Typically it was moments later where Tottenham opened the scoring. The defence had shifted towards their left. Alex Song went out to meet Adebayor while both Gibbs and Mertesacker drifted towards Defoe, Sagna usually so good at spotting danger did not react to van der Vaart pealing off at the back unattended. Mertesacker should have also left Gibbs to deal with Defoe. Once again our defence were

Four defeats in our first seven games of the season does not bode well for a new team that are desperately trying to cling onto momentum and any bits of confidence that they had. Unfortunately for Arsenal, we are just not getting the rub of the green at the moment. Having said that, Tottenham’s first goal had nothing to do with bad luck. Three officials on the pitch did not see or chose not to see van der Vaart’s raised arm to control Adebayor’s lofted pass and the Dutchman’s finish across Szczesny was clinical.

This is not to excuse the Arsenal defence which allowed van der Vaart the time and space to ghost into the box unattended. Whoever was supposed to pick up van der Vaart who already has a rather annoying habit of scoring against us, is equally to blame as the officials.

We had already wrestled control of the game and kept the ball better than the home team who had adopted a very attacking team from the start. With the players we had available, I was very happy with the starting 11. We had worked a number of crossing opportunities without putting in the needed quality, or not enough players getting into a dangerous area in the box to convert a cross.

Theo Walcott was very subdued and his only real contribution was to have a deflected left footed shot wide and a long range bobbling shot that was easily saved. Gervinho on the other side was a little more dangerous but was not able to link up with his team mates in the box. He was presented with a great chance to score after some great feet by van Persie on the right side of the pitch, his cut back to the Ivorian was perfect but Gervinho miscued wide.

In big games like that, you simply have to score. That situation reminded me of the Henry and Pires combination of old. Two players full of confidence, Henry bursting past the full back and having the vision to pick out the player and Pires striding in without any doubt in his mind to side foot in, followed by a running pointing celebration.

Gervinho does not look like a man who knows he is about to score, that is the difference. This Arsenal team are not playing with swagger that is needed to win big games.

Typically it was moments later where Tottenham opened the scoring. The defence had shifted towards their left. Alex Song went out to meet Adebayor while both Gibbs and Mertesacker drifted towards Defoe, Sagna usually so good at spotting danger did not react to van der Vaart pealing off at the back unattended. Mertesacker should have also left Gibbs to deal with Defoe. Once again our defence were working well individually, especially Mertesacker who was making some fantastic tackles but collectively we made errors, and it cost us.

van der Vaart had already been booked for a late challenge on Gibbs, then he ran to the home support to hug them. Whether you think the rules are stupid or not, they are the rules and when a player does that they are supposed to be booked for doing so. Mike Dean decided not to stick to these rules on this occasion for a reason that I cannot quite fathom. This is not a case of seeing an incident or not, either you stick to the rules or you don’t, if you do not then there should be an explanation as to why the change of heart.

We can all pick holes in the Arsenal performance but why should we just have to put up with game changing decisions going against us repeatedly?

Francis Coquelin has obviously been doing very well at London Colny behind closed doors as he was chosen ahead of Emmanuel Frimpong as Alex Song’s replacement. The boy was one of the few positives in a frustrating afternoon. His timing of the tackle is fantastic and he shut out Modric on many occasions. He moved the ball around effortlessly and he also slotted in between the center backs to make vital clearances at important times. If he manages to continue those types of performances then he will soon make it very difficult for Arsene to drop him. Aaron Ramsey was having the opposite effect.

Ramsey was having a very poor game. Misplacing far too many passes, holding onto the ball for too long. He was also not able to make that creative difference when it mattered. The young Welshman is very gifted and has already shown his talents this season but it is too much to expect consistency and quality in such a vital part of the pitch. The attacking midfield position was the area I really wanted Wenger to go out and buy someone a little special. A game changer, a player that can win a game on his own. For whatever reason, we were not able to get that player in and it has cost us.

We are no longer relying on one playmaker which makes us less predictable but it also means that we are isolating van Persie too often because we no longer have a continuous link between the midfield and our three forwards. Players like Cesc Fabregas, Xavi Hernandez, David, Silva and Mario Götze do not grow on trees but for our football to work offensively, I feel we are going to need someone to step up and rack up a number of assists otherwise we will continue to dominate games, without making anywhere near enough chances to score goals.

Aaron Ramsey did pull a goal back after the break. It was the type of goal that we have been crying out for. Midfielders making runs into the box to connect with a gambled low cross. It was the type of goal that Manchester United score so often and the type that we should score much more. Song drove up the left from center back and his left footed cross was turned in from close range.

We were in the driving seat, we had equalised and we should have used that to have gone on to win the game. Instead of turning the screw, we dropped off. We allowed Tottenham back into the game and that should have been the last thing that should have happened. Szczesny made a wonderful close range save to deny Adebayor to go along with two fantastic first half saves from Parker and van der Vaart.

We had dominated them in the second half and once we scored we eased off, Redknapp then added another midfielder to replace van der Vaart who was a passenger in the second half and that gave the home side the advantage.

Kyle Walker unleashed a low swerving shot that went through Szczesny. The Pole had made far more difficult saves during the game but he could not stop the easiest of the lot which just sums us up right now. We have the quality to cause teams problems but one slip and we are punished. The goal would have been prevented had we picked up a simple throw in the build up. Mikel Arteta lost his man and tried to pass him onto someone else but nobody reacted and Sandro’s cross lead to the goal.

Mistake on the throw, mistake on the shot punished.

To make a sour afternoon far worse, Bacary Sagna was taken off on a stretcher after our right back sustained a fracture to the fibula in his right leg. He is now expected to be out for three months which is just truly dreadful news.

I was hoping to see our strongest squad available after the International break but that is just not going to happen because during the time it takes players to recover, the chances are that we will suffer other major injuries. This has been the case for far too long and we are not going to get any better when this keeps happening. The blame for Sagna’s injury cannot be directed at anyone, it is just the norm for us right now.

Tottenham could have added to their two in the last 15 minutes. Gareth Bale and Jermaine Defoe all coming close to making it the 3-1 that everyone told me it would be before kick off.

Even with Mertesacker playing as an emergency striker in the last few minutes, the home side held on with relative ease and the problems at Arsenal continue. Last season’s team would have won that game and that is what is difficult to swallow. We are not yet as good as the side that hit their purple patch last season.

Time for the squad to regroup once more and try to get it right. Because we cannot afford to continue to lose games at this rate.

Man of the match: Francis Coquelin