Holding a majority of possession and looking for ways to break down the mid-block that Arsenal was displaying, Spurs were trying their best to find holes but it was Arsenal who continued to grab ahold of the chances in the end.
Winning a corner after pressing high on Tottenham and forcing a clearance for Bukayo Saka to stand over the right corner flag for an inswinging ball, the set-piece play would prove to be a big factor once more against Tottenham.
Being poor all year on set piece defense, Saka whipped a ball into the box near post and Pierre Emile Højbjerg flicked the ball in for an own goal as he couldn’t get his head around the ball fully for a potential clearance.
Spurs had chances in quick succession off set piece deliveries by James Maddison as he found the head of Cristian Romero whose first chance went wide of the far post and the second one drilling the post.
The moment Spurs thought they had leveled the game came on a second chance from a corner delivery as Pedro Porro took a shot from 35 yards out. Being deflected in the box by an Arsenal player, Micky van de Ven snuck past the defense for a chance on goal to seemingly level the game. But, it was VAR that ruled van de Ven was marginally offside before Porro took the shot.
Thus, Spurs continued to find ways to get into the attacking third, and with the ball down on the wing for Dejan Kulusevski, the Swede got past his man of Leandro Trossard for a possible one-two and was clipped in the box as he tried to get a possible shot or pass off.
Not hearing a whistle as the ref stood in the area, Maddison himself thought he had won a pen as he cut back to his right foot but it was Declan Rice who put a foot out to clip the ball before Maddison went down in the box.
Getting the ball and breaking on a counterattack, Saka was down the right wing by himself and as he received the first ball with a strong touch, the winger cut back in the box to his favored left foot — as Ben Davies tried to keep him wide — and curled it into the far corner for a 2-0 lead.
As the stadium was enraged as Spurs weren’t given a penalty shout — with the club still at one penalty earned this campaign — Arsenal scored its third goal by way of a corner once more with Kai Havertz getting his head to it for the 3-0 lead going into the break.
The second half saw Spurs stick to playing its style in hopes of getting a goal and possible momentum. Being a little more cushioned in the back, Arsenal tried to be cute as David Raya played a bad ball and the constant press from Romero was awarded. Winning the ball right in front of the box, the Argentine got his goal finally as Spurs took the gift and brought life back into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs continued to be on the attack as crosses were coming into the ball and it just seemed that something was coming. That something was Davies winning a PK off Rice who took him out with a follow through to award Spurs just their second PK all season in the Premier League.
Needing a quick glance at the monitor to confirm the PK, Son Heung-min stepped up for Spurs and slotted his strike into the top left corner to bring life into the stadium for a push to grab a point.
However, the final chance to equalize the contest would not come in the extra time as Arsenal held on with Spurs sending cross after cross in the box and hoping to see a chance go through the back of the net.
0 Comments