Result: Sp*rs 3-0 Arsenal
Competition: Premier League
Date: 12 May 2022
Venue: White Hart Lane
Arsenal: Ramsdale, Cedric, Holding, Gabriel, Tomiyasu, Xhaka, Elneny, Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah
Subs: Leno, Tavares, Swanson, White, Lokonga, Patino, Smith Rowe, Pepe, Lacazette
Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League with a win at White Hart Lane were crushed in ruthless style by Sp*rs who took advantage of Rob Holding’s first half red card to secure a 3-0 victory.
The centre-back was sent off for a succession of fouls on Heung Min Son not long after Harry Kane had given the home side the lead from the spot. Kane piled on the misery with a close-range header before the break and Son added to the scoreline within two minutes of the restart.
Arsenal now have to regroup for Monday’s trip to Newcastle, by that point Sp*rs could have leapfrogged us in the table with a win over Burnley. It’s all to play for, despite a horrible night.
Pre-game
Having missed two games with a hamstring issue, Ben White returned to the squad but was only deemed fit enough for the bench. That meant Mikel Arteta stuck with the same XI that started against Leeds United on Sunday with Rob Holding and Gabriel in the middle of defence and Cedric and Tomiyasu playing on the right and left respectively. On the bench, youngsters Zac Swanson and Charlie Patino got the nod alongside a host of familiar names.
First Half
On a night when we knew the atmosphere was going to feisty, Mikel Arteta’s players needed to keep their heads, work their way into the game and, ideally, start to play football that would dampen the hopes of the packed house.
We started brightly, keeping the ball well and probing down both flanks. Martinelli and Nketiah both attacked the box inside two minutes and our high press was effective. That was about as good as it got as things quickly unravelled for us.
It was clear that the right side of our defence was concerned by the pace of Son, and Holding, harking back to the 2017 FA Cup final, attempted to deal with the Korean by dishing out the Diego Costa treatment. He left one on the attacker after an early coming together and then got caught up in another scuffle not long after. At this point, somebody needed to have a word with him. A third foul was always going to earn him a yellow.
The treatment just served to rile up the crowd further and Conte’s men stepped up the pressure. They broke the deadlock midway through the half after referee Paul Tierney adjudged Cedric to have barged Son as the striker tried to connect with a Kulusevski crossed at the back post. There were plenty of complaints from the men in red but VAR didn’t even bother to review it. Kane took the ball and promptly sent Ramsdale the wrong way. (1-0)
It didn’t take long for things to go from bad to worse. Four minutes after the goal Holding again went in on Son to pick up the most inevitable booking of all time. Seven minutes after that, he was off. Concerned that Son was going to latch onto a long ball, he stepped across the striker with his shoulder leaving him poleaxed on the floor. He was sent for an early bath by Tierney. Rather than bring on White, who was clearly not fit enough to play an hour, Arteta asked Tomiyasu to partner Gabriel with Xhaka moving to left-back.
By that point, we were lucky to only be one goal behind. Tomiyasu had produced an incredible block to deny Kane, who was finding more space having been shackled well by Elneny in the early stages. The England international wasn’t to be denied for long. On 36 minutes, he pounced at the back post after Bentancur had headed on a corner. (2-0)
While Nketiah and Odegaard had half-chances in the closing stages of the half, the game was gone.
Second half
If Leeds had given us a blueprint on Sunday as to how to approach a game in such dire circumstances, we didn’t follow it. Within two minutes of the restart, Kane caused havoc in the box and Son tucked home the loose ball to put the game out of sight. (3-0)
Saka had a chance to reduce the deficit but was denied by a Davies block before Sp*rs settled into long spells of possession greeted by olés from the terraces. Ramsdale made fine stops to keep out Emerson’s header and a 30-yarder from Kane before Son missed a sitter.
Arteta switched things up just past the hour mark, sending Smith Rowe on for Martinelli. Not long after Lacazette was sent on for Nketiah, who had run himself into the ground for no reward.
Penned in and with one eye on keeping the score down rather than pushing forward, we seemed happy enough making long clearances and letting the clock tick over.
What we absolutely did not want to happen was another defensive injury but, of course, that’s what we got. With 15 minutes remaining, Gabriel went down holding the back of his leg. We were never going to risk White, so Tavares was thrown into the fray and Xhaka moved to centre-back with Tomiyasu. They might have to play together again on Monday.
Tavares created a chance for Odegaard almost immediately but the Norwegian’s crisp effort was straight at Lloris. He later went in the book, as did Smith Rowe and Xhaka.
As the game petered out, the away end emptied and there was further gloating from the home support. Having been on the receiving end of similar treatment at the Emirates in September, it was hardly a surprise that they enjoyed their moment.
We dreamed of a Hollywood ending to a roller-coaster season. Instead, we got a horror show. Luckily, there’s time to rectify the situation. Arteta has a huge job refocusing minds in the next 72 hours.
We will be the butt of the jokes for the next few days. Bottle jobs. Same old Arsenal. Cue #ArtetaOut brigade. Laughing emoji, laughing emoji, blah blah blah. But fuck them all. Let’s stand up for our boys. We aren’t a perfect team. Not even nearly. We went into this game as equals, missing a CB, LB and DCM. How many players do Sp*rs have out right now? Yeah. We could turn. We could lament the lack of January transfers, postponements, tactics, individual errors… The list goes on. But the lads don’t need that. If we can’t pick the boys… Read more »
Preach 🙌🏼
We were still in at one nil down even after the liability Cedric (always prone to do this) gave away penalty. It was so obvious holding was gonna get another yellow. He was pathetic tonight. Arteta needed to react before it happened.
That’s critique not negativity. Are we allowed to critique on a blog or is woke now 🤓
People downvote you and ‘woke’ is what comes to mind? Holding is a senior player and should have been better.
Thumbed you down for saying “woke”…
Agreed. We could do without parroting those kind of insults.
As Son commit to chase the ball , his head meeting Holding shoulder is as much his responsibility as Holding bumping him. Poor refereeing
Should have subbed in white on first yellow
White clearly was not fit to play so long in such an intense game. Better he be protected for crucial final two games.
This blog is obviously written by a BBC watching, guardian reading , communist liberal. So no critique is not allowed.
Damn liberal communists always ruining football related forums with their politics
Especially the communist liberals like blogs, he is especially anti critique. Must really have been overindulging in the guardian and BBC. nothing but communist liberal propaganda in this blog!
Get off it.
FFS.
Downvoting is critiquing your post.
How exactly?
Well at that time white was on bench and one presumes is fit. Make a sub. Or maybe switch tomy over to right back to support. This is not clever in hindsight I and a few others in me little Arsenal WhatsApp group were calling it.
By doing what? Bringing on Tavares for Holding in the 25th minute? Come on, man!
How about white who was on bench or switching tomy with Cedric may have helped.
White clearly not fit or he would have played, and we have to have him healthy Monday.
Tomi played shit as well, the back 4 played badly from the start of the game. Holding has enough experience to not make that challenge, arteta can’t see into the future.
Are you mad , Artetas or any manager job is to see into the future! , that is what a football manager job Is , ( in general Arteta doing a brilliant job this season, after first three matches)
Completely agree. Support our team. 2 games to go. COYG
Wise words Jonny. Terrible night but we were never going to do it the easy way. And I’d still rather be in our position than theirs.
A bit over the top buddy.
It was a frustrating watch but it’s a loss that the team can “afford”. Not bothered about the result seeing as the home side usually wins this derby.
One positive to take away from the game is that our attacking threat remained even after the Red card. It’s only Tottenham but it’s a stark contrast to how we played when Xhaka was sent off against City. Now THAT’S genuine progress.
On to the Newcastle game. Goodnight.
Incredible post.
This isn’t a time for division. This is a time for unity.
Two games. Newcastle are on the beach. Everton probably safe.
Oh to, oh to be, oh to be a, GOONER!!!!
Plus, I’m interested to see how Sp*rs fare against Burnley. Not an easy game. Really not a team you want to play at a crucial time in the season, especially when they are in a relegation dogfight.
Easy win for spurs there they momentum now
That’s what you say – but this is tottenham
Cracking post. Two more wins and we finish 4th and there’s nothing the spuds or biased media can do about it. Really tough but it’s in our own hands.
Brilliant
What a load of rancid shit. Fuck this day in its entirety.
Our expectations were low
but holy fuck.
Ref’s a cunt tho.
Paul Tierney is a disgrace to his federation
I dont care what anyone says. No fucking way thats a penalty. That happens a million times in a game. Not a red either. Funny how Son is about as tall as holding, yet managed to get holdings non lifted elbow to his face. Fuckin cunt. If anything he should have gotten a straight red for his elbow on holding earlier in the game. Cant believe the various “fans” calling out our own players when the game was clearly ruined by the officials. Yet as always well get labeled bottle jobs or whatever.
The penalty was borderline but it was a clear red for Holding.
Tottenham 3, Arteta 0
Laughable – did Arteta seize hold of Holding’s elbow?
Not sure that Arteta is to blame here. Poor day’s work for Holding. Bit of a soft penalty. But Arteta has got us to brink of top 4 and it ain’t over yet.
He didn’t even touch your penalty box
See a fool
That’s crap.
We win together and we lose together.
#Gooners
Well that was a tad annoying. Let’s draw a very thick line under that one and do the business in the last two games please our club.
Lads need telling to forget that game & focus on Monday night. Tonight changes nothing cause we probably would’ve need wins from Newcastle & Everton anyway so it’s still in our, admittedly, clammy palms. Fucked defensively Monday night if that was more then just cramp for Gabby though
On the U.S. coverage they didn’t know for the longest time what to show in the replays for the penalty. They thought it was hand ball on Holding, foul by Holding, then finally guessed that it must’ve been Cedric. Fucking joke of a call by that balder fatter Iniesta-looking motherfucker.
Total bullshit penalty. I watched the replay over and over and could hardly see what the problem was supposed to be. Son’s trajectory was not significantly altered and players often collide slightly when challenging for a ball. It’s not a no-contact sport.
It was a penalty.
Was a pen. Shut up.
Looked weak to me. There was some contract but it is a contract sport. Son made the most of it (as anyone would) and convinced the ref. But while that could be a foul at the halfway line… seems one that most refs let go in a penalty box and particularly a heated derby. But whatever. Will enjoy beating them to fourth just about as much if the boys can pull it off.
The kind of pen only a home side can get.
The spurs guy Sessegnon or whatever the fuck he is, shouted handball to the ref
Then there was Kane asking for a handball & VAR review against his own team mate in the second half 🤣
Least you didn’t have to listen to Gary Neville & the rest of Tottenham Hotspur TV. Jesus, only way they could’ve been more obvious in who they wanted to win is if they’d joined in singing Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur 😖 . As for Tierney, he loves being the star in games involving us, definitely auditioning to fill that role now Mike Dean is retiring
The penalty was pretty harsh, but you could see the Holding sending off coming well before it happened. Sometime you have to accept everything went for the other team and our luck was out.
We still have the advantage, so there is no time to feel sorry for ourselves.
Agreed. Thought Holding was having a little too much fun with the shithousery on Son and then it backfired.
I did enjoy his “reducers”. 20 years ago they would have been fine.
It was so obvious Holding was heading for a red card. He was really struggling to contain Son. Arteta should have taken him off after the first yellow.
Its a derby game, you give the first few fouls and have a word before dishing out cards.
Also why no var check on son elbowing holding head? thats violent play and a straight red.
‘Its a derby game, you give the first few fouls and have a word before dishing out cards.’
Which the ref did. No one to blame but Holding. I like him but he had a mare tonight.
He did indeed have a mare, not saying he didnt.
But his first yellow is harsh for the timing, contact and context.
But it was his 3rd foul. Nothing said to him after first, got a clear warning from ref on 2nd & got his first yellow on 3rd. He can’t complain.
Agree, he got away with one that was a yellow before he got booked.
Fuck’em. Let them have their little 3-0 party. Ain’t over yet, chaps
Hard to find encouragement after that mess. But this team has been more than the sum of it’s parts all season long. That’s why we’re still in the driving seat.
Stay focused lads
2 crucial games to play under massive pressure now.
Once again that problem with discipline rears its ugly head -the wrong side of the line between being fired up and boiling over. Holding lost his head and ruined the game.
It’s not a problem with discipline. It’s a problem with farcical officiating.
Sleep paralysis but instead of a demon witch coming towards you it’s Gary Neville repeatedly saying how professional Son is
Gary Neville can take a hot chilli and stuff it up his jacksy
Show him the real Red Devil
Or even more terrifying it’s an endless stream of Cedric crosses aimed at fucking no one
That ducking Twat is the reason I have had to mute the tv for most of the games this season.
Christ I’d love to kick seven colours of shit out of him. The little manc wank.
*fucking Twat
I assume Gary Neville & the rest of Tottenham Hotspur TV will be sharing a bottle of red with Levy in the boardroom tonight. Sky performance was almost as disgraceful as ours, surprised they didn’t start joining in with the Spurs fans songs, they were that far up their arse
Shit result but still in our hands. Hard game coming up but would have bitten your hand off to be in this situation if you’d have asked me at the beginning of the season so time to dig deep for Monday. COYG
My hate for Son has reached new levels. What an absolute cunt of the highest order. Yes, I’m being a baby. Doesn’t change that he’s a conman and dirty player and a child on top of it. Seeing his smug satisfaction is poison to me.
I fucking hate him more than Alli and that is a lot of hate
Geezer’s a baller we’d like him.
Son is a very professional wind-up merchant and provokator who knows his trade right down to the most miniscule details. A trader of the ‘dark arts’ and his English croney Shitizen Kane is also of the same tribe. Unfortunately, our players don’t seem to have insight or knowledge to negate these kind of players who partake of this sporting attitude. Like- not street-wise, too trusting towards the officials and not playing to the whistle. They’d better learn- and quickly, please!
I don’t usually get emotional but that is tough to take. If Holding/Cedric/Eddie/Elneny get us to the promised land, I will remember them fondly. But they must be disposed of in the summer regardless. We need to upgrade if we’re going to be where we want to be.
Totally agree but Elneny good back up. The other 3 😫
Don’t forget about Tavares, if we have a decent LB back-up, there won’t be any Cedric in this game.
We just need to remember we put three past those cunts earlier in the season and we didn’t need any help from the referee. Let’s beat Newcastle and Everton and then we can enjoy a good fucking laugh at those Sp*rs cunts.
It is the hope that kills you. The biggest Tottenham win in PrL history. Of course it had to happen tonight.
At times it seems like we either win games or loose in a way where we almost don’t show up.
Why was Martinelli substituted? He seemed to be providing at least some threat
We have a must-win game Monday.
The game was over. Save him for Monday.
he also had an injury, you could see him limping for about 10 minutes before the sub
So that he can get us champions league in the next two games.
It hurts enough to lose this game.
To lose it thanks to two terrible decisions by the ref is even worse
Tierney is a cxxt but Cedric decision to tackle like that was a penalty and holding was two yellows.
I told you we’d lose, didn’t I? We never, ever do anything the easy way.
Don’t worry: we’ll beat Newcastle and Everton to nick fourth. And Spuds will probably drop points against Burnley.
BTW: Ref=cu*t: it was never a penalty.
Holding =brainless: he cost us the game
I sincerely hope you’re right.
Both games won’t be easy, but we’re still in with a big shout.
To be honest, despite the bravado, I always had an uneasy feeling about tonight. This young team aren’t ready for the massive do or die games. But that’s not to say they don’t deserve top four after the way they have rallied all season.
Let’s hope we can regroup and get our shit together before Monday night.
Yeah…exactly. For me I don’t want us going to the champions league…we don’t have the player for that. He should be going to Euro frankly…this team lacks fight, and t he quality in some certain Areas to make it work.
It’s got something to do with his new hairline, maybe?
Very very soft penalty. Ruined the game.
Gary Neville giving praise saying ‘Son is getting goals in other ways tonight’ basically saying he’s cheating
The odds were with them. The ref also.
We will not celebrate. yet.
But we are still front footed on the race with the youngest squad of the league whilst they are on the decline.
I hate Son so much. A scummy cheat and leg breaker. When he came off Neville goes ‘He’s disappointed, but he won’t show it. He has too much class’ or something among those lines. Fucking guy elbowed Holding earlier in the face earlier in the game and got off scot free.
Ref was bought and paid for.
Sky need maximum drama for final day conclusion.
The purring over Son is what really gets me. Does no one else see him acting like an infant for 90 min? He’s a very good player, no need to elevate him to something he objectively is not.
I’ve been excited all week for this shit.
I want more Guinness
Well, that wasn’t good. Still, after all the fucking experts and pundits have wanked themselves into oblivion, we are still a point ahead of the trophy dodging cretins. So, the boys know what they need to do – and they need our support more than ever. Just praying Gabriel hasn’t done his hamstring, because with a still not 100% Ben White and Rob Holding kopping a red card for fuck all (what an absolute waste of oxygen that ref was tonight) Fuck the media. Fuck Gary Neville. Fuck Jamie O’Hara. Fuck Defoe. Fuck Souness. Fuck the fucking lot of them.… Read more »
Wasn’t it Tierney that sent Eddie off against Leicester 5 seconds after he came on for getting his studs to the ball in the dark days of the fake crowd noise era? I’d love to know his record of reds & yellows to our players in the last 3/4 years compared to say Spurs’
We bossed them at the loud toilet. Then shit went wrong. COYG!
It’s still in our hands and we have no time to feel sorry for ourselves. Shame about the red card. Don’t know what Holding was thinking but his first card was soft.
Always felt we needed White for this game but glad we didn’t risk him.
Watching Holding against Son tonight reminded me of watching Senderos and Drogba. He looked like someone just picked a random Arsenal fan who knows a bit of judo to fill in at CB. Mustafi levels of incompetent.
Disappointed in Holding. He doesn’t need to act his name!!
All the talk before the game was about not losing it due to the pressure of the game, sad thing it was 2 of our more experienced players who let down- Cedric giving away a stupid penalty (and it was one) and Holding totally lost it and was lucky to have lasted that long! Still in our hands but don’t think we’ll handle the pressure
Rob Holding…fucks sake.
A bad performance I can forgive and move on but a stupid performance at that level is a joke. The pen was on him and the only complaint he can have is against God who only gave him half the intelligence of the average man.
Ref was ok. Mikel was ok, maybe in hind sight should have played Tomi on the right but thats a nitpick. Rest of the team was ok. This was a one man demolition job.
The less said, the better. Moving on!! My main concerns at this point are Gabriel’s and White’s fitness. Really need one of them for these last two.
Yes, but there’sa lot of uncertainties now. Is White ready for Monday? Does he pair with Tomi if Gabriel is injured? Which would mean Cedric (again) and Tavares… I am dreading what is coming. 🙁
One precious point keeps us in it.
How satisfying it would be if we still qualify.
It will be difficult but not impossible. I hope Gabriel is fit.
Amazon Prime has paid the refs boys just to spice things a bit. Don’t you worry, we will be there. It is not time to fall apart. It is time to stand tall, together and support the lads. #COYG
This will be a true test of we supporters no being fickle.
Let’s rally now and make the loudest noise for our boys!!!
Let’s encourage them and spur them on for the final lap!!!
IT IS NOT OVER UNTIL IT IS OVER!!!
COYG!!!!
The Ref killed the game. That penalty was a joke.
Cedric times the nudge maybe 2 seconds later & it’s just a corner. Would we have got that decision up the other end? Absolutely not. VAR didn’t even check it
Forget tonight; this season is a golden opportunity with many team underperforming. This team are well capable of beating Newcastle and Everton if they really want top 4.
Well…we don’t deserve to be the UCL, let’s play Europa league and forget the undue pressure we are putting them kids we call players on. Tottenham played like a team with hunger and desire to be back in UCL, Arsenal not quite. Arteta is an average coach, the earlier we realize it the better for us. It was obvious Tottenham would used Cedric and Holding on that flank. Why he still chose to start Cedric is very strange. Holding and Son was a mismatch right from the onset he didn’t listen. We need a more experience coach seriously this club… Read more »
We need that money and prestige though, to rebuild and upgrade few positions. Maybe in 2 year we will compete with the big dog.
I thought the penalty was one, just about. Holding kept giving the ref opportunities to book him. What really really pissed me off was the third goal. Obvious foul on Gabriel not given, then he gave us two free kicks exactly the same in the next five minutes. What the actual fuck??
Should’ve resorted to rotational fouling of Son when Holding got booked, games like this, never give the ref an option, especially when his 95%-5% in favour of the team not called Arsenal. Sky making a big thing about “Judo Holding”, if anything, Son’s the aggressor in that situation & as for the invisible knee/kick in the back, that’s just pure cheating from Son, hasn’t got the foul so pretends he got a bit left on him afterwards
Yes! Rotational was the way to go!
I think Holding was trying to do what he did to Diego Costa in the FA Cup final but that worked that day cause Costa was a hot head
Ps/ does anyone have a clue what Xhaka got booked for?
Think it’s compulsory.
Sorry, but Cedric needs to be replaced in the summer.
I don’t ever wanna see him attempting another cross ever again. He probably made a good cross when he was in the Under 10’s & his coach called it a “strong point of his game” & that one cross has stuck with him, one day hoping to summon that quality from 20 years ago
I have an actual headache after this game. Just cannot understand Holding’s actions there. Too many times one of our players does something completely stupid, gets sent off and it’s game over. Penalty was pretty harsh, but can understand it being given. Will see what Arteta and these players are made of now. Win the next 2 and we still finish 4th. COYG!!!
I dom’t blame Holding too much and not Cedric either. Holding is an excellent box player, but very limited against the cunning likes of Son. We must understand that we need our best players om the pitch to compete against top teams and dom’t have the depth yet. My biggest fear now is Gabriel.
The next two games will be absolute nightmare to watch
Started OK
Like to see the penalty again – looked harsh
First Holding booking was harsh. A foul but not a booking
Foolish though then to put himself at risk of second booking with a card happy referred reacting to home crowd
Just support team in next 2 games. They need our support!!!
Bit pedantic but two games in a row we were zonal marking a corner, left the far post empty and conceded a goal there. So obvious – defend the whole goal on a corner!
Was awful marking nobody near kane, he made same run as the Leeds defender Sunday.
Southampton, Brighton, Palace. Coming back to haunt us! Ah well, Newcastle are safe and got SFA to play for so reckon the lads can get the job done there. The real stress is if Everton show up at Emirates needing a win to avoid relegation, they could easily do the double over this team!
Holding decided to play rugby tonight. Arteta is to blame tho. Attacking a team that cannot open up a deep block was suicidal and that made the defenders exposed and nervous.
Against Liverpool, Spurs knew they were inferior, set up to counter and nearly beat them. Arteta, meanwhile, was too arrogant to accept Arsenal are inferior to Spurs away from home. Amateur tactics, arrogant management.
Well with any luck Cedric won’t be anywhere near the first team next year (or at the club at all).
Pretty fucking shit from Holding. I mean, how hard is it to not get sent off, just be disciplined, don’t rush in, don’t block players off. What was even the point of blocking Son’s run in that case since he was no where near the ball. Complete and utter stupidity ffs.
Weak, easilly influenced referee.Fell for the shithousery of Kane and Son.Winnig a six pointer feels great for them, but points are what count. COYG
Holding is a championship level defender, nothing more. And tonight it showed.
Lotta injuries, a thin squad, and the manager gets left in the lurch.
Shitty result. Tactics off. We need to beat 2 crap teams and it doesnt matter. Still all to play for.
Back down to earth…hard dose of reality (timely) for most people here before they get carried away with the opiate. Not done any favours of course by Ref with the soft penalty call IMO particularly as he should take into account this is a derby and there should be a fair amount of rough and tumble. But Holding unexpected got a bit too enthusiastic with harrying Son at our (and maybe Club’s) expense if we don’t make CL. Usual whiny crowd of course would have had a field day if this was Xhaka. Our problems got only worse with Gabriel… Read more »
Had a moment in the pub when Holding got sent off and there was some cunt being racist about Son. And listen, he’s a cheating twat, who needs several elbow drops from Giant Haystacks. But I did feel a moment of pride that all the Arsenal fans, even in their most falling into the abyss moment, told that guy to fuck off.