Spurs 2 Arsenal 1 Report, Player Ratings & Photo Gallery

There was a distinct lack of red shirts in the away section this year, which subconsciously screams, "we are expecting to lose and don't want to have to deal with the embarrassment and abuse that comes with wearing the losing teams shirt on the way home". Although they won't admit it, the power in North London is well on it's way to shifting, and the lack of Arsenal shirts shows that deep down, they know it. Unthinkable to Arsenal fans a few years ago I'm sure, but as I said, the power is shifting. And they know it.
Rafa VDV opened the scoring after an exquisite pass from Adebayor over the top of the gaping Arsenal defence. Perhaps the suggestion of handball was justified, but the ref didn't notice, they all count and the 10,000th goal in our history stood. 1-0.

Rafa again had a hand in the next goal of the game, but this time his repeated abandonment of defensive duties on the right finally allowed Arsenal to equalise. For a good 10 minutes in the second half, Arsenal we're all over us and every attack was coming down our right. VDV's decision to run off and leave Walker exposed was probed time after time, and eventually the acres of space were capitalised on by Arsenal as a cross was fired in to the unmarked Ramsey. 1-1.

Up steps Kyle Walker. The returning loanee thats like a brand new signing and one who is improving with every match. A quick burst of pace intercepted the blocked Arsenal clearance, a couple of touches taken and a shot on the run was fired off, which went dipping, spinning and swerving into the net. Cue 15 minutes of Wenger bottle rage and Spurs nail biting followed by an evening of singing, and a morning with no voice. 2-1.

Notable Chants:
The always fantastic - "North London is ours, North London is ourrrrssss, F*** off back to Woolwich, North London is ours"
The fully deserved and first time out - "Su-per, super Scott, su-per, super Scott, su-per, super Scott, super Scotty Parker"

Player Ratings:

Friedel 6 - Not a massive amount to do, and was let down by his defence for the Arsenal goal. Remained, assured and authoritative throughout.

Walker 8 - Scored the winning goal and is coming on leaps and bounds. He's getting better in defence with every game and is fantastic going forwards. Could do with a right midfielder ahead of him providing a bit more cover.

King 7 - Commanding presence and another 90 minutes survived. Regularly produced key interceptions and clearances.

Kaboul 7 - Won almost all aerial challenges in defence and is working really well with King.

BAE 6.5 - A wobbly first 30 minutes with lots of getting caught in possession, sloppy passing and unnecessary hoofing. Sorted himself out after that and returned to being the usual quality Benny.

VDV 6.5 - Scored our first goal, but was partially at fault for the second. As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, wherever you play VDV, his indiscipline will drift to the middle of the park and leave a gap for attackers to run into. If we continue to play him on the right, this will end up costing us points. Other than that he worked hard for the 60ish minutes he was on the pitch.

Modric 7 - He's always vital to our attacking play and the Modric / Parker combination continues to impress. Modders was putting in plenty of ball winning tackles on the Arsenal players, showing the strength of the defensive string of his proverbial bow.

Parker 9 - He is brilliant. Perhaps should have scored a one-on-one early on, but other than that, he ran himself ragged and kept the Arsenal midfield on their toes all day long.

Bale 6.5 - Lots of surging runs, but none of them led to anything. A few wayward shots that should have been passes to open players. He's getting better, but needs to work on his final delivery and start re-capturing some of his early last season shooting ability and form.

Defoe 7 - Very lively, held the ball up well and looked dangerous.

Ade 6.5 - Good cross for the first goal, but should have scored a one on one in the 2nd half. Didn't really look interested in jumping for anything. No doubt would have been better if he'd used the same amount of effort playing as he spent making friends with the blokes in red.

Subs
Sandro 7 – Added some steel to the midfield and provided Parker with some assistance in harrying the Arsenal players in possession. Good to have him back.
Livermore 6 - Late sub.
Corluka 5 - Late sub, but enough time for him to give away a succession of corners that saw off the last of my fingernails.

Fourth win on the bounce going into the international break and one that sees us continue to overcome the bane of our previous season... The inability to beat the bottom six teams. COYS!

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