Even when things as an Arsenal fan aren't going anything like as well as you'd hope, there is usually the comforting consolation that it is probably a million times worse being a Spurs fan. So, this summer, we had Arsenal losing Thierry Henry and signing nobody of much significance, whilst Spurs splashed £40 million on lots of people. Added to all the uncertainty about Arsenal's ownership (including dodgy Russians), and Wenger's contract expiring within a year (until this piece of fantastic news last week), it wasn't a great summer, and many were predicting that Spurs would overtake "crisis club" Arsenal, to qualify for the Champions League at our expense. Spurs fans even started talking about a "Big Five" (with Spurs in it!), and some sections of the media started referring to this totally fictional (and fanciful) group of clubs.So it was an excellent relief when Spurs lost their first game of the season to a newly promoted team, then lost their second by being comprehensively beaten at home by Everton - this restored the natural order, and quietened Spurs fans down a bit. Then their idiot owners (who seem to think that their natural position is as one of the country's top clubs like Liverpool or Arsenal, rather than in the second tier with Everton and Aston Villa), offered the manager's job to somebody else, but got rejected, and only then "decided" to back their manager after all. In short, there have been comedy capers galore at White Hart Lane so far this season, and most Arsenal fans have been loving the way they seem to self-destruct on cue, just as they might be getting a bit good. An utter PR disaster, and amusement for all Arsenal fans.
Sadly, though, there is no worse time for Arsenal to play Spurs than when they are in a bit of a low like this. Their fans get especially lively (in particular if they see any smirking or hear any giggling from Gooners on the way to the ground) - but they do also make a lot of noise, and the team is usually very up for playing Arsenal, because the fans make it pretty obvious how much it means to them. So even though they aren't much good, it isn't easy against them.
But before we talk about the game, I must just mention something else which shows the size of the gap between Arsenal and Spurs. Now, the Arsenal World of Sport, our shop at Finsbury Park station, isn't the greatest retailing outlet in the world - it is pretty tatty and run down, and probably isn't the ideal building for a football shop. But, just north of White Hart Lane, there used to be a petrol station, which Spurs have creatively turned into an even cheaper and more pikey looking shop. All they have done is just to remove the petrol pumps, and put some Spurs bunting at the edge of the canopy! Few away fans ever see this, as it is at the "wrong" end of the stadium, but Spurs should be ashamed of themselves for such a cheap effort! I would like to think that Arsenal would never do anything so embarrassingly tacky.The game itself was, from one perspective at least, like many that have gone before it, at least in recent years. Spurs took the lead in the first half, and their fans, with amazingly short memories (they always take the lead, but never actually win the game), started acting like they had won the league and relegated Arsenal at the same time. Arsenal, though, came back to equalise in the middle of the second half, and then Spurs collapsed on cue, to let us score a couple more goals, and win the game 3-1. It was nice to actually win the game this time (and sparked celebrations for the rest of the day in the Finsbury Park area), after a couple of recent draws up there, but the theme of Spurs fans celebrating too early was a recurring one.
In the way that we came back to win, there were many positives to take from the game, in particular the goalscoring form of Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor - the latter of whom just can't get enough of scoring against Spurs (like Robert Pires used to). Fabregas scored one and made the other two, and was therefore thoroughly deserved man of the match. Flamini and Toure worked their arses off all game, and Clichy had a good one too. The result took Arsenal top of the league, which is of course a great place to be, even at this very early stage of the season. Without a game against a "Top Four" side until the end of October now, we can hopefully stay there for a while yet.
Looking back, it was a great performance and result, but at the time, it certainly didn't seem easy. We gave the ball away too easily, in bad parts of the pitch - in fact, we gave the ball away incredibly cheaply at times, with some very lame passes that failed to reach their intended targets. And, both teams missed some incredible sitters, as Arsene Wenger noted when he remarked that we had scored all the difficult chances, and missed all the easy ones. Adebayor and Diaby in particular missed fantastic chances, but then again, so did Darren Bent among others for Spurs. If some of the missed chances had gone in, it could have been 5-4 again, like it was a few years ago. You don't expect that sort of openness from a derby game, so it was great to see - even though I'd rather we just scored everything and kept it tight at the back!
Following the good result against Portsmouth, this was another excellent performance and great result, just at the right time. Martin Jol may now get the sack as a result, and the only bad thing is that pundits are now starting to talk Arsenal up as potential title contenders. I think that most Gooners would probably prefer for Arsenal to be off the radar for a while longer - that would help us to get points quietly, and is probably our best chance of mounting a decent title challenge. But, if we have to be top from September, so be it!
Finally, a word about the escape from White Hart Lane. This is usually a dangerous pursuit at the best of times, with the police seemingly unwilling or unable to prevent Gooners coming in for lots of abuse from (usually) angry and suicidal Spurs fans. This time, it all worked a treat - the police arrangements kept Arsenal fans safe, so all we needed to do was blend in by looking miserable during the walk down the road. Whatever the Met Police did this time, I hope they do it again next time!
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