Stop me if you've heard this before: A young, talented team high on promise but low on proven results races out to a commanding 2-0 lead against its most bitter rival. Victory, it seems, is within reach, but then one wheel falls off. Then another. Before you can say "Sack Arsene Wenger," the opposition hits back with a couple of quick goals. Game on. Then another goal. And another. And another. The rout is on, and the side that started so brightly collapses in a fog of defensive blunders and flagging spirit.
But before Arsenal and Tottenham took to the pitch at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, the football gods obviously decided to flip the script. The Gunners were the team on the ropes -- nary a day passes without someone piling on their misery -- after a pathetic and embarrassing display in Milan a couple of weeks ago and a flaccid loss in the FA Cup against Sunderland last weekend. Spurs, on the other hand, were all about the feel-good factor. Harry Redkanpp has had the midas touch, and pretty much the only worry at White Hart Lane these days is whether their manager would leave to manage the Three Lions.
And while the surprising result, a 5-2 win for Wenger's men, might not change much in terms of each team's ultimate fate this season -- Spurs should hang on to a top-four finish and Arsenal will have to scrap to qualify for the Champions League -- it should go a long way in raising the hopes of Arsenal's manager, players and supporters. At least for a day.
The match started out according to plan, with Spurs striking first. In the fourth minute, Emmanuel Adebayor passed to Louis Saha, who found himself just outside the box in all kinds of space. Where was the Arsenal defense? Thomas Vermaelen and Kieran Gibbs tried to close him down, but Saha got his shot off, which deflected off Vermaelen and looped over keeper Wojciech Szczesny. Bit of luck for Spurs, but atrocious play for the Gunners. They were set up playing a high line and got burned -- and it wouldn't be the first time, either, as their back line often had no shape at all, other than to suggest chaos and panic.
In the 34th minute, Luka Modric hit a sweet through ball past a pedestrian Alex Song that cut right through the heart of Arsenal's defense to release Gareth Bale. Again, Arsenal was left to chase, with Vermaelen and Gibbs trying to close the Welshman down. He burst into the box, and with Szczesny coming out, Bale rounded the keeper. There didn't appear to be much contact, but Bale went down. After consulting with the linesman, referee Mike Dean awarded the penalty, and former Gunner Adebayor buried the kick into the net. (Thankfully, no crowd-baiting knee-slide celebration like the time he scored for City.)
Up to this point, the scoreline flattered Spurs a bit. The run of play had settled into a pattern that was ultimately being dominated more by Arsenal. At the same time, with Wenger's men playing such a high line, Tottenham always threatened to score on the counter every time they touched the ball. Moreover, you could say that Spurs were a bit fortunate on the first goal (deflection) and perhaps even more on the second (on replay, Bale's penalty did look like a dive).
Still, only the most degenerate gambler looking for a ridiculous long shot would have put any pounds down at this juncture on Arsenal staging a comeback. After all, just this week former Arsenal star Emmanuel Petit came out and said Wenger had lost the dressing room -- that his players' body language betrayed a team that didn't care to put in a shift for the gaffer anymore. "There is obviously a crisis and I am deeply sad for Arsene," Petit told France Football. "I watch their body language and I see players who have become disillusioned. Year after year, they have always struggled with the last step. I feel they are unmotivated. I even fear that some have lost their trust in Arsene."
While one win can't paper over fundamental problems, it was exactly this same band of beleaguered players -- sans Aaron Ramsey, the young midfielder who is injured, and who, it must also be said, has been pushed too hard this season in Jack Wilshere's absence -- that made the improbable possible. It was about a year ago, in April 2011, that Wenger's players raced out to a 2-0 lead against Tottenham, only to lose 3-2. So imagine how incredible this win must feel.
The comeback started in the 40th minute. After Robin van Persie just missed a goal, with the ball careening off the post, Mikel Arteta lofted a ball into the box. With Bale not doing enough to break up the play, Bacary Sagna -- one of Arsenal's best players on the day -- powered a header past a stranded Brad Friedel.
Three minutes later, Song lofted a Stoke-esque pass into Tottenham's box. Younes Kaboul headed the ball toward Niko Kranjcar, who attempted to clear the danger. Instead, RvP made the interception, did a 180 to get the ball on his left foot, and then curled a shot past the diving Friedel. It was a magic moment from a player who's been pulling eye-catching tricks all season. (The team is currently in talks for a new RvP contract, and it better hope the Dutchman puts pen to paper.)
The third goal came in the 51st minute, and this time credit goes to Tomas Rosicky, who along with Sagna, had a brilliant match. Van Persie found Rosicky in space in the middle of the field. The Czech ran upfield and found Sagna on the overlapping run on the right. Both players kept running, with Rosicky surging into the box where he got his foot on the ball to direct it past Friedel for what ended up being the winning goal.
There you have it: three goals in 13½ minutes. And if Spurs held any hope of tying things back up, Arsenal squashed them in the 65th and 68th minute, when Theo Walcott scored a brace. The first was also set up by Rosicky, who made a nice volley pass to Van Persie on the left, and with Kaboul and King giving chase after being caught too high up again, the Dutchman wriggled free to get the ball to Walcott on the right. The finish over a lunging Friedel was superb. So was Walcott's second finish. Song, who was pinned on the right-side touchline, launched the ball to Walcott. King tried -- and again failed -- to play the offside trap, but there was no doing. Walcott was off, and this time he hit the ball across goal into the net at the far post.
The victory is a boon for the statisticians. It was only the fifth time that Arsenal has come back from two goals down in the Premier League era to win a game (only United and Spurs, at six, have better records). Here's another Opta gem: Tottenham has lost more games (seven) after being two-plus goals up than any other team in Premier League history. And the Spurs have conceded five-plus goals in two separate Premier League games in the same season for the first time since 1992-93.
Parse the numbers all you want -- this result will have people rubbing their eyes, no doubt, as to whether this actually happened. Fact is, in one of the most horrible of Arsenal seasons, Wenger & Co. humiliated their biggest rival. Walcott and Rosicky, two of their most criticized and inconsistent players, had outstanding performances, as did Sagna and, of course, RvP.
Wenger, for one, was especially bullish after the victory. "People will see now that Arsenal are alive more than anyone thought before the game," he said. "The performance today showed spirit. From the technical side, and with the drive of the whole team and style that we want to play, everything was perfect despite a very bad start. Spurs started well in the first five minutes, but it was all us for the next 85 minutes. We were 2-0 down but refused to lose the game and kept going."
The manager also didn't rule out the idea, as far fetched as it may seem to many, of catching Spurs. "It is still possible, if we keep our run going. Why not?" Wenger said.
Spurs, on the other hand, have been a revelation for most of this season -- an exciting, well-balanced team that offers pace on the flanks, creativity in the middle and a bit more cutting edge up top. Adebayor has played (mostly) inspired football for Redknapp, and since arriving on loan, Saha, too, looks to be reborn. None of which was on display Sunday.
But one question many might have is why Redknapp didn't play Aaron Lennon on the right. Together with Bale, the two combine to create the most threating wingers this side of Antonio Valencia and Nani. But for whatever reason, he was left on the bench, and after Tottenham went up 2-0, their play went down considerably.
At the same time, as rousing as Arsenal's fightback was for the Emirates faithful, Arsenal benefited from ref Dean handing out first-half yellow cards to Scott Parker and Luka Modric -- two players who love to get stuck into the tackle -- which in effect muzzled Tottenham's entire midfield and gave Rosicky & Co. room to work.
Adding spice to this result is what awaits both teams next weekend in the league: Arsenal plays Liverpool, Tottenham faces Manchester United. For neutrals, it doesn't get much better. For Arsenal and Spurs, well, we'll have to wait and see.