North London Derby Decided by a Blown Call | OneFootball

I don’t hide the fact that if I were forced to choose between Arsenal and Tottenham, I’d rather take a dip in the Thames, naked, in January, wearing bells stapled to my privates. I don’t care for either team.

What I do like is a proper derby, full of passion, vinegar and perhaps a bit of controversy. In that respect, today’s fixture absolutely delivered the goods.

Form Leading into the Derby

Three days earlier during the FA Cup ties, Arsenal had been humiliated by a 10-man Manchester United squad, falling in the penalty shootout. It capped a bad week which saw them suffer two eliminations from trophy competition.

Tottenham also had concerns after being forced into extra time by non-league Tamworth, a team composed of building surveyors, bricklayers, university lecturers and a bloke who runs a sandwich-van. The scoreline read 3-0 in their favor, but was it really a win?

So it’s fair to say the sides were evenly matched, if only for the chips squarely set on both shoulders.

How it Unfolded

Surprisingly, it was the first half that had all the drama. Arsenal hit the Emirates Stadium pitch in overdrive. They earned four corners before ten minutes elapsed (watch this space).

But then the type of quirk only a derby can produce happened. Against the run of play Spurs suddenly woke up and remembered that they’re a Premier League team. Within a space of six minutes they forced defender Gabriel Magalhaes into one of the best clearances of the season, and an equally brilliant save from David Raya on a point-blank Kulushevski shot. Heung-Min Son then struck the net off a deflected shot. We’re still only 25 minutes in. What more chaos could ensue?

So much, it turns out.

In the 39th minute Pedro Porro, clearing a ball off the goal line, deflected it off Leandro Trossard. Referee Simon Hooper signaled for the corner, not a goal kick. Hey, we’re all human and mistakes happen, but this one had consequences. The ensuing kick was headed by Gabriel off Dominic Solanke and into the goal.

Oh snap.

Four minutes later Leandro Trossard would take a Martin Ødegaard pass on a fast break and fire it into the corner.

Oh double snap with whipped cream.

Not to dismiss it, but the second half was pure grind. Fun to watch, undoubtedly, as both teams are replete with talent and understood the emotive importance of the match. So nobody phoned it in. Arsenal was forced to dig deep to cling to that one-goal lead, while Spurs threw everything they had against the Gunners to grab something from the afternoon. To no avail.

Let’s be honest…