Premier League
London Remains Unclaimed By Red or White After Remarkable Derby Draw
Saturday’s dramatic North London derby was a memorable iteration of the beautiful game. Not for being an exhibition of flowing team football. Nor for showcasing a high volume of moments of individual brilliance. Instead, it was the petulance, pettiness, polemics and pressure inherent to one of the sport’s most bitter rivalries that will have fans rehashing the match’s many flash points.
As the clock struck 90 minutes, Aubameyang placed the ball on the painted circle twelve yards from goal. Like an NFL kicker, he prepared with seven paces backwards and two to his left as he attempted to overcome the pressure from 81,332 fans at Wembley.
Arsenal’s flashy hit-man has never been scared of the spotlight. Still, as he took one final breath it was easy to see he was replaying the drama that had brought the game to a massive crescendo and considering whether his next kick was his most important in an Arsenal shirt. While he takes his slow approach to strike the ball, let’s discuss how he got there.
Ramsey Built for Wembley
“This is my f***ing house,” Ramsey screamed after scoring the opener on 15 minutes. Arsenal forced a turnover and turned defense to attack in the blink of an eye. A clearance from Xhaka was controlled by Lacazette before his through ball found the poaching Ramsey clean through on goal. It was only because he was in his own half when the pass was played that Ramsey was not flagged for offside. His pace was able to narrowly withstand the recovering defenders as he dribbled half of the field. He kept his composure in the decisive moment and rounded the keeper before slotting into the open net to complete the long-distance goal.
It was an iconic Wembley moment from a man who’s compiled a collection of them. At England’s national stadium the Welshman has now scored late winners in two FA Cup finals and a Community Shield match to go along with this masterpiece. Even though Spurs are only using Wembley as a home ground temporarily, fans were livid to see a rival claiming it as his house.
The biggest story line leading up the match was whether Emery would start Ramsey or Ozil in the number 10 role. Ramsey has a reputation as a big-game player and has typically done well against Spurs. The match represented his last North London derby, as he has already signed a contract for next season with Juventus. Emery understood the importance of the game to Ramsey and the player justified his selection with a spirited performance.
Kane Nearing Drogba Territory as Arsenal Nemesis
Death, taxes, and Drogba scoring against Arsenal – only a few things are labeled as certain in this world. Unfortunately for the Gunners, another item may need to be penciled into the list. When Arsenal used to face Chelsea, they knew they would need to score twice to win, because Drogba was going to get at least one. The same is becoming true for Kane.
Despite being contained for the majority of the match, the England Captain inevitably scored. The goal elevated Kane to the top of the North London derby league scoring list. The striker now has nine league goals against Arsenal in as many appearances.
The Inevitable Occurs
The fact that Arsenal couldn’t prevent Kane from equalizing was infuriating to Gooners. The circumstances under which he scored were even more upsetting. Kane had an early goal disallowed for offside and belief was growing that Arsenal could escape with a 1-0 win. However, Arsenal are the only team yet to record a record a Premier League shutout and Kane always seems to find a way to put the ball in the net.
A rash tackle from Sokratis with a quarter hour remaining gave Spurs a set piece. The ball was lofted into the area by Eriksen but flew drifted harmlessly out for a goal kick. After a scream from the Spurs fans behind the goal, the referee’s shrill whistle blew. He awarded a penalty against Mustafi for pushing Kane in the back. As the players protested, the replays began to pour in showing that Kane along with four other Spurs attackers were all offside when the ball was played.
England will not employ video replay until next season. Before the debate on why the world’s most visible league has taken so long to embrace technology could get far, Kane dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner.
Chaos Rules
The opening forty minutes was a tactical, calculated and spirited affair. The last 50 was simply wild, with flash points abundant. Leno submitted a save of the season candidate with an absurd double-save. Guendouzi, who had strangely been given another start by his coach whose obsession with him is bordering on unhealthy, was dragged off at half time. Lacazette squandered his second easy opportunity of the match and was abruptly yanked from the game. Both sides appeared likely to grab the winner at different stages. Five yellow cards and a straight red card were all issued. The dismissal of Torriera was highly-questionable and served as the last action before the final whistle.
The Double Miss Heard ‘Round London
The Shot
With a minute remaining the chaos reached a phenominal peak. Aubameyang’s run was found by a glorious pass from Mkhitaryan, who was the game’s premier attacking force. Sanchez was caught on the wrong side of the striker and put an arm into his back and perhaps made contact with his feet as well. Aubameyang tumbled to the floor. Was there contact? Probably. Was there enough to warrant a PK? Probably not. Arsenal fans didn’t care, as they believed the decision was karmic justice for the missed offside on Kane earlier.
As Aubameyang slowly got to his feet, the pressure was visible on his face. A goal would help end his run of poor form, move him to second place in Premier League golden boot race, keep Arsenal in the top-4, move the Gunners a point behind Spurs for third, provide Arsenal their first away win against Spurs in five years, and continue elevating the man already popular with the fans into legendary status at the club. There was a lot on the line. Perhaps too much.
Aubameyang can’t seem to shake the reputation of going missing in big games and big moments. What transpired next certainly won’t help. It’s unclear what was running through his mind as he took his slow approach to the ball, but his plan was ill-conceived. He never looked comfortable and struck the ball meekly to the left, in the same exact spot he scored his PK against Spurs in December. This time Lloris was waiting for it and saved easily.
The Rebound
More absurdity was somehow still on tap. The referee managed to lose track of Vertonghen. The defender had illegally encroached into the box and was nearly standing beside Aubameyang when the penalty was taken. The rebound from the miss was crossed back to the stunned striker for a second bite at the apple. His shot from two yards away was miraculously deflected over the bar by Vertonghen, who would not have been in that position had he not illegally entered the box. Typically, physicists would be studying how a ball managed to clear the bar from such an acute angle. But in the context of this absurd second half, the bizarre happening was considered commonplace.
The Aftermath
Ultimately, a draw was probably a fair result and a result both sides would have accepted at different points during the match, Arsenal remain four points behind Spurs but fall out of the top four to fifth place. None of the players involved can be accused of failing to put forth maximum effort. It will be interesting to see how much energy each side have retained for their approaching midweek European matches.
Photo credit to Arsenal via Twitter
