IT’S not often that a Spurs goal is celebrated by EVERY Arsenal fan.
But Dominic Solanke’s scorpion kick equaliser to complete a comeback that seemed utterly unfeasible at half-time might be the final nail in City’s faltering title hopes.
An afternoon that seemed set to end in further humiliation for Thomas Frank ended with the Spurs fans hailing Solanke and the outstanding Xavi Simons, the Dane’s half-time changes sparking their best 45 minutes of the entire season.
From total control in the first half for Pep Guardiola’s men, a mastery so emphatic that Spurs were mocked by Sky duo Gary Neville and Jamie Redknapp at half-time, Tottenham went from no-hopers to heroes.
And if this was the weekend that defined the title race, Solanke’s second, a thing of beauty in stark comparison to his truly ugly first, will long be remembered.
Solanke seemed to have gone a fraction too early to meet the effervescent Conor Gallagher’s right-wing cross, the ball flying behind him.
Yet Solanke reacted superbly, timing his backwards hook to loop the ball beyond the fingers of Gianlugi Donnarumma, the ultimate sting in the title tale.
Thomas Tuchel cannot fail to have been impressed, not just by the quality of the goal but the sheer effort and energy Solanke deployed as a battering ram – keep playing like this and he will be Harry Kane’s World Cup understudy.
Despite a frantic last 20 minutes, which saw scrapes and escapes at both ends, there was no last-gasp winner – apart from Mikel Arteta and his Gunners, that is.
That it served to make Arsenal even hotter favourites to land the crown will perhaps change the mood of the Spurs fans on Monday morning.
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But for Frank, finally, a performance of intensity in the league at home, will mean questions about his future will go away for a few days.
Questions that had seemed set to be louder than ever after 45 minutes of complete City control during which Neville described the atmosphere as “eerie” and like a “charity game”.
With 11 first-teamers out, Spurs were there for the taking, Radu Dragusin as rusty as a bucket of old nails.
Just two minutes had elapsed when Erling Haaland rolled Dragusin with embarrassing ease to send Antoine Semenyo haring goalwards to fire at Guglielmo Vicario.
They did not heed the warning and when Yves Bissouma was criminally caught in possession by Bernardo Silva in the centre-circle, City pounced.
Haaland fed Rayan Cherki on the right, with a half-step outside the lumbering Dragusin creating space for a low right-footer that flashed home.
Frank threw his head back in anguish and then chucked a carton of water to the ground. He was as powerless as King Canute.
Soon after the goal, Haaland simply ran past Romero and Dragusin only to lift his shot on to the roof of the net.
Then Cherki was denied by a flick of Vicario’s gloves – missed by the officials – after destroying Romero and sending the sliding Dragusin half-way down the Tottenham High Road.
The atmosphere was beyond flat, the home fans ironically cheering any forward pass.
City seemingly always had a spare man available and the inevitable second came a minute before the break, with Dragusin’s hopeless, hapless and aimless ball was picked off by Rodri.
Two passes later, Bernardo Silva had teed up Semenyo to slide into the net.
Semenyo had more trouble completing his backwards overhead somersault than scoring against Spurs once more, four weeks after last month’s sign-off winner for the Cherries.
The half-time boos were resigned acceptance, while Cristian Romero’s failure to reappear after the break – Pape Sarr came on and they switched to a back four – only added to the sense of doom.
Had Rayan Ait-Nouri converted his headed chance at the start of the second period, City would have been on easy street.
Instead, he missed and Spurs, inspired by Xavi, turned up, transforming the mood.
Donnarumma tipped over Destiny Udogie’s rising drive after he was found by Simons, before the Dutchman found Solanke, played onside, just, by Ait Nouri.
Solanke twisted past Khusanov and was about to pull the trigger when Guehi stuck out a foot to intercept.
If anything, the Spurs man appeared to kick through Guehi’s calf, propelling his foot against the ball to send it trundling over his own line.
Nevertheless, the goal was awarded, with VAR deciding had Solanke made the final touch.
All changed, changed utterly. Suddenly Spurs were in the ascendant, winning the tackles they had relentlessly lost throughout the first period, driving forward, stretching Guardiola’s side.
And 20 minutes from time, Solanke’s moment of inspiration, after Gallagher was first to the ball on the right to deliver into the danger zone.
Spurs kept coming. Simons, everywhere, found Odobert, kept out by Donnarumma’s legs, before the Italian’s octopus arms denied the Dutchman’s deflected strike that was heading for the top corner.
City, now desperate, responded. Tijjani Reijnders glanced a header wide before Bernardo Silva’s dinked free-kick caused total chaos.
The ball did strike Sarr’s arm as he sat on the ground – he knew nothing about it – before he deflected Haaland’s shot behind, while Gray did just enough to then stop Reijnders finding the target from six yards.
Still time for more, with Simons doing brilliantly in the left and Guehi just getting there ahead of Odobert, before more mayhem inside the Spurs box as City threw the kitchen sink at it.
Not enough for Pep. Enough for Frank. And especially for Arteta.
