Tottenham travelled to the Emirates to face http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 in last weekend’s North London derby. The club was fresh from two successive league defeats, and faced a stern challenge against an Arsenal side that themselves needed a result badly.
Manager Andre Villas-Boas has spoken ahead of the game and said that he believes Tottenham are capable of finishing above their bitter rivals this season. Having started the game brightly, Tottenham had taken the lead through Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togolese
was however sent off just minutes later, and Tottenham found themselves a man down and at the receiving end of a 5-2 thrashing.
Gareth Bale had scored Tottenham’s second goal, but it only made the score line a bit less embarrassing. Other than their positive attacking display, Spurs had nothing to show for the defeat.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hugo-Lloris-c16408 – 5
The goalkeeper got his second start in the Premier League ahead of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brad-Friedel-c7953. He made two impressive stops from Giroud and displayed a decent level of confidence, but was left helpless as Tottenham failed to deal with wave after wave of Arsenal attack.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jan-Vertonghen-c17814 – 6
Vertonghen had a decent game in the first half and was involved in Tottenham’s first goal. He did struggle with Walcott’s pace and looked even more troubled when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Oxlade-Chamberlain came on in the second half.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/William-Gallas-c36874 – 6
The Frenchman was unable to handle Giroud’s physical presence and aerial ability. He struggled further in the second half to contain Podolski and looked drained towards the end of the game. Gallas did not have his best game in a Spurs jersey.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kyle-Naughton-c21563 – 3
The worst performer on the pitch, the youngster had a torrid afternoon and was constantly troubled by Sagna and Walcott on the right wing. He was not given adequate support by Gareth Bale, and failed to prove himself as adequate cover for the injured Benoit
Assou-Ekotto.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kyle-Walker-c21566 – 5
Walker player better than Naughton, but struggled to deal with Podolski and Cazorla on the left wing. He looked tired and was taken off in the second half.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tom-Huddlestone-c35227 – 5
Huddlestone had a busy afternoon and was left chasing shadows as he tried to contain Cazorla and Wilshere in the midfield. He made a couple of decent challenges and was eventually substituted in the second half.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Aaron-Lennon-c3062 – 6
The Englishman made Vermaelen work in the opening minutes, but eventually found himself held back, especially after Adebayor had gotten sent off. Lennon spent most of the game in his own half helping his team defend and looked visibly frustrated when then
game ended.
Gareth Bale – 7
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gareth-Bale-c14422 had a decent game, but failed to track back for his team. He was unable to contain Walcott and Sagna on the right wing, but offered positives for Tottenham going forward. His pace and dribbling ability led to Tottenham’s second goal, but other
than that, the Welshman made little difference.
Sandro – 5
The Brazilian look frustrated all afternoon, and rushed into a series of careless and mistimed tackles. He was yellow carded in the second half, which managed to calm him down a bit.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Emmanuel-Adebayor-c12526 – 4
The Togolese looked bright at the start, and score the opening goal of the night. He however lunged into a careless and rash tackle against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Santi-Cazorla-c32505 and was sent off minutes later, ultimately dooming his team to a one-man disadvantage.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Jermain-Defoe-c18359 – 4
Defoe also had a poor game, and despite looking threatening in the opening minutes, he offered little else.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Dawson-c25288 – 5
The centre-half was brought on in the second period to form the back three for Tottenham, but found it hard to deal with Arsenal’s constant attacks.
Clint Dempsey – 4
The American was brought on at half time to help Tottenham attack more, but failed to make an impact in Tottenham’s fruitless attempts to salvage something out of the game.
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