Arsenal prolong Chelsea's wait with win over Spurs

Arsenal 1 Tottenham 0

Having won the title at Tottenham last season, Jose Antonio Reyes ensured Arsenal did not suffer the indignity of losing their crown against their north London rivals at Highbury.

Instead, thanks to Reyes’ 22nd-minute strike, Chelsea, who were watching on TV at their Stamford Bridge hotel, will now have to wait at least another five days until their celebrations can begin.

Jose Mourinho’s side have the luxury of four attempts to claim the two points they still require against Bolton, Charlton, Manchester United and Newcastle.

However, Arsenal at least ensured that the Blues would not win it without even playing as they battled their way to a 1-0 victory at Highbury.

There was one heart-stopping moment when substitute Robbie Keane flashed a header inches wide of the post.

But Arsenal held on and maybe it was entirely fitting that Reyes should emerge as the match-winner, albeit amid another excellent defensive display.

For the Spaniard’s season has rather neatly summed up Arsenal’s inconsistent campaign, starting off superbly but then seeing his form dip alarmingly over the winter before rallying rather too late.

Indeed, if only Arsenal had shown this form earlier in the season, the title race would be going down to the wire.

As it is, Mourinho, who had spoken in November of winning the title one or two weeks before the end of the season, now has the chance to make his dream come true at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

He had also insisted that he wanted Arsenal to win this game to ensure Chelsea would not relax at Bolton. There is little danger of that now.

Ironically, the game at Highbury was sponsored by Chelsea’s new sponsors Samsung, who had concluded a £50million five-year deal with Arsenal’s title rivals just a few hours earlier.

Their split loyalties were tested as early as the first minute, when Reyes burst onto a through-ball from the recalled Robin van Persie.

However, even after rounding goalkeeper Paul Robinson, Reyes shot into the side-netting and Spurs were allowed a brief respite.

The visitors rallied, with Jermain Defoe threatening first with a lob which drifted over the bar and then with a fierce shot that tested Jens Lehmann’s reflexes.

However, it was short-lived as, when Reyes was handed a second opening from an exquisite through-ball by Cesc Fabregas, he made no mistake as he fired a left-footed shot inside the far post.

Spurs thereafter continued to give the ball away far too easily, with Stephen Kelly tamely clearing only as far as Robert Pires, who quickly spotted Patrick Vieira’s surging run.

However, even though the Arsenal captain went flying after minimal contact with Michael Dawson, referee Mike Riley waved away the home side’s unconvincing penalty appeals.

Riley was also correct in adjudging that the excellent Philippe Senderos made contact with the ball in tackling Fredi Kanoute inside the penalty area at the other end.

But Spurs’ defensive problems continued as Vieira was left unmarked to flick a header just wide, while van Persie’s drive fizzed past the post.

Spurs again rallied briefly after the interval, even though the game became rather disjointed amid a handful of minor off-the-ball clashes.

However, the visitors’ finishing was all too wayward as Andy Reid and Defoe both blazed shots off target, while Dawson headed over the top.

Van Persie’s free-kicks were causing extreme problems in the Spurs defence, with Senderos powering a header over the top from close-range on 68 minutes.

However, the Holland Under-21 international made way for experienced compatriot Dennis Bergkamp, with Edu also replacing Fabregas.

Martin Jol, meanwhile, finally made his first chance, with Mido coming on for Kanoute, who had just been booked for throwing the ball away in disgust at a refereeing decision.

However, it was incredible that Arsenal did not increase their lead as Kolo Toure’s 30-yard free-kick flashed just over the top, while Edu curled a shot against the post.

Reyes then repeated his miss from the first minute when he crashed an effort into the side-netting after being set up by Gilberto.

The late drama almost came when Keane flashed his header wide, but Arsenal held on and Chelsea’s wait continues – at least until this weekend.