Mesut Ozil Goes Missing Again As Arsenal Suffer Torment At Tottenham

Mesut Ozil Goes Missing Again As Arsenal Suffer Torment At Tottenham

Tottenham underlined their superiority over Arsenal with a convincing 2-0 win at White Hart Lane on Sunday. The result confirms that Spurs will finish above Arsenal for the first time in Arsene Wenger’s two-decade reign.

The Gunners were arguably lucky to avoid losing by a bigger margin, with Tottenham culpable of missing some gilt-edged chances before Dele Alli and Harry Kane put their rivals to the sword.

Perhaps the one consolation is that Arsenal weren’t on the end of a serious thrashing. Had Spurs been more clinical, this could have been embarrassing for Wenger’s men.

They’ll also take some comfort from the fact that both Manchester clubs and Everton also dropped points on Sunday. Arsenal’s slim hopes of making the top four remain just about alive.

After three consecutive victories, this was a return to the brittle Arsenal we’ve seen for the majority of the season. It turns out the new 3-4-3 system isn’t quite the panacea the supporters hoped. The Gunners struggled against a team who seemed more organised and motivated.

Wenger is right: one season does not necessarily denote a power shift in north London. However, right now Tottenham are comfortably better than their rivals.

The Gunners boss will be criticised for naming Olivier Giroud ahead of Danny Welbeck in attack. Tottenham tend to squeeze high, leaving space in behind, yet Giroud was unwilling and unable to test the Spurs defence in that fashion.

Wenger was also worryingly passive on the touchline, failing to make changes until the game was beyond Arsenal. After the FA Cup semifinal win over Manchester City provided some respite, this result will reopen the debate over the manager’s future.