When the fixtures for the season are first announced, the first match that Arsenal fans look for is the North London derby. Following some very poor performances by Arsenal in recent weeks, it was refreshing to see an accomplished performance against the old enemy.

Early worry

Arsenal started the game completely on the back foot in the early kick-off, with Spurs completely dominating proceedings. Former Gunners striker Adebayor put the opposition in front when Szczesny, a welcome sight back in goal for the first time in nearly two months, parried a Defoe shot into his path for him to stroke into the goal. Things continued to look worrying when Lennon dragged a shot just wide moments later.

Turning Point

With Arsenal haven been clearly dominated up to now, the turning point arrived through an unlikely source, Emmanuel Adebayor. Though a much derived figure to Gunners fans, his sending off for the awful tackle on Santi Cazorla may well kick start our season.

The tackle, which was high, late and simply appalling, signalled a straight red for the striker, and revitalised Arsenal’s fans and players, giving us momentum for the first time in the game.

Dominance

Shortly after the dismissal, Mertesacker headed in a brilliant equaliser from Theo Walcott’s goal, resulting in an eruption of noise by the Emirates crowd, only to be followed shortly after by Giroud producing a very good save from the Spurs keeper.

Arsenal’s pressure began to grow, and we went ahead through a deflected Podolski effort that seemed to take an eternity to cross the goal-line. This was then followed up before the break by a Giroud goal, after an excellent piece of work and cross by Cazorla.

Arsenal continued to flourish after the break and should have scored more goals than they did as Santi Cazorla got his richly deserved goal on the hour mark. At this point Arsenal were playing some beautiful football, reminiscing of past times under Wenger, however the sloppiness soon crept in, and the inevitable goal by Bale gave the away fans some belief. This goal proved futile however, as Arsenal continued their excellence, and after fine work from substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott added a fifth to the score line to equal last year’s result.

Key Performances

Though the Arsenal team really put in a shift today, and actually looked at times as if they were proud to be wearing the shirt, a couple of players really stood out today. Laurent Koscielny was imperious in defence as he made many crucial last ditch tackles and prevented Spurs from scoring many more. It was by far his best performance of the season and reminded us of his great performances from last year

Santi Cazorla looked refreshed today as he played an outstanding game. A dynamic performance from the midfielder who got a goal and an assist to his name today, and showed why he is a truly class player.

A notable mention must also go to Adebayor. His sending off really changed the game, and really screwed Spurs over, just what you want really.

More Positives

After the sending off, Arsenal played with such confidence and belief that you were reminded of the good old days under Wenger, with some really stylish football being played. A nice change from the Arsenal side who had been struggling to string effective passes together recently.

A shout out must also go to the Arsenal fans inside the Emirates who, for the most part, provided an electric atmosphere to the game. I haven’t seen Arsenal fans this passionate at the stadium since perhaps the Spurs game last season, or when we beat Barca 2-1 a couple of years back.

Last season’s 5-2 thrashing of Spurs proved to be our turning point with us winning 8 of the next 9 games, let’s hope that this performance can again reignite our season, and propel us on to greater things.

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