What a bizarre game. Some awful defending from both sides led to seven goals at the Emirates, with Arsenal eventually emerging with a 5-2 win that pushes them back to fourth place in the Premier League. After 34 minutes, Tottenhum Hotspur were up 2-0, but the visitors never looked totally secure and it wasn’t much of a surprise when an Arsenal blitz drew them level before halftime. What was perhaps more shocking was the second half, in which Spurs collapsed completely and Arsenal ran riot, claiming temporary bragging rights in London.
Arsenal Vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 2012 Premier League: Crazy Comeback Sees Gunners Win 5-2
A 5-2 home win looked a long way off in the 4th minute when Louis Saha took advantage of a gaping hole in Arsenal's back line, sending a deflected effort past Wojciech Szczesny to make it 1-0. Half an hour later, a blatant dive from Gareth Bale won Spurs a penalty, although Szczesny strangely avoided the red card that seemed inevitable once Mike Dean pointed to the spot.
And then Arsenal struck back. Bale completely failed to mark Bacary Sagna on a Mikel Arteta cross, with the Arsenal fullback nodding the ball past Brad Friedel to make it 2-1 in the 39th minute. Robin van Persie, who has saved the Gunners' season over and over again, leveled before halftime with a sweet curling strike, and suddenly were were looking at a 2-2 scoreline that somehow flattered both teams.
Harry Redknapp responded by deploying Sandro and Rafael van der Vaart, but the substitutions backfired rather spectacularly when Tomas Rosicky finished off a fine move with a sweet near-post finish to make it 3-2 just after halftime. Spurs fans would have been hoping that that goal would wake their side up, but it did nothing of the sort, and Arsenal killed off their opponents with two lovely counterattacking goals from Theo Walcott, who was otherwise almost entirely pointless. The match finished 5-2, but not before Scott Parker was sent off for a second bookable offence - he'll miss next weekend's home game against Manchester United as a result.
It's a big win for Arsenal, who leapfrog Chelsea once more to go into 4th place in the league, but Tottenham are still in pretty good shape - they've got a seven-point cushion over both Chelsea and the Gunners, and despite a dreadful day for them I know who I'd take for 3rd place.
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