Arsenal vs Tottenham – Thoughts on the North London Derby

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– As much as I admire what Harry Redknapp has achieved at Tottenham, wasn’t that a perfect illustration of his limitations? Tactical dexterity is defined by the ability to adjust to changing circumstances in games, and Redknapp clearly had no idea how to stop the bleeding once Robin Van Persie had equalised.

– Regardless of whether you think that Gareth Bale dived for the penalty or not, once the referee has awarded a penalty he surely has to show a card for the foul. That he didn’t showed that he wasn’t totally convinced that it was a foul, in which case Mike Dean should never have pointed to the spot in the first place. Selective refereeing is just half-hearted refereeing – either make decisions with conviction, or don’t make them at all.

– In light of the attacking pyrotechnics of the second half, Bacary Sagna’s overall contribution has been overlooked. There won’t be many full-backs who keep Gareth Bale as quiet as the Frenchman did yesterday. In fact, it was a mark of Sagna’s contribution that Bale was only really threatening in central areas.

– How good to see an Emirates crowd get fully behind their team. If anybody needed reminding of the influence that spectators can have in sustaining momentum, look no further than yesterday’s game. Yes, negativity swept through the stadium during the first 30 minutes, but at 2-0 down against your local rivals how could you expect anything else?

– Interesting to note the media’s continued boom-bust reaction to Theo Walcott. Walcott is seemingly only ever ‘dreadful’ or a ‘world-beater’, such is the nature of our short-term opinions. In reality, despite scoring twice, he still exhibited a lot of the bad traits that make him so frustrating. His ability to finish has never really been in question, it’s his decision-making that continues to halt his progress. Until his game exhibits fluency rather than over-thinking, the jury must continue to deliberate.

– Benoit Assou-Ekotto. There are no words to describe his contribution to Arsenal’s second. That’s the line between being assured and being shockingly cavalier.

– The most pleasing aspect for Arsenal, aside from the obvious humiliation of Tottenham, has to be the ruthlessness with which they put the game out of reach in the second half. Several outstanding Brad Friedel saves aside, there was no hint of the usual flagrancy that you normally associate with the home side. Decisive and deadly.

– Scott Parker’s red card was something that’s been waiting to happen for a while now. It’s not a criticism of Parker, because yellow-cards are a natural by-product of his hassling and harrying style of play. As integral as he’s become to Spurs, is there not an argument that says that he’s now required to do too much. If Parker isn’t making tackles, there’s really a shocking lack of resistance in the rest of Tottenham’s midfield. While Harry Redknapp’s side can get away with that at home, when your opposition is fully-firing on the road it leaves you badly exposed.

– Harry Redknapp’s half-time substitution of Niko Kranjcar and Louis Saha for Sandro and Rafael Van der Vaart reeked of a manager who knew he had to do something but wasn’t quite sure what. Play passively against a team attacking you relentlessly? Yeah, that will go well.

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