Jens Lehmann- Made some excellent saves when one on one with Postiga in the first half and looked pretty solid as usual. He had a quite a few disputes with some of the Tottenham players, and is certainly a bit of a hot-head, but we knew that when we bought him. Good performance, goal not his fault. 7/10
Lauren- Before I say this, I have to make clear that I do quite like Lauren as our right-back. However, today he was very poor. He almost gave away 2 goals in the first half with bad back passes but Lehmann saved his blushes. He was just not at the races today, neother going forward nor in defence. 4/10
Sol Campbell- OK but I thought the whole defence looked pretty shaky in the first half, and he must take some responsibilty for this when he is the senior member of this defence. However, he made an important block from a ledley king pull back early in the second half. As usual looks uncomfortable bringing the ball out of defence and strikers now know this and hassle him. He sometimes tries passes that he shouldn't. 6/10
Kolo Toure- Once again one of our top performers. The guy is amazing. He might have been slightly unlucky with the first goal, but I'm not sure. He adapted well when moved to right-back in the second half and for the first 20 minutes of that half he looked like the only one that wanted it. Overall though, I was happy with his performance. 8/10
Ashley Cole- Might have been slightly tired after Wednesday night's exertions but he didn't show it. He defended reasonably well but didn't get forward like he usually does. He made some good tackles though, and it was clear that he is a true Arsenal fan and hated those Sp**s.
Freddie Ljungberg- Not a bad performance from Freddie and a great goal (ahem..)! He is not an out and out winger in any way though and doesn't put the ball in early enough or with enough quality from that flank. His dribbling and passing has definitely improved since the double season but he poses little threat in one on one situations against a full back. We still love him. 6/10
Gilberto- I was just beginning to come round to Gilberto having been and Edu-ist for ages. But today, he showed little appetite for the battle, some of his passing was sub-standard, he didn't get forward and didn't really make any impression. Amazingly, Wenger saw this and took him off rather than Parlour for once. Good move. 4/10
Ray Parlour- I am a big fan of the man, even if he is not the most creative player going forward. Today, he played OK and his pass to Henry which set up the first goal was very good. He made some good tackles as usual and showed spirit but did not play to his usual standard. However, he made no glaring errors that I saw and did OK. 6/10
Robert Pires- Had quite a good game today but was maybe slightly tired after his performance in midweek. I thought that, on one occasion in the first half, nearer the end, he went over way too easy having knocked the ball past Carr and that was a shame to see. Unsurprisingly, Halsey got it wrong and gave us a free-kick. Nevertheless, he finished his goal well and posed more threat going forward than any of our midfielders. 7/10
Thierry Henry- Man did he scare me today. When Carr caught him in the thoat (inadvertently I hope) he went off and I was quite worried. When Lewin came over, he was down and shaking and I began to think of Marc-Vivien Foe. I thought he swallowed his tongue or something but before long he was on his feet, telling the stretcher to piss off. Boy, is he Arsenal through and through. Not up to his usual standard at all in the game so I am going to have to give him only a 5 1/2.
Nwankwo Kanu- I was reasonably pleased to see him start today and he did OK. He is not all that good with his back to goal as a target man of sorts and did better when he came deep later on and found some good passes. He is clearly not quite ready to be playing as starter yet cos he is not match-sharp but today I thought he deserved a 6.
Substitutes
Dennis Bergkamp- Today I saw a role for Bergkamp after Christmas. Providing we buy a striker of sorts after Christmas, Dennis can still have a role coming on as a sub in Midfield with 20-30 mins to go. At this time, the game is stretched, Bergkamp can find space and pick the right passes cos he can see them like no-one else. This is what he did today and the fact that he came on changed the game. 7 1/2
Pascal Cygan- When he came on, I was worried. But he proved quite reliable today. He is good in the air and has a lovely left foot. Didn't make a mistake at all in his 20 mins on the pitch but then again, Tottenham posed little threat going forward. Not bad. 6/10
Edu- only played for like 5 minutes. 5
I thought that this was a crucial result today, as the result in London derbies like this always is. We played the worst we have this season for the first 65 minutes, apart from the first half of the Man City game. Tottenham were not much better in my opinion. They didn't really create much and we gave them their goal and their two other chances. However, they frustrated us with a hardworking display. We, admittedly, were quite lacklustre and, as I thought we might be, looked tired after Wednesday's difficulties against Kiev.
Unfortunately for them, after 65 minutes of defending their lead, they looked a bit tired and we came at them, with the help of Wenger's inspired substitute, Dennis Bergkamp. We got lots of luck, with rumours that Henry and Pires were offside for the first goal and seeing the second took an outrageous deflection. A draw would probably have been a fair result in the end, but class told and we came up trumps. Not a great game to watch but derbies rarely are.
We are now 4 points clear and the pressure is on Man Utd and Chelsea to win their tough fixtures tomorrow. I am hoping for a draw for at least one of tomorrow's games.
Come on Newcastle and Liverpool!
Lauren- Before I say this, I have to make clear that I do quite like Lauren as our right-back. However, today he was very poor. He almost gave away 2 goals in the first half with bad back passes but Lehmann saved his blushes. He was just not at the races today, neother going forward nor in defence. 4/10
Sol Campbell- OK but I thought the whole defence looked pretty shaky in the first half, and he must take some responsibilty for this when he is the senior member of this defence. However, he made an important block from a ledley king pull back early in the second half. As usual looks uncomfortable bringing the ball out of defence and strikers now know this and hassle him. He sometimes tries passes that he shouldn't. 6/10
Kolo Toure- Once again one of our top performers. The guy is amazing. He might have been slightly unlucky with the first goal, but I'm not sure. He adapted well when moved to right-back in the second half and for the first 20 minutes of that half he looked like the only one that wanted it. Overall though, I was happy with his performance. 8/10
Ashley Cole- Might have been slightly tired after Wednesday night's exertions but he didn't show it. He defended reasonably well but didn't get forward like he usually does. He made some good tackles though, and it was clear that he is a true Arsenal fan and hated those Sp**s.
Freddie Ljungberg- Not a bad performance from Freddie and a great goal (ahem..)! He is not an out and out winger in any way though and doesn't put the ball in early enough or with enough quality from that flank. His dribbling and passing has definitely improved since the double season but he poses little threat in one on one situations against a full back. We still love him. 6/10
Gilberto- I was just beginning to come round to Gilberto having been and Edu-ist for ages. But today, he showed little appetite for the battle, some of his passing was sub-standard, he didn't get forward and didn't really make any impression. Amazingly, Wenger saw this and took him off rather than Parlour for once. Good move. 4/10
Ray Parlour- I am a big fan of the man, even if he is not the most creative player going forward. Today, he played OK and his pass to Henry which set up the first goal was very good. He made some good tackles as usual and showed spirit but did not play to his usual standard. However, he made no glaring errors that I saw and did OK. 6/10
Robert Pires- Had quite a good game today but was maybe slightly tired after his performance in midweek. I thought that, on one occasion in the first half, nearer the end, he went over way too easy having knocked the ball past Carr and that was a shame to see. Unsurprisingly, Halsey got it wrong and gave us a free-kick. Nevertheless, he finished his goal well and posed more threat going forward than any of our midfielders. 7/10
Thierry Henry- Man did he scare me today. When Carr caught him in the thoat (inadvertently I hope) he went off and I was quite worried. When Lewin came over, he was down and shaking and I began to think of Marc-Vivien Foe. I thought he swallowed his tongue or something but before long he was on his feet, telling the stretcher to piss off. Boy, is he Arsenal through and through. Not up to his usual standard at all in the game so I am going to have to give him only a 5 1/2.
Nwankwo Kanu- I was reasonably pleased to see him start today and he did OK. He is not all that good with his back to goal as a target man of sorts and did better when he came deep later on and found some good passes. He is clearly not quite ready to be playing as starter yet cos he is not match-sharp but today I thought he deserved a 6.
Substitutes
Dennis Bergkamp- Today I saw a role for Bergkamp after Christmas. Providing we buy a striker of sorts after Christmas, Dennis can still have a role coming on as a sub in Midfield with 20-30 mins to go. At this time, the game is stretched, Bergkamp can find space and pick the right passes cos he can see them like no-one else. This is what he did today and the fact that he came on changed the game. 7 1/2
Pascal Cygan- When he came on, I was worried. But he proved quite reliable today. He is good in the air and has a lovely left foot. Didn't make a mistake at all in his 20 mins on the pitch but then again, Tottenham posed little threat going forward. Not bad. 6/10
Edu- only played for like 5 minutes. 5
I thought that this was a crucial result today, as the result in London derbies like this always is. We played the worst we have this season for the first 65 minutes, apart from the first half of the Man City game. Tottenham were not much better in my opinion. They didn't really create much and we gave them their goal and their two other chances. However, they frustrated us with a hardworking display. We, admittedly, were quite lacklustre and, as I thought we might be, looked tired after Wednesday's difficulties against Kiev.
Unfortunately for them, after 65 minutes of defending their lead, they looked a bit tired and we came at them, with the help of Wenger's inspired substitute, Dennis Bergkamp. We got lots of luck, with rumours that Henry and Pires were offside for the first goal and seeing the second took an outrageous deflection. A draw would probably have been a fair result in the end, but class told and we came up trumps. Not a great game to watch but derbies rarely are.
We are now 4 points clear and the pressure is on Man Utd and Chelsea to win their tough fixtures tomorrow. I am hoping for a draw for at least one of tomorrow's games.
Come on Newcastle and Liverpool!
