Saturday, 17th November, 2012
Arsenal have crushed Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby, putting their opponents to the sword at the Emirates Stadium by five goals to two.
The Gunners looked to be in for a tough afternoon when they fell behind to a goal from former player Emmanuel Adebayor in the tenth minute.
But after that, suddenly the entire course of the game changed, when Adebayor followed up his goal by plunging into a dangerous tackle on Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla. The challenge was high and late and it was little surprise that referee Howard Webb showed the striker a red card.
Arsenal then seized the advantage, with German defender Per Mertesacker heading the Gunners level, and in the process claiming his first goal for the club.
A quickfire double of goals, first from Lukas Podolski (42nd minute) and Olivier Giroud (45th minute) sent the Gunners in 3-1 ahead at half-time and in complete control.
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas reshuffled at the break, bringing on Clint Dempsey and Michael Dawson, but it was to no avail as Arsenal grabbed a fourth when Santi Cazorla scored on the hour mark.
Gareth Bale then pulled one back for Spurs, though it made little difference and Arsenal completed the win when Theo Walcott scored a fifth for Arsene Wenger’s men in the 90th minute.
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The result sees Arsenal move above their rivals in the Premier League table, establishing a two-point gap.
It also increases the pressure on Villas-Boas, who appears to be fighting a losing battle to convince the Spurs faithful he is the right man to be leading the White Hart Lane outfit.
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