Return of The Arsenal

Today was a good day to be an Arsenal supporter. The squad fought hard, played well, and won convincingly. We finished the day 3-0 with two well placed penalties from our captain Gilberto. Tottenham looked completely lost in the midfield and especially in the back, which allowed the Arsenal to apply constant, frustrating pressure.

Cesc Fabregas, Freddie Ljungberg, Robin Van Persie, and Adebayor were today’s stand-outs. Cesc dominated the midfield by constantly showing himself for the defense, holding possession under stress, and jump-starting the offense with decisive passes and movement forward. Ljungberg reclaimed his status as a rugged, determined player willing to do whatever it takes, anywhere on the pitch.

Robin Van Persie and Adebayor partnered together up front and looked very comfortable together. They played smart passes to each other to trouble the defense and create opportunities along the wings. However, the most important contribution from RVP and Adebayor was their constant pressure. Tottenham’s defense never had a moment to relax or even think about how to get the ball out of trouble. This pressure resulted in several turnovers that we successfully turned into offensive counters time and time again.

Clichy was quite strong in both holding up play along his flank and driving forward. On the other side, Eboue worked extremely well with Ljungberg when pressing forward. Unfortunately Rosicky looked a bit lost today, giving up several errant passes and not causing much trouble. He did make the drive that got us our first penalty and second goal though.

Our stalwart captain netted two penalties and otherwise had a very strong game. He cleaned up well in the middle and added extra support to the back line. Djourou and Toure looked confident in the middle and they both put in another great performance. I believe Djourou was cheered while on the ball several times. Good for him.

For more player ratings, I recommend Goodplaya as always.

The determination of the Arsenal in this match is what won it for us. We fought hard for every ball and retained possession well. Add to that a consistent and dominant defensive showing and you have what truly was a magnificent Arsenal performance.

I saw more fans leaving early in the 80th and 85th. After such a thrilling performance against our most despised rivals, you’d think people would stay in their goddamned seats till the end. Oh well, the rest of you lot sure sounded like 60,000 strong regardless, so cheers to the ones that stuck it out.