If we get anything from this, I'll be happy. Our PL record at the New Library is 1 win, 5 draws and 11 defeats, with no clean sheets. Maybe AP can use some of that Greek voodoo to channel the ghost of Younes Kaboul...
That game was great! Two-nil down, two-three win. **sigh** I, too, would happily take a draw. But this one's gonna have goals in it, and probably enough of 'em to make a draw unlikely. And since I'm a big enough boy to cope with a bit of disappointment, I'll just go ahead and hope for a win. Eff it. I've changed my mind. A draw's not good enough. Really, though, as long as we make a fist of it, I'll be happy. And ya gotta think we will. We may lose, but we'll play football. Come on you Spurs.
Arranged a Zoom watch-along with a Spurs friend from school, haven't seen him in years so really looking forward to it. Wonder if Solomon will keep his starting place, or Ange rides the Richy confidence wave and puts him in the middle with Son out left. I expect Johnson will not start either, but could be great coming on to snatch the winner, arf. Real big test of Ange's approach. Would have preferred this to come maybe 5 games later in the season, but hey ho. Will we be able to score as many as we concede, that's the question. Because concede we will.
Johnson looks quite the player. Doesn’t seem phased at all by the situation. Conversely some of the others seem a little caught out by the intensity. A few too many silly mistakes. Lovely goal by Son.
Wow. That's some quality football right there. They've probably edged it (they're very good), but not by as much as it may 'feel'. Eff me, we've got nerve, the way we're playing out of the back, with their quality off the ball. Ange calls for 'bravery', and there's no mistaking what he means. I'm not so brave, I fear. I love having watched it ... but I can't take watching it. I'm a mess. And it's only going to get worse.
Honestly more than I’d expected. We could have been punished on some of those individual errors, at the same time Arsenal didn’t put the ball in the back of the net from open play and Vicario didn’t really have to make as acrobatic saves as Raya.
Really happy with that. Loved especially the second equalizer right from the kick. They needed a deflection and a penalty to score. My mate's stream was 30 seconds ahead of mine, and he is MotM for controlling his reaction.
If Arsenal (at least) shaded the first half, I'd say we may have been marginally better in the second. Arteta's adjustment's didn't help them, mind. I'm not sure what he was thinking, though I don't watch them enough to be mystified. Still, It'd've been a tough loss for either had a winner come. Announcers kept banging on about how we never saw the quality of football from that one might've expected, and fair enough, it wasn't free-flowing stuff from either side, but there was quality all over the pitch. Defensively, both side were very, very good, excepting a few horror moments - Jorginho's being the most substantive. But 90 minutes of intense pressing each way, and 90 minutes of trying to play through it will produce those. Kudos to Hojbjerg for being ok. He gave the ball away far too much in Conte's system; he mortifies me in Ange's. We have some big gonads whilst on the ball in our own third - particularly impressive from some of the kids. Van de Ven's absolute quality. Maddison and Son ... brill. The former is a bit like Modric back in the day, colon-tightening moments where you think he's been shut down in horrible places, then, ping, out it pops to a teammate at the last moment. And Sonny's finishing ... what quality. Not at all unhappy with that. That's a big question answered, there. Arsenal are (or at least can be) very good on both sides of the ball. That Ange's system can function against quality opposition seems a bit clearer now.
What a bad way to draw a match. Our opponents scored by an own goal and a penalty, both Spurs' assists. Lucky Arsenal.
Heart rate is returning to normal now. We've been hearing since day 1 that a "better" team will get in behind our pushed up defenders, find acres of space and hammer us mercilessly. I didn't see any sign of that today. Hope Maddison and Johnson are OK. A draw seems about right.
That's the thing. I'm really gonna enjoy my lunch now. Not because we've got a result away at Arsenal (a win was there for the taking), but because of that.
I’m not sure what the commentary team was banging on about to be honest. Both at the half and end of game the stats were remarkably even. 53% to 47% possession in favor of Tottenham 86% to 85% pass accuracy in favor of Tottenham 6 vs 5 shots on target in favor of Arsenal 13 shots each 4 big chances each biggest difference between the two for me was Spurs scored from the run of play. Arsenal relied on a justified, but fortunate penalty and an own goal.
Oh I also really enjoyed not trying to protect the draw (much). Hojberg for Maddison seemed as much about mitigating any injuries as going more defensive. Did switch to long goal kicks, but otherwise played the same in minute 110 as in minute 1.
Both sides could have won, both sides could have lost. Much better than the last 2 fiascos there under Nuno and Conte. The penalty was a shite decision. That's 2 games now that Rob Jones and VAR have screwed us over. Later in the day, Newcastle had a goal allowed after a player used his hand to control the ball and then pass to a teammate to score. PL officials and VAR are utter rubbish.