Arsenal 1 Tottenham 0: We stroll past the Totts thanks to Jose

Jose on the scoresheet sgain

St. Totteringham’s day has long since been and gone, as is often the case by the time of the second leg of the North London Derby. So the only issue of any note for tonight’s fixture was whether the Totts would get their first League victory over Arsenal since Alex James was in short trousers or would they lose their second ‘Cup Final’ of the season.

Prior to tonight’s match Arsenal had yet to lose to Tottenham this Century despite conceding 4 ridiculous goals in the earlier fixture this season when Thierry, Freddie and Cygan were all in our line-up. Sol didn’t make it for that game either, although he did get as far as the bench tonight.

Arsenal kicked off towards the Cock End and could have opened the scoring almost instantly when Cesc to Rob to Jose had him rounding the keeper with ease, only to fire into the side netting with his right foot with the goal wide open. Shame because it might have been the prelude to a slaughter. ’62 Never Again’. Davis, whose job appeared to be to sit in front of their back four looking seriously ugly, tripped Pat. Lauren to Reyes with a great ball in. Kanoute shot wide before probing balls from Reyes and Cole put the pressure on the Scum.

Arsenal looked to be in charge from about the first kick and Senderos had the beating of Kanoute, whose hobbies are falling down and moaning. He did have a very cheeky chip from range that was not too far away but it had to be at range because Tottenham defended most of the half and never got close enough for a decent shot except the once. The Totts had ten men back as Arsenal pulled them this way then the other. Following old mother Riley missing a tackle from behind Defoe missed a golden opportunity when he fired it down Lehmann’s throat, a fine save but a wasted opportunity. That was their one good chance before the break. Edman then went through the back of Reyes for a yellow card, the first booking of the match.

Great ball from Cesc to Reyes as the Totts flooded back into defensive mode. ‘Live in our shadows, you only live in our shadows’. Fabregas, who was nominally on the right, drifted inside at about the time the two Irish Gooners behind me were saying he shouldn’t be playing tonight. Instead of giving them a mouthful I sat back and admired the way he waltzed past two players before slotting a killer ball into the path of Reyes who took it on and drilled a low shot past Robinson. 1-0 to the Arsenal and the game was effectively over. ‘Jose Antonio’

Cole and Reyes continued to probe for an opening as the Totts headed clear. They cleared again for Arsenal to come back immediately as Van Persie had his shot blocked. Corners followed with Rob and Jose involved in the set ups for the crosses. A very wild shot from Kanoute was followed by some brilliant skills on the ball by Robin. Great stuff followed before Cole was axed and we followed up with a fine ball in from our free kick. Pires and Reyes were once more on the chase as our dominance grew. Pat burst into their box and went over an extended leg. No penalty said Riley, where did Pat think he was? Old Trafford?

Van Persie was knocking in some killer crosses from free kicks and one such resulted in a header just wide from Pat. A good chance missed. Kelly axed Rob who had him beaten all ends up. Cesc shot wide following another great move, this was enjoyable football from Arsenal. An evil tackle by Reid a k a the fat bastard got him a yellow card. I’m not too clear on Reid’s role in their team other than waddling around and looking lardy. For once Kanoute beat Senderos wide right but Philippe got back at him in the box. Kanoute wanted a penalty; Riley said Senderos won it fairly. At the other end a stunning turn and shot from Van Persie went just wide. Reyes then broke but the Fabregas volley that followed hit a head rather than being cleared deliberately. ‘Champions’ ‘You’ll never sing that song’ Cole out jumped Kanoute as Arsenal ran out the half maintaining good possession and being very good value for their lead.

I’m not sure I agree with the no smoking policy at Highbury, then again I can’t see the point of having the policy if everyone is allowed to smoke anyway. As they did around me during the match and even more so at half time.

Cole and Kelly in combat

Gilberto had been noticeable mainly for his new haircut but it is also very obvious how much more fluid we are with him in the team. A poor ball by Philippe put Ash in trouble early in the half, as Spurs appeared to be working a lot harder. Van Persie used his brain with a long throw to Reyes but by and large we seemed a tad casual after the break. Davies took a good dive against Rob but Fat Boy hit a crap shot from the free kick. Edman then grabbed hold of Reyes to earn a yellow card. Arsenal broke but Edman was down with a head injury. Riley blew his whistle and after the event we didn’t get given the ball back. Meanwhile Dennis warmed up to a rendition of ‘One Dennis Bergkamp’, we didn’t need him just yet but I’m sure it must always be good to hear your name chanted. It’s also a boost to know someone of his class is on the bench.

Senderos v Kanoute in the air was turning into a no-contest, what a wimp their number nine is, I can’t see how he’s preferred as a starter to Keane. Defoe had a shot at the corner flag before Kanoute did another swan lake impression. ‘Have you ever seen Tottenham win the League’ Reid hit one to our far post but Swiss Tony headed clear. Lehmann then nearly punched clear as Spurs won another corner, preceding which Defoe tried to wind up Lehman by standing on his foot and there was a bit of shoving and pushing before Riley had words with Jens. Jens caught the ball from the corner and threw it to Gilberto on the break, who found Reyes, who won a corner at the other end.

Kanoute tripped Pires and then slammed the ball down in front of the ref to get a silly yellow card. No wonder his fellow citizens chased him out of one of his countries is it? Van Persie in for Philippe who headed powerfully over from his peachy, swinging ball in. Dennis on for Robin with twenty to go, as was Edu on for Cesc. The youngsters had done very well as did their replacements. Mido on for Kanoute who won a corner before seeing Dawson (who?) carded for being about ten minutes late on Reyes. ‘We won the League at White Hart Lane’

A short pass to Kolo saw him crash a free kick just over from all of forty yards out. ’71, 2004, 71, 2004’ Pires on a run found Reyes and his effort went just past the post. An even better move followed that seemed to involve an Arsenal inter-player back heel competition. The end result was Reyes hitting the side netting in a match where he might have scored a hat trick. ‘She wore, she wore, she wore a yellow ribbon, she wore a yellow ribbon in the merry month of May’. Keane and Ziegler replaced Defoe and Davies just before some lovely entertainment from Edu and Vieira. Lauren and Pires then took their turn to take the piss, but this was a derby match and it was only one-nil so I would rather have had a second goal.

Reyes had a superb run and found Dennis whose trademark bending-it-in-at-the-far-post-type-shot went just wide. Reyes broke again at pace and this time Edu saw his shot blocked. Edu then fired another effort over. There was seemingly a great tackle by Lauren but somehow they got a free kick wide on their left. From which Keane headed wide with the goal at his mercy. Oh how sorry I felt for all those Tottenham fans as we jeered them yet again. Reyes came off to a standing ovation as Aliadiere played out the closing few minutes. One last hoof into the box for the Totts saw Jens catch the ball high. One-nil was the final score but it seemed far more convincing to me than just the odd goal victory. You normally expect to sweat a bit in derby games but I’d felt comfortable all night, as I’m sure did Wenger.

There was a time (1961 probably) when I could name the Spurs side without so much as looking at the match programme, currently I wouldn’t have a clue who most of them where, even if they were standing next to me. So I’ve no idea if this was their best eleven or what – not that I care of course. It’s been quite a while since our last double over the Scum so that was a nice little bonus, but of far more importance is the fact that we remain on track to maintain second place ahead of Manure.