Tottenham 0-0 Arsenal

The Team

Despite the return of flamboyant ‘keeper Gomes, Redknapp stuck with Carlo Cudicinibetween the posts. David Bentley sat out due to suspension, so Aaron Lennon resumed his regular wide right berth, and Luka Modric moved across to the left. Robbie Keane come straight in to make his second debut for the club. The line-up was:

                                     Gomes

Corluka            Woodgate         Dawson         BAE

Lennon              Palacios            Jenas           Modric

                       Pavlyuchenko     Keane

Subs: Bent, Chimbonda, Taarabt, Bent, Gomes, Bale, Zokora, Huddlestone.

Tottenham started the better of the two sides early on, winning two corners in the opening two minutes. The Sun was beaming directly into Almunia’s eyes, but the Spurs attack never really piled the pressure on him. But on the 13 minute mark, Arsenal produced a warning for the home side, as Eboue passed the ball into the back of the net, only for the referee to blow his whistle. The goal was disallowed for a foul on Jonathon Woodgate, although replays suggest he didn’t do an awful lot wrong.

A few minutes later, Modric was floored as a result of an  aerial challenge involving Bacary Sagna, resulting in a free-kick. Emmanuel Eboue was having none of it, and was subsequently booked for his persistent complaints. The delivery was another good one from the petite Croation, and the best Toure could do was head away for another corner. The move following the cleared corner also involved Spurs attacking their rivals, this time Modric took a brilliant first touch to take him past Gallas and into the box, and it took a top class tackle from Gael Clichy to deny him.

Luka Modric had another chance after the half hour, testing Almunia from 20 yards. Arsenal broke forward, although their attack was called to a halt. Emmanuel Adebayor went to floor mid-stride, clutching his hamstring, having to be stretchered off. But before Bendtnar could take the field as a substitute, Modric just tripped Eboue, forcing the Ivorian to react and kick out at the playmaker. Mike Dean reached into his pocket and drew out his yellow card. it looked as if Eboue was off, but the Arsenal player signalled to the floor as if Modric had dived. The yellow went to the Spurs midfielder, and Eboue walked away, rather pleased with himself. It was only about 20 seconds later that Dean reached into his pocket again, this time for the red, and Eboue was off. Arsene Wenger, however, was not deterred, and brought Bendtner on, leaving Sagna to fill the right wing position as well as playing right-back.

Eboue can’t understand red card after Modric is booked

Tottenham continued to have the better of the possession in the early minutes of the second half. The best of a few early chances was for Pavlyuchenko, but his decision to go for the curler rather than square it just inside the box resulted in the ball being blazed over the bar. Tottenham, however, never looked like taking advantage of Arsenal’s ten men, and repeatedly gave the ball away by dwelling on it for too long. And just after the hour, Darren Bent came on to replace Pavlyuchenko. This, in my opinion, was an awful substitution, as, from that moment on, the strikers lost all movement and the creative players had no options when on the ball.

It was beginning to become more evident that Arsenal were happy to take the point, and Tottenham failed to create any three-points-worthy chances.  After 74 minutes, Pascal Chimbonda came on for Corluka, and it wasn’t until the 85th minute that Adel Taarabt was brought on for Aaron Lennon. This kid made me wonder why he wasn’t brought on after 60 minutes, instead of Darren “no movement, I’ll creep behind the defender” Bent. He took players on and added an extra spark to the team. He also create perhaps the most golden opportunity of the game in injury time. He picked up the ball from Cudicini’s throw, and ran with it. The Frenchman timed the pass perfectly, and decided to go right, to Modric, rather than left. The Croatian took a touch and tried to slip the ball under the Arsenal ‘keeper, but Almunia got down well to deny him. This was to be the last chance of the match.

Arsene Wenger the happier of the two managers

Ratings

Cudicini – 8 –Didn’t have a lot to do, but his distribution was good, as he looked to roll the ball out. Would have been troubled more had Adebayor remained on the pitch.

Corluika – 5 – Tried to hang onto the ball for too long, and subsequently lost possession quite often. Also tried to shepard a ball out that never had enough pace, a decision which almost led to a goal. Has been fantastic this season, but didn’t look at the races today.

Woodgate – 7 – Dealt with everything that came his way, and looked assured in the air. A decent performance in match where he didn’t have a lot to do.

Dawson – 8 –Kept van Persie quiet for most of the match, and followed him all over the pitch. The third-choice centre-half didn’t let anything past him, and looks to be cutting out his eagerness to pump a long ball forward.

Assou-Ekotto – 6.5 –A good defensive display, albeit only having one right-sided player to deal with in Sagna. Although, sloppy passes meant he was giving the ball away a fair bit when going forward.

Lennon – 8.5 –Caused problems no end for Gael Clichy, and cut inside very well when needed. Can maybe take players on slightly more, but he put in some fantastic work, winning the ball on the half-way line on the odd occasion.

Palacios – 10 –Man of the match performance from the Honduran, as he provided great cover for the back four. Never lost out in a tackle, and looks like the answer to Tottenham’s worries. All hail King Wilson!

Jenas – 6 – Won the ball well on some occasions, but his passing was sloppy. He also lost the ball around the edge of the box a few times, but overall a decent performance.

Modric – 9 –Provided a great creative spark from midfield, and had no trouble adjusting to his new left-midfield berth. His delivery was a lot better than that of David Bentley, and at times he even out muscled Alex Song. Who said he was too lightweight for the Premiership?

Pavlyuchenko – 6 – Was fairly quiet, but he dropped back to win the ball well a few times. His finishing was not to his normal standards, but he had good movement.

Keane – 7 – Had a poor first half where he struggled to make an impact and never really got on the ball. In the second half, however, Keane showed some great movement, and almost scored with a brilliant volley on the turn.

Bent – 4 – From the moment Bent came on, Spurs never looked like scoring. He had no movement what so ever, and tried to get in behind the Arsenal defenders, rather than attacking the ball.

Chimbonda – 3 – The few times when he did get the ball, he gave it away so easily and stopped any Tottenham attack dead in its tracks. Looked like a liability.

Taarabt – 7 – If he had more than just 5 minutes, he would have made a huge impact. He was the only player not scared to take players on, and almost set up a goal. What a talent!