Match Report: Arsenal Capitalise on Spurs' Lightweight Midfield in Derby Win
"You know that I have been in England a long, long time so the FA Cup means a lot to me," was the opening line in Arsène Wenger's pre-match programme notes on Saturday. On the back of Paul Lambert's suggestion that Premier League survival is more important than FA Cup glory, it was a welcome statement from the Arsenal boss as they hosted Tottenham in the second North London derby of the season.
The meeting between the two teams was the first in the competition since Arsenal's 2-1 win over their rivals in the 2001 FA Cup semi-final and it was the home side that ensured they progressed to the next round of the cup with a routine victory in an entertaining affair. Santi Cazorla put Arsenal 1-0 up on the half-hour mark following some questionable Spurs defending as the hosts looked to make it just the 1 defeat in their last 35 at home in England's oldest cup competition.
Spurs had threatened early in the second half, but were suspect at the back and they were made to pay for their defensive naivety when Danny Rose was robbed of possession by Tomas Rosicky on the halfway line. The Czech then broke forward and calmly lofted the ball over Hugo Lloris to confirm the Gunners' place in the 4th round of the FA Cup. It was little more than Arsenal deserved in a, at times, one-sided encounter at the Emirates as the red half of north London exerted their superiority over their neighbours once again.
Tim Sherwood persisted with a 4-4-2 for the 6th consecutive game, making just the one change from the 2-1 win over Manchester United on New Year's Day with the inexperienced Nabil Bentaleb coming in for Etienne Capoue in midfield. The swagger that Spurs had lacked under André Villas-Boas may've returned, but in Sherwood's 6 games, the openness in his side has been evident.
It was only a matter of time before a technically superior outfit exposed Spurs' lack of numbers in the midfield and Arsenal did just that during Saturday's encounter. Wenger persisted with his favoured 4-2-3-1 and the extra man in the middle of the park left the visitors outnumbered and outgunned in the midfield third, highlighted in the goals from Cazorla and Rosicky.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Spurs' most consistent performer of late and often relied upon to drop deeper to linkup the play in attack, churned out a disappointing performance on his return to the Emirates, with his WhoScored rating of 6.0 his second lowest in his last 6 starts in all competitions; only the 5.5 he attained in the 1-1 draw with West Brom was worse. This gifted the double-pivot of Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere time and space on the ball to control proceedings in midfield, with the former ending the encounter with an 89% pass success and the latter able to complete 3 successful dribbles, no player made more.
The superiority in the midfield was further emphasised in the top 5 rated players from the match with Serge Gnabry (8.8), Rosicky (8.1) and Cazorla (7.6), Arsenal's attacking trio behind striker Theo Walcott, all featuring. Spurs may've ended the game the stronger side, possession wise (54% to 46%), in part due to Walcott being stretchered off 10 minutes from time, but they failed to make their late dominance count with Arsenal fully deserving of their win.
As a team, the Gunners secured a WhoScored rating of 7.27 in the encounter, much higher than their Premier League average (7.09), and ensured Spurs' hunt for a 9th FA Cup came to a premature end. Playing with only 2 central midfielders ultimately proved to be the downfall of Sherwood's side at the Emirates, as highlighted in the average player positions of the visitors.
This saw Arsenal capitalise on the extra space in between the midfield and defence in Sherwood's side, noted in the rating of Gnabry, Rosicky and Cazorla and the goals from the latter duo, as Arsenal booked their place in the next round of the competition at the expense of their rivals.
Do you think Arsenal deserved to win the North London derby? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
