Every once in a while, football surprises you.
As much as we all believe we can predict what will happen in any given game, that we have some sort of special insight into the myriad possibilities, there are moments that few of us see coming.
Yesterday’s gritty 1-0 win at White Hart Lane was, at least for me, just such an occasion. Of all the possibilities I was considering, a confident, secure win with a clean sheet wasn’t among them.
I had visions of a fraught, frantic, desperate toil against relentless waves of home pressure, with an Arsenal side shorn of its brightest lights struggling to create and find a way forward against an inspired home defence.
Not a bit of it.
As it transpired, the home side were insipid and utterly without inspiration while Arsenal were resolute and in control.
That’s not to say there weren’t testing, worrisome moments but this side has become so solid under pressure, so unflappable amid the flames that it scarcely seemed that any other outcome was possible. In short, Arsenal were excellent.
Despite my own (foolish) reservations, both Jorginho and Thomas Partey started together in the centre of midfield and held their own. I feared their relative sluggishness would count against them in a game of such intensity but their experience was worth double whatever youthful vigour the hosts offered.
And, make no mistake, this was a Spurs side set up to take it to Arsenal. Every available attacker was on the field, solidity was eschewed, the message was clear: with Arsenal depleted, Spurs were going for the kill. In the end, though, they were toothless and the most dangerous moments of the match, the best chances, belonged to Arsenal.
Gabriel was a leviathan both in defence and in attack and was by far the best player on the park. The Brazilian has had to work twice as hard as every other defender to earn the respect he is due but it is matches like this one that should cement his status. He is as important to this squad as anyone along that backline.
Further forward, the evolution of Kai Havertz from unconfident, introverted misfit into vital cog in the Arsenal machine continued apace. Despite compelled to vacate the centre forward position he has made his own during 2024, he proved every bit as involved and as integral in midfield. I confess, I saw nothing of this potential when the German made the move from Chelsea in 2023 – how utterly wrong I was.
Given the players we had missing and the tumultuous few weeks we have had with refereeing sideshows, there is no understating how enormous three points was for us. We went to our fiercest rivals, depleted and dazed, and facing a brutal three-game run away from home and we came away with all three points.
Emphatic.
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