Chapter 668: A Game That Can't Be Lost
The north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur will naturally not lack gunpowder, and the two teams are naturally full of hunger for victory. Arsenal, playing at home, will be hoping to get a win in the game, and they will be hoping to get a win against their sworn enemies; It's also because Arsenal need to move forward in the table and they need to get a better place.
Arsenal at home is naturally full of expectations for this game, they also think that although Tottenham Hotspur has been improving in recent seasons, they have not yet challenged Arsenal's strength, in north London, Arsenal is still the best team, Arsenal at home has every reason to win the game, and the Gunners will indeed win the game for this game, but Arsenal seems to have suffered a big blow at the beginning of the game, The game was also completely beyond Arsenal's expectations.
Tottenham started the game with a foul on Mikel Arteta in midfielder Parker, then Walker and Clanitzar combined up on the right and sent in a cross, but a crucial tackle on the edge of the Vermaelen box was cleared. Tottenham were a dangerous attack from the start of the game, and they worked hard to threaten the Arsenal defence.
The Gunners did show some lack of preparation, they were beaten by Tottenham's attack at the beginning of the game; In fact, although Tottenham Hotspur played well at this time, in fact, as long as Arsenal was more focused at this time, it may not be broken by Tottenham. It's just that Arsenal may be a little unprepared, they didn't expect Tottenham to play a dangerous attack at the beginning of the game, and they didn't expect that this north London derby would make Arsenal completely passive at the beginning.
Fourth minute of the game. Arsenal rebel Adebayor passes the ball from the left. Saha fired a low left-footed shot from 12 yards out in the middle. The ball bounced off the right foot of the dodging Vermaelen and Arsenal goalkeeper Szczesny had no choice but to watch it fly over his head and into the net.
Tottenham took a surprise 1-0 lead, and no one could have imagined that Tottenham would take the lead quickly from the start of the game. The atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium was a bit stiff, and although there were only a handful of fans at the moment, the cheers of the Tottenham fans dominated the Emirates Stadium for a moment, and they were full of joy at the team's dream start, which was indeed something they had not expected.
The Arsenal players were indeed a little stunned, but they reacted quickly; The fans at the Emirates Stadium booed as well. Arsenal fans won't allow Tottenham fans to occupy their turf, and they won't allow Saha to celebrate here with impunity.
After conceding the goal, Arsenal also quickly got into the groove, now they need to work harder, they need to be more good and competitive in the next games of the game, they will not allow Tottenham to lead all the time, Arsenal need to control the rhythm of the game, they need to play a dangerous attack, so that they can guarantee the goal, so that they can guarantee the equaliser.
In the ninth minute, Arteta passed the ball. Xiao Qing made another Walcott in the penalty area, but the little tiger fell to the ground under the interference of Tottenham defender Walker. The referee refused to award a penalty. Two minutes later, Xiao Qing crossed in the penalty area, but a suspected handball foul by Tottenham midfielder Parker caused the "penalty" at the Emirates Stadium to sound again, but waved to signal the game to continue. Although the slow-motion replay showed that there were not many objections to the referee's decision, for the Arsenal players, they also need to play more dangerous attacks now, and they need to perform better in the next games.
Arsenal threatened for the first time in the 14th minute, Walcott crossed from the wing, Van Persie turned in the first half and fired a left-footed shot on the back of the eye-catching Tottenham defender Kaboul, Xiao Qing quickly grabbed the point and then fired another follow-up shot from ten yards out that was deflected wide by the Tottenham goalkeeper! Tottenham also continued to play at this time, and three minutes later, Bale dribbled the ball down the left and went down the middle, and Tottenham midfielder Cranichar headed in a header that Szczesny picked up.
Both teams are playing well at this time, and when they are constantly attacking each other's defenses, perhaps both teams can feel the threat now; Although Tottenham are now leading by one goal, no one would consider it a safe score under Arsenal's attacking firepower. And for Arsenal, they also need to be careful now, because their goal has been broken by Tottenham once, so they naturally need to be more cautious, Tottenham is not a team without threat.
The Gunners began to attack more frantically at this time, Tottenham also insisted on enough attacking intensity at this time, they could not have any relaxation in such a game, since they had already taken the lead in the game, Tottenham naturally hoped to continue to hold the initiative in the game at this time. So now both teams are playing a good attack in the game, and they are indeed threatening the opponent's defense again and again in the game.
It's a north London derby, Arsenal and Tottenham are the worst enemies of the century, and they have to win this game, and there is no reason to mobilize because they want to beat their arch-rivals because they want to go further up the table. So they're going to give it their all in this game, and they're going to play a more dangerous attack in this game.
Xiao Qing also showed more aggressiveness at this time, although Tottenham midfielder Parker pulled hard, but he still couldn't stop Xiao Qing's breakthrough, Xiao Qing entered the penalty area in the cheers of the Emirates Stadium and fired a left-footed shot from 20 yards away slightly touched Kaboul's body and missed the goal! After the corner kick, Xiao Qing nodded the ball to the far corner, but Tottenham goalkeeper Friedel made a world-class save, and he suddenly forced himself in the air to lift the ball off the crossbar with one hand!
Seizing the opportunity of Arsenal to press the attack now, Tottenham counterattacked in the 23rd minute and almost expanded the score, Adebayo received Saha's through ball and stabbed with his right foot in the penalty area, the ball was saved by the attacking Szczesny, Walker followed up with a right-footed burst on the periphery, the ball flew out of the net, and Arsenal escaped by luck.
The Arsenal players are still confident enough at this time, although they have been threatened by Tottenham several times, but the Arsenal players are also able to create a lot of good chances, which is the most important thing for Arsenal, they believe that they can win the game, they believe that scoring in the game is not a problem. The Arsenal players are very strong and confident, they are aggressive enough; But while Arsenal kept their ambitions alive, they also took a big hit.
In the 32nd minute of the game, Tottenham, who had suppressed the rhythm, suddenly attacked; Modric went straight to the front, Bale forced a breakthrough under Alaba close chase, saw Bale stepping on the hot wheels like a forced force into the penalty area to form a single knife, Arsenal goalkeeper Szczesny decisively abandoned the goal, as a result, Bale fell head-on, referee Dean pointed to twelve yards!
The Arsenal players were very dissatisfied, Szczesny insisted that he did not touch Bale, and the slow motion showed that Szczesny did not touch Bale, but the referee upheld the penalty after consulting with the linesman; There are times when you do need a little acting on the football pitch, and Bale did well to help Tottenham get this crucial decision!
Bam Adebayor doubled their lead to 2-0 with Tottenham taking a two-goal lead at arch-rivals Arsenal's home stadium and were in good stock of beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium! Despite the boos at the Emirates Stadium, Adebayo was in a good mood; He also became only the second player since Jimmy Robertson in the '60s to score in a north London derby for two rivals.
Arsenal's players are really depressed, now they are two goals down, this is not a simple matter, the game now looks completely out of the control of the Gunners, they are likely to lose at home to the century-old rivals!
Arsenal can't accept that they could close the gap in the standings by the likes of Manchester City, and they can't accept losing to Tottenham in this game; Arsenal are hoping to win this game, although they are now two goals behind, although the current morale of Arsenal has indeed suffered a lot, but the Arsenal players will continue to persevere, they believe in the team's attacking firepower.
Arsenal are proud and it's a game that can't afford to lose; Since they are two goals behind because of consecutive accidents, it also means that Arsenal need to work harder at this time, and now they must break out strongly, and they need to regain the gap in the next time; Arsenal now need to play better in attack, in fact, the Gunners are still very good, they can create some good chances in the game, what they lack now is some luck, of course, because of some accidents that make the team passive, but Arsenal's players will definitely not raise their hands to admit defeat, at this time they will burst out more powerful, because this is a game that cannot be lost, but also because Arsenal need to win! (To be continued......)