Carling Cup: Conclusions from the Arsenal v Tottenham match - Part 2
Laurent Koscielny has slowly started to adapt to the English game. The player looked to be very shaky and rather poor in the opening few weeks of the season, however as the season has progressed the defender has managed to pick up on his form and has become
a solid wall at the back for Arsenal. He has also gone on to prove that having a considerable amount of pace and the ability to win battles in the air are two of the factors that make defenders truly world class.
Something that remains to be seen, is who Arsene Wenger will field in the next round of the Carling Cup. The team that was selected to play against Tottenham last weekend was by far the strongest side that the manager had fielded in over a decade. This squad
selection by the manager also proves that winning a derby has a far greater importance in the French man’s heart then playing in the Carling Cup.
The other reason for Wenger fielding the team, could be the fact that the manager felt it was necessary for the team to continue the brilliant start to the season that the team was going through. The team quite simply destroyed Tottenham in last night’s
match and the managers decision to bring on Thomas Rosicky and Samir Nasri was a very smart move. Both the players when brought on helped change the game. Once the game concluded the fans and the rest of the footballing world had already forgotten about what
happened at Sunderland only a few days earlier.
David Bentley is the only player on the Tottenham side who could have had any excuses, for his poor form at the end of the night. The midfielder had not been given much field time and was expected to be rusty when he took to the field. On the other hand,
players like Aaron Lennon did nothing more than disappoint. Lennon has been going downhill over the last couple of months as his performances have started to disappoint. The winger was supposed to be one of the few players on the side, who would have given
Arsenal a run for their money, but the English winger was largely anonymous on the night, not really doing anything other than taking up an extra spot on the field.
Tottenham might have fielded a team, that consisted of eight international players, however their team was nothing more than a ‘D’ grade side when compared to Arsenal’s ‘C’ grade side. Some news papers even went as far as labelling the match, as a contest
between kids and babies. Tottenham had beaten Arsenal by a whopping five goals to one last time around, even though Arsenal were playing most of their reserve squad in that game, the win was a hundred percent legitimate. What has happened now is that Tottenham
have finally fallen victim to the Champions League effect and are finally going through, the same series of events that Arsenal went through last season.
There were a few positives for Tottenham on the night. Some of the teams youth players and new signings seemed to impress when compared to their first team counterparts. Steven Caulker and Sandro both looked more than decent on the pitch and were amongst
the better performers on the Tottenham side on the night.
Tags: