EPL 2005: Day 13 (Tottenham 4 – Arsenal 5)
Posted by Pierre Igot in: FootballNovember 13th, 2004 • 6:55 am
Well, that was quite the game, wasn’t it? We missed the first half here because of a snow storm, but it looks like most of the action was in the second half anyway… After a 1-1 draw in the first half, the Gunners went ahead by 2 goals, not once, not twice, but three times, only to see the Spurs get back in it almost right away every time.
There were some fantastic goals, and it must have been hugely disappointing for Tottenham fans to finish the game with nothing to show for all their work in terms of points. Still, Arsenal had the edge, with awesome performances by the likes of Freddie Ljunberg, Cesc Fabregas and Patrick Vieira. Reyes took a beating as usual, and Thierry Henry had a sub-par game, but the rest of the team made up for it in terms of attacking flair and spirit.
Defensively, however, even the most die-hard Arsenal fan will have to concede that all is not well, and that we cannot afford to be so sloppy, because we are never going to score as many goals against every EPL team or in Europe. It looks like Wenger will definitely have to take out his cheque book in January, and not go for young rising stars this time. With Sol Campbell’s recurring injury, we simply don’t have enough depth in the back, and it was evident again today.
Chelsea, on the other hand, have not had any problems in that department this season. They’ve only conceded 4 goals all season (!), and none of them were easy goals. And now that they are finding their form in attack as well, with the likes of Robben and Gudjohnsen wreaking havoc, there are reasons to worry for the Gunners. Chelsea were quite fortunate to accumulate so many points early in the season without playing all that well, but there’s nothing that can be done about that now — and with the depth of their owner’s pockets and of the resulting Chelsea squad, it would be rather hopeful to expect the London millionaires to lose steam over the course of the season.
This is turning more and more into a two-horse race and, with the increasing pressure on Arsenal to deliver in the Champions’ League, the next few weeks are going to be challenging indeed.