Kane goals undo Arsenal in North London Derby

Some things never change. Well so it seems anyway. Arsenal went into this North London derby full of confidence. They'd beaten the champions in their own back yard, reached the last sixteen of the FA Cup and thrashed Villa last weekend. The Gunners were one of the most in form sides in the League but that counts for nothing in a derby. It appears the Man City game hasn't changed anything, and we were back to our usual selves in what was our biggest game of the season in many people's eyes. On paper this Arsenal side looks a lot better than this Spurs side but credit where it's due to Mauricio Pochettino who has got the best out of his players.

Mesut Ozil scored for the third game running

It wasn't the defence that necessarily let us down though. Although both goals from Harry Kane were pretty soft to concede it was the midfield's performance that let us down the most. We appeared incapable of keeping the ball and that ultimately led to our downfall. We rarely kept the ball for a period of two minutes or longer and created next to nothing. In truth, Spurs deserved to win, and that hurts to say. Arsenal's performance was quite bizarre though, despite never being in the game, we weren't troubled to a huge extent in terms of efforts on our goal. David Ospina was forced into making a few decent saves in the first half but despite a hefty amount of pressure put on the Arsenal defence, Spurs didn't create an awful lot to worry us. But then again, neither did we.

Arsene Wenger's team selection caused a little bit of a stir, but it wasn't his fault we lost the game. Big game player Tomas Rosicky didn't start, and neither did Theo Walcott. Instead Danny Welbeck started down the right hand side, possibly for his work rate in terms of defence but it was his first game back from injury. Theo on the other hand, had just started to come into form. Although Theo would have offered more going forward it was Welbeck that created our goal. He left Danny Rose for dead, a man with whom he had an ongoing conflict with throughout the game, before picking out Giroud inside the area. The Frenchman scuffed his effort and found Ozil who volleyed home. It was the German's third goal in as many games and he's been a real influence since returning from injury.

That goal however, was the only bright spark of Arsenal's miserable day. Aaron Ramsey hasn't been the same player we saw last season and it seems as though he desperately needs to get back to the basics. He tries to over complicate things as a result slows our play down, and often gets dispossessed quite easily. Francis Coquelin's new contract wasn't exactly celebrated in the best of ways either on what was a tough afternoon for him. He broke up the play nicely at times but him and Ramsey didn't do a good job of controlling the game at all. It hasn't been said many times this season, but we missed Mikel Arteta and his calming influence.

The best Arsenal player though is up for debate but in my opinion I thought that went to Nacho Monreal. He hasn't had the easiest of times this season but he displayed against Spurs why he's been starting over one of our most consistent players in recent times, Kieran Gibbs. He dealt with Erik Lamela brilliantly and didn't put a foot wrong all match. He made some important interceptions and was also useful in the air, an asset he seems to have gained since playing in central defence when Koscielny was out injured. Our other fullback endured a much tougher game. Spurs were keen to get down that left hand side and tended on overloading through Eriksen, Kane and Danny Rose who got forward on plenty of occasions. Bellerin had a great game against Villa but looked more out of his depth this time around. He was often caught being dragged across, which left space down the left hand side.

It goes to say that Arsenal looked a lot better when Tomas Rosicky was introduced on 67 minutes. Cazorla who hadn't had the best game by his high standards was taken off and Rosicky's drive offered us something going forward in the latter stages. He managed to take the pressure off the defence a little by keeping possession in the final third but nothing ever seemed to be on for Arsenal. Spurs' defence wasn't really tested and with four minutes left Kane scored the winner with a fantastic header. Koscielny didn't get tight enough to him and he was allowed the freedom of the penalty area to head home.

I would've taken a draw, especially after all the pressure we had soaked up until that point. It's important that we don't linger on this result and a home game against Leicester on Tuesday night will be a good chance to avenge the result yesterday. The race for the fop four is really hotting up, and we need all the points we can get right now.

The team's line-ups:

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose, Bentaleb, Mason(90), Dembele(75), Lamela(89), Eriksen, Kane.
Subs: Vorm, Fazio, Davies, Stambouli(89), Paulinho(90), Chadli(75), Soldado.

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin(89), Ramsey, Welbeck(78), Cazorla(67), Ozil, Giroud.
Subs: Szczesny, Gabriel, Gibbs, Flamini, Rosicky(67), Walcott(78), Akpom(89).

My man of the match: Nacho Monreal.

Referee: Martin Atkinson.
Attendance: 35,659.

Arsenal come from behind to draw in North London derby

Arsenal's far from convincing start to the season continued at home yesterday as they had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Spurs. It was a hotly contested North London derby which both sides could've won had they taken their chances. It was perhaps the most equal derby between the two in recent times but Tottenham will no doubt be more happier with the point than Arsenal. With Chelsea next week, winning this weekend would've given us a real platform to go forward. Especially with a Champions League game in the week too. In terms of the line-up, Sanchez weirdly dropped to the bench whilst Wilshere came back in from Villa in place of Cazorla.

Oxlade-Chamberlain rescued Arsenal by scoring the vital equaliser

Not beating a rival always throws up a fair amount of frustration amongst a fan base which is why I'll try and keep my moanings to a minimum this week. Many things could be found wrong with the way in which we drew to Spurs on Saturday evening. Those who watched the game will know too well of what went wrong. First things first, it felt like a loss, which immediately brings us into a depressed mood, especially when we've failed to beat our rivals at home. Four draws in our previous five Premier League games have led to a few becoming quite worried.

The continued draws have been because of numerous reasons, and I'm not trying to berate Wenger here because we are actually still unbeaten in the League. However, in order for us to kick on and start winning more games you feel as though the tactics have to be changed. The way we set up against Villa with the 4-2-3-1 formation worked perfectly and as a result we came out of the game with our most convincing performance this season. Therefore it was a bit bizarre to then turn our attentions back to the dreaded 4-1-4-1 formation that has very rarely worked this season, as proved against Spurs yesterday.

It meant that Mesut Ozil, despite his outstanding display with Danny Welbeck last week, was shunted back out wide in order to accommodate Wilshere in the middle. Playing with the four across the middle as we have done so often this season means the edge of the area gets very crowded and we have little space to work our creativity. Compare that to the Villa game, where we had a lot more time and space on the ball as a result of playing 4-2-3-1. I see it as an incredibly weird manoeuvre tactically from Wenger.

It goes without saying though that we did create our fair share of chances against Spurs and that was a positive. Most of them were restricted to being from outside the box but we did test Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal more often that not it seemed. Ramsey's and Arteta's injuries were massive blows but it did allow Ozil to play more centrally in the second half and that enhanced our performance massively.

The way in which we conceded was very much a negative. Mertesacker played the ball into Flamini who was muscled off the ball by Eriksen and then Lamela played in Chadli who fired home. It was further evidence of our need for a defensive midfielder, something that should without a doubt have been addressed in the transfer market. Wenger has said something about Diaby been tried in that role and it would be a role I'd love to see the Frenchman adapt too. It's just about keeping him fit now but I'd definitely start him against Chelsea next weekend.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was been pretty isolated on the right hand side throughout the game despite linking up well with Chambers. However, it was the Ox who popped up with the vital equaliser with about fifteen minutes left to play. Welbeck made a hash of Cazorla's ball into the box which allowed Chamberlain to follow up and smash the ball into the roof of the net for his first goal since February.

From an Arsenal point of view, our better performers came in the shape of Ozil, Koscielny, Gibbs and Chambers. The defence looked fairly comfortable throughout the game and Kieran Gibbs put in a brilliant display defensively and also did well going forward. The same goes for Calum Chambers who has adapted to life at Arsenal fantastically. He was very assured and confident for his first North London derby and seems to thrive under pressure. Before Wilshere went off he also had a very good game and his drive forward was something we lacked when he was substituted. It was precautionary after he had gone down with an ankle injury in the first half.

From what I've just said then, it is clear that we drew based on our tactics. There were enough good individual performances from the players which was encouraging. Especially when you consider many of our players have gone missing in the bigger games in recent times.

We don't necessarily have a solid platform to build on as of yet which could be a problem against Chelsea. Galatasaray will be a challenge in itself and then we'll look to go the Bridge and avenge for the thrashing we received last season!

The team's line-ups:

Arsenal: Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta(28), Ramsey(44), Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere(62), Ozil, Welbeck.
Subs: Ospina, Coquelin, Flamini(28), Rosicky, Cazorla(44), Sanchez(62), Podolski. 

Tottenham: Lloris, Naughton, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Rose(83), Capoue, Mason, Lamela, Chadli(80), Eriksen(62), Adebayor.
Subs: Vorm, Fazio, Dier(83), Bentaleb(80), Lennon(62), Townsend, Soldado. 

My man of the match: Kieran Gibbs.

Referee: Michael Oliver.
Attendance: 59,900  

Rosicky thunderbolt seals derby win

Tomas Rosicky scored an absolute peach of a goal just over a minute into the game as Arsenal ran out 1-0 victors over North London rivals Spurs on Sunday afternoon. It was far from a classic derby but we managed to seal a crucial victory that ensured we stayed in the title race. Having lost to Stoke a few weeks back, we've bounced back in near perfect fashion beating Everton, drawing with Bayern and now also seeing off local rivals Spurs. However if we're to maintain a substantial challenge then we'll need to prove ourselves a lot more than we've done. In terms of the line-up that was played there were a few changes from Bayern in the week. Rosicky replaced the injured Ozil whilst Gibbs returned at left back in place of Vermaelen. Szczesny was back in the starting line-up having not started against Everton and being suspended in midweek. Meanwhile Lukas Podolski retained his place.

Tomas Rosicky's early goal sealed the points

A defeat for either side simply wasn't good enough. If we had lost then the title race would be all but over, and with a Spurs defeat a Champions League place now looks a very tough ask. Especially considering the top four are all gunning for the league title. A win over our North London rivals held an added significance to the game, if any was needed at this stage of the season. Every game from now on in is effectively a cup final. After last season's game against Bayern we went unbeaten for the rest of the campaign, lets hope the same happens this year too.

We couldn't have got off to a much better start. Tomas Rosicky, a man Spurs fans must be sick of the sight of having scored in the FA Cup tie and a game a few years previously, scored the opener. It was an absolute rocket of a shot just over a minute into the game. Arsenal won the ball back and managed to break away with the Czech international down the right hand side. He managed to find the Ox but his touch was poor and it bounced nicely for Rosicky to crash the ball home at the far post. It was beautiful technique and it was a cracking way to start the derby.

That early goal kind of killed the game off though. Spurs had the majority of the possession throughout the game and we hardly made any passes. A rarity for us. Despite being pegged back for the majority of the match, we created some brilliant chances. Tottenham played a ridiculously high line throughout and they were very lucky we didn't win by more than one. Chamberlain got beyond the defence in the first half and found himself one-on-one with Lloris. However he got it horribly wrong and dinked the ball wide. Meanwhile Lukas Podolski fired an effort into the side netting and the Ox fired another shot wide, although this time via a deflection.

The effort of the defence simply cannot be faulted though. Tottenham tested us with over 25 crosses which Mertesacker and Koscielny had a field day dealing with. They were absolutely sensational and once again reaffirmed why they are perhaps the best center back pairing in the league. There was a moment in the second half where Szczesny looked a little shaky. He spilt the ball at the feet of Chadli who was then met by Per and Koscielny who managed to create a wall and somehow deny what seemed a certain goal. It summed up the display of the two perfectly. Had it not been for them then a draw seemed a likely result.

Overall it was a very ugly win, and it wasn't great to watch. A wins a win though and you can't complain when you've just beaten your rivals in their own back yard for the first time in years. It was a real backs to the wall performance and summed up the resilience of the team this season. This campaign Tottenham have failed to score against us in three meetings. 4-0 on aggregate is the score for the fixtures between the two sides in 2013/14. A very satisfying thing to be able to read.

Tougher fixtures lie ahead though. We have Chelsea, Swansea, Man City and Everton in the League before an FA Cup semi-final tie against Wigan to look forward to. It really will be a testing and vital period which could potentially shape how our season will pan out come May.

we have Chelsea, Swansea, Man City and Everton in the League before an FA Cup semi-final tie against Wigan to look forward to. It really will be a testing and vital period which could potentially shape how our season will pan out come May. - See more at: http://www.arsenation.co.uk/spurs-v-arsenal-preview-must-win-game/#sthash.VCaw9GS5.dpuf

we have Chelsea, Swansea, Man City and Everton in the League before an FA Cup semi-final tie against Wigan to look forward to. It really will be a testing and vital period which could potentially shape how our season will pan out come May. - See more at: http://www.arsenation.co.uk/spurs-v-arsenal-preview-must-win-game/#sthash.VCaw9GS5.dpuf

we have Chelsea, Swansea, Man City and Everton in the League before an FA Cup semi-final tie against Wigan to look forward to. It really will be a testing and vital period which could potentially shape how our season will pan out come May. - See more at: http://www.arsenation.co.uk/spurs-v-arsenal-preview-must-win-game/#sthash.VCaw9GS5.dpufThe teams lineups:

The teams line-ups:

Spurs: Lloris, Naughton, Kaboul, Vertonghen, Rose, Sandro(69), Bentaleb, Townsend, Eriksen(82), Chadli(69), Adebayor.
Subs: Friedel, Walker, Paulinho(69), Sigurdsson(69), Lennon, Kane, Soldado(82).

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain(85), Rosicky(69), Cazorla, Podolski(77), Giroud.
Subs: Fabianski, Vermaelen(85), Jenkinson, Monreal(77), Flamini(69), Gnabry, Sanogo.

My man of the match: Laurent Koscielny.

Referee: Mike Dean.

Cazorla and Rosicky goals seal win in derby

Arsenal probably had one of the most trickiest ties in the third round of the FA Cup. However they didn't make it look like that as they brushed aside their North London rivals with relative ease, beating Tottenham 2-0 at the Emirates. Considering our recent struggles to create chances in our two previous League games we created a lot against Spurs as Cazorla rifled home in the first half before Rosicky dinked the ball over Lloris in the second. It was a comfortable performance from the Gunners who had not picked their strongest line-up. Serge Gnabry lined-up on the right and due to injuries to our strikers Theo Walcott played upfront. Ozil, who was injured for the Cardiff game, was back on the bench whilst Fabianski started in goal with Vermaelen stepping in for Mertesacker at centre half.

Tomas Rosicky scored Arsenal's second and his first of the season

This was a hugely anticipated derby and was the second time the two sides had met this season. We played them near the beginning of the season in which a single goal from Giroud was enough in a much tighter affair than last night's one. That was under AVB though and last night's fixture was against an Arsenal fan in Tim Sherwood. He supported Arsenal as a boy and his team selection of 4-4-2 made us able to dominate the game in the middle of the park and was the reason we probably won the game. It was Arsene Wenger's 47th North London derby and it continued our run of not being knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup since a 1-0 defeat in 1996 to Sheffield United.

Theo Walcott was a handful for the majority of the evening and made some clever runs which almost got himself two goals and then led to the first goal. All of that was to happen before Walcott was stretchered off late on in the game. Surely not another lengthy injury for one of our players? Serge Gnabry was able to exploit the space in order to set up our first goal. He cut inside and then slid in Santi Cazorla who rifled the ball home on his left foot. Both players involved in that goal had fine games. Gnabry could've had one himself whilst Cazorla drifted inside often and hit one or two efforts wide. The other goal came as a result of poor Tottenham play. Tomas Rosicky robbed Danny Rose of the ball and then raced in on goal. Walker managed to track back but the Czech very cleverly ran into his path meaning either a foul or a goal was the only option from then on in. Rosicky then waited for Lloris to go down before dinking the ball into the back of the net for his first of the season.

Our attacking play was far more encouraging compared to recent games and that was all down to a very different style of play we adopted to. We're usually used to seeing either Giroud or Bendtner up top who hold the ball up. However with Walcott upfront the defenders kept dropping off due to his pace, allowing other members of the side to find space. Particularly Gnabry and Cazorla as mentioned earlier. Dembele and Bentaleb found it hard to deal with the trio of Rosicky, Arteta and Wilshere which made it easy for us to pass the ball around into space.

Our defence kept another clean-sheet and that was with there being rotations. It showed that despite not being heavy in numbers in terms of that phase of the pitch, the back line can still put in a shift regardless of who plays there. Vermaelen had to be replaced at half time but up to then he had made a few crucial tackles. Mertesacker came on and slotted straight in and he hardly needed any time to adapt to the game. Koscielny's composure was evident again as Adebayor and Soldado hardly caused us any problems going forward. Fabianski was also good when called upon, making an especially good save when one-on-one with Eriksen with the score still at 0-0.

I was nervous going into the game but only on one occasion was I worried that Tottenham would in fact score. I had confidence in the side and it was the most comfortable derby victories I've witnessed in a while. Theo Walcott being stretchered off but then doing a "2-0" sign with his hands just topped the night off, it was a brilliant piece of banter towards the Spurs fans. The FA better not fine him or ban him, if anyone should be banned it's the Spurs fans for throwing money in Theo's direction.

The draw for the next round was made this Sunday afternoon and we'll be facing Coventry City at home. Last time out, we beat them 6-1 in the League Cup. A repeat would be nice but considering last season's cup performances I'm not ruling anything out. It was nice to rest a few and see a few players that haven't been on top of their game as much as they'd like to be this season have good games. Our next fixture isn't now for 8 games when we take on Aston Villa away from home. Hopefully a repeat of our first game of the season won't occur!

The teams line-ups:

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen(45), Monreal, Arteta(75), Wilshere(71), Gnabry, Rosicky, Cazorla, Walcott.
Subs: Viviano, Mertesacker(45), Jenkinson, Flamini(71), Ozil(75), Podolski, Park.

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Chiriches, Rose, Lennon, Dembele, Bentaleb, Eriksen, Adebayor, Soldado(63).
Subs: Friedel, Fryers, Fredericks, Capoue, Chadli(63), Obika, Kane.

My man of the match: Tomas Rosicky.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg.
Attendance: 59,476.

Giroud scores to see off rivals Spurs

Arsenal, a team whose only business this summer had been 2 free transfers. However they overcame the spending power of their North London rivals Spurs as Giroud scored a vital goal to seal a fantastic win. It wasn't one of the best derbies we'd seen between the two but it was certainly the most fiercely contested due to Spurs massively strengthening the squad. The scenes at full time were incredible, vastly different to that of 2 weeks ago after the Villa game. Wenger's cheeky smile at the end of the game epitomised that. There were 2 changes to the side that had beat Fernerbahce in the week as Rosicky replaced the injured Podolski whilst Jenkinson came in for Sagna who was suffering from an illness. New signing Mathieu Flamini was on the bench, and when he came on it was like he'd never been away. He made some cracking tackles/blocks and was a work-horse in the middle of the park. Koscielny returned from suspension after missing Fulham last weekend.

Olivier Giroud scored once more as Arsenal beat rivals Spurs

The first shot on goal came from a free-kick on just 2 minutes after Rosicky had been brought down by Capoue. Cazorla was the man to take it but Lloris got across to make a great save.

A few minutes later Cazorla had another chance after Dembele committed a foul on Walcott. The Spaniard hit it low this time and it bounced inches wide of the post.

Tottenham's first chance fell to Soldado after Walker cut the ball back but Mertesacker was in the way to block the shot.

It wasn't long before the Gunners had the lead. Rosicky played a great ball in behind to Walcott who then found Giroud to delicately glide the ball into the back of the net.

It was then almost 2-0 as Ramsey did brilliantly down the right hand side to then find Walcott but his shot across goal was kept out by Lloris.

On the half hour mark Spurs had their first shot on target. Townsend managed to cut inside and then unleash a shot which Szczesny palmed away.

Moments later Aaron Ramsey had a chance to get on the score-sheet but he blazed his effort over the bar.

Theo Walcott was then to be denied by Lloris again as this time he came haring out of his goal and slid in to deny what would've been a certain goal.

Andros Townsend was proving to be Tottenham's best player on the day as he got another chance but it was straight at Szczesny.

The score at half time was 1-0 to Arsenal.

The first effort after the restart came from a free-kick but Chadli hit his shot over the wall and over the bar.

Just after the hour mark Giroud came within inches of doubling the Gunners lead. Cazorla broke away with the ball and then found Giroud who hit a deflected shot wide of Lloris' goal.

Now was to come a long stand of Tottenham pressure. Defoe hit a shot which flicked off of Koscielny and forced Szczesny into making a brilliant one handed save. The ball then came out to Paulinho who set up Soldado but his effort was blocked by a wall of Arsenal players standing in the way.

Kyle Walker was to then hit a shot from range but it bounced wide.

Amongst all of that, Arsenal found a chance to put the game to bed. Giroud did well down the right byline before teeing up Walcott. Lloris kept him at bay once more and then Monreal was denied a tap in by Walker.

The final score finished Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham.

The teams lineups:

Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere(42), Rosicky(78), Cazorla, Walcott(90), Giroud.
Subs: Fabianski, Sagna(90), Monreal(78), Flamini(42), Zelalem, Gnabry, Sanogo.

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose, Capoue(75), Paulinho, Dembele(69), Townsend(75), Chadli, Soldado. 
Subs: Friedel, Naughton, Sandro(75), Holtby, Sigurdsson, Lamela(75),  Defoe(69).

My man of the match: Olivier Giroud.

Referee: Michael Oliver
Attendance: 60,071