Match report: Flamini rediscovers scoring flair to down Tottenham
FULL TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Arsenal
Or: Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Mathieu Flamini. I think it’s fair to say nobody was expecting that. So Arsenal go into the pot for the fourth round. Spurs will feel a little hard done by: on another day, Harry Kane’s spectacular scissor kick would have flown into the net, and they’d have taken the spoils. But it was scrambled off the line, and the stage was set for Flamini to score his magnificent winner. When a defensively minded player like Flamini scores twice, I guess it’s just your day. Suffice to say, this has been yet another memorable League Cup encounter between the two north London giants.
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90 min +3: N’jie attempts a spectacular volley from the right-hand edge of the Arsenal D, but only succeeds in slicing the ball across the face of the area. Arsenal speed upfield through Walcott, who whistles a low shot wide left.
90 min +2: A free kick for Spurs in the centre circle. A chance for the home side to load the box. Trippier hoicks it into the mixer. Ospina comes through a human thicket to punch clear.
90 min +1: Carroll feeds N’jie down the left wing. N’jie’s got space near the area, but balloons his cross out of play to the right of the Arsenal goal. Needless to say Ospina takes plenty of time over his goal kick.
90 min: White Hart Lane has fallen into a tense silence. There will be three added minutes. Three minutes for Spurs to save themselves and send us into extra time!
89 min: Walcott comes on for Oxlade-Chamberlain.
88 min: Debuchy opens his legs down the right and whistles a shot straight at Vorm.
87 min: Alli has a belt from distance, but it’s straight at Ospina.
86 min: Sanchez battles down the left with Trippier, who sails very close to the wind, nearly bundling the Arsenal man over for a penalty. But not quite. It’s decent defending in the end. Spurs clear their lines, the danger over.
85 min: Spurs replace Dier with N’jie, whose first act is to bend down to head an Eriksen left-wing cross. He can only meet the ball with his shoulder, and it flies wide left of the target.
84 min: Ramsey skates down the left wing. He’s got Giroud ahead of him, but hesitates and the chance to send the striker clear is gone. The ball’s sent out to the right, where Oxlade-Chamberlain attempts to thread one into the bottom left. It’s wide of the post. No Flamini he.
83 min: Arsenal stroke it around the back for a bit. This is high-quality clock management. “This is one of those rare occasions when the ‘he scores when he wants’ chant is genuinely funny,” opines Marie Meyer. “Unless you are a Spurs supporter, I guess.”
81 min: Spurs have to respond, and quickly. Trippier makes off down the right and hoys a high cross into the box. Ospina, his head presumably cleared, leaps to gather well under pressure from a couple of white shirts.
79 min: That’s as good a finish as you’ll see all season. Ted Drake and Alan Sunderland are the only Arsenal players to score a hat-trick in the north London derby. If Mathieu Flamini joins them on that list, we might as well stop all football. We’ll have seen everything.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Arsenal (Flamini 78)
Sanchez cuts in from the left. His pass inside is deflected into the air. It drops on the right-hand corner of the Spurs D. And who’s this rushing in? It’s Flamini, who meets the ball on the volley, guiding it into the bottom right! That’s an astonishing finish! Two goals for Flamini!
Two goals for Flamini?!
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77 min: Alli’s first act is to slide in needlessly and recklessly on Mertesacker. It’s a yellow card. The young man a wee bit too eager there.
75 min: Chadli is replaced by the highly promising Dele Alli. Mertesacker and Ospina nearly confuse each other on the edge of their own area, but locate the ball before disaster engulfs them. Ospina is in a flat spin right now.
74 min: A ball looped into the Spurs box by Ramsey on the left. Wimmer is all over Sanchez, who goes to ground. It’d have been soft and generous, but you’ve seen penalties given for that.
73 min: Kane drops a shoulder to get past Oxlade-Chamberlain down the left - then crashes the same part of his body into the advertising hoardings. For a second it looks serious, but he’s quickly up and OK. Must have been catching his breath. But it’s a corner, which is sent deep - and Ospina, upon catching it, nearly drops it into his own net. But he gathers himself - and the ball - by the right-hand post, just before infamy consumes him.
71 min: Eriksen piles down the right, enters the box and hits ... hmm, not sure ... it’s either meant to be a shot or a cross. Nope! Nope! Arsenal go straight down the other end, Ramsey sliding a pass down the inside-left channel to allow Giroud to burst into the box. His first-time snatch is deflected wide left, and the resulting corner comes to nothing. This is magnificent end-to-end fun.
69 min: Arsenal are beginning to emerge again, albeit gingerly. Sanchez skedaddles down the inside-left channel and sends a pea-roller into the arms of Vorm.
68 min: Ramsey scuttles down the inside-right channel and takes a potshot from the best part of 30 yards. It’s not very good, dragged across the face of goal and out of play on the left.
67 min: Both teams make a change. Townsend is exchanged for Son, while Sanchez comes on for Campbell.
65 min: A ball scooped down the right wing is misjudged by Arteta, who allows Dier to make good towards the box. He earns a corner, which is sent deep by Townsend. Kane is level with the left-hand post, six yards out, and sends a perfect Mark Hughes scissor kick towards the bottom right. He deserves a goal, but it’s not happening for him right now, and Gibbs is there to stoop down and head off the line. A brilliant goalline clearance, but what an effort by Kane!
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62 min: Spurs are still pinging it around nicely, though. Chadli burns down the left again, shuttling the ball inside for Eriksen, who lays off for Carroll down the channel. Carroll rolls it forward for Kane, who very nearly turns Chambers. Not quite, but Kane would have been one on one with the keeper if he’d managed it. Some neat work down the left flank by Spurs there.
60 min: So having said that, Arsenal string a few passes together. After a period of possession, Oxlade-Chamberlain embarks on a baroque diddle down the left channel and nearly sends Gibbs free with a clever pass. The ball’s deflected out for a corner, which is just about dealt with by Spurs. But that’s Arsenal having served notice that they’re back off their break.
58 min: In the dugout, Arsene Wenger sits with a face on. As well he might. Arsenal haven’t come out for the second half yet, and are struggling to string more than a couple of passes together.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal (Chambers 56 og)
This had been coming. Trippier tears down the right and hoicks a long cross over to Chadli on the opposite wing. Chadli slips into the area and fires a low ball into the six-yard box in the general direction of Kane. Chambers sticks a leg out, as he probably has to, and deflects the ball into his own net! Spurs had been pressing hard, and they’ve got their reward. White Hart Lane erupts!
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54 min: A corner for Spurs down the left. Townsend, on the edge of the box, looks to curl one into the top right. Ospina gathers the too-careful effort with ease. Spurs are clearly not prepared to die wondering: they’ve started this half very strongly. Over 60% possession.
51 min: A free kick for Spurs down the left. A chance to load the box. Eriksen whips it in from the left. It’s headed across to the right for Townsend, who passes wide to an offside Wimmer, Again the flag goes up quite correctly. In the stand, a bloke who is at least 40 leans over the hoardings and delivers a perfectly mouthed “You wanker!” at the official. No need for a lip-reader there. Crisp and clear. Marvellous. Well, it matters, doesn’t it?
49 min: Chadli skips down the left. He reaches the left-hand edge of the box, and pulls the ball across to Eriksen, who curls a first-time sidefoot towards the bottom left. Ospina gets down to save brilliantly, but the ball squirts to Kane on the left. Kane fizzes the ball into the unguarded net from a tight angle, a crisp finish. But he’ll not be celebrating, because he was a yard offside and flagged accordingly. That should give Spurs - who have started the half with greater intent - succour.
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48 min: A bit of space for Carroll down the left. He loops in a cross, but Kane can’t get his head to it. It’s all a bit breathless.
46 min: Nobody’s managed to get the ball under control yet. The start of the half has a brisk, hectic, 1980s feel.
And we're off again!
No changes. Arsenal get the ball rolling again. Here’s Sam Hankins: “‘He lays off to Ramsey, who plays a blind pass.’ You could write that sentence in any MBM in which Ramsey plays. I love him, but it seems like he’s good for a no-look pass to somebody in the wrong kit at least once a game. Of course, now he’ll probably account for two assists in the second half.”
Half-time entertainment: A wonderful Joy of Six from the vault, courtesy of Rob Smyth and Simon Burnton.
HALF TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Arsenal
Chances at either end. Oxlade-Chamberlain cuts in from the left and nearly finds space to shoot in the box. He lays off to Ramsey, who plays a blind pass to Eriksen. Spurs flood upfield, Kane sent romping down the inside-left channel. On the edge of the area, he drags a shot across Ospina and out of play on the right. It could have been 0-2, it could have been 1-1. As it is, the whistle goes for 0-1. It promises to be a hell of a second half. No flipping!
45 min: A free kick for Spurs, the best part of 30 yards out. Eriksen takes it, but not with much conviction. Dier tries to rescue the situation down the right, but runs the ball out of play.
44 min: Kane gets his head in the game. A scramble in the Arsenal area, and the striker has the ball at his feet, six yards out. But he can’t work space, and lays back to Eriksen, who drags a weak effort wide. It’s taken a deflection off an Arsenal leg, but the resulting corner comes to nothing.
43 min: Celta Vigo are currently battering the European champions Barcelona 3-0 in that La Liga they have over there. What’s this got to do with the north London derby? Ask Matt Dony: “Right, if Iago Aspas can tear Barcelona apart, then Kane can get his head in the game and start to show that last season wasn’t a fluke. Iago Chuffing Aspas!”
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41 min: Rose roasts Debuchy for pace down the left, and is upended just outside the box for his trouble. Debuchy goes in the book. Eriksen takes the free kick from a tight angle, wheeching it into the six-yard box, but it’s easily headed clear by Chambers. This isn’t going to end 0-1, but who’ll be scoring next is anybody’s guess.
39 min: Fazio, in the centre circle, plays a gormless pass wide right to nobody in particular. Oxlade-Chamberlain is first onto the loose ball, and zips down the Arsenal left. He makes it as far as the area, and looks to curl one into the top right, but overcooks it and the ball flies wide. A real chance for a second Arsenal goal, with Spurs very light at the back.
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37 min: Giroud tears down the left and crosses deep. Campbell tries to reach the ball but, going at full pelt, does a header over the advertising hoardings. Ooyah, oof. The game continues, and Flamini clatters Rose near the right-hand corner flag, his studs not far from the full-back’s Tender Place. Another Arsenal holding midfielder goes in the book. And Campbell’s OK.
36 min: A couple of Arsenal corners. Strangely subdued affairs, with little in the way of danger to the Spurs goal, so Vorm does his best to cause a bit of excitement by flapping at the second one.
33 min: Arteta is booked for planting his studs in Townsend’s left buttock. Not quite a good old-fashioned toe-end up the arse, but not far off it.
32 min: More space for Rose down the left! A huge up and under down the wing, which Debuchy totally misreads. Rose scoots off into the area, though the angle is a little tight. Ospina is out quickly to close him down. Rose shoots wildly over the keeper, the ball well right of the target too.
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31 min: This is a lot better from Spurs. Kane glides down the middle and slips the ball left to Rose, who is bombing down the channel. Rose drops a shoulder and cuts inside, working space to shoot in the box. But from ten yards he drags his effort wide left of the post.
30 min: Spurs need to inject a bit of life into their play. Townsend realises this, and battles hard down the right wing with Campbell. A little too much, as he bowls his opponent over. A lot of frowning, but nothing more.
29 min: ... nothing. Ospina claims the set piece with an insouciant skip into the air.
28 min: Spurs respond with a long throw down the right. The ball skims off the head of Gibbs and out for a corner. From which ...
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Arsenal (Flamini 26)
This comes out of nothing. Giroud, on the left, flicks a pass inside for Oxlade-Chamberlain, who fizzes a shot towards the bottom-left corner from 25 yards. It’s a decent effort, and should be turned round the post by Vorm. But instead the keeper parries it back into the centre of the area, where Flamini rushes in to bury the loose ball. First blood to the Gunners!
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25 min: Giroud battles again down the left wing. He’s powerful and determined, and looks to have worked space near the area but he’s penalised for excessive force.
23 min: Giroud stumbles down the left. He’s going nowhere, the ball snagged under his feet on the touchline, but Fazio clumsily lunges in and concedes a free kick. The set piece doesn’t clear the first man. After a bright start, this game suddenly looks in need of a little inspiration. Anyone?
21 min: Eriksen slips a pass down the left to release Chadli into dangerous space. But he’s flagged for offside. This match is getting a little tatty. It’s threatened to spark into life, but not quite yet. Plenty of time, plenty of time.
19 min: Rose reaches a ball he had no right to reach, sprinting down the left. His deep cross is guided out for a corner by Gibbs, who is taking no chances. But once again the corner is a total non-event.
17 min: Plenty of possession for Spurs, but they’re not in the mood to throw too many people forward right now, and Arsenal are quite happy to let them have it in the midfield. The result is something of a lull.
15 min: Then Spurs nearly open Arsenal up, Townsend floating a ball in from the right, Kane’s sensors flashing like billy-o as he winds up for a header, ten yards out and level with the left-hand post. But Chambers is on point, and eyebrows the ball out of play before it reaches Kane. The resulting corner comes to nothing. This is a lovely open game right now.
14 min: Ramsey sliderules a pass down the left to release Gibbs, who whips a low cross towards Giroud at the near post. Giroud can’t connect properly and the ball clanks into the air. Campbell tries to salvage the situation by sending a snap header goalward from the penalty spot, but it flies over the bar. Giroud should have done better. The most dangerous moment of the match so far.
12 min: Eriksen slides down the left and flicks the ball inside for Chadli, who shimmies this way and that, nearly working space for a shot just inside the box. He’s closed down by Mertesacker. But a very pretty move nonetheless.
10 min: Kane goes to work down the left. He’s the embodiment of tenacity, and looks to have earned a corner by bothering Debuchy to distraction. But the referee gives Arsenal the benefit of a foul, for a light shove in Debuchy’s back. The home fans aren’t particularly enthused by this decision, and gesticulate accordingly.
9 min: Now it’s Arsenal’s turn to be pushed back a bit. Kane and Eriksen are chasing everything down. Nothing comes of all the harrying, but Arsenal aren’t being allowed to settle.
7 min: Chadli passes down the inside-left channel from deep. Chambers lets the ball under his foot, allowing Kane space to run at the Arsenal box. That’s offside, Mertesacker having cleverly stepped up, but a hole momentarily appeared in the heart of the Arsenal defence there.
5 min: Spurs respond with a pretty move down the left, Kane, Chadli and Eriksen all involved. Townsend drifts in from the wing and thinks about shooting, but can’t work enough space. An enjoyable end-to-end opening to this match.
4 min: Arsenal have started the stronger. Campbell again shows on the right. The ball’s shuttled to the other wing, via Oxlade-Chamberlain, for Gibbs, who crosses deep. Campbell can’t quite get his head on it. But the visitors are on the front foot early doors.
3 min: Rose is again in the thick of the action, but this time down the other end, as he needlessly clips a backtracking Campbell down the right wing. A chance for Arsenal to load the box. Arteta’s delivery is a nonsense, and Spurs clear their lines.
2 min: Space for Rose down the inside-left channel. He looks to recreate his famous north London derby goal, but his ambitious effort from a very similar position is blocked at source.
And we're off!
A friendly pat on the shoulder and a warm handshake between the two managers, and then Spurs get the ball rolling. What bedlam! This is as intense as cup football gets. Which may explain why Spurs give the ball away within ten seconds - and Arsenal can only manage to retain possession for another five or so. This is happening!
The teams are out! As the atmosphere crackles around White Hart Lane, the players take to the pitch. Spurs are in their famous lilywhite shirts, Arsenal their equally iconic red with white sleeves. We’ll be off in a minute! “So: it’s official,” writes Charles Antaki. “One Coquelin is equivalent to one Arteta + one Flamini. Though you’d think the combined ages of the two x their square-pass coefficient would sort of count against the equation. Anyway, good to see Arsène taking the Carling Cup seriously, if horribly defensively.” Always nice to show the neighbours some respect.
The Guardian Stone Redistribution Service (Glass House branch):
Hey, we all make mistakes.
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Plenty of changes from last weekend. Spurs make eight swaps from the XI starters against Crystal Palace, Harry Kane, Nacer Chadli and Eric Dier the only survivors. Arsenal meanwhile make ten changes, with only Aaron Ramsey from the first XI against Chelsea keeping his place. The lads on Sky are banging on about this, as though it’s some sort of disgrace, but these still look like pretty strong teams. Spurs are happy to welcome Christian Eriksen back to their starting line-up, and keep new goalscoring hero Son Heung-min up their sleeve for later. Meanwhile Arsenal will be pleased to see Per Mertesacker return to the fold, while there’s a fair chance we’ll be seeing Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil in good time.
Dramatis personæ
Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm, Trippier, Fazio, Wimmer, Rose, Carroll, Dier, Chadli, Eriksen, Townsend, Kane.
Subs: Lloris, Walker, Vertonghen, Winks, Alli, Clinton, Son.
Arsenal: Ospina, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Flamini, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell, Giroud.
Subs: Macey, Bellerin, Monreal, Ozil, Iwobi, Sanchez, Walcott.
Referee: Andre Marriner (Birmingham).
Good evening, north London!
Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have quite a history in the League Cup. It all starts at the semi-final stage of the 1968-69 tournament, when John Radford was Arsenal’s hero. He roofed a last-minute winner at Highbury in the first leg - the game would otherwise have been the first goalless draw in a north London derby - and headed a late equaliser in the second at White Hart Lane. Arsenal had made it to Wembley, where they would surely beat third-tier Swindon Town. Eh?
The great rivals met again in the League Cup in November 1980. Ossie Ardiles scored the only goal of a fourth-round tie at a frozen White Hart Lane. On to the 1983-84 Milk Cup, and this time a third-round match at White Hart Lane. Arsenal won that one, Charlie Nicholas and Tony Woodcock the top Gunners. And then the famous 1986-87 Littlewoods Cup semi, and if somehow you haven’t got round to it yet, you really should read Fever Pitch. Funny Girl isn’t bad, either. Anyway, that tumultuous three-match series - settled by Ian Allinson and David Rocastle - was arguably the birth of the modern Arsenal, the first rumbling that George Graham might be onto something. His side went on to beat Liverpool in the final.
Fast forward nearly two decades to the Carling Cup era, and it’s another semi-final showdown. Julio Baptista scored three of the four goals in a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane. Arsenal secured the win at the Emirates in extra time, Jeremie Aliadiere the hero. No, looking back, it doesn’t appear to have been anyone’s imperial phase, does it. Arsenal lost the final at the Millennium Stadium to Chelsea, though their fans did have the satisfaction of watching Abou Diaby kick John Terry’s head halfway to Swansea, and there was a splendid bench-emptying brawl.
A year later, the boot was on the other foot as Tottenham ran riot in the semis, trouncing Arsenal 5-1 at White Hart Lane after a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Jermaine Jenas, Robbie Keane, Aaron Lennon and Steed Malbranque were Tottenham’s scorers, Nicklas Bendtner chipping in with an own goal. Emmanuel Adebayor scored a consolation for Arsenal. Spurs went on to beat Chelsea in the final, Jonathan Woodgate scoring the winner. Ah, Emmanuel Adebayor Jonathan Woodgate. There’s a blast from the past.
And finally, in September 2010, Arsenal came to White Hart Lane and handed out a thrashing of their own. A 4-1 win after extra time, Samir Nasri scoring a couple of penalty kicks, Henri Lansbury and Andrei Arshavin with the others. Keane’s second-half strike, equalising Lansbury’s opener, merely prolonged Tottenham’s agony in retrospect. Arsenal went on to the final, which they delivered on a silver platter to Birmingham City.
Arsenal have a very strange record in the League Cup, don’t they? Seven finals, yet five of them lost. A bit like Juventus and the European Cup. But we digress.
Anyway, like we said, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal have quite a history in the League Cup. They always seem to deliver, one way or another. Those last two League Cup meetings again: 5-1 to Spurs and 4-1 to Arsenal. A fair chance for another goalfest, then? Good luck deciding who will fill their boots, because neither team has yet to get properly going this season, though Spurs, on a three-game winning run right now, might be in a more positive frame of mind than Arsenal, who have lost their last two. This promises to be yet another fascinating encounter. It’s the League Cup. It’s the north London derby. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm local time at White Hart Lane, 7.45pm back in Ashburton Grove.
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