Outstanding, marvelous...and bloody ridiculous!

ARSENAL 5-2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Adebayor 10 mins, Mertesacker 24 mins, Podolski 42 mins, Giroud 45 mins, Cazorla 60 mins, Bale 71 mins, Walcott 90 mins
Adebayor sent off 18 mins
Att: 60,111

Fantastic. Unbelievable. Shocking. These words sprung to mind when thinking about the last meeting between Arsenal and Spurs, back in February. Coming into this game, I pondered what kind of Arsenal will turn up. It has been proven that this tie produces goals, goals and more goals; and yet, not many people would have predicted an identical scoreline. Contextually, yesterday's game was very, very different. An almost completely new midfield has replaced the first-teamers of last season, and furthermore, Arsenal's front line has completely changed too; at least, their talismanic striker was not there.

Tottenham started more brightly than initially anticipated; the Arsenal didn't come out all guns blazing, and when Defoe capitalised on a silly defensive slip, EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR could not miss from all of about 4 yards, rebounding Defoe's effort. Arsenal looked shell-shocked, however as a Gooner aged 17 years old, the unfolding scenario seemed all too familiar; it seems the norm for Arsenal to concede before properly starting the engines.

The Spurs fans were reveling in the teams lead, though Arsenal fans were in good voice, and it proved to be a fierce atmosphere. More notably, the bitter chanting was aimed squarely at ex-Gunner, and goalscorer, Emmanuel Adebayor. Perhaps caught up in the heat of all the abuse, Adebayor produced a seriously mistimed and malicious challenge on Santi Cazorla, a foul which sparked outrage in the Arsenal faithful, who were calling for a red. Howard Webb, the day's referee, had little choice but to produce what the Arsenal fans were craving, and Adebayor was forced to leave the field in shame.

It can be said that this moment of madness is what inspired the Arsenal to come out and perform. Perhaps a mixture of a shaken Spurs side and a resurgent Arsenal side, but from that moment on, the Arsenal forwards were flooding wave after wave of attack. And eventually they got what they deserved, PER MERTESACKER rising high above ex-Gunner William Gallas to direct a Tony Adams-esque bullet header into the net, sending the Arsenal fans into delirium. His first goal for the Gunners, it was clear how much that goal meant to the lanky German, and Arsene Wenger could only be pleased for him.

Despite all the Arsenal pressure, it wasn't until the 42nd minute until Arsenal took the lead. LUKAS PODOLSKI scoring a rather scrappy goal, beating Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris, that squirmed into the right corner. That did not matter, however, and the German striker celebrated in similar fashion, and the crescendo of noise in the Emirates Stadium was startling.

The flood gates appeared to have opened, and when Santi Cazorla raced through the Tottenham defence, sending in a low cross, OLIVIER GIROUD nipped in front of Gallas and Vertonghen to sweep in a third for the Arsenal; his seventh of the season, the Frenchman does seem to be settling in rather well, at last. 3-1, and a flabbergasted Villas-Boas had a task on his hands to inspire his Spurs team who already looked down and out. The half time whistle couldn't have come quickly enough, and the teams returned to the dressing rooms for their briefings.

As the fans sat, trying to get their breath back, I can honestly say that these performances are not novelties any more; this kind of play is turning into a vintage Arsenal style, albeit a rather negative one. If the fans had their way, Arsenal would concede a minimal amount of goals; however, Adebayor's goal came far too easily, and this sort of defensive incompetency happens in great frequency, sadly. The teams returned from the dressing rooms, and Arsenal it seemed returned the more hungry.

Still benefiting from their numerical superiority, Arsenal continued to dominate the midfield passages, Cazorla notably demonstrating his claim for being Arsenal's best buy this summer. And as if by coincidence, the Spaniard was rewarded for his excellent performance. As the Spurs defence fell asleep, Lukas Podolski raced down the left flank before drilling a low cross for the waiting SANTI CAZORLA to drive home, low in to the bottom right corner, Lloris again left helpless by his lacklustre defence. It was a fitting moment, as Cazorla had arguably been Arsenal's man of the match thus far.

The Arsenal fans were rubbing their eyes in disbelief, and any neutral fan could spare some sympathy for the Spurs supporters, their team being taken apart by their most bitter rivals. However, Spurs did manage to score a consolation, a quite brilliant goal by GARETH BALE, penetrating the Arsenal defence before drilling in with his "weaker" foot. Bale had had a relatively quiet game, but he certainly reminded everyone of his presence and ability with that goal. Perhaps more concerning for the Arsenal fans was the fact that yet again, the defence had fallen asleep and let in a goal that in truth could have been avoided, or at least better dealt with. However, in retrospect, this goal didn't prove too detrimental to Arsenal.

As the game began to wittle away, the result was a formality and had been for some time. Arsenal fans were greeted by the re-apperance of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from injury. And the young England star made an instant impact, as he stormed forward before squaring for THEO WALCOTT to put in the fifth goal, and his ninth of the season. There were four minutes of injury time, though Arsenal were content with seeing the game out; Howard Webb blew his full time whistle, and drew to an end a game which demonstrated the best and worst of Arsenal FC. From hapless defending to artistic attacking, Arsenal displayed a mixed bag, thankfully outweighed with positives. It seemed ridiculous to predict another 5-2 as in February, but this was a rather ridiculous game in truth!

Next up for the Arsenal is the return of the Champions League, Montpellier will be visiting the Emirates on Wednesday evening.