THEY didn’t fancy it. They bent the rules. They cried off. They bottled it.
When Arsenal managed to duck the North London Derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs were raging — issuing a strongly worded statement registering their disbelief at the Premier League agreeing to the postponement.
Expect this weekend’s north London derby to be the biggest in a generation – like when Arsenal won the title at White Hart Lane in 2004Credit: PA:Press AssociationAntonio Conte and Spurs were left raging Arsenal were able to postpone the derby earlier this seasonCredit: Reuters
And Spurs players, staff and management are still privately seething about it now, in the build-up to Thursday’s long-awaited rescheduled fixture.
After all, it wasn’t exactly a case of plague, pestilence, war or famine that provoked the postponement.
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The match was called off under Covid rules, yet Arsenal had only one player — Martin Odegaard — who was positive for the virus.
Xhaka was banned, Thomas Partey, Mo Elneny, Nicolas Pepe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had gone to the Africa Cup of Nations, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Folarin Balogun were being sent out on loan.
Yes, Mikel Arteta’s side had injuries too but everyone knows they dodged the bullet.
Arsenal were not the only club to wangle a dodgy ‘Covid’ postponement last winter.
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There were a whole raft of them in the Championship.
But after the fixture was deliberately rescheduled late in the season by Premier League scriptwriters, that postponement debacle provides an intriguing backdrop to probably the biggest North London Derby in a generation.
A match to rival Arsenal winning the league at White Hart Lane (twice) or Gazza’s free-kick in the 1991 FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Spurs were excellent in their draw at Anfield and might easily have won it.
Arsenal were unconvincing in the second half of their victory against ten-man Leeds.
Yet the Gunners are now four points clear. Victory on Thursday will end a five-year exile from the Champions League. Defeat would leave it wide open with two to play.
To be fair, Tottenham didn’t turn up for the North London Derby at the Emirates in September, when they went 3-0 down after 34 minutes and everyone realised Nuno Dispirito Santo had had his chips.
Despite his frequent tantrums, Antonio Conte has revived their campaign since.
This will be a match to rival the famous FA Cup semi-final of 1991 – where Paul Gascoigne scored this incredible free-kickCredit: PA:Press Association
That draw at Anfield showcased Tottenham’s back three — the excellent Ben Davies, the revitalised Eric Dier and the future legend Cristian Romero — buying into Conte’s sadistic demands.
His favourite word is ‘suffer’. If his defenders return to the dressing room without welt marks on their bodies from blocking footballs, he has them summarily horsewhipped.
Up front, Spurs head into Thursday, with Son Heung-min ablaze, Harry Kane the highest North London Derby scorer in history and Dejan Kulusevski the highest assist-maker in the Premier League since his January arrival.
And yet Arsenal are in the box seat, thanks to an unerring belief in a project which few of us had faith in — a rookie manager, promoting a clutch of kids and clearing out big-money underachievers.
Four years on from Arsene Wenger’s exit, Arsenal have a plan. Nine years on from Sir Alex Ferguson’s, Manchester United remain an unmitigated shambles.
The Gunners deserve great credit for having the self-awareness to realise how far they had fallen and recognising the need for a full-on rebuild. Clinching a Champ-ions League place is always important.
Wenger used to parade an imaginary trophy for it every year. But it is more important for Spurs right now.
Finish fifth and Arsenal would carry on with their long-term plan, Arteta with his new contract extension; Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe so gifted that they’ve even made Status Quo sound cool at the Emirates.
Arsenal finally seem to have a plan for the future under Mikel ArtetaCredit: EPA
But if Spurs fail to make the top four, the turbulent Conte may head for the hills and there would be the chilling prospect of another Kane summer transfer saga — as chilling for reporters as for fans, mark my words.
For Arsenal to seize a place at the top table at Tottenham’s expense — without the need for any poisonous lasagne which laid low ten players and cost Spurs a Champions League place in 2006 — would be a fine achievement.
Yet they will still be crying foul play at Spurs. And, frankly, they may have a point.
TETCH FOR TAT
AS TITLE-RACE fatigue sets in, some glorious tetchiness from Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
We expected the Liverpool manager’s twaddle about Spurs playing negatively.
Credit: AP
But there was a failure of imagination when Guardiola opted for the imaginary siege routine after Manchester City humped Newcastle.
“Everyone in this country supports Liverpool, the media and everyone,” he complained.
I mean, whatever gets you through the night baby but Reds fans call themselves ‘The Unbearables’ for a reason.
Nobody else can bear them.
So while Guardiola claims all English journalists support Liverpool, and City legend Sergio Aguero has stated we all support Manchester United, anyone with a passing knowledge of Fleet Street knows the vast majority have always supported West Ham.
SHEAR AGONY
MANCHESTER UNITED were so bad at Brighton that Alan Shearer — a man with no great fondness for the Old Trafford club — sounded as if he might burst into tears while trying to analyse their gutless capitulation on Match of the Day.
It’s now five consecutive away defeats for United, who went 29 Premier League matches unbeaten on the road under that misunderstood football genius Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
A sixth, at Crystal Palace on the final day, could dump United into the third-tier Europa Conference League.
Wonder if Patrick Vieira will show them any mercy?
ON YOUR TODD
THE silence of Roman Abramovich was a frustration to Chelsea fans long before he became implicated in the possible outbreak of World War Three.
But the sight of incoming owner Todd Boehly celebrating a Romelu Lukaku goals against Wolves with an ostentatious American-style fingers-in-mouth whistle suggests those supporters might soon be hankering back to quieter times.
