Andrey Arshavin puts seal on Arsenal's derby destruction of Tottenham

Posted Wednesday, September 22, 2010 by theguardian.com

Carling Cup Third Round

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Keane 49
Arsenal 4 Lansbury 15, Nasri (pen) 92, Nasri (pen) 96, Arshavin 105

Andrey Arshavin puts seal on Arsenal's derby destruction of Tottenham
Jack Wilshere, right, runs past Wilson Palacios during Arsenal's Carling Cup victory over Tottenham.

A berth in the fourth round of the Carling Cup was not the real prize. Arsenal treated this match as if its outcome might reverberate for months and perhaps seasons to come. Arsène Wenger selected a far more formidable line-up than is his habit for this competition and then raised the potency again by bringing on Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh.

Harry Redknapp's wearying line-up succumbed in extra-time. Arsenal behaved as if a reckoning with Tottenham Hotspur had acquired a new priority now that their north London rivals also have Champions League status. The visitors relished this match increasingly as their opponents looked dazed, tired and in some cases injured. This encounter had taken its toll.

Samir Nasri converted two penalties silkily in the 91st and 96th minutes. The first was awarded for Sébastien Bassong's contact on the Frenchman himself. The next came when Arshavin released Chamakh and Steven Caulker pulled him back. With Tottenham dejected, Jack Wilshere's simple free-kick set Ashavin loose to record the side's fourth with a superb finish.

The capering of his talented youngsters in this tournament has generally had a limited relevance for Wenger and bids to win the competition have mostly been half-hearted. Aside from any effort to undermine Tottenham psychologically, Arsenal may be starting to think there would be no harm in landing any piece of silverware. The vigil started after the FA Cup success of 2005.

Redknapp could well have been surprised by the ruthlessness of his opponents. He had followed the custom of this tournament and, so, the 18-year-old centre-half Caulker made his debut while Jake Livermore, 20, received his first start. Livermore has had experience in loan spells at other clubs, but this was an occasion of a different order.

Whatever the incentive, Arsenal were voracious, even if it was a teenager who put them into the lead after quarter-of-an-hour. Emmanuel Eboué switched play to the left and Kieran Gibbs moved inside before slipping the ball back into the space he had vacated. Tomas Rosicky and Wilshere combined, with the latter's low ball turned into the net by Henri Lansbury.

The 19-year-old thus notched his first goal for Arsenal in his first start. It can only have been soothing for his manager, who was watching from a certain distance. Rather than appeal against the punishment for his treatment of the fourth official Martin Atkinson after Saturday's game with Sunderland, Wenger preferred to serve it here.

His priority must have been to ensure that the touchline ban did not affect him in the Premier League, but the impact of Arsenal would have taken the edge off any taunts that Tottenham fans aimed at him. The home side could not establish a pattern and the Brazilian Sandro, in his first outing, struggled to get a response from team-mates.

Arsenal supporters were not so much celebrating as gloating. Such behaviour could have been absurdly premature, but it reflected the authority of their side's display. This fixture had a severity for a Tottenham line-up with overtones of experimentation. The goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, on loan from Spartak Moscow, was the third Tottenham debutant.

The event was chastening for all of them, with Livermore among the men booked. Despite all the crowing from the away fans, Tottenham were just a goal behind then. It did not escape Redknapp that there were seasoned figures on the bench whose know-how might shift the balance of the game. Robbie Keane and Aaron Lennon took over from Giovani dos Santos and Livermore at the interval.

The effect was almost comic in its immediacy, although Wenger cannot possibly view it in those terms. In the 46th minute, Kyle Naughton slid in a pass from the right to Keane, who was permitted to continue when he seemed to be in an offside position. Arsenal ought to have survived but their goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski could not keep out a finish by the Ireland international that was close to his left hand.

A dismayed Tottenham might have gone behind in the 62nd minutes but Carlos Vela, scorer of two goals in the 6-0 rout of Braga in the Champions League last week, did not react sharply enough to a Rosicky cross and headed off-target. This meeting could have been viewed at that juncture as a respectable copy of the close, hard-fought encounter that would have been anticipated in a Premier League clash.

There was a passage in normal time when the tension grew as people took few risks and goalkeepers were temporarily redundant. Once Arsenal freed themselves decisively from that conservatism the opposition took on an exhausted air. Tottenham will learn from these events, but it has been a cruel education. Wenger mentioned afterwards that he has significant players who were not involved here. If he seeks to make rivals anxious, this was a useful night.