What do we think of Tottenham?
On Sunday evening Arsenal dominated Tottenham at the Toilet bowl to go eight points clear at the top of the Premier League and beat Spurs away for the first time since 2014 when Mikel Arteta was still a player. Arsenal fully dominated that match, and in the end Spurs fans, and players showed their true colors yet again with the behavior after the match. It’s disappointing for players like Richarlison to try and push and shove Aaron Ramsdale as he’s getting his water bottle after spending his 25′ on the pitch kicking and screaming forgetting he’s a footballer, and its a disgrace that a Spurs fan tried to kick Ramsdale in the back after climbing the barrier. Why am I not surprised… anyways enough about those whiny Spurs, here are my three biggest takeaways from Arsenal’s dominant victory.
Arsenal Statement of Intent
Arsenal fans have been debating for months whether or not we were truly in a title fight. Some fans have been eager to start to dream early, with images of an open bus parade flooding their minds. Some fans are more hesitant to get their hopes up, with full knowledge of the pain previous season failures still fresh in their minds and afraid to get hurt again. This victory over Spurs, not just in the way it occurred, but the context of the results yesterday was the kind of statement of intent that this team is different from last year and we will not be so easily brushed aside when the intensity ramps up. This victory was a reminder to the world which direction these two clubs are going.
Yes there is more than half of the season left, a lot of twists and turns are left to come this season but Arsenal are in as good of a position of win the league for the first time in nearly 20 years as we have been. Arsenal players and fans have to absolutely believe this team is more than capable of beating any opponent on any day; many who have been enjoying match betting this season on the club are already full of belief that this could be the year for the Gunners.
Oh Captain, My Captain
When Martin Odegaard first arrived it was clear he had talent, but he struggled to really assert himself on matches and do so consistently. Boy has that changed, and again Captain Odegaard showed his leadership on and off the ball with an impressive performance yet again. The goal to go 2-0 up will get all the highlights, but there were countless times where Arsenal would lose the ball and it was Odegaard sprinting back to either regain possession, or slow the Spurs attacker enough to let the rest of the team regroup around him. When Arsenal were in a mid block, Odegaard’s pressing was immense and as the trigger, kept Tottenham pinned back to the point where the Spurs crowd were audibly upset at their inability to move the ball.
Now back to the goal. Odegaard now has eight premier league goals this season and while the quantity is impressive, the timing of those goals has been critical. Against an opponent like Spurs who do present a counter attacking threat, the second goal is so important to ease the pressure and prevents a simple foolish error from nullifying 90 minutes worth of effort.
Ramsdale Man of the Match
It has been an interesting season for Ramsdale, with a much improved backline Ramsdale has had less to do as a pure shot-stopper and sometimes left me wanting a little more from him when called upon between the sticks. In a match like this, where yes Arsenal dominated the ball and created a multitude of scoring chances, it was Aaron Ramsdale who stepped up when it mattered most.
When Spurs came out in the second half they had 15 minutes of threat, and Ramsdale had three really impressive saves to keep the two goal lead, with the toe save on Ryan Sessegnon’s shot the most impressive. As we all know as football fans, when winning by two goals if the opposition get one back the momentum completely shifts. Not only was his shot stopping impressive, but Ramsdale’s grasp of the dark arts around time wasting and winding opponents up is world class. In an emotional fueled final 15 minutes, Ramsdale got under the skin of the Spurs attackers and broke their concentration on the task at hand. What happened after the final whistle though is definitely not the fault of Ramsdale’s antics though, and I hope the fan who tried to jump the barrier and kick him enjoys his lifetime ban.
Arsenal are top of the league, and just put our North London rivals back in their place where they belong so it a night to celebrate and I hope Gooners around the world are relishing in what has been an amazing season so far!
