Arsenal and Spurs produce another classic

On a night that featured a north London derby and the 2^nd instalment of the el Clasico triple bill few would have anticipated the Premier League game would outshine the Copa del Rey final.

The game at White Hart Lane this evening was breathtaking. The speed, intensity and quality of football on display tonight was something to behold. Whilst some of the defending left plenty to imagine the attacking potency from both sides produced a wonderful game.

The start of the game was electric, Arsenal were 2-1 up after 11 minutes through Walcott and Nasri. Playing on the Arsenal right Theo Walcott looked determined and hungry and was visibly worrying the Spurs defence every time he attacked. Meanwhile Spurs, who were the inferior side in the opening exchanges, seemed to be creating opportunities at will.

It was Arsenal who scored next through Robin van Persie to make it 3-1. Then, a few minutes before half time Tom Huddlestone produced an unbelievable bit of magic. Following a corner on the Spurs right hand side the ball fell to the midfielder 25 yards out. After being cleared by the Arsenal defence the ball fell to him and he hit it on the half volley perfectly into the left hand side of the net. Although he lacks pace his ball striking ability is something to behold.

The second half was not quite as free flowing as the first. The game was predominantly played in the Arsenal half with Spurs pushing for the equaliser. The introduction of Aaron Lennon at half-time for Gareth Bale proved to be very effective. Every time he ran at Sagna he looked like he had the beating of him. Indeed, it was Lennon who forced the Arsenal keeper Szczesny to bring him down in the penalty area when he broke free on the left hand side.

The subsequent penalty was dispatched by Rafael van der Vaart for his 2^nd of the game. Once Spurs had equalised the game began to flow as it had done in the first half, albeit with less intensity. There were a couple of chances at both ends with Fabregas forcing a fine save with a fierce drive from 20 yards.

All in all the draw was a fair result this evening. However, with Chelsea winning and Spurs falling slightly further behind Manchester City the result doesn’t help either side. Arsenal now find themselves 3^rd after Chelsea beat Birmingham and Spurs remain 5^th.