Arsenal started very brightly and looked like they were going to over-run the Tottenham defence, but straight away Mikel Arteta fell foul to the Gunners injury curse. With Flamini on we were still controlling the game with the Spuds hardly even bothering to come out of their half.
Chambers looked great going forward, but it seemed that every time Welbeck got the ball he was knocked to the ground. Then came the game changer. Jack Wilshere was writhing in agony after being kicked in the box, but everyone was too worried about his ankle to protest that it was a certain penalty that had been ignored….
The Spuds suddenly seemed transformed and all the attention was in our half of the pitch again, but without troubling Szczesny too much, althought Adebayor could easily have put the Spuds in front (as Mertesacker nearly did earlier!)
The end of the half didn’t come quick enough for Ramsey who pulled his hamstring dead on 45 minutes and will not be able to continue for the second half. The question being – Why did Wenger put on Santi Cazorla instead of Sanchez? Just one substition left and 45 minutes to play…..
Arsenal started positively in the second half and looked like they were going to take control again, but then DISASTER – Flamini got entangled in his own legs and Eriksen fought back. The ball landed at Chadli’s feet and he slotted it past Szczesny…. 0-1 … and Chadli’s was immediately booked for inciting the Arsenal fans!
The first goal was definitely against the run of play and within two minutes Arsenal nearly drew level, but Lloris managed to get down to stop it on the line, but why do we need to concede before we start playing with more urgency in such an important game?
Arsenal brought on Sanchez for Wilshere (dead on the hour as usual) and we stepped up yet another gear and went all out for the equaliser but Spurs started taking our players out at every opportunity. The pressure finally paid off when a bouncing ball in the penalty area which finally came to Oxlade-Chamberlain who put our hearts at rest by firing it under the crossbar. 1-1
Spurs were on the backfoot straight away as Arsenal tried to increase their advantage, and even Chambers looked good when taking a shot. He could one day be up front if he carries on improving like this. Ozil and Sanchez looked good together (but why not from the start?)
The pressure continued to be piled on and the stats said Arsenal had 80% possession in the second half, but Kaboul and Co managed to stop the equaliser, despite Arsenal using every ounce of their energy.
My Man Of The Match must be Chambers – although he sullied his performance by getting a silly fourth yellow card in his four starts when pulling Aaron Lennon’s shirt for no reason at all…