London [UK], January 16 (ANI): Arsenal registered an incredible comeback win over Tottenham Hotspurs at the home arena of Emirates Stadium on early Thursday morning, with two quick goals in the first half helping the side make a comeback after an initial goal by Son Heung-min that put the visitors in front.
After a 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, it was important for the Gunners to increase their chances at the title with a win.
Gunners was warned by Dejan Kulusevski, as he forced David Raya into making a fine save from a corner, but in the 25th minute, Son’s strike from the box’s edge took a deflection off Thomas Partey and went past the Gunners goalie, sending the home fans into shock.
Arsenal’s problems with attacking continued till the 40th minute and when they finally got the opportunity, they did make the best out of it. A fine corner kick by Declan Rice met a fine connection from Gabriel Magalhaes, whose header came off Dominic Solanke’s chest and went into the nets to level the scores.
Four minutes later, just a minute away from half-time, Arsenal finally wrestled their way into a lead as a fine assist from Martin Odegaard was grabbed by Leandro Trossard, whose drive went through the hands of Antonin Kinsky and into the far corner of the goal.
Arsenal could relax better in the second half, but Kai Havertz continued his poor streak. After missing chances against Newcastle and Manchester United, he missed two more chances to score inside the box. However, Arsenal was able to maintain the scoreline till the end and gave themselves three full points.
With 12 wins, seven draws and two losses, Arsenal is in second place in the points table with 43 points, four behind Liverpool (47). Spurs sit in the 13th spot with seven wins, three draws and 11 losses, giving them 24 points.
Following the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said as quoted by Sky Sports, “The boys were outstanding. We played 120 minutes less than 72 hours ago, but the way we performed was exceptional. We made it hard for ourselves, but the attitude was outstanding. The purpose and intensity was really good.”
“We play every three days, so it is just a foundation, it is about the next day now. We won today, great, but now it is about Aston Villa. My confidence comes from what I see every day, not just results. Sometimes in football, you do not get what you deserve. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves. What we can control is performance, and today they have done it again,” he concluded.
Also, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou said as quoted by Sky Sports, “Not good enough, especially the first half which was way too passive. We allowed Arsenal to take control. I was disappointed with us with and without the ball, allowing them to dictate the tempo. Nowhere near good enough.”
“That is not who we are. That is not how I set the team up to play. To be sitting in and allowing Arsenal to play just was not good enough.”
“There is no magic cure. We need to work hard and go into battle on Sunday and turn around our fortunes and our season. There are always reasons why things happen but the reality is our results and form in the league have been nowhere near good enough. That needs to change.”
“We just did not play near the identity of what I want us to be. We are an aggressive team with and without the ball – we showed that against Liverpool but tonight we were way too passive. That is not acceptable. The second half was a little better but it was not enough.”
“This can’t be accepted by anyone at the club, us losing so many games in a league season is not right. Yes, we are asking big jobs but I hope the 18-year-olds [Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall] are hurting as much as anyone else in terms of not being able to deliver on a big day,” he concluded. (ANI)
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