Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal: Rosicky screamer seals north London derby win for Gunners

So much for negative spirals, normal order appears to have been restored in north London.
Wojciech Szczesny whipped out a smartphone at the final whistle and started taking selfies of the jubilant Arsenal supporters.
It made you wonder how long the goalkeeper had been fiddling with his phone. He was not exactly over-employed. He barely had a save to make, although that was down as much to the brilliance of his central defenders as the ineptitude of Tottenham's strikers.
Still, this win courtesy of Tomas Rosicky's strike after 72 seconds, felt like a significant moment in the neighbourhood.
Travelling fans sang about Wembley and their 49-match unbeaten run now a decade old and belted out 'One-Nil to the Arsenal' as Spurs supporters slunk off home.




 

 
It seems an eternity since Gareth Bale inspired them to a 2-1 win, this time last year, when Andre Villas-Boas suggested Arsenal were locked in a negative spiral.
Bale is gone and AVB, too, while Arsenal can detect an end to their long wait for a trophy, be that in the FA Cup of the Barclays Premier League. Spurs, suddenly, have a fight to protect the dubious honour of their Europa League status, let alone gate-crash the Champions League.
This was a fifth defeat in seven games for Tottenham which leaves them seven points adrift of the top four with only eight to play. Everton are poised two points behind with games in hand and Tim Sherwood is being tested.
It has been a rough eight days for the rookie boss, who has been embroiled in touchline spats with Chelsea coach Steve Holland, Benfica boss Jorge Jesus and was raging again on Sunday, mainly at his own players for their sleepy start to proceedings.
A few yards to his right, Arsene Wenger, so often lampooned for his Fawltyesque antics on the bench, personified serenity.
When Sherwood sparked an angry reaction from Arsenal skipper Mikel Arteta by chucking the ball firmly at Bacary Sagna, it was Wenger who stepped in as peacemaker.
The Frenchman soothed his players and gave Sherwood a nod of reassurance but the Spurs boss is in danger of eroding much of the goodwill on his side with his explosive pitch-side manner.

















He leapt around as tackles flew in and, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain unzipped Spurs in the 15th minute, Sherwood ripped off his club gillet in fury and slung it to the floor before spinning around and launching another stinging attack on his defensive unit.
Who knows what might have happened had the Ox not wasted this chance to put Arsenal 2-0 up.
As it was the England midfielder attempted to chip Hugo Lloris and miscued it horribly. His effort rolled wide, unlike Rosicky, who made Tottenham pay for their sloppiness in possession.
Arsenal smothered the hosts in midfield in the game's opening phase and in this instance Rosicky emerged with the ball on the right, accelerated, traded passes with Oxlade-Chamberlain and arrowed the crispest of shots across Lloris and into the top corner.
It was a goal worthy of the occasion. The Ox squandered two more excellent chances in the first half. He fired one wide after a slick combination between Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski and blazed another over the bar.
Wenger's team seemed capable of destroying their neighbours but Spurs stirred after 30 minutes, taking encouragement when Emmanuel Adebayor beat Per Mertesacker to a cross from Kyle Naughton, only to flash the ball wide of the far post.
Adebayor has found himself increasingly isolated in recent games and Tottenham have struggled without his menace in front of goal, but a tweak to the team shape yesterday got more players around the centre-forward more quickly.
It proved only a minor triumph in the grand scheme. Even though they performed at a healthier tempo and created several promising situations, these situations all vanished with Szczesny rarely tested.
The Arsenal goalkeeper might have been taking photos with his phone long before the final whistle.
When he did invite chaos by spilling a couple of Naughton's crosses, early in the second half, Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny refused panic, perhaps helped by the fact both fumbles fell at the leaden feet of Nacer Chadli.
Chadli was unable to fashion a finish from the first and found his second chance smother by a combination of heroics from Koscielny and Mertseacker.
When it came to protecting a lead Arsenal were unable to extend, the centre-halves were magnificent; rock solid. Wenger's assistant Steve Bould must have purred with satisfaction as the game unfolded.
When they were beaten, they were fortunate that Spurs were wasteful. Adebayor and Andros Townsend linked up neatly on the right but Chadli failed in his attempt to cap the move with a flick akin to the one by Fabian Delph, which secured Aston Villa three points against Chelsea on Saturday.




Adebayor out-muscled Koscielny on one occasion to reach Nabil Bentaleb's cross but his header drifted wide. Sherwood's changes did not alter this trend, only allowed Arsenal to offer more threat on the break.
Jan Vertonghen could easily have been punished for hauling down Koscielny inside the penalty area as Spurs defended a free-kick. Mark Clattenburg might have given it at Old Trafford but not Mike Dean at White Hart Lane.
Lloris also produced a fine reaction save to deny Mertesacker on the turn, when a corner dropped kindly, and a Szczesny made a rare save in the closing seconds when he sprang to his left to clutch another effort from Adebayor.
It was a save for the cameras, ironically for the man who turned photographer to capture the thrill of Arsenal's first win Spurs since September 2007. For Wenger, it was the perfect way to celebrate game No 999 in charge and his spiral has a positive look to it.

WHITE HART LANE MATCH ZONE

Patched-up spurs staggering on
Tottenham freed him from a ban by appealing a red card but, three hours before kick-off, Younes Kaboul could be found on the pitch doing a late fitness test. After Kaboul missed so much of the last two years with injuries, the medics were unsure if he was up to the rigours of three games in eight days. Kyle Walker, Sandro and Emmanuel Adebayor were all doubts before the game. They were all available (Walker on the bench) but there is a feeling this Spurs squad is being held together by sticking plasters.

 

12 years a fan
Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen was in the crowd. Once an avid Spurs fan, he claimed his interest had lapsed. ‘Oh well, I gave up football,’ said the man who brought us 12 Years A Slave. ‘It affected my day too much. It’s just stupid.’ Sentiments he may relive.

 

When Bacary Sagna appeared to trip Danny Rose near half-time, Tim Sherwood dashed up the tunnel to see the televisions screens in the press box, only to find no replay shown of the challenge he clearly thought might have been a second caution of the day for the Arsenal right back.

 

Sagna makes £20m pay demand
Arsenal will be told the price of keeping Sagna when his contract runs out at the end of the season is more than £20million. The 31-year-old has already rejected two offers to stay, the latest a two-year option on the same £60,000-a-week he earns at the moment.
Make-or-break talks are in the diary but Sagna wants three years at more than £90,000 a week, plus a £6m signing-on fee to be paid in annual instalments. Galatasaray and Inter Milan are interested.

 

Arsenal fans have certainly got their money’s worth after topping up their Oyster cards this season. On their travels around the capital’s public transport system they have seen their side win all four London derbies, with only the short trip to Chelsea still to come.

 

The travelling supporters did not want to go home after the match. Hundreds stayed behind singing about their 49-match undefeated run in  2003-04 as the groundstaff came out to mow the pitch.