Why Didn't Arsenal Smash Spurs?

There has consistently been question marks about Arsenal having defensive frailties.  Attacking wise their supporters should be delighted and this game simply underscored the weakness of Arsenal in their back four.  The game however opened new questions about the managerial ability of Arsenal manager Unai Emery as a Premier League manager.  For sure in European cup competitions is record is that of a winner, but in a tough league like the Premier League, he has not so far proven that he has the mind to deal with top league pressure.

Rather than draw the game, Sokratis was a lucky boy in not giving away a penalty while needlessly pushing Harry Kane in the back, but thankfully for him, Kane made a meal out of the push and it was Kane's theatrics which convinced the referee not to give a penalty.  That would have made the score 3-2 in a second half where Arsenal did begin to dominate Spurs.  Under pressure their is a question mark in Unai Emery's ability to think at the level of managerial level of a Top 4 side.  That is because Arsenal's investment in the last couple of windows has netted them some superb attack minded players.

Even with a poor defense, Emery could have created massive misery for Spurs. Instead he gave the Tottenham team a "Get out of Jail Card".  A massive defeat inflicted on Tottenham today would have sent Spurs to the bottom half of the table and added to their poor form this year which would have placed them in the bottom five teams if the season had begun on 1st January 2019. 

First Arsenal gave away a gift goal and a gift penalty.   Now they are 2-0 down.

Emery did the right thing in playing Lacazette, Aubameyang and Pepe in the forward line but that was the limits of his gutsy move because he did nothing significant to create the supply line that such a front three needs.  A 3-5-2 formation that included Torreira, Ozil and Cellabos would provided plenty of balls for Lacazette and Aubameyang to feast on.  Instead of playing Aubameyang as a winger, he should have had Pepe playing on one wing and he did have Maitland Nyles playing on the other wing.  Nyles and Pepe would have needed to drop back to help the defense in this system, but this forward system would have pinned Spurs back much more than what occured today.   With Pepe in the box, in effect Spurs very nervous backline would have been under great pressure and Aubameyang's great strength is as a poacher in the six yard box. 

This system would have been a breakout game for Mezut Ozil, where Ozil is a talent that has grossly underperformed, but with Ozil having four points of distributing balls to i.e. Nyles, Pepe on the wings and the two main Arsenal strikers in the middle, he has the skillset to bring out his best game.  That failure needs to be pinned as a failure of Unai Emery.

The key was Torreira who has proven himself to be Mr Reliable but he would have needed midfield support.   Arsenal would have conceded under this system but they would have taken the sword to Tottenham.

So what happened with Tottenham that prevented an embarrassing and the start of a crisis situation?  Before the game, this week Mauricio Pochettino did three things that helped with the disruption and discord brewing in the back rooms.

1. He held a dinner with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to basically bury the hatchet in his very visible disputes with Tottenham's transfer policy.  Levy surely had got across to him that a $720 million debt load is a massive headache to handle.  Now Pochettino is beginning to recognize the pressure Levy is working under to get talent and balance the books.

2. Pochettino made a declarative statement that he is not quitting.  The dressing room at Tottenham were shocked when Pochettino declared that if they had won the Champions League, he would leave.  What a strange thing to say?  The speculation of Manchester United buying out his contract had already been solved but the unease about Pochettino's future at Tottenham needed him to make it clear that he is firmly with the project . This week he made that statement.

3. Pochettino played his best players and especially the key decision to play Jan Vertonghen after it was clear that Vertonghen not signing a new contract and possibly exchanging words with his manager behind the scenes, meant that Pochettino did today that which goes totally against his reputation for not playing those who are in dispute with him.  It showed that Pochettino recognized what a massive loss against Arsenal would mean for the rest of the season.

That does not mean that Spurs are not in disarray anymore but that they recognized what taking a terrible beating against Arsenal would have meant in psychological terms, at a point where they could lose at least two stars before the European transfer deadline closes on Monday night.  Spurs can now sell Vertonghen in January if his agent tells him not to sign a new contract with Spurs and have time to buy a suitable replacement.  The same is true with Eriksen.  The deal that must be done in January with Eriksen (if no one buys him by tomorrow) is a swap deal with Dybala of Juventus. 

This then was a great day for Tottenham because it was a pivotal crossroad.  Now with a 2-2 draw, Tottenham can begin to rebuild their season and the good news is that the International break has come at just the right time for Spurs.  Had they been thrashed and humiliated, the break would have served to spread further psychological doom. 

It is Unai Emery who missed a huge opportunity to make a statement about Arsenal's top 4 ambitions.  A smashing victory today would have reversed the balance of power in North London back to Arsenal. As it is, new questions about Arsenal's ability to field a terrifying team is still lacking.  Liverpool and Manchester City are terrifying teams and Arsenal are close to joining that.  Spurs spent their millions in the stadium cost overrun - and that is an error of monumental proportions that should fall under Daniel Levy's remit.  Yet all the things Spurs did before this match to put some harmony back into the team and the club overall, did work.  I

t was Arsenal who missed the chance to rub the nose of Spurs into the ground and thus create a downward spiral of crisis in that club.  As it is, Arsenal like Chelsea are still not quite there to challenge for a top 4 place, and today they gave Spurs a "Get out of Jail" card, the kind that their previous manager Arsene Wenger never did, even when the rot in Arsenal had begun in the 19th and 20th year of his 20 years with Arsenal.  Spurs do not need to think that they blew a 2-0 lead, they need to bless their fortunate stars that they still have something to build on and another Top 4 finish is still in their hands.  Had they taken a beating, Spurs would have slid into the bottom 5 and then lack of confidence and disruption would have kept them there.  Pochettino knows this well because while he did a great job at Espanyol, he was fired the year Espanyol was floundering in a relegation position.   A pretty good day for Tottenham and a questionable day however for Arsenal.