Source: Daily_Mail
Arsenal 3 Tottenham 0: Van Persie and Fabregas highlight gulf in class
Robbie Keane may choose his words more carefully in future. The Tottenham striker, who said last week that his team now have a stronger squad than Arsenal, lasted a mere 66 minutes of this north London derby. [LNB]His lack of awareness had been directly responsible for the opening goal of an emphatic Arsenal victory. Tottenham Hotspur may be situated only a few miles down the Seven Sisters Road from Arsenal but the two clubs remain a considerable distance apart in terms of aspiration. [LNB]Arsenal can reasonably look towards the Premier League or the Champions League as potential trophies despite a four-year absence of silverware; Tottenham, by contrast, will have to reconfigure their assault on the top four and that fabled promised land of Champions League riches.[LNB] Double act: Fabregas celebrates his mesmeric strike with Van Persie[LNB]Robin van Persie, the scorer of two goals and the man of the match,displayed more cunning than Keane when quizzed about the issue of thegap between the clubs, declining to comment. [LNB]His wry grin spoke volumes, however, and betrayed what the Arsenalplayers think of Tottenham's latest challenge. It did not need thesmile of Van Persie to clarify the matter; Arsenal had done as much onthe pitch. [LNB]It is true, as Harry Redknapp pointed out, that Tottenham more thanheld their own for 42 minutes and even contributed some pleasingpassages of play. Yet the manner of their capitulation was so patheticit was difficult to agree with Redknapp's assessment that 'there is nogap between the clubs; we just made two mistakes.'[LNB]As Redknapp conceded, they were 'horrendous' mistakes. For the firstKeane, playing in a withdrawn wide-left role as Tottenham attempted tostifle Arsenal's midfield, failed to close down Bacary Sagna. [LNB] Dagger through the heart: Fabregas concludes his swagger through the Spurs defence with a quickfire second[LNB]The right-back crossed for Van Persie, who was able to positionhimself in front of Ledley King and squeeze the ball past Gomes. Thekeeper allowed the ball to squirm under his body.[LNB]Incredibly, directly from the kick-off Cesc Fabregas raced forward,robbed the ball from a dithering Wilson Palacios, charged straightthrough the open spaces in Tottenham's midfield and skipped past Kingagain to score the second, just 49 seconds after the first. [LNB]It was like watching a children's football match in which a dejectedyoung team cannot summon the will to defend after conceding a vitalgoal and the opposition career through them at will. 'Scandalous,' saidRedknapp.[LNB]His mood was not improved by a lastminute hamstring pull sustainedby Sebastien Bassong, adding to the injuries of Luca Modric and AaronLennon and the suspension of Jermain Defoe which had done much todebilitate Tottenham's challenge here.[LNB][LNB] [LNB] Van's the man: Robin van Persie celebrates his second and Arsenal's third[LNB]The game effectively ended after Fabregas' goal, despite Arsenal'spropensity for throwing away two-goal leads. They did so last week andfamously had done so in the corresponding fixture last season Redknapp's second game in charge but that never looked likelyyesterday.[LNB]Despite changing to a more familiar 4-4-2 formation in the secondhalf, Tottenham threatened only briefly, Gallas having to react smartlyon 54 minutes to stop Keane connecting with a Peter Crouch flick. [LNB]Yet another bizarre moment confirmed the victory for Arsenal. Bothteams halted play anticipating a free-kick when Benoit Assou-Ekottocrunched into Eduardo, but Sagna reacted quickly when referee MarkClattenburg played an advantage.[LNB]He delivered another telling cross for Van Persie, Gomes fumbled yetagain and the ball slid through King's legs allowing the Dutchman toturn the ball into an empty net. [LNB]He immediately set off for the corner flag to celebrate by suckinghis thumb, a tribute to his two-week-old daughter, Dina Layla. Theaforementioned baby has been keeping Van Persie awake for the past fewnights but the euphoria of fatherhood appeared to trump the fatigue.[LNB]His eighth goal in nine games brought favourable comparisons withThierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. 'He is a mixture of those twoplayers,' said Wenger. 'He does less running with the ball than Thierryand he plays higher up the pitch than Dennis did, but his kind of gameis vital for us. His first touch is perfect and that allows otherplayers to join in and he is clever and intelligent in the box.'[LNB]Van Persie was reliant on Fabregas, who dictated the pace of thegame from midfield ably assisted by Alex Song, who is maturing into hisholding role. The forward was also indebted to Sagna, the provider ofhis goals, who was a constant threat from right-back.[LNB]On the downside, Manuel Almunia returned to replace the equallyshaky Vito Mannone but remains unconvincing in goal and NicklasBendtner limped off with a groin injury that will keep him out for amonth.[LNB]Nevertheless, Arsenal look ready to challenge Chelsea and ManchesterUnited for the title. 'I said at the start of the season that I thinkwe have a chance,' said Wenger.[LNB]'That is what we intend to show and I believe we can win it. I thinkwe have the quality and absolutely we have the spirit and attitude inthe squad to do it.'[LNB]Tottenham, though, will have to set their sights somewhat lower for the time being.[LNB] Spurs in our class? Don't make me laugh. We're top dogs, says WengerDon't call me lazy. 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