By Myles Palmer
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Arsenal 2 Tottenham 1
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Ljungberg 24, Sheringham 81 (pen). Lauren 86(pen)
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Edu was the best player on the field on Saturday.
The Brazilian gets better with every game, as you do when you discover your role within a team.
He won 50/50 tackles, went inside people, outside people, laid the ball off cleverly and hit two fabulous passes. One flew 70 yards from left to right and dropped a yard in front of Wiltord.
Edu is a very good playmaker and a nice guy with no ego.
Overall, it was tension-filled game on a very windy day.And Arsenal did not play as well as usual.
Spurs, starting with 4-4-2 in the first half,were negative, playing for set-pieces because they knew they could not score in open play.
And they clearly set out to provoke Sol and Patrick .
Poyet, Sheringham and Sherwood were booked for fouls on Vieira, who was clearly holding back in case he got a 10th yellow card.
Vieira played simply and kept his cool, as I thought he would.
Overall, Bergkamp had an off-day but he still produced three sublimely weighted defence-splitting passes to Ljungberg in the first 24 minutes.
The first followed Edu’s superb long pass to Henry,who gave it to Bergkamp,who fed Freddie’s run beautifully, but the Swede telegraphed his sidefoot shot and Kasey Keller made a low save.
When Anderton cleared that attack, Edu won the ball back on the halfway line and found Bergkamp again.
His next slide-rule pass split Perry and King and gave Freddie his trademark goal, a left-footed stab past the advancing Keller,whose boot just touched the ball as it went in.
Later on DB10 looked tired when he was taken off, so that was a good call.
Parlour came on, tanked into a couple of tackles, made the game more like a derby by cranking up the tempo.
Thierry Henry was showboating again, after seeming to play more for the team in the last two games against Sunderland and Charlton.
His corners either hit the first defender or went too far. He never puts the ball in the mixer.Adams and Campbell trundle up every time but the ball never reaches them, never gives them a chance.Edu’s inswingers from the other side were better.
The Spurs penalty came from a crafty lofted pass into the box by Sherwood.
The ball bounced, Poyet missed his left-foot volley and the cautiously advancing Seaman gently collided with him.
Sky’s Sunday morning pundit Chris Kamara pointed out that Seaman closed his eyes because the volley might hit him in the face and his momentum took him clumsily into the Uruguayan.
Having seen a dozen replays, both players bottled it.
Seaman could have come sooner and caught the ball in both hands without diving, as it bounced waist-high.
His hesitation surprised Poyet, who took his eye off a ball which could have been in Seaman’s hands by then – and then missed his volley.
Either that or Poyet was cute enough to realise it was an iffy angle, so he played for the contact,jumping into Seaman.
Verdict ? They both bottled it.The contact came after the ball was long gone, so many people have said it was harsh. But, for me, it WAS a penalty.
At the other end, Wiltord’s shot was blocked by Perry and as Henry went for the loose ball Dean Richards lunged across him with his right foot and hauled him down.
The nearest Arsenal players,Kanu and Wiltord, did not appeal.They were looking to see where the ball had gone.
Inevitably, everyone said : If the ref hadn’t given the first penalty he wouldn’t have given the second one.
Henry had missed his last two penalties against Deportivo and Juventus reserves.
Halsey insisted Henry went off for treatment and most Gooners were relieved that he was NOT going to take it.
Lauren had picked up the ball and gone over to speak to Henry as he was on the ground receiving the treatment from Gary Lewin.
I knew Lauren had the bottle to take a pressure penalty.He is Mr Cool from the spot.
He waited for the twitching Keller to move to his right and then rolled it down the middle, just beating the keeper’s foot.
2-1 to the Arsenal !!!!!
A huge win !
Eight Premiership wins in a row!
Everton, Fulham,Newcastle, Derby,Aston Villa, Sunderland, Charlton and Spurs!
And Arsenal have kept FIVE CLEAN SHEETS in those eight games.
FIVE CLEAN SHEETS !!!!
Sure, they had a little bit of luck again, as they did when Euell missed an early sitter at Charlton.
Freddie had a tremendous game. Last week I put him down for three goals in seven games, which now seems a very conservative prediction. He has netted twice already and looks as if he might score in every game.
Mark Schwarzer, watch out!
If Patrick Vieira gets a yellow card on Sunday against
Middlesbrough he will miss two games.
Henry and Ljungberg are on four yellows, so they will get a one game ban if they pick up a fifth booking.
After Sunday, yellows don’t matter.
The media now reckon Arsenal will walk the Double.
We shall see. Nothing is certain in football and the circumstances of every match are different.
There will be more bananaskins and traumas to come in the remaining 23 days of April.
The semi-final?
Middlesbrough are improving.But their midfield is weak without Ince, who is suspended.
I know I have made far too many cocky predictions already this season.
But here is one more : I envisage an Arsenal-Chelsea FA Cup Final on a sunny day in Cardiff.
With Edu showing Lampard how Brazilians pass a ball.
7th April 2002.