When a chastened Igor Tudor emerged after Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-1 collapse to Arsenal, the interim coach was asked whether the display said more about his team’s problems or the qualities of what he described as “the best team in the world”, the response was simply: “Both things”.
He added: “There is a big gap between the teams.”
There certainly was in the scoreline, where Spurs were fortunate the defeat wasn’t much larger. That in turn made it one of those matches where, as Tudor indicated, it told a lot about both teams. There were two major storylines, that could yet come together for an Arsenal dream.
They could finally win the title, in the same season that Spurs are relegated.
This result at least made that prospect a touch likelier. The overall performance was meanwhile of such a nature that it was impossible not to start thinking that it was potentially as important for the relegation battle as it was for the title race.
That’s how bad Spurs got.
That made it an even better day for Arsenal. Almost everything went for them.
Had it stayed a mere 2-1, after all, the major discussion would probably have been about Viktor Gyokeres.
This may have been an arrival moment, in what felt like his first really big moment for Arsenal. People could no doubt quip that this was more flat-track bullying against lower-table opposition, but the context of the goal was huge. Arsenal badly needed a victory in what had by then been an emotionally intense derby. Gyokeres produced when needed. That is what he has been signed for.
If Gyokeres was the match-winner, though, Eberechi Eze was the player who ran it.
That’s now five goals in two games against his club’s greatest rivals.
And from that, when the teams were announced before the game, it was easy to understand why Arteta put the playmaker in midfield. Eze’s earlier hat-trick amplified a good record against Spurs, and a good feeling he has when facing them, something to continue.
Arteta further elaborated on that afterwards.
“I could see that he wanted to prove something. He was upset, even with me, because I didn’t play him the other day from the beginning, and some of the decisions that I made. And I just have to understand how we’re going to get the best out of him now.”
While Eze’s goals offered the headlines on his performance, though, the nature of his play felt even more significant for what next – for getting the best out of him, in the way Arteta talks. He can make Arsenal better, too, as seen with how proactive he was.
Eze’s passes were constantly speeding play up and moving Arsenal further up the pitch.
That is crucial because it has been an element badly missing from the team over the past few games. Arsenal have felt more constrained, while lacking that fluency and perceptiveness in attack. They were missing a dimension.
Eze offered it all.
Some of that problem had obviously been linked to the angst surrounding the team over this very title race, which was why the win was as important as anything.
It was just as telling that, on being asked about the victory, Arteta first talked a lot about the 2-2 draw with Wolves.
“I cannot be prouder and happier for what I’ve seen out there, but especially the way we lived the last 72 hours, because I think this game in particular needed some context, and after what happened against Wolves and the manner that we lost two points in the last kick of the game, it was tough. But that’s the beauty of this game, I mean, there is no explanation watching the game back, how the hell you draw that game.
“But it happened, and then you have to lift yourself up because you’re feeling angry, upset, [and] ashamed at some point. And we are all different nationalities, we all have different feelings, and then you have to bring everybody together. And it’s been a joy to spend that time together with them, to align everybody and to say, ‘OK, what is going to be happening in the next chapter? This one is gone, how do we use it to be a turning point and to make ourselves better?’”
There were a number of other headline quotes, so relevant to a race that is starting to turn into the run-in.
“It feels like we show what we are made of but then you have to show it again and again and again,” said Arteta. “This is not a job. When you are disappointed about what you’ve done in your job, you don’t feel that way.
“It’s much bigger than that. That’s our passion, it’s the purpose that we have, the objective that we have, it’s what we love doing, and then it’s very painful. But as well it can be very rewarding. And today, football shows you that, keep going, whatever you do. You win, keep going. If you lose, keep going. Because it is worth it, especially with the people that we have in this club.”
Finally, there was a line that will be so relevant to Spurs.
“And when it’s really on the edge and people are doubting, that’s when you have to stand up.”
Some at Spurs would bristle at taking any advice from Arsenal, but it’s become a recurring theme. Tudor was just the latest coach to talk about how good their great rivals are, as he admitted a game like this made him more deeply realise the scale of the challenge.
“You never know because this is a situation that I never saw,” he said.
It is remarkable to think now that the build-up around this game had been about whether a Spurs change of coach would restore an edge and take advantage of Arsenal at a vulnerable moment. Some in the visiting side had even taken note of the pre-game gee-up by the Spurs stadium announcer.
“Sometimes there’s a fire to be lit,” it went. “They’re nervous as hell. We’re calm. We’re ready...”
They were ready to be hammered. While Spurs did initially play with the necessary emotional intensity, that naturally dissipated, as the team was dissected. By the end, they could barely muster proper challenges, and an Arsenal under less pressure could well have claimed a victory of a historic scale.
That’s what made the second half so alarming. Spurs fans have rightly been screaming for months about their concerns, but for so long it was hard not to feel they have too much quality – especially with injuries.
Now, we’re arguably past that. It might well be about psychology, and the type of “negative spiral” once mentioned after one of these fixtures.
One of key elements of Thomas Frank’s departure, after all, was supposed to be the long-awaited removal of so much toxicity. And that was the case at the start of this match. But it absolutely wasn’t the case by the end.
The toxicity was arguably worse, because there are no obvious solutions. This team has a battle.
It was so good for Arsenal, meanwhile, that Arteta could joke about the hold-ups when the referee communications failed.
“Every time we are late out of the dressing room, we get huge fines!”
Here, they’ve got a huge win, that may have considerable impact in multiple ways.
