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Arsenal v Tottenham: The Good, Bad and the Ugly

The team sum up Arsenal's 5-2 victory over Tottenham with the good, bad and ugly.

Clive Rose

Another North London Derby at the Emirates, another 5-2 win for Arsenal. I could easily get used to this. And, another comeback! So, let's get down to the nitty-gritty (can someone tell me what nitty means? I don't actually know. I just know I'm contractually obliged to use it at least once when referencing "gritty".)

The Good

#We'veGotOurArsenalBack! Quick, purposeful passing, pressing, a high tempo, creating lots of chances, looking very flaky at the back before looking very composed once pressing? Yep, that's more like the Arsenal we all know and love. It took Emmanuel Adebayor's red card to make it apparent, but the analysis that Arsenal won purely on Adebayor's red card is unfair; there were 70 minutes before the end of the game, and Arsenal could've come right back into the match like they did in February; indeed Adebayor's red card came after a flurry of Arsenal pressure. Once he went off, though, Arsenal played very well; Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla showed delightful touches, Theo Walcott roasted Kyle Naughton, and Lukas Podolski played like the Lukas Podolski we know he's capable of being. Mikel Arteta was able to run the Arsenal midfield, while Bacary Sagna was always an outlet. Also, Arsenal kept the pressure on; they knew Spurs were vulnerable, so they went ahead and scored two more goals after Per Mertesacker's fine opening header.

The Bad

That first goal. Ugh. I'm not actually sure what Mertesacker was trying to do there; play offside with no pressure, when you're the slowest man on the pitch? Madness. Pure, Vermaelen-inspired madness. Also, Arsenal's standing off of the Tottenham players in the beginning of the second half was annoying, and showed in their creation of chances; one reckons that once Arsenal get more confidence back (which is slowly starting to return), they'll stop this standing off, which is quite annoying.

The Ugly

Emmanuel Adebayor. He is most definitely that type of player, no matter what Harry Redknapp and the other bozos at North London's Elite Choking Job squad will have you believe. As a sidenote, AVB thinks Spurs controlled the game from the first minute until the last.

LOL LMFAO ROFLCOPTER as the kids like to say.