"It was a derby but it was also a clash of emerging narratives, which is always a confusing, if thrilling, moment for the great soap opera of the Premier League. In the end, Tottenham's haplessness prevailed over the idea that Arsenal might be inveterate bottlers, fated to let another title race get away from them. But there was a time in the first half when it seemed like it might be a close-run thing."
"It shouldn't have been. Arsenal are better than Spurs. They outplayed Tottenham for long periods. They had 20 chances to Spurs' six. They won 4-1 and could easily have won by more. But bottling takes no account of that; indeed, the better the side play the more certain it is that they are bottling if they somehow fail to win."
"As Declan Rice went in the space of two minutes from pointing at his temples to encourage his teammates to stay switched on after taking the lead, to waving his hands in apology after giving the ball away as Spurs equalised, it was possible to think there could be a stumble. Rice, with the melancholy flop of his hair, gives the impression of a first world war poet, doomed despite his brilliance."
Arsenal dominated large periods of the derby, creating 20 chances to Tottenham's six and winning 4-1 while they could easily have scored more. For the third league game in a row, and fourth in six, Arsenal conceded within ten minutes of scoring, leaving their halftime parity hard to explain. Declan Rice swung from urging teammates to stay focused to apologising after a turnover that led to Spurs' equaliser, embodying the tension around Arsenal's form. Tottenham displayed deep problems under new manager Igor Tudor and sit four points above the relegation zone. None of West Ham, Nottingham Forest or Leeds won.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]