On The (+) Side

"At least there are some positives", that's what I would be saying if I were a gooner. If you are wondering what I am talking about I am referring to the human shield that Arsenal created to fend of the attacking chickens from across the street. Forget about Arsenal's uber successful transfer season and focus on the much anticipated celebration of St. Totteringham's day.

The game was a close one, with each team wanting to assert its superiority. On the one hand was Shylock and his minions sporting the red and white jerseys (disclaimer: this article was written before deadline day ended), and on the other was Sherlock and his new-look band of Watsons, all bought by using a left leg as 'Levy-rage'. 

As is well documented, Spurs' scouting system relies  highly on other clubs' links (read... Lamela, Eriksen, Capoue, Soldado). And all the money, which by the way is a lot,  has been spent to achieve what probably seemed an impossible task up until this summer, finish above Arsenal. 

Obviously there is no better way to be considered a threat to Arsenal's superiority in North London than making them hang their heads in shame when they face-off against each other  Except that when they did clash, Mertesacker and co. were the ones popping the champagne at full time. 

An unlikely stat produced itself in the game. Tottenham dominated possession... Wait what!? Tottenham dominated possession!? Yes Tottenham dominated possession. Arsenal was only playing on the counter attack or so it seemed for more than half of the game, their outlet for said counter-attack was Flash Gordon who gave the spurs defense a rotten time. And that's how the solitary goal was scored in the game as well, scored by a Frenchman who is growing in confidence with each second he spends on the pitch... Suarez who?

It wasn't the usual north London derby, by that i mean there couldn't be Facebook statuses such as "ar5ena2 roxxx!!!", but those die hard gunner fans still didn't shy away from sticking it to the tighty-whiteys. Getting back to point, what was most surprising was not the fact that Spurs lacked cohesion given the stature of their newbies, rather that Arsenal performed as a cohesive unit especially in defense.

For eons, Arsene's Arses have been criticized for being poor at the back, and although last night's defensive performance isn't indicative of the whole campaign, if Arsenal manage to defend like that and scrape through dirty wins throughout the campaign, then they might just be safe from the wrath of the angry fan. 

Never have I seen Mr. Wenger adopt a 6-3-1 formation as he did last night to fend of the barrage that ensued in the last 5 minutes of the game. To the neutral, the match had its scrappy moments, but to Arsenal fans, it was a matter of pride... They can scrap it out, Hurrah!