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Spurs fans left smarting after their ‘cup final’
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Zippity Doo Dah – another happy day for the Gunners at White
Hart Lane.
Beating relegation dark horses Tottenham isn’t the hardest
task in a Premiership season. They haven’t beaten Arsenal this
century and the sight of chump Michael Brown and headless chicken
Noe Pamarot warming up was never going to shake the Gunner galacticos.
But it’s always satisfying when the Gunners leave Tottenham’s
miserable lair, shoving smug grins to the trudging Spurs rabble.
Once again, a section of gibbering Tottenham fans waited behind
in the cold car park to heckle the Arsenal team bus. I’m sure
Thierry and co were distraught.
More likely, the Arsenal players were laughing at the Tottenham
defending which led to their 5-4 win. There is nothing better than
offering Spurs a glimmer of hope and then walloping them.
On this evidence, anyone who thought Ledley King should be an England
regular must revise their opinion. There is an avant garde French
clown called Pascal in the Gunners’ back four but, unlike Spurs,
Arsenal have the mighty Sol Campbell to come back.
 FOR
once, I’ll admit those “5-4 in your cup final” chants
from ever so quick witted Gooners at White Hart Lane on Saturday
were pretty close to the mark this time.
Having seen a good start turn to mush and Jacques Santini leave
us to become a radio pundit, it finally took Arsenal’s visit
to put much needed fire into the bellies of our newly assembled
squad.
In a perverse way, it was more satisfying to see Spurs trudge off
after narrowly losing a nine-goal thriller than celebrate a 2-2
draw as they did in April.
As a spectacle, it certainly put that over-hyped power play at Old
Trafford last month to shame, even with its pizza chucking aftermath.
And for once, Gooners forgot to pretend that beating the scum is
actually a highlight of the football calendar and not just another
game.
I see it gave Brian Clough for the noughties, Jose Mourhino, the
chance to play mind games. But he’s not far wrong. After all,
letting a team who had scored just eight goals all season stick
four past you in 90 minutes is hardly the stuff of champions –
cup final or not.
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