Emmanuel Eboue started the game much in the way he started the West Ham match, he was penetrating without finding the end result in the final third. His driving runs were giving the team an outlet

Match Review – Tottenham 0 Arsenal 0 – Premier League

Bit of a tabloidy headline today, the funny thing is that headline popped into my head before we actually started the game and I brushed it off thinking that it would probably be irrelevant to anything that was to happen in the game, I guess my subconscious has a way into looking into the future.

My nerves were well and truly on edge about 10am on Sunday morning. I was going to the same pub with the same two mates who watched the 4-4 match at the Emirates, and that was our last match all together, talk about asking for trouble.

The team pretty much picked itself as for our terrible collection of injuries to key players at present. I was very surprised that Toure was to start ahead of Djourou as the Ivory coast international did against West Ham. Since Djourou came into the side, he hardly put a foot wrong and was a massive help at dealing with set pieces. Unless Djourou has an injury then I feel rather sorry for the lad.

The rest of the side was to be expected. Arshavin was given the chance to watch his first North London derby from the bench alongside surprise inclusion Eduardo Da Silva.

A quick point about football and the emotion that comes with it. I was sat there when the game was about to kick off, and the nerves inside me were so great, so intense. A victory and those nerves and fear morph into joy and happiness, lose and it is replaced by upset and anger. I bet the person or people who thought up this crazy game of football never thought it would catch on like this.

The game had very much an end to end feel to it, both teams attacked from the start.

Robbie Keane making his second debut after leaving Spurs for better things then being treated like a mug, managing to find his way back to the club he wanted to leave in the first place, and then be given the captaincy. haha, only at Spurs. Keane and Gallas challenged for a ball inside the penalty area to which Gallas kicked Keane’s foot, it was difficult to notice at the time but we escaped.

Arsenal put together a fine move in the 6th minute when Van Persie slipped in Eboue on the right and his cross shot was neither a cross or a shot that the outstretched Adebayor couldn’t reach.

Emmanuel Eboue started the game much in the way he started the West Ham match, he was penetrating without finding the end result in the final third. His driving runs were giving the team an outlet.

He seems to be having more freedom in the last few matches, drifting from the right and popping up on the left and in central areas.

Aaron Lennon tested Almunia with a left foot shot that was well saved by Almunia.

On 14 minutes came the beginning on a bad day in the office for Emmanuel Eboue. He picked up the ball and drove inside the left hand side of the penalty area, his outside of the foot cross was blocked and after a scramble he picked up the ball and fired into the net, only for the referee to blow the whistle for a foul. I did not see it immediately but it appeared that Adebayor tripped a Tottenham player in the box. After many replays I still cannot see it clearly and cannot tell if it was the correct decision or not.

Pavlyuchenko volleyed high and wide before Eboue was booked for constantly back chatting the referee after the referee was speaking to Sagna following a strong tackle on Modric.

Tottenham started to get a strangle hold on the game and Lennon was a good outlet for Tottenham. Lennon almost scored the opening goal on 28 minutes after he fired wide of Almunia’s right hand post. Almunia was in fine form as he parried Modric’s drive.

Nasri robbed Corluka on 32, and Clichy drove into the penalty area but his final ball was not quite good enough to find the stretching Adebayor.

Chances were few and far between for Arsenal and that was made worse when Adebayor pulled up with a hamstring injury which will rule him out for at least 2 weeks. Bendtner came on to replace him.

The main talking point came on 38 minutes, Modric tripped Eboue off the ball and Eboue reacted stupidly by lifting his leg and tripping Modric up. It is a stupid thing to do in the first place let alone when you are already on a yellow card. I am all for backing our players but on this occasion he badly let the team down. He is not a 18 year old kid, he is 25 with many games experience and should know much better.

Arsene chose to keep 2 strikers and play with a midfield 3 as he did at Ewood parka few years ago.

Nasri went inside alongside Song and Denilson.

Arsenal were far from their fluent best, even when the numbers were equal so the team found it especially hard to keep the ball when Eboue got sent off. Almunia tipped former Arsenal trialist Wilson Palacios’s drive over and that was the end of the first half.

The second half began with no changes from either side, Tottenham started to use their extra man well and worked the wings it needed some players to step up and that they did. Alex Song was strong and commanding infront of the back four, Denilson made many blocks and played well apart from his distribution in periods.

Robbie Keane headed over the bar on 57 minutes from a Lennon cross, much to the disappointment of the media who seem to be ever so happy about Keane’s return to the Lane.

Alex Song could have stolen all three points on 70 minutes, a corner was swung in and Song managed to get infront of his man but miskicked his effort wide of the near post when it looked easier to hit the target.

Eboue’s dismissal meant that Wenger didn’t have many options to make changes. We all wanted to see Arshavin made his debut and give the team an outlet but Wenger couldn’t afford to lose a tackler when his side were under pressure.

Keane fired another shot wide of the far post.

I mentioned in the preview that we could struggle to create many chances with only Nasri as the main creative midfielder and it certainly ended up that way. We had to grind out a result when we went down to 10 men. Van Persie didn’t get much of a sight of goal but worked tirelessly for the team.

Bendtner had a chance to grab the winner after Van Persie slide him in on the right of the area but his high shot was palmed over from Cudicini.

Modric had the best chance of the game in the dying moments when he ran in on Almunia’s goal, but the Spaniard rushed off his line and blocked his placed effort.

Clichy went off with a head injury after an accidental challenge from substitute Darren Bent.

The game finished scoreless and given the circumstances it could be seen as a point gained but with Aston Villa winning we really wanted a victory to get us closer to the top.

The top gun has to be shared by a few individuals who gave their all for the cause. Alex Song, Manuel Almunia and William Gallas were the spine that kept us strong. Although we haven’t scored as many as we should we have gained away points at Everton and our neighbours. We have a run of good fixtures that we could gain back plenty points especially with the likes of Eduardo and Arshavin close to making the first team.