Among Arsenal supporters, there was a sense of dread heading into the 167th North London derby. It wasn't the match itself that was critical -- it's only the second of October, folks -- but what the result might signify. Victory and Arsenal can send a middle-finger-in-the-air message to those who believe that the club has lost all hope of finishing in the top four. OK, fourth. Fail, and the Gunners will confirm there's been a shift in the balance of power with Tottenham firmly atop the pecking order.
And when the final whistle blew, Arsenal did little to suggest that it will make a competitive push for a Champions League spot after losing 2-1 at White Hart Lane. It's the club's worst start in a league season in 37 years, since the 1974-75 campaign.
It's not the way Arsene Wenger wanted to celebrate his 15th year at the club this week, while Harry Redknapp can go into the international break with his side having won four on the trot in the league and getting back into the top six.
Arsenal was hardly outplayed in the match, which was competitive and at times frenetic. The Gunners should have added at least one more goal when Gervinho scuffed the ball a yard wide in the 29th minute. It's a chance Arsenal would end up ruing among similar storylines. Like Theo Walcott, who put in a poor performance with England manager Fabio Capello looking on. Proving that he's done little to improve in his time at the club, Walcott had little to show for his 72 minutes. I can't remember one decent cross of the ball, and although he did have one curling effort miss, Walcott didn't carry his fair share, especially when Arsenal was pressing well at the start of the second half. Walcott professes a desire to play more in the middle of the park. But he should be more concerned with just playing better football.
After seeing 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain impress during the week in the Champions League, showing more composure and confidence on the ball than Walcott, Gunners fans must be counting the minutes when the young player is given more opportunities in Walcott's stead on the right-hand side. But Oxlade-Chamberlain wasn't named to the squad, as Wenger is no doubt being careful in bringing him along to spare him any injury issues à la another young gun, Jack Wilshere.
Critics will also point to Wojciech Szczesny's inability to hold on to Kyle Walker's swerving, game-winning shot from about 40 yards out in the 73rd minute as further evidence of Arsenal's defensive frailty, but this would be quite unkind. The ball took a nasty dip at the last second, and while Szczesny should have been able to parry the ball away instead of leaving himself open to ridicule for his limp-wrist effort, the keeper overall had a strong day, saving Arsenal on more than one occasion and proving he should become one of the best in the EPL. Szczesny came to the rescue when Tottenham's Scott Parker, not the best of finishers, fired the ball at point-blank range in the seventh minute. In the 28th, Szczesny admirably stopped a Rafael van der Vaart effort after the Dutchman got on the end of a worm burner from Jermain Defoe's boot. In the 55th minute, Van der Vaart got the ball to Emmanuel Adebayor, hoping to torment his former team, but Szczesny stopped his low effort. And in the 83rd, Gareth Bale beat Carl Jenkinson to pick out Defoe, but Szczesny palmed his effort wide.
(As an aside, compare that performance to Bolton's Adam Bogdan earlier today. You can't get a starker contrast in between the sticks.)
Although Szczesny overall impressed, Arsenal's lack of communication between the back line and the keeper remains comical. Case in point: Alex Song and Per Mertesacker, who is fast developing a reputation as a tall and way-too-silent type, failed to catch on to Brad Friedel's long goal kick in the 76th minute. Bale was alert and turned on the afterburners in the penalty area. Szczesny rushed out, Mertesacker charged in -- and not a word was uttered between them. Crickets. Unlike Spurs Ledley King, for example, a vocal leader who knows how to marshal his troops even if he's been hampered and slowed by injuries.
Though, in truth, Younes Kaboul was the most impressive player for Tottenham, snuffing out danger and tackling with precision when Arsenal was on the attack. The underrated Scott Parker put in a terrific shift, while Adebayor and Luka Modric had underwhelming performances. Even Van der Vaart, who scored his team's first goal, was taken off in the 64th minute for Sandro to provide a bit more defensive cover. And shouldn't Van der Vaart have seen a second yellow and been sent off for his goal-scoring celebration with the fans?
It won't be Arsenal's only beef. Fans may have a go at the referee for not giving handball on Van der Vaart when he brought down a lofted pass from Adebayor before scoring Tottenham's first goal. Close decision, but the ref didn't have certain cause to give it. Wenger's men took another hit after Bacary Sagna went off in the 68th minute with a broken leg that will see him miss about three months.
Tottenham has now won three of the past four derbies with its rival, a clear signal that the balance of power in North London has shifted.
Lamps lights up Reebok
It was less than a fortnight ago when Frank Lampard was washed up. Pundits pounced when Andre Villas-Boas started using the England international as a sub on the bench as evidence that he was the reason the Blues had been looking slow and less than ruthless. They rejoiced when AVB pulled Lampard at halftime against Manchester United. And, in fairness, Lampard had been "hiding," as some people would call it. Although he was among the players with the most completed passes in the final third, the pattern was similar: get forward, pass the ball off to his left or right and then … whoosh. You didn't see much of Lampard as the rest of Chelsea's plays developed.
But Lampard scored midweek against Valencia in the Champions League, and at the Reebok on Sunday, he achieved his third Premier League hat trick. All three were somewhat similar. The first came at the end of a brilliant sequence: a quick one-two between Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge, and with no one picking up Lampard's run into the middle of the box, it was an easy finish when Sturridge picked him out. The second came when David Luiz, allowed to run unfettered into the Bolton half, took a shot from distance at Bolton's woeful substitute keeper, Adam Bogdan, who spilled the ball. Lamps was there to pound. The final tally saw Lampard running once again into the middle of the box, this time the beneficiary of a nice reverse pass from Didier Drogba.
Lampard fans shouldn't get carried away. He's 33 years old, having started his career at West Ham in 1995 before moving to the London side in 2001. There's a lot of mileage on those legs, and Villas-Boas will have to continue to carefully manage his player's minutes. Can there still be any doubt that Mata remains the long-term replacement for Lampard?
It also should be pointed out that Bolton all but capitulated in the first half and weren't much better in the second, a tailor-made opponent for Lampard to pad his résumé. He now has scored 14 more goals than that ageless wonder himself, Ryan Giggs, in 400 fewer matches.
We'll just have to wait to see whether in a few years the Stamford Bridge faithful erect a banner "Frank Lampard: Tearing you apart since 1995."
Another shout for instant replay
In the 80th minute of Chelsea's trouncing of Bolton, Kevin Davies took a shot inside the 6-yard box that Branislav Ivanovic blocked. It was a terrific clearance, but instant replay showed that the ball had, in fact, crossed the line. The goal was purely academic -- Chelsea led 5-1 -- but it served as yet another reminder of one of football's most glaring weaknesses. It took all of about 10 seconds for the broadcast to shed light on the error. Instead, another mistake was allowed to stand when it could be so easily, and quickly, remedied.
Until the next blown call ...