As Arsenal capitulated against bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Carling Cup semi-final, things went from bad to worse as strikers Emmanuel Adebayor and Nicklas Bendtner clashed heads on the field of play, an encounter that left the Danish youngster with blood on his shirt...
Tottenham tore apart city rivals Arsenal at White Hart Lane in front of a roaring crowd and eventually ran out 5-1 winners, and 6-2 on aggregate.
They had been the better side in the first leg, and in truth Arsenal were lucky to come away from that home tie with the draw, maintaining their unbeaten streak at their new home.
Spurs showed no mercy, which will delight their fans no end, as too often they float between blunders and brilliance.
Scoring in the second minute did their cause the world of good, and the own goal had a degree of fortune to it, but that should by no means take anything away from Spurs, who were by far the better side across the two legs.
Arsenal were all too aware of that fact, as frustrations boiled over on the pitch towards the end of the game, with team-mates Nicklas Bendtner and Emmanuel Adebayor squaring up to each other and furious words were exchanged between the two.
Skipper William Gallas intervened, castigating Bendtner in full view of the capacity crowd and television cameras; referee Howard Webb also arrived on the scene to talk things over with the players concerned, but no cards were issued following the incident.
As the players headed down the tunnel at the end of the game Adebayor was restrained, and Bendtner had a visible gash on the bridge of his nose and blood on his shirt; it is thought that Adebayor headbutted Bendtner during their initial altercation.
Manager Arsene Wenger denied any knowledge of the incident, as is his trademark when questioned by the media regarding less complimentary issues involving his club.
"I don't know anything about it. Really I don't know," he insisted.
This incident will no doubt make a mockery of Arsenal's team spirit, which has been the source of high praise this season, many saying that since Thierry Henry's departure to Barcelona that the dressing room was much more unified and that there was less pressure.
It will take a lot to shake off such a humiliation, and it will truly be a test of the Gunners' character whether they can come out of this the same force they were in the first half of the season.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Gunners At War As Adebayor Headbutts Bendtner
Carling Cup Preview: Tottenham – Arsenal
Carling Cup Preview: Tottenham – Arsenal
What: Carling Cup Semi-Final, 2nd Leg
Who: Tottenham (11th EPL, 27pts) v Arsenal (2nd EPL, 54pts)
When: Tuesday, 22nd January 2008, 20:00 (GMT)
Where: White Hart Lane, London
In The Balance
North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham go into battle on Tuesday with their semi-final finely poised after the 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Emirates.
Tottenham took the lead against Arsene Wenger’s young guns two weeks ago with a Jermaine Jenas goal after 37 minutes, only for Theo Walcott to rescue a draw with a rather lucky equaliser 11 minutes from time with Tottenham looking to hold on for the win.
Arsenal would have left the happier of the two sides with Spurs assistant Gus Poyet frustrated not to take a lead into the second leg. "We were the better team. We deserved to win but it's a 180-minute game and there are still 90 to go," he said.
Juande Aiming For Cup Glory
Although Juande Ramos wasn’t in charge for either this season’s league defeat or last season’s Carling Cup defeat, he will be looking to help Spurs exact some revenge on the Gunners and end a long run of defeats for the White Hart Lane club.
Spurs haven’t beaten Arsenal in nine years, so a League semi-final would be the ideal time to finally do so.
Manager Juande Ramos had quite a cup record while at Sevilla, and Spurs fans will be hoping he can continue it in North London tomorrow. During his first season at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, he won the Uefa Cup and followed that up the next year with the Copa del Rey and a successful defence of the Uefa Cup.
Assistant manager Gus Poyet meanwhile admits the club are desperate to finally gain a win over their fierce local rivals.
"I hope there will be a bigger game than this - in the final - but for now at this moment it's the biggest game of the season for different reasons" he said.
"It's all about making sure we get to the final - we believe we can and if we do it's going to be a great night for everyone.
"I won't have to say anything to the players, it's a perfect night for them to be involved - everyone will be desperate to play in this game."
You’ll Not Win Anything With Kids
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger on the other hand is looking to dispel the now famous Alan Hansen adage that ‘you don’t win anything with kids.’
The Frenchman is insisting he will keep the faith with the young players, who have got the club to this stage of the competition and will resist the temptation of bringing in a few more experienced heads to ensure the Gunners make the final.
"We have made decisions that will stand for the second leg. I'm convinced we can do it" he stressed.
Wenger says he is as bemused by Tottenham’s lack of success against his side as the Spurs contingent are.
"The result in the first leg continued our long unbeaten run against Tottenham, and I don't know why it should be that they haven't beaten us for more than eight years.
"They have always had good teams in that period, but we have been fighting for the championship a lot in that time so we always have a high focus. Maybe after a while it becomes psychological as well.
"We will go there positively, looking for the win, and they will be too, so it is set up nicely" the Arsenal boss added.
FORM GUIDE
Tottenham
Match Result Date Championship
Tottenham - Sunderland 2 - 0 19/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Reading - Tottenham 0 - 1 15/01/2008 FA CUP
Chelsea - Tottenham 2 - 0 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Tottenham 1 - 1 09/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Tottenham - Reading 2 - 2 05/01/2008 FA CUP
Aston Villa - Tottenham 2 - 1 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal
Match Result Date Championship
Fulham - Arsenal 0 - 3 19/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Birmingham 1 - 1 12/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal - Tottenham 1 - 1 09/01/2008 CARLING CUP
Burnley - Arsenal 0 - 2 06/01/2008 FA CUP
Arsenal - West Ham 2 - 0 01/01/2008 PREMIER LEAGUE
Everton - Arsenal 1 - 4 29/12/2007 PREMIER LEAGUE
TEAM NEWS
Tottenham
Tottenham midfielder Steed Malbranque returns from suspension, but Tom Huddlestone begins his three-match ban following his red card in Spurs’ FA Cup third round draw with Reading.
Ledley King was rested at the weekend to protect his knee and could return for the White Hart Lane clash.
Didier Zokora is on international duty and Chris Gunter is cup-tied. Gareth Bale (foot), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (knee) and Anthony Gardner (ankle) are all out, while Darren Bent (knee) has been out recently and would be likely to miss out if he was fit.
1st leg line-up: Cerny, Chimbonda, Dawson, King, Lee, Lennon, Jenas, O’Hara, Malbranque (Boateng), Berbatov, Keane (Defoe)
Squad: Cerny, Robinson, Chimbonda, Lee, Stalteri, Dawson, King, Kaboul, Rocha, Huddlestone, Malbranque, Jenas, Boateng, O'Hara, Tainio, Lennon, Berbatov, Defoe, Keane, Rose, Taarabt.
Arsenal
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed William Gallas will lead the side for Tuesday's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at Tottenham.
Philippe Senderos (nose) has joined Johan Djourou (groin) on the sidelines, so Justin Hoyte or Gilberto are set to fill in at centre-back.
Theo Walcott is set to return, having not been involved at all in the win over Fulham on Saturday, while Abou Diaby and Nicklas Bendtner should also both feature after being unused substitutes at Craven Cottage.
Striker Robin van Persie (thigh) is not yet match fit, while Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Alex Song are all away at the African Nations Cup.
1st leg line-up: Fabianski, J.Hoyte, Djourou (Sagna), Senderos, Traore, Walcott (Randall) Denilson, Silva, Diaby, van Persie (Eduardo), Bendtner
Squad: Fabianski, J Hoyte, Gallas, Senderos, Traore, Diaby, Denilson, Gilberto, Eduardo, Walcott, Bendtner, Mannone, Sagna, Rosicky, Randall, Gibbs, Lansbury, G Hoyte.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tottenham- Robbie Keane
Fresh from scoring his 100th goal for the club at the weekend against Sunderland, Robbie Keane will be looking to get back on the goal-scoring trail immediately and do his bit to fire Spurs into a Wembley final. The Republic of Ireland international will look to profit from an under-strength Arsenal back four and cause the Gunners all kinds of problems with his strike partner Dimitar Berbatov.
Arsenal- William Gallas
Gallas may well be asked to provide the experienced head along with midfielder Gilberto Silva as Arsenal look to win at White Hart Lane and kept up their unbeaten run against Spurs. The French defender said last week that the youngsters at the club inspire him. On Wednesday it could well be Gallas’ turn to inspire them and lead them to a place in the Carling Cup final.
PREDICTION
Expect a full-blooded English Cup tie at White Hart Lane with two fierce local rivals both going all-out to reach the final. I just have a sneaky suspicion that this could be the night when Tottenham get that long awaited win over their North London rivals and book their ticket in the final. There should be plenty of drama in N17 and goals aplenty.
Tottenham 1 Arsenal 2
