CAPITAL ONE CUP ROUND THREE
WEDNESDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER, 2015
( 7.45pm )
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1(0) ARSENAL 2(1)
Spurs scorers:-
Chambers (o.g), 56
Arsenal scorers:-
Flamini, 26, 78
Attendance:- 35,687
Referee:- Andre Marriner
Assistants:- Lee Betts & David Bryan
Fourth official:- Andy Woolmer
Teams:-
Spurs (4-2-3-1):- Vorm; Trippier, Fazio, Wimmer, Rose; Dier (sub N'Jie, 85), Carroll; Townsend(sub Son, 67), Erikssen, Chadli (sub Alli, 75); Kane (Capt.)
Subs not used:- Lloris; Walker, Vertonghen; Winks
Booked:- Alli (foul on Mertesacker)
Arsenal (4-2-3-1):- Ospina;Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Flamini, Arteta (Capt.); Campbell (sub Sanchez, 67), Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Sub Walcott, 89); Giroud
Subs not used:- Macey; Monreal, Bellerin; Iwobi, Ozil
Booked:- Arteta (foul on Townsend), Flamini (foul on Rose), Debuchy (foul on Rose)
Flamini hell!
On the way out of the stadium tonight, I was accused of "having no ******* idea of what I was talking about". However, football is a game of opinions, isn't it, so please let me know if you don't agree with any of my comments.
I am having to write this report without access to the Internet, and therefore no ability to research for the facts. To the best of my knowledge, the first time I saw Spurs lose to Arsenal was the day Phil Beal scored an own goal in an August game in the mid sixties. Then I saw us knocked out of the League Cup semi-final in December 1968, when John Radford scored a goal to make it 1-1 on the night and 2-1 to THEM on aggregate. I've always hated losing to Arsenal, and tonight was no different.
The point I was making which drew the ire of a fellow Spurs fan was that we had no chance of beating Man City on Saturday, so why rest your best goalkeeper for this game, which most Spurs fans would have been desperate to win? Indeed, I expected our back four to feature three changes, but did expect either Alderweireld or Vertonghen to play. But no, Mr. Pochettino decided to switch the back five in its entirety.
Arsenal Wenger made more changes (10) to his team than we did (8), but they still won the game. Why, we even needed them to score our goal! Spurs once again dominated possession, but as we know, it is what you do with that possession that matters.
Spurs upped the tempo in the second half, when they did score through a Chambers own goal, and had an excellent chance through Harry Kane (captain tonight),but the bottom line is we lacked the cutting edge that was provided by the opposition, our nemesis, when given the opportunity, sometimes through Spurs' defensive frailties. Why give Fazio his first playing minutes of the season in the North London derby?
Spurs were roundly applauded off the pitch by the home fans at the end of the game, but it was the Arsenal fans who celebrated. They also used the time they were held in the ground to make a mess of the South-west corner.
The first half was not as exciting as the second. Kevin Wimmer sent Chadli away down the left with a good ball. Chadli fed the ball to Kane, but he was offside. Kane's touch then led to Townsend sending a ball to Eriksen on the left, but his cross just led to a Spurs throw.
Danny Rose featured prominently for Spurs in attacking positions, and after 11 minutes found Eriksen down the left channel. Eriksen passed inside to Chadli, but Arsenal defended the situation comfortably.
Mr. Wenger even picked someone called Campbell to wind us all up a bit more,and he got a chance after Gibbs crossed,and Giroud touched, before Campbell fired over. Wimmer hit another good long ball for Rose to chase, and his cross led to a corner.
Tom Carroll was playing next to Dier again, and he started a move when Chadli fed Eriksen, whose cross was too deep.
For all their possession, Spurs fell foul of a sucker punch when Vorm could not hold Oxlade-Chamberlain's shot, parrying the ball into the
path of Flamini, who gratefully fired home.
Danny Rose had a chance at the other end, after good work by Eriksen and Kane, but the left back pulled his shot wide. Rose was onto a long ball into the area, and with goalkeeper Ospina closing him down, Danny skied the attempt on goal.
Arsenal players started to attract referee Marriner's attention, with Arteta booked for a foul on Townsend, and Flamini shown yellow for halting Danny Rose just outside the area.
Fazio proved himself prone to errors, and after he gave the ball away, Arsenal threatened with Oxlade-Chamberlain in space, but hitting his shot wide across the goalmouth.
With half-time approaching, Eriksen took charge in the middle. Rose had a speculative shot which was collected by the goalkeeper. Spurs had another good build up, and Eriksen's shot was cleared for a Spurs corner. In added time, Eriksen made a break from an Arsenal attack, finding Kane on the left of goal. Harry hit his shot wide of the far post.
Spurs came out for the second half with clear determination, and played at a good tempo. Eriksen exchanged with Chadli, before having a shot well saved by Ospina. After that save, Harry Kane followed up, but was flagged offside.
Eriksen then sparked a run by Danny Rose, whose cross/shot led to a corner. Townsend had a shot parried, before Spurs levelled after Chadli's cross/shot from the left was deflected into his own net by Chambers. It was certainly "game on!"
Spurs won a corner, following good work by Trippier, taken by Townsend on the right. The ball reached Harry Kane at the back post, who hit a strong right footed scissor kick across the goal. This beat Ospina, but not Gibbs who cleared off the line - just . Townsend was then replaced by Son, who was warmly welcomed into the pitch.
Rose was unable to control a loose ball,and Ramsey latched onto the ball hitting a right footed shot wide across the goalmouth. Arsenal substitute Sanchez then looked dangerous, working from the left channel, before hitting a shot which was saved by Vorm.
Arsenal took the lead from another loose ball that crossed the field, and fell to the feet of Flamini, offered far too much space. Flamini emphatically fired past Vorm with another right footed shot in front of the Arsenal fans.
Clinto N'Jie had a header go wide after good work by Carroll, Kane and Eriksen,but the truth of the matter is that Spurs never produced quite enough to truly threaten the gooners in the remainder of the game. Dele Alli had a shot saved after Kane's pass, and N'Jie also had another effort go wide, but it was never quite enough, and we can clear our diaries of a few dates now, having lost one or our realistic chances of a trophy so early in the season.
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