Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League match report
Tottenham Hotspur stormed back from two goals down at half-time to snatch a dramatic win in the north London derby.
Spurs had not won at the home of their rivals in 17 years and it did not look as if they would end that sorry run today after Arsenal cantered into a two-goal lead thanks to goals from Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh.
The home side seemed certain to leapfrog Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table, but, not for the first time at home this season, they succumbed to complacency and were punished.
Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart pulled Tottenham level before Younes Kaboul headed in the winner in the 85th minute.
Fresh from marshalling France’s authoritative suppression of England on Wednesday, Nasri put his club in front in the ninth minute with a goal that encapsulated the contrasting starts the sides made to the game.
From the outset, Arsenal had been more sprightly and inventive, and that pattern continued when Cesc Fábregas clipped a dainty ball over the Spurs defence for Nasri to chase. The goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes seemed the more likely to win the race, but betrayed a lack of conviction in the challenge, enabling Nasri to force it past him at the edge of the box before diverting it into the net from an acute angle.
Rather than rally, Spurs became increasingly ragged and Nasri and Fábregas lorded it over them in midfield, thanks in part to the solid platform given to them by Alex Song and Denílson, who were dominant in the tackle.
Song, indeed, forged a fine chance for Fábregas to extend the hosts’ lead in the 22nd minute, when he slipped a clever ball through to the Spaniard at the edge of the box. With one deft touch, the Arsenal captain evaded Kaboul, but then dragged his shot wide.
A second goal nonetheless seemed inevitable for Arsenal and duly arrived four minutes later. Equally inevitably, it originated in a simple move straight through the middle. Nasri prodded the ball to Fábregas, who fed Andrey Arshavin, who curled a low centre towards Chamakh. The Moroccan got the jump on Kaboul to nudge the ball into the net from six yards out.
Redknapp withdrew Aaron Lennon at half-time and replaced him with Jermain Defoe. The England striker, making his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury on international duty in September, made an immediate impact in an improbable manner – for it was little he who rose to nod a long punt into the path of the hitherto irrelevant Van der Vaart in the 50th minute. The Dutchman helped it on to the overlapping Bale, who poked a low shot wide of the keeper and into the net.
Suddenly Tottenham were back in the game. They did little, however, to suggest they would equalise until they were gifted a penalty in the 66th minute. Van der Vaart struck a 25-yard free-kick into the Arsenal wall, where it crashed against the imprudently upraised arm of Fábregas. It was a sloppy error by the captain, symptomatic, perhaps, of the complacency that has cost Arsenal precious points at home this season. Van der Vaart administered appropriate punishment from the spot.
Both sides went in search of a winner. Fábregas was denied by a fine Gomes save before Sébastien Squillaci headed over from close range.
Then Tottenham struck the clincher. Van der Vaart swung in a free-kick from the right and Kaboul sent a glancing header into the corner of the net. Thus Arsenal lost a match that, 45 minutes previously, had seemed unloseable.
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