooners!&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images On a glorious autumn afternoon in North London Arsenal destroyed Tottenham in a one-sided contest which Arsenal dominated for the vast majority of the game. Trev\u2019s excellent preview alluded to the defeat in early May which was so damaging to our morale and our Champions League aspirations. There were questions asked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6720"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6720"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6733,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6720\/revisions\/6733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}