da brwin： Aaaaaand breathe. What a game that was. North London derbies are often worth watching, but today’s effort was really special.
da dobrowin： Initially it bubbled slowly towards and Aaron Ramsey opener, but as the second half got going the afternoon ignited with a Francis Coquelin red card. The Frenchman’s brainless-ness looked to have been punished ruthlessly as Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane made it 2-1 within seven minutes, but Alexis Sanchez then popped up with the equaliser.
Unfortunately for both sides the winning goal never came, and BT Sport even added to the drama as a power outage left fans watching at home with a blank screen for a few viral minutes. Luckily nothing key was missed.
But, what did we learn? Well here are FIVE ‘lessons’ from White Hart Lane…
Neither side will be happy
The only side with a big smile on their face as Michael Oliver’s whistle rang around White Hart Lane was Leicester. In truth, a draw has done neither Spurs nor Arsenal any favours, with the Foxes now two points clear of the Lilywhites with a game in hand and the Gunners three points further behind their local rivals in third.
The game may have been a pulsating, enthralling and dramatic affair, yet both managers, and their players, will look at it as an opportunity missed.
Francis Coquelin is not the answer
For as long as anyone that regularly watches football cares to remember, defensive midfield has been a problem for Arsenal. Since the days of Patrick Vieira the Gunners have been short of a disciplined leader in the centre of the pitch, which is perhaps why it’s been 12 years since the last time the Premier League trophy was carried back to north London.
Coquelin looked to be the man to fill the long vacated void upon his ‘arrival’ last winter – he was re-called from a loan spell at Charlton – with his hard-working nature a breath of fresh air. However, today he showed the biggest flaw in his game: a lack of intelligence. Having already been booked the Frenchman threw himself at Harry Kane, receiving a red card for his trouble.
The game swung in the space of seven minutes at Spurs went from 1-0 down to 2-1 up, and if it weren’t for Alexis Sanchez’s unlikely equaliser, Coquelin would not be able to show his face at the Emirates for quite some time!
Hugo Lloris is overrated
Lloris is often talked about as one of the best goalies in the Premier League. But, is he really worthy of that mantle? Erm… perhaps not. Granted, the Frenchman is a good shot-stopper and uses his pace and reading of the game to perform a ‘sweeper keeper’ role well, but he often gets beaten by efforts he should really save, and Sanchez’s equaliser was one of them.
Okay, the Chilean hit it well, but Lloris got a hand to the ball and must be disappointed to have seen it squirm past. Could that prove to be a vital moment in Spurs’ season and the title race?
Arsenal do have some bottle
With two losses on the spin heading into the North London Derby, many were questioning Arsenal’s ‘bottle’. After all, they were title favourites for a little while. However, a team without heart and spirit would have buckled after falling behind with 10-men, but Sanchez’s stunning equaliser was not the action of a team without character.
Harry Kane is actually world class
That finish. Wow. Kane’s rise has long felt like a joke that’s got out of hand, but, if it wasn’t before, it’s time to admit that he’s a world class talent. Even though he has no real standout characteristic such as pace or touch, the whole package he brings makes him a formidable forward, and he showed today what he’s capable of.
Aside from the brilliant goal he curled past David Ospina, Kane ran the Gunners’ defence ragged for 90 minutes, with his movement and tenacity all on who, while his link-up play wasn’t bad either.