Written by Fab4.
Arsenal blew Tottenham away in extra time running out 4-1 winners thanks to two penalties converted by Samir Nasri and a superb strike from Andrey Arshavin.
Henri Lansbury had given Arsenal a deserved lead early in the first half before Kieran Gibbs was wrongly flagged off-side when through on goal and despite Arsenal’s dominance they only took a 1-goal lead into the half-time break. Tottenham made us pay early in the second half with a large stroke of luck when Keane was allowed to continue despite being a good yard off-side and slotted past Fabianski. The Pole should once again have done much better, getting a full hand to the ball but allowing it to squirm under is hand and into the bottom corner. An undeserved lifeline for Spurs.
Both sides had chances to scores a second but it ended 1-1 and extra time was upon us. Arsenal were back in the lead within a minute when Nasri was clipped in the box, he dusted himself off and converted from 12-yards to make it 2-1 to the Arsenal. Only two minutes later he had a chance to make it 3 when Chamakh was pulled back in the box. Nasri sent the keeper the wrong way and Arsenal were on their way to victory.
Arshavin finished the game as a contest with Arsenal’s fourth bursting into the box and smashing home a left foot strike. He hadn’t played particularly well but grabbed another goal, becoming a bit of a trend for the Russian this season.
The ‘shall we make a DVD’ chants rang out round S*ite Hart Lane as the home fans made their early exits. A fully deserved victory for the Gunners and will go some way to restoring some pride following the 5-1 lose.
Spurs fans will point out they had a weakened side out but the fact of the matter is they had 8 internationals in their starting line-up. Both sides made several changes from the teams that played in the Premier League at the weekend. The truth is Arsenal just have more strength in depth than Tottenham and it showed.
Samir Nasri had a great game and tucked away his two penalties in great style. Old Twitchy has claimed the Frenchman took a dive for the first, but there was contact and Samir was within his right to hit the deck. Funny how Redknapp failed to mention the fact that Arsenal should have had another penalty in the first half and their equaliser was well offside.
Jack Wilshere was once again immense in the middle of the park. My Yid mate was ‘warning’ me this afternoon about Sandro saying he was a ‘beast’ and would eat our midfield alive. Another delusional Spud and it must have been a dose of reality when young Jack bossed their Brazilian beast for the entire time he was on the pitch. I thought Koscielny had a good game also. The tackle on Keane at 1-1 was vital.
Overall a superb performance from Arsenal. I can’t wait for the DVD to come out!
