Keown: Rosicky's best ever arsenal performance
eduardo
27 February, 2012 00:38
On the ball: Rosicky delivered the best performance of his Arsenal careerBy Martin Keown
Last updated at 11:57 PM on 26th February 2012
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Rosicky reborn
That is the best I have seen Tomas Rosicky play for Arsenal. He’s been a spectator this season until now but he played with so much drive and purpose. For his goal he made a run he would never have normally, darting into the box. He looked to play decisive passes, was tenacious in the tackle and looked like the player Arsenal signed in 2006. An all-action performance.
Back to his best: Tomas Rosicky was superb
Sub-standardArsenal were the better team in the first half but were even more so after the break because Harry Redknapp’s substitutions played into their hands. Whereas Louis Saha gave support to Emmanuel Adebayor, Rafael van der Vaart came on and looked short of match fitness. He did nothing, failing to offer the extra numbers Spurs needed in midfield.
Bossing the match Arsene Wenger has been under a lot of pressure after defeats by AC Milan and Sunderland and this display looked like the reaction of players who knew that. This was bigger than fighting for trophies - they thought they were playing to keep their boss in a job. They want him to stay. Spurs fans also want Redknapp to stay but he looked shell-shocked at his side’s inability to match Arsenal.
Backtrack: Gareth Bale was forced to defend
Bale backtracking Such is the player Gareth Bale has become, teams usually set up to restrict him however they can. They double up on him and conserve their energy to deal with his lung-busting runs. Arsenal ignored all of that and Bacary Sagna bombed forward, taking the game to the Welshman. He wasn’t used to that and struggled to track back. That left Spurs vulnerable.
Ousting the ox?There were groans in the crowd when it was announced that Theo Walcott was playing ahead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the wing but they were cheering the England man by the end. After a nondescript first half, Walcott took both of his goals in the second period with real composure and tracked back well.
Benched: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had to make do with a substitute appearance
Go fourth and conquer This time last year, Arsenal put in a similarly excellent performance to defeat Barcelona in the Champions League but faded afterwards. There was that high tempo of passing from the start again against Spurs, but where have performances like that been in the meantime? They have to find that drive and energy in the matches that are coming up if they want to finish fourth. You can’t just do that against Tottenham.
Battling Benayoun
You could see the wisdom of signing Yossi Benayoun after that display. Injuries and rehabilitation have meant that his Arsenal career has been slow to take off but he delivered yesterday. The 31-year-old Israeli tucked in very well when needed, was not afraid to take on Tottenham’s speedy right back Kyle Walker and showed some real aggression in his play. An impressive performance.
Handy: Yossi Benayoun impressed with a solid display
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*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*