It's Up For Grabs Now

West Brom 1-2 Arsenal

Tottenham 2-2 Everton

At this moment, it's Tottenham who feel as if they're living Groundhog Day.

Their form is threatening to collapse again, and again it coincides with an Arsenal revival.

Again, Tomas Rosicky is proving something of a catalyst. His brace at the Hawthorns put Arsenal in control against West Brom.

After twenty minutes, Arteta pinged a pass over the home side's rearguard for Gervinho to chase. The Ivorian twisted and turned before curling the ball rather tentatively in the direction of the far post; if it was probably a poor shot Rosicky made it into a great cross by bursting into the goalmouth and stooping to nod emphatically past Foster.

Early in the second half, a quick break saw Ramsey make inroads down the right before passing infield to the Czech, who took a touch into the air and smashed a volley straight at Foster. There was too much power on it for the keeper to handle, the ball dropped, and Rosicky was first to react to blast a second effort into the corner from close range.

At that point the Gunners looked in complete control but the match almost turned on a moment of rashness from Mertesacker. A ball over the top found Long, whose chested control tempted the German into a slide for the ball, but he missed it, felled the Irishman, gave away a penalty and was sent off.

Morrison's penalty was poorly directed but well struck and squirmed under Fabianski to set up a nervy finale.

Arsenal's nerve failed somewhat, but their luck did not. They couldn't string any kind of move together, couldn't relieve the pressure in any way, and Wenger's changes invited pressure rather than trying to regain some kind of foothold.

Three times West Brom should have equalised, but McCauley fluffed a close-range header, Lukaku blasted just wide from eight yards, and Long shot high when through on goal in stoppage time.

Spurs missed Bale on Sunday against Everton- and with Lennon and Defoe also out, they were less penetrative than usual. After an Adebayor opener inside a minute, Everton turned it around either side of half time with a Jagielka header and a brilliant solo effort by Miralas. With time ticking away, Kyle Walker stormed forward brilliantly, cut back, and when Adebayor placed his shot against the inside of the post, the rebound fell kindly for Sigurdson to net the equaliser.

Arsenal trail their neighbours by a couple of points but with a game in hand.

They are now in control of their own destiny.

Forget Fourth: Spurs 2-1 Arsenal

Progress at last... from bad to worse.

After seeming to stand still for so long, Arsenal are now clearly going backwards.

Barring an absolute collapse from Chelsea, Arsenal will not play in the Champions League next season.

Ignoring for a moment the bigger picture, the derby was far from Arsenal's worst performance of the season, but it was compromised completely by goal-costing errors at one end, and absolute toothlessness at the other.

For the first part of the game, up until the opening goal, Arsenal were quite dominant without creating much of note. Giroud and Walcott both threatened but were denied by late saving tackles. As so often this season, they were failing to threaten the opposition goalkeeper.

Then, when Arsenal's pressing slackened, Spurs took ruthless advantage. Sigurdson slipped through a simple   ball, the Arsenal back four stood and watched, and Bale ran on to knock tidily past Szczesny.

In typical fashion, Arsenal were stupid enough to repeat the same mistake a couple of minutes later. Parker bombed forward, and this time it was Lennon who ran through unmolested onto the midfielder's pass. Szczesny's rash charge out of goal made it so easy for the winger, who took a simple touch around the keeper and slipped the ball into the open net to double the home side's advantage.

There's been plenty of talk already about Arsenal's suicidal high line, inviting punishment by the pace of Bale and Lennon. But there was plenty more about the game to worry about.

Second half, Arsenal seemed to have grabbed a lifeline when Mertesacker's near post header flicked in off Bale. But after a brief period of danger, Spurs composed themselves again, and saw out the game with minimum fuss. Wenger's changes seemed to take the wind out of his own team's sails. Spurs made chances on the break, Arsenal created little.

Jack Wilshere was peripheral. The danger here is that Wenger is repeating a mistake he arguably made with Arsenal's last great central midfielder. After changing to 4-5-1/ 4-3-3, Wenger shifted Cesc Fabregas further forward, and while the captain scored more goals, he also lost some of his usual influence, especially in big games.

Wilshere needs to be in the centre of the pitch. He is a creative player and the temptation, with the current formation, is to play him in a position from which he is relatively free to roam. But when Wenger plays Wilshere in the hole, and Cazorla wide, he takes Arsenal's best two players out of their best positions.

Arsenal now lie well adrift of Spurs, five behind Chelsea, and showing no signs of putting together the sort of run they now need. The impression is that they are finally arriving at a nightmare destination that has threatened them for a long time. Wenger has done well in recent seasons to keep Arsenal in that top four, but he has also shown incredible hubris in refusing to alter his methods, inviting the very situation that the club now finds itself in.

It's been a long time coming. Arsenal are heading for the Europa League, and what lies beyond may be mere mediocrity. Is this the monumental kick up the arse that the club and the manager have needed? Is he still capable of leading the club out of trouble? Even if he does now choose to spend proactively, can he no longer be trusted to spend well?

So Much for the Gulf: Spurs 2-1 Arsenal

I prefaced last November's North London derby at the Emirates- a game Spurs came from 2-0 down to win- with a post entitled "Is The Gulf of North London Closing?".

Consider it closed.

Last term, Spurs had the upper hand in head to head league meetings- they produced another comeback from a two goal deficit to force a draw at the Lane- but Arsenal were still way out in front overall. Spurs never threatened a title challenge, and fell back out of the top four, unable to balance the twin demands of Champions League and Premier League.

Now, without the distraction of Europe's premier competition, and having held onto Luka Modric, they look a better bet than Arsenal to challenge for a top four place. For the first time in a long, long time, they probably have a better team than the Gunners. And the old hoodoo is well and truly over. The days when Spurs could not buy a win against their North London neighbours are a receding memory.

I remember, during Arsenal's long unbeaten run against Tottenham, many games in which the gulf in class was not particularly evident. Arsenal rarely produced their fluent best against Spurs, and Spurs often took the lead in these games, but always seemed to choke. Arsenal had the ability to grind out at least a draw, and often a win.

That old grit is gone. This was Spurs' turn to play an average game and scrape through.

It might have been different had Gervinho buried a very presentable first half chance. Van Persie, who was otherwise subdued, skinned Kaboul on near the touchline, and cut back for his team mate, who snatched a miserable effort wide of the near post.

Minutes later, Spurs scored a fine goal that was two parts skill and one part luck. Adebayor picked up the ball in the kind of space that Arsenal too often afford opposition attackers, and flighted a pass over Mertesacker to Van Der Vaart. The Dutchman controlled with his upper arm and, as the ball sat up, struck a clinical shot across Szczesny and into the net.

It had, to that point, been typical Arsenal. An advantage in terms of possession is not really an advantage at all for this team. While they seemed in control for periods, and could point to Gervinho's missed sitter, the fact remained that Spurs had twice forced Szczesny into heroics before the goal. First Scott Parker and then Van Der Vaart were denied at close quarters. How many chances woudl the home side have created if they were in better attacking form? Also, despite Redknapp's needlessly gung ho selection of Modric, Van Der Vaart and Bale behind a front two of Adebayor and Defoe, Arsenal failed to turn a numerical midfield advantage into incisive attacking play.

Second half was largely more of the same. Arsenal equalised when Song took advantage of Van Der Vaart's lazy attempt to close down, and crossed low for Ramsey to turn the ball in. Again, despite Arsenal's possession and their illusion of control, the best chance came at the other end. Adebayor was played through by Van Der Vaart but his shot was turned wide. Another brillint save by Szczesny.

Which made the winner all the more cruel. Sleepy play by Arteta and Ramsey allowed an opening to form down Arsenal's right from a quick throw in (Sagna had departed with a bad injury, and Jenkinson was deputising). The cross found Modric, and his shot was blocked, but Kyle Walker seized on the ricochet and blasted an effort that the Pole seemed to be behind. The swerving ball skipped over his fingers and into the net.

Szczesny, depite his considerable talent, is a young goalkeeper and mistakes are inevitable. More disturbing was Arsenal's reaction to the goal. Or rather, their lack thereof. Barely three passes were stitched together by the men in red during the rest of the game. As the clock ticked down, Arsenal often struggled to get out of their own half. They looked resigned to their fate. They failed to fight convincingly for themselves, for the club, or for their manager.

Goodbye Dignity, Hello Champions League Qualifying Round

Spurs 3-3 Arsenal

Chelsea are into second after the latest in a growing line of collapses.

3-1 up not long before half time, but there was never much point celebrating.

Spurs came back to win a point, and nobody was too surprised. It would have been more surprising to see Arsenal negotiate the rest of the game with a bit of authority.

THINGS STARTED WELL when Walcott burst through onto a vintage Fabregas pass. Corluka had no chance of catching Walcott and he slipped a tidy finish, Henry-style, into the bottom corner.

As against Liverpool, Arsenal showed that they could not hold it together even for a couple of minutes. After the whirlwind start, one might have hoped that Arsenal had turned a corner, but instead they immediately served notice that anarchy still reigned.

Corluka saw Van der Vaart make a clever run off the typically dopey Diaby, played a good pass infield, and the Dutchman was in behind the Arsenal defence. Diaby could not even bother throwing his lazy arse in front of the shot, which flew past Szczesny and in at his near post. 1-1.

Arsenal got their noses in front again. Tippy tappy tippy tappy BANG. A bout of short passing around the Spurs area ended with Nasri taking a potshot, which clipped off Dawson and scipped past an unsighted Gomes.

Close to the interval, a mistake by Gallas from a right wing cross saw the ball break to Walcott. He stood up a lovely cross for Van Persie, whose initial header was brilliantly clawed away by Gomes. The rebound dropped for Van Persie again, and he lashed it into the roof of the net.

Of course, for the team that can blow a 4-0 lead, 3-1 is a narrow advantage.

Minutes later, Szczesny rushed out to stop Bale, who was injured in the collision. This could perhaps have signalled that Arsenal's luck was turning, only for the fact that, moments later, Tom Huddlestone found the net with a left-footed piledriver from long range. Half time: 3-2.

Throughout the second half, there was never a sense that Spurs were thumping on the door, but they didn't need to. Arsenal's attacking was less convincing, and the first decent spell they had in the half ended with Spurs equalising.

Lennon was sent racing in behind Sagna, and Szczesny rushed out rashly, and clearly fouled the winger. Van der Vaart buried the penalty, and for the second time this season, and the third in three seasons, Arsenal had blown a two-goal lead against their local rivals.

Although Fabregas drove a decent effort straight at Gomes, if anyone deserved to win the game, it was Tottenham. Szczesny made a couple of decent stops and, for the most part, Arsenal were hanging on. When Wenger made changes, he was fairly cautious, keeping three central midfielders on the pitch. Despite that emphasis on possession, Arsenal's passing game went to pieces, and they spent a lot of the second half launching hopeful, ineffective long balls.

Chelsea won at home to Birmingham and they are now 2nd. The crumbliest, flakiest team in the world continues its slow, sad decline of 2011. Since the Carling Cup collapse, they have beaten two teams- Leyton Orient and Blackpool.

...And it's back "on" again

SUPPOSEDLY

What a missed opportunity this season has been.

Newcastle 0-0 Manchester United

If Arsenal had managed to recover their composure after the Carling Cup final defeat, they would surely now be favourites for the title.

If, If, If

To suggest that Arsenal could have "recovered their composure" implies that they had any to begin with, which is, on the basis of recent seasons, highly debatable.

But the fact remains: opportunity knocked, and instead of answering the door, Arsenal bolted it, drew the curtains and hid under the bed.

Manchester United will still be Champions, but there is a temptation here to use the word "default". Their home form is amazing- two points dropped all season. Their away performances have been constantly unconvincing- often with results to match. All of their away victories (a paltry five) have involved an element of good fortune.

Arsenal's away form has been the best in the league. Their problem is the reverse of United's. All season, the Gunners have tried and failed to gain some momentum at home. There have been precious few convincing or even enjoyable home performances in the league. The Chelsea game stands out as a high point, but also, as I said recently, an aberration. More representative examples are the inexplicable capitulations to West Brom and Newcastle, the unforgivable collapse against Spurs, the boring, goalless draws of recent weeks. Much is made of the lack of atmosphere at the Emirates, but the Highbury Library saw a fair amount of success despite its usually hushed ambience. This season, the atmosphere has mostly reflected the performances- insipid, lacking in dynamism. An air of resignation at times.

There is an air of resignation now about Arsenal's title hopes, despite another mini-slump from United. The players' media rhetoric is hollow, and borders on insulting at times. "We will not give up", they say. Recent performances suggest they already have.

Perhaps United's overall lack of intensity against Newcastle owed something to the ever-growing conviction that Arsenal would not take this title even if you tried to hand it to them. There was no great sense at the end of the game that United had suffered a genuine blow. Arsenal could, theoretically, give the leaders something to think about if they were to win convincingly at Spurs tomorrow night.

I would have been more confident of a win if United had actually beaten Newcastle. That's how much I doubt the character of this Arsenal team. Had United won, there would be a sense of freedom, perhaps, in Arsenal's play, safe in the knowledge that the title was out of sight. As it is, United's dropped points will probably only increase the feeling that Arsenal have messed up their big chance. They will feel that a win would give them hope, but also know, deep down, that if they were going to win this season's title, they would have got their act together long before now.

Two Dead Ties

At 7.45, an eagerly-awaited tie kicked off. At about 8.00 it was over.

Real Madrid 4-0 Spurs
Harry Redknapp picked an adventurous line up. Bale, Lennon, Modric, Van der Vaart and Crouch were all set to start. But Lennon felt sick and so, minutes before the start of the game, Jenas stepped into the starting eleven.

Maybe this late shift unnerved Spurs, as it took Real only four minutes to pierce their rearguard in straightforward fashion. Adebayor, so often the scourge of Tottenham in his Arsenal days, rose unchallenged to power a corner kick goalwards, and Modric could not clear the ball from beside the post.

A rotten start got worse courtesy of some jaw-dropping stupidity. Peter Crouch had already been booked for a late, reckless lunge, and when the ball broke loose in similar fashion minutes later, he amazingly launched into a reprise. Marcello got to the ball first and Crouch was off. On Sky Sports, Ray Wilkins moaned about Marcello's fist-pumping when he saw his opponent's fate, but there was only one thing worth complaining about, and that was Crouch's idiocy. Naivety had threatened to derail Spurs as early as the qualifying round against Young Boys, and although they seemed to have matured since, tonight they regressed.

In the first half, however, the home side seemed unsure of what to do with their numerical advantage. Madrid are more built for fast counters than patient probing, and with Spurs sitting deep, they struggled to find opportunities. For their part, the visitors were pretty wretched in possession, and Modric never found the space to prompt. But there were glimmers of hope as the half wore on. A quick, long throw from Bale caught out the Real backline momentarily, but as Van der Vaart chested the ball down and set himself to strike, Carvalho chased back to execute a last ditch challenge. Dawson's raking diagonal pass sent Bale racing behind the clueless Ramos, but the Welshman could only find the side netting from a tight angle.

The second half was an altogether different affair. Real came to terms with their advantage, attacked with conviction. Redknapp sent Defoe on for Van der Vaart, but, typically enough, the striker failed to involve himself in the game. To be fair to him, he was given little opportunity. Still, Spurs remained resolute for a while, and we were given a snapshot of why Barcelona are so much better than their bitter rivals. Where Messi, Iniesta and Xavi can find space in the tightest of avenues, Madrid looked blunt and predictable, until a quick corner from Ronaldo caught the Tottenham back line napping. Di Maria's cross was perfect for Adebayor- again unmarked- and Gomes could only stand and admire as the majestic header soared into the corner of his goal.

After that, the only question was how many. The answer, two more, was somewhat harsh on Spurs, as they were not often opened up. It suggested a ruthlessness on Madrid's part, and that may be vital in the event of a semi-final against Barca, who were amazingly profligate against Arsenal. First Di Maria whacked an unstoppable effort into the top corner from the edge of the box. Then, substitute Kaka found a pinpoint cross for Ronaldo, who volleyed on-target, and Gomes fumbled into the net to complete a miserable night for Tottenham.

The night's other game started with a surreal goal and ended with a surreal result.

Inter 2-5 Schalke
When Manuel Neuer raced from his goal to clear the ball to halfway, it seemed he had swept up to good effect. But it fell to Dejan Stankovic, and his exquisite first time volley sailed back over the keeper's head, and hit the net before even bouncing. A truly sensational strike, and not the first time Stankovic has scored a volley from ridiculous range.

The rest of the night belonged to Schalke. The score was 2-2 at half time, but after the interval Inter's defence went to pieces. Raul put the Germans in front to bolster his amazing goals record in the competition, with a typical piece of opportunistic forward play and a poked finish. An own goal from Ranocchia and a red card for Chivu later, an emphatic finish from Edu, his second of the night, killed the tie, and ensured that meaningless second legs will be the order of next Wednesday night. Man United and Chelsea could be forgiven for thinking that their tie is now effectively a semi-final.

APPETITE FOR SELF-DESTRUCTION

Arsenal 2-3 Spurs: the Decline reaches its Nadir

I GUESS Tottenham had to win at Arsenal eventually, but the circumstances of this defeat make it very hard to take.

A strange game in many ways. A strange atmosphere- maybe the lunchtime kick-off curse again. Neither side really playing well.

Arsenal built a two-goal lead without hitting anything close to top gear. Nasri- a lovely finish from an acute angle after breaking Gomes' challenge. Chamakh- nicely deflected the ball in after a sweeping counter-attacking move.

Spurs' midfield seemed non-existent at times but Arsenal took no further advantage.


The Worst Second Half Ever.
Complacency rears its ugly head again. It's like Spurs were so bad in the First Half, they convinced Arsenal that the job was done. But this is a team with Van Der Vaart, Bale, Modric and, after the break, Defoe. Three of those four linked up, and Bale flicked the ball beyond Fabianski. Game on.

Arsenal had looked bright first half without being brilliant. But the second half saw no real cutting edge. And things got edgy after Bale's goal. Spurs still not playing amazingly, but the crowd go from subdued to... subdued. There was never any atmosphere, as far as I could tell, even at 2-0.

Song fouled Modric not far outside the box, 67th minute. Fabregas handled blatantly from the free kick. Penalty.

Sometimes you feel sorry for Fabregas because of the immaturity that sometimes seems to surround him and drag him down at Arsenal. But this was so fucking stupid. People say he's too professional to lower his level after his summer disappointment but was that really the action of a fully-committed captain? I'm not saying he's decided not to try, and overall he had a decent game, but subconsciously, the whole Barcelona debacle may have compromised him a little. And he still doesn't look fully fit.

Van Der Vaart stuck the penalty away.

Despite the apparent momentum swing, Spurs didn't really kick on, and Arsenal made some chances. Koscielny headed over from a nice Van Persie cross.

Then Kaboul headed in from Van Der Vaart's free kick and the comeback was complete. Wenger doing his Basil Fawlty routine on the sideline, overcome by impotent rage at his troops.

PEOPLE ARE, or were, saying Arsenal can win the league. As far as I can see, they're plumbing new depths all the time. As against Newcastle, they couldn't even muster a late assault on the opposition goal.

A really horrible game all-around. Gallas colossal at the back, definite man of the match.

The best you can say is that it's a strange result in a generally strange Premiership season, but that lets Arsenal off too easily. If they really are capable of winning the league, this season represents a big opportunity. I restate my belief that they can't do it. They'll always find a way to balls it up. At half-time, Arsenal were heading top. By full-time, they'd capitulated to a Spurs team that didn't even have to be that special.

Spurs Make The Grade: 3-1 v Inter.

At 4-0 down in the San Siro a couple weeks back, it looked like Spurs' trademark naivety might have been terminal to their chances in Europe. Bale's hat-trick was not enough to earn a point but it salvaged pride and restored a sense of belonging that might otherwise have been destroyed. Inter's complacency allowed Tottenham to snatch some kind of moral victory from the jaws of humiliation.

And tonight at White Hart Lane Spurs built on that. They lack the habit of winning big matches domestically so three points at home to the European Champions is a landmark achievement. It was secured with three fine goals that illustrated the flair at Harry Redknapp's disposal. First, Modric danced forward to the edge of the area and played a clever reverse pass through to Van Der Vaart. The in-form Dutchman smashed home to continue his prolific scoring ratio since his cut-price move to England.

The other two goals were all about Gareth Bale.

The Welshman emerged at Southampton after Theo Walcott left for Arsenal; it must be said that the Gunners signed the wrong pacey winger from the Saints. Bale is a far, far better player than Walcott, certainly if both are viewed as wingers. A better dribbler, a better crosser, more powerful in his running. Maicon is widely regarded as the best right back in the world but Bale gave him a torrid time. His runs and crosses for the Crouch and Pavlyuchenko goals were electrifying.

Over two games he ripped apart a defence that was, only last season, close to impregnable.

Nobody can be sensational every game, and in successive Premier League weekends Bale has been subdued by Everton and Manchester United who have tried to usher him inside and largely succeeded. Maybe you could argue the Premiership's more tactically aware managers have started to come to terms with his threat, but Rafa Benitez is no stranger to nullifying tactics nor to Premiership pace, and his team have had no answer. When a game is wide open, there is no better player in England at the moment.

Spurs Win Fourth(?) Place Play-Off

Mancini's Manchester City, as they showed in the recent game at the Emirates, are too negative to go and win a big game, as they had to lastnight. They need urgency, but from the opposition, so that spaces are opened up for fast breaks, and their quick forwards can exploit that. With Stephen Ireland injured- and even before that, neither in form nor favour- City are bereft of creativity in the centre of the park. Spurs comfortbaly repelled their predictable attacks. Andy Gray remarked fairly early that Tevez was dropping very deep just to get involved- the result of Nigel De Jong and the pointless Gareth Barry lacking the ability to make any kind of telling pass. Maybe I'm being harsh on Barry, because it was with his enforced withdrawal, making way for Patrick the Passenger Vieira, that Spurs decided to make their superiority tell. They battered City for the remainder, and should have scored on a couple of occasions before Crouch finally bundled in the winner.

Harry Redknapp was rewarded for the kind of positivity even managers like Wenger rarely exhibit: in a big game, he put out a 4-4-2, without a recognised "holding" player (Palacios was benched), entrusting the leisurely Huddlestone and the diminutive but wonderful Luka Modric to win the midfield battle. It should not be forgotten that Modric was long linked with Arsenal before he moved to Spurs, and Wenger ratherly sourly stated since that the Croat was too lightweight to play in the Premiership. You'd hope he doesn't really believe that. I'm not sure where Modric would fit into Arsenal's team right now, but he's certainly a better player than Nasri, or it seems Arshavin, or any number of equally lightweight players on our books.

Note also that Spurs are clearly capable of performing with a discipline that has long since deserted their North London neighbours. Entertaining football is well and good, and in fact Spurs have arguably played the best football in England this season, but games like lastnight's are tight and tense, and Arsenal consistently fail in those battles, where in bygone days, they would produce a performance to fit the occasion.

Third place and, vitally, automatic Champions League qualification should still be ours, provided the team wakes from its collective stupor long enough to at least draw against a distracted Fulham side on Sunday. In light of my recent rantings, it's worth pointing out the Sky Sports statistics shown lastnight, with the net spending figures of the big clubs. Arsenal are the only one who have made a profit from transfers in recent years. City have spent a grotesque amount on largely average players who are only good enough for fifth. Spurs are a distant second, having spent heavily to get where they are today. But they have got there.

Perhaps some day the critics will all be made look foolish as Wenger is replaced by another great manager who gets the benefit of his predecessor's frugal nature. We will all marvel at how Arsene Knew all along. Still, I can't help feeling that there have been missed opportunities, because Wenger failed to find a middle ground between stability and maintaining a squad worthy of the name Arsenal. Those figures are a victory for idealism but that victory is hollow without a good team on the pitch. So let's hope that those figures are not an end in themselves, but a means to put us where we are this summer, in a position to spend some fucking money on some fucking proper players.

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal & Season Review Part 1.

So that's it. Finally, the desperate hypotheticals can stop. Arsenal are out of it.

So, with the season effectively over, we can start to reflect. Mostly, agonisingly, it's a case of "what might have been". Everybody would have been left with that feeling anyway, having stayed in the race for so long, but Van Persie's comeback lastnight really brought it into focus.

He only played about twenty minutes, but after all those months out, there was no sign of rust. He was superb. Bendtner has now scored nine goals in his last eleven games, and has generally proven himself a decent deputy. But the gulf in class between he and the man he was tasked with replacing is undeniably huge.

So perhaps, having decried hypothetical questions in my opening paragraph, I have to start by posing one. What would have happened if Van Persie stayed fit? Well, it's hard not to surmise that Arsenal would at least be still in the running at this stage, if not top of the pile. RVP was absent for both of the Chelsea games (as was Bendtner) which left us playing a 4-3-3 without any kind of effective spearhead. Likewise at home to Man United. Now, we were brushed aside in all of those games, but they could have taken a completely different course if Robin Van Persie was fit and available.

Coulda, shoulda, woulda! Fuck that. The facts are these. RVP was injured ahead of the January transfer window. Arsene, probably in the knowledge that he was likely to bag Chamakh for free this summer, decided to shamble on with two (relative to RVP) inferior, and almost equally injury-prone strikers, in Eduardo and Bendtner. He churlihly listed Walcott and Vela as options in this area, when he never intended to use them as such. Arsenal ended up going into a run of games with only the diminutive Arshavin doing a very poor (but understandably so, perhaps?) imitation of leading the line.

This is a problem that was hardly the result of bad luck. Van Persie has never had an injury-free season. Adebayor left last summer- how we all crowed at the exorbitant fee City paid. What a cruel irony then that the lack of a replacement is one of the factors that costs us the title.

Just one, though. For the next parts of my season review, I'll focus on the ludicrous goalkeeping situation, and Arsenal's travails in the big games.

I just want to end on this note: bearing in mind Wenger's refusal to sign a striker in January, does the man now prioritise profits over success? Even with his admirable obsession with balancing the books, could he not have signed a player on loan? It would hold back the progress of other players, you say? That's a non-runner for me. We ended up playing without a striker in a lot of games, so a striker was blatantly necessary, from every viewpoint. And not just in hindsight, because people were saying it all along.

AS REGARDS THE GAME LASTNIGHT, TOTTENHAM HAVE BEEN WAITING SINCE LAST CENTURY FOR A LEAGUE WIN AGAINST ARSENAL, WHO HAVE CLEARLY RAN OUT OF STEAM. ARSENAL STARTED THE GAME WITHOUT FIVE FIRST-CHOICE PLAYERS, AND LOST A SIXTH EARLY IN THE GAME TO INJURY. BEFORE VERMAELEN BROKE DOWN, ONE ALREADY HAD THE FEELING IT WAS SPURS' NIGHT. DEBUTANT DANNY ROSE SMASHED IN AN ASTOUNDING VOLLEY, AND BARELY TOUCHED THE BALL AGAIN IN HIS FORTY-FIVE MINUTES ON THE PITCH. AGAIN, ARSENAL LOOKED CLUELESS WHEN FACED WITH TWO NARROW BANKS OF FOUR, UNTIL VAN PERSIE CAME ON AND TURNED THE GAME LATE IN THE DAY. BUT BY THAT POINT, IT WAS TOO LATE, ARSENAL HAVING CONCEDED YET ANOTHER COMICALLY SOFT GOAL AFTER THE RESTART. THE DEFENCE WAS SO STATIC, EVEN THE VISIONLESS JERMAINE DEFOE WAS ABLE TO SPOT GARETH BALE, IN ACRES OF ONSIDE SPACE IN THE BOX. THE FINISH WAS SIMPLE. WHO TO BLAME- SAGNA FOR NOT STEPPING UP? SILVESTRE FOR NOT TRACKING THE RUN? THE CONCLUSION AGAIN CAN ONLY BE THAT THIS ARSENAL TEAM IS QUITE SIMPLY UNABLE TO DEFEND, FROM FRONT TO BACK, AS A UNIT. THIS DESPERATELY NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.

DESPITE THE RVP-INSPIRED LATE FLURRY AND BENDTNER'S POACHED GOAL, SPURS WERE WORTH THE THREE POINTS. THEY'VE WAITED SINCE 99 FOR A LEAGUE WIN IN A NORTH LONDON DERBY, AND IN ALL THAT TIME THERE HAS RARELY BEEN AN EASY WIN FOR ARSENAL- A LOT OF DRAWS AT WHITE HART LANE ESPECIALLY, WITH THE PATTERN CONSISTING OF SPURS TAKING A LEAD AND NOT HAVING THE NOUS TO HOLD ON. IN THIS GAME, THEY DID NOT TRY TO OUTPLAY ARSENAL, BUT CERTAINLY OUTSMARTED AND OUTFOUGHT THEM, UNTIL THEY TIRED LATE ON. AT THAT POINT, A WORLD-CLASS KEEPER KEPT THEM IN FRONT. ANOTHER SOUR POINT FOR ARSENAL, WHAT WITH THE CLOWNS WE HAVE TO PUT UP WITH BETWEEN THE STICKS.

United Held- Chelsea Hot Favourites Now

United are suffering the poorest sequence I can remember them having in quite a while.

After the first leg defeat to Bayern came the summit meeting with Chelsea, where they were largely outplayed and beaten 2-1. Then despite a riproaring opening half hour in the second leg against those 'typical Germans', United faded, the naive Rafael GOT HIMSELF sent off, and Arjen Robben's wondergoal squeezed Bayern through. And now, without Rooney, United's deficiencies were exposed again in a scoreless draw at Blackburn.

This leaves Chelsea potentially four points ahead, should they beat Bolton midweek, with just four games left through which to seal it. The momentum is theirs now, and they also have an FA Cup final to look forward to after beating Villa 3-0- Martin O'Neill's one-dimensional, tired-looking side have run out of steam just as they did last season. Chelsea's opponents will be Portsmouth. Heartwarming to see them beat their old manager, Harry Redknapp, and Spurs, in an extra-time thriller.

And if Arsenal rouse themselves to beat Spurs away on Wednesday, we can leapfrog United and apply some pressure to the leaders, although because of our inferior goal difference, Chelsea will have to drop points twice to let us in- and that's assuming we win every remaining game. Realistically, it's not going to happen... But realistically, we didn't have a chance after the consecutive defeats to United and Chelsea in February... You never know.

One has to admit, although I'm no fan of them, Chelsea have done well to ignore the absence of Michael Essien, probably their most influential player. There is now an irony to Alex Ferguson's earlier assertions that Chelsea are too old, as it is United who look over-reliant now on their experienced players. United gathered momentum in the time that the Champions League was in hibernation, but Giggs and Scholes cannot play twice a week, and United's younger players aren't up to the task yet either. Most of their defeats in the league have come after European games.

Back in their Box: Arsenal 3-0 Spurs

There was a lot of bluster coming out of the Tottenham camp in the lead up to Saturday's derby, so no wonder Harry Redknapp was bitter and graceless in his post-match comments. Robbie Keane's missive about Spurs having superior strength in depth proved particularly ill-advised, for his side looked largely toothless without Modric, Lennon and Defoe. For all their pretensions of swashbuckling football, Redknapp chose to leave Kranjcar out, pack the midfield, and use Keane from the left. This left Peter crouch, to whom Spurs constantly pumped long balls, mostly isolated.

And for all that, Arsenal weren't overly impressive, and maybe that's the most satisfying aspect for us and the most chastening for Spurs. For 40 minutes or so, it was fairly sluggish stuff, but there had been signs that Spurs were there for the taking. Andy Gray praised their well-organised play during that time and he was right to a point but they were probably only impressive because Arsenal's attacking was a bit off-colour. Nonetheless, Gomes had made a great save to keep out Fabregas, and Van Persie had snatched at a couple of passable opportunities (two of these chances came from Spurs giving the ball away carelessly, so the signs were there); at the other end, Keane looked to get in off a crouch knockdown, but the impressive Song tracked back to good effect, and just before the opener, Keane seemed to slip our offside trap but his touch let him down.

And then the vital goal, and it was, for a team with a reputation for over-complicating things, refreshingly simple. The defending was questionable no doubt. Sagna and Fabregas worked a one-two under little pressure to the right of the area, and where the former would usually perhaps begin to work the ball back across the pitch, he swung in an early cross. Ledley King was beaten to the bouncing ball by Van Persie who stabbed it in at the near post, Gomes' hand not enough to repel the effort. Bassong seemed to be missing in action, and King a little slow to react perhaps, but few are the goals that do not arise in some way from an error and I'd prefer to praise a bit of classic centre forward play by RVP. He's flying at the moment. Afterwards, Wenger called him a cross between Bergkamp and Henry. Now, that sounds like some kind of mutant super-footballer, but he has a point in a way. While not having the electric pace of Henry, he is much more a consistent goal threat than Bergkamp, and while not quite capable of the sheer creative genius of his countryman he is fairly adept also at dropping off and threading passes to his fellow attackers. And you know what? Neither of those guys, for all their godlike abilities, would have scored that goal on Saturday.

And it certainly raised the crowd, but that was nothing compared to what followed. In a moment that evoked memories of Jose Reyes' belter in the 5-3 against Boro in 04/05, Arsenal had the ball in the net again with Sky Sports barely finished showing replays of the first goal. I heard a roar from the crowd, saw the camera return to Fabregas bearing down on goal, and gleefully threading a shot past Gomes for number two. Thrilling stuff. And after the devastating sucker punch of Spurs' two-goal salvo in injury time last season, this was a particularly apt way to restore primacy in North London.

The replays showed what had transpired- Van Persie blocked a lazy pass straight from kick off, Fabregas evaded a lunge by Palacios, nutmegged the panicky tackle from King and fooled Gomes with his shot. It was schoolboy stuff from Spurs but a great goal nonetheless, and another moment to illustrate the greatness of Fabregas. He's not renowned for such driving runs- it almost looked like the work of a diminutive Steven Gerrard- but what it showed again was his peerless appreciation of the requirements and openings in each moment of a game. He saw Spurs rocking on the ropes, and where it is his natural style to probe and be patient, here he went for the jugular, and finished the game.

Not that I was willing to admit that at the time, after our troubles in the corresponding fixture last season and last week at West Ham. Two goal leads are a cause for nerves at Arsenal, and the players seemed aware of the danger second half. When Spurs had the ball, we defended with a vigour that I haven't seen in a home game since the 2-1 win against United last season. The next goal was clearly going to be vital, and we did have a sticky period just before finishing the job. The backline seemed to drop a little deeper, which was always going to suit crouch (who Vermaelen dominated throughout), now joined upfront by Keane. Gallas had to be alert to deny Keane once more. He was starting to look a little panic-stricken, and gave away a free kick right on the edge with a handball when challenging crouch in the air. Bentley's free kick was easy for the returning Almunia; he made it look difficult, as is his wont. Then Gallas pushed crouch on the edge- nothing doing this time. Then the nerves were killed off with a third.

Eduardo was floored with a rough tackle on the right but Sagna burst onto the loose ball and beyond the Spurs defence. He saw the linesman flagging for the foul and slowed up, as did the opposing players, but clattenburg had played a good advantage, and when the Frenchman finally realised this he cut the ball in low. Somehow, it evaded the grasp of Gomes and the lunge of the luckless King, and Van Persie was left to gobble up his second.

Thus the contest was ended and I could finally relax. Spurs offered little, but it was encouraging to see Wenger get agitated on the touchline, just after Eduardo had missed an opportunity to make it four, over an inability to communicate defensive instructions to Song and the infuriating Diaby. As acknowledged afterwards, Wenger saw the significance of holding onto a clean sheet.

I thought, yet again, that Diaby had a poor game. To me it's shocking that we've had such a run with him in the side. He plays like the anti-Fabregas. Forever taking too many touches on the ball, he will pointlessly try to hold off a tackle himself when a simple pass would suffice. This sees him surrender possession too much, and he does it all over the pitch. His passes never have the right weight, always short or long or not into the receiver's stride. He has some talent, no doubt, but lacks the intelligence to use it efficiently. Likewise, his physique is misleading because he rarely tackles with conviction and seems disinterested in the defensive side of the game. He was surely the source of Wenger's ire because Song has been playing diligently in front of the back four and has played a big part in our good moments this season. When we are in command of a game, and the opposition striving to turn it, we need another midfielder to drop back more and allow cesc to pick out the front three. Unless you think that Diaby is better at that. Ha. But I worry that he simply lacks the brain and the team spirit to sacrifice his attacking instincts. You'd possibly have similar reervations about Nasri if deployed in the same position but at least he does not disrupt the flow of our attacking as well as burdening the defence.

Anyway, Wenger definitely has to think long and hard about adding to our squad in January, because Song will be going to the African Nations and with Denilson yet to return from a fairly serious injury, the last thing we need is opposition teams marauding through our midfield unchallenged (and in any case I'm still unsure that Denilson can effectively perform the role that Song does).

But here's to a week that saw Spurs talk themselves into a corner and not have the fight to get out of it. Tomorrow I will ruminate at length to nobody about the relative strengths of the established top four and the chasing pack.