Arsenal derby double over Spurs
Written By: Robert Halter
Arsenal looked to over turn a six game winless run in the Premier League against Tottenham Hotspur. In the fifth minute, after Eric Dier was dispossessed by Alexandre Lacazette, he then picked up a pass from Alexis Sanchez, before the ball was fired over by Lacazette. But the Lilywhites responded from a poor header back by Gunners captain, Laurent Koscielny, and an alert Harry Kane, hit a low strike directly at Petr Cech. In the sixteenth minute, Dele Alli, put a right footed shot wide to the left from an assist by Moussa Sissoko. But in the nineteenth minute, a pass down the right from Aaron Ramsey, was pinged across the goal mouth by Hector Bellerin, but the ball went past Lacazette and then Sead Kolasinac, in the middle to the back stick. Following a poor back pass from Davinson Sanchez, it required Hugo Lloris, to run out of his area and stop the threat of Lacazette, in the twenty seventh minute. The Gunners again pressed as Bellerin’s ball through to Mesut Ozil, resulted in a low cross, which Dier had to slice over the crossbar. Spurs responded with an over hit pass by Christian Eriksen, that rolled past Kane into Cech’s safe keeping. The Lilywhites pressed again as a low cross on the left by Ben Davies, clipped the left post by Eriksen before going wide, on thirty three minutes. It soon followed with a delivery on the right by Sissoko which was met with a cushioned header by Kane, that deflected off Koscielny back to the reaches of Cech. On thirty six minutes, Arsenal got the breakthrough, following a foul on Alexis Sanchez by Davinson Sanchez, and from a well taken free kick by Ozil, an air bound header from Shkodran Mustafi, went from the middle to the top left corner of the goal. But it was double trouble for Spurs, when Bellerin’s pass to the far right side of the box was pulled back by Lacazette, and at close range, Alexis Sanchez, took one touch before striking the ball high into the right side of the net, in the forty first minute. Three minutes later, a pass through from Jan Vertonghen, was pulled wide of the left post by Kane. On forty nine minutes, from a cross by Mousa Dembele, the ball skimmed off Kane’s head and went back to Cech. After a slip by Ramsey, from Eriksen’s pass through, a vital interception was made by Mustafi to keep out Kane. On the hour mark, from an Alexis Sanchez corner, the ball was punched out of play by Hugo Loris. Spurs made the first sub with Dembele replaced with Harry Winks. The Lilywhites were unable to impose themselves, when from a Davies assist, the ball was thrashed high and wide by Eriksen. In the seventieth minute, from a square pass by Ramsey, the ball was struck like a rocket over the top by Alexis Sanchez, who then had another site at goal but his tame strike was easily stopped by Lloris, from Ozil’s pick out. Arsenal soon changed Lacazette with Francis Coquelin and Spurs then took off Kane for Fernando Llorente and Alli with Heung-Min Son. On seventy six minutes, Kolasinac linked up play with Ozil, before at close range, Alexis Sanchez’s effort was blocked by Lloris. Spurs were running out of ideas when from Llorente’s pass, a low drive by Eriksen failed to trouble Cech. In the eighty first minute, a deep cross from Davies, was met with a looping header from Dier, which was pushed away with an athletic one handed save by Cech. The Gunners then replaced Ozil with Alex Iwobi. Another ball forward by Davies, was headed on from Llorente, but the strike from Son was miscued over. After Alexis Sanchez was appended by Vertonghen, a low free kick by Xhaka, went wide of the right post. In stoppage time from a long pass by Coquelin, closing in on goal, Alexis Sanchez shrugged off a challenge by Davinson Sanchez, before being kept out by Lloris. Following that, Alexis Sanchez found Iwobi, whose low strike went wide. Near the end, Kieran Trippier’s cross was headed out by Bellerin before Son’s strike cannoned over off Mustafi. After Davinson Sanchez’s header went wide from Eriksen’s corner, it signalled a derby day win for Arsenal over Spurs with a 2-0 win.