TERRACE TALK: Arsenal: Derby disaster as hopes dashed by able Kane

Highbury is hardly leafy suburbia and perhaps there’s an inevitable bias with me being a Gooner.

Yet although darkest Haringey is only a couple of miles down the Seven Sisters Road from the posh nosh esplanades of Islington’s pampered elite, with all the derelict wasteland that now exists around Spurs, in preparation for their new stadium project, one could be forgiven for mistaking the environs for a war-torn outland.

Invariably nowadays I travel to Tottenham in trepidation, with the same relish I reserve for a trip to the dentist, hoping to come away with some of my few remaining teeth still intact. However with all the hype in advance of Saturday’s encounter and having previously experienced just a hint of consistency for a first time this season, I left home fuelled by more eager anticipation for a derby dust-up at the Lane than I can recall in many a moon.

My optimism was dampened somewhat by the doubts about Sanchez’s fitness. Much like every other Gooner, I’d harboured faint hopes his tight hamstring was a ruse. After endless teasing texts to all my Tottenham mates about the thrill of seeing Sanchez wreak havoc upon their misguided hopes, and my instincts that we’d seriously miss the increased tempo and forward momentum offered by our Chilean’s unbridled energy, confirmation of his absence came as a big disappointment.

Nevertheless, after our feckless form and Spurs’ good fortune has resulted in the league table leapfrog we’ve endured to date, I’d been beguiled by our recent momentum, into believing that the comparative man for man abilities of the two teams on paper would surely be made manifest out on the pitch.

As we all know, it’s the unpredictability that is the beautiful game’s most alluring asset and my foolhardy certainty lasted all of 10 minutes. From the moment Ozil found the back of the net, the intensity integral to the Gunners recent swagger seemed to evaporate. In boxing it’s essential to dominate the middle of the ring, and similarly it’s a truism in football that the masters of the midfield will usually hold sway.

Where bemused bodyclocks usually result in the Gunners not turning up until the second half, strangely we started Saturday’s game with the required verve. Sadly, taking such an early lead somehow resulted in us stagnating for the remainder.

We’re fast growing accustomed to our recent transformation into a counter-attacking side, where a more responsible, less liberated Gunners set out with a primary objective of not beating ourselves with a gung-ho willingness to entertain. But tactics count for little in the frenetic cauldron of a derby. With Spurs winning every second-ball, it seemed only a matter of time before we eventually succumbed to their relentless pressure.

When this eventually told with Kane’s equaliser, our esteemed leader, with his scientific bent, appeared to be the only spectator present who failed to sense that there was only going to be one winner. Only a Philistine could fail to appreciate Ozil’s inherent artistry. Perhaps le Prof was banking on him being the one player with the ingenuity to break Spurs’ wills and outflank the formidable Lloris. Yet Mezut’s never going to be the man for wrestling back control in a furious battle.

Our subs might’ve been afforded more time to have an impact but it’s not exactly a revelation that we continue to lack the sort of player with the personality necessary to assist Coquelin’s admirable efforts to staunch Spurs flow and inspire those around them.

I was no less apoplectic when we gifted Bentaleb all the time and space he required to assist Kane in securing a crushing winner. But every dog has its day and Saturday’s win was no less than Spurs deserved. With only six derby defeats in Arsène’s 19-year tenure, my Spurs mates have become so bitter about our enduring dominance that it’s far more disturbing for them to hear me magnanimously conceding due credit to the victors.

But I suspect I won’t be nearly so rational, unless normal service is resumed in the north London league following our respective results tomorrow night.