Arsenal 3 Spurs 1 (Carling Cup semi-final, second leg: 5-3 on aggregate)
Denilson conducted interviews this week saying it is his dream to play at The Emirates, hoping one day it would happen. The dream became reality today in superb fashion.
A brilliant all round display from the 18 year old was the highlight of this dramatic victory ” from the kids”.
Senderos with a Butcher bandage round his head from an early clash symbolised the Arsenal spirit. The Emirates needs games like this to suffuse the concrete and aluminium.
You’ve got to hand it to Arsene Wenger. Very brave to risk the wrath of the fans if Spurs were the first team to win at The Emirates.
Arsenal knocked the ball around with aplomb – but didn’t have a real cutting edge, until Rosicky, Fabregas, and Clichy came on in the middle of the second half. Aliadiere and Adebayor played too wide
Almunia dived at the feet of Keane, knocking the ball away when the Irishman was through and then performing an audacious sliding tackle.
Denilson showed the snap in his shooting from a central position, which the England goalkeeper fumbled. Toure reacted first but the ball bounced agonisingly wide.
Hoyte, who showed his family sprinting pedigree, set up Aliadiere who swivelled a shot wide.
Diaby, showing Vieiraesque touches beat several players before unleashing a deflected shot.
I wrote ‘dancing on thin ice’ as a summary of the first half. Arsenal controlled possession – but Spurs had the latent threat. And sure enough Ghaly beat Traore on the left and Malbranque should have opened the scoring with a diving header.
Why Lennon didn’t play was a mystery.
Hoyte found Adebayor on the edge of the area, but his shot was over.
Walcott was finding more space on the right at the beginning of the second half, and in one dangerous break, tried a lob when Aliadiere was unmarked. His decision making needs to improve.
Adebayor had a couple of headers in quick succession. And then the move which sealed the game – Rosicky on for Walcott. The Czech made an immediate impact with his threatening intelligence – setting up Denilson and then hitting a piledriver which Robinson parried.
Clichy had come on for the speedy and impressive Traore, who looked like a cramp victim before the stretcher sounded a potentially more serious injury. [An ANR reader asked today why so many Arsenal players are getting injured, these days].
The Frenchman made some dramatic dribbles down the left, linking with Adebayor and Rosicky. And it was from such a link-up that the first goal arrived. Rosicky, taking a ball from Clichy laid it off to Adebayor, who was having a bit of hit and miss night, looking like he was missing Henry. The Togolese striker showed plenty of coolness however, sidefooting past Robinson into the opposite corner of the net.
The giant looking Huddlestone and Mido came on for Malbranque and Ghaly.
Arsenal started looking very confident stroking the ball around. But with only five minutes left, Denilson was adjudged to have used too much physical force in a shoulder charge on the edge of the area. Jenas sent in a dangerous free kick, and Mido nipped ahead of Toure to glance it past Almunia – to the delight of the thousands of Spurs fans in the lower tier.
Spurs looked ultra dangerous. A sinking feeling was in the air. And Mido was inches away from sealing a Cardiff berth to face the carbon club, after he sent a curler through Senderos and wide of Almunia‘s post. The Ashburton Grove concrete and steel would not have liked that.
A lot of people around didn’t know it would be extra time, thinking the away goals counted at this stage.
Arsenal dominated possession in extra time. Fabregas had a shot and Denilson had another one parried by Robinson.
Towards the end of the half, Denilson sent in a cross and new signing Rocha, stooped, somewhat ridiculously, to head away, but managed to present it to Aliadiere inside the area. The Frenchman saw his moment and hit it with what looked like all the force his frustration over recent months had created. Robinson had no chance.
Wenger spoke several words of encouragement to him on the touchline – which spoke volumes about how he looks after players.
In the second period of extra-time, Arsenal slowed it down, but still managed to create some potent chances. Rosicky ran free in the box and fired into the crossbar – the ball hitting Chimbonda and going over. The icing on the cake.
Arsenal: Almunia, Toure, Hoyte, Senderos, Traore, (Clichy 63) Gilberto, Denilson, Diaby, (Fabregas 79) Walcott (Rosicky 63) Aliadiere, Adebayor. Subs not used
Poom, Flamini
Tottenham Hotspur: Robinson, Gardner (Rocha 73), Dawson, Chimbonda, Assou-Ekotto, Jenas, Ghaly, (Huddlestone 80), Zokora, Malbranque (Mido 80), Defoe, Keane. Subs not used: Cerny, Lennon