Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admitted that he was frustrated after his team drew 1-1 with arch-rivals Tottenham on Saturday in the north London derby
Yesterday was the day of the derby as Arsenal and Tottenham went head-to-head in the north London derby, while Liverpool and Everton met in the Merseyside derby at Anfield.
Both games resulted in 1-1 draws, but left more questions than answers for the teams involved.
Inconsistent
The only team who finished in the top six of the Premier League last season that has found any consistency in this campaign is Chelsea.
Southampton, who finished eighth last season, have claimed four straight league victories and currently sit second in the Premier League table.
The other positions in the top four are occupied by the familiar names of Manchester City, Arsenal and obviously league leaders Chelsea.
Despite their presence in the top four, City and the Gunners have struggled for consistency this season.
Arsenal have now drawn four of their Premier League games this season, while champions City have won three, drew two and lost one in the top-flight this season. The records of the likes of Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham have even worst this season.
Draws
Yesterday’s derby draws summed up all four teams start to the season. Arsenal struggled to find any rhythm in yesterday’s derby, until the last 20 minutes when the Gunners finally started to look threatening going forward.
Tottenham produced a typical away derby performance, soaked up any pressure that Arsenal threw at them and hit the home side on the break to take the lead through attacking midfielder Nacer Chadli.
Only when Arsenal looked to be heading for defeat did the Gunners have any urgency in their attacking play. The Gunners will be more disappointed by the draw than the visitors, who probably would have taken a draw prior to the game.
In the Merseyside derby Liverpool looked the more threatening going forward, but seemed to lack a cutting edge when in the final third, especially without star striker Daniel Sturridge. It took a set-piece for Liverpool to find a breakthrough, as Steven Gerrard fired home a free-kick past Tim Howard.
Everton looked relatively comfortable in defence, with the Reds not creating many clear-cut opportunities, except for a close-range Mario Balotelli effort which skimmed the bar after taking a slight touch off the shoulder of Tim Howard.
Everton’s stoppage-time equaliser from centre-back Phil Jagielka was simply sublime and the England international is unlikely to ever score a better goal. The Toffees also struggled to create many clear-cut chances and the loss of winger Kevin Mirallas could be a big one.
Record-signing Romelu Lukaku spent a lot of his time on the right of the Toffees attack as he does often against the bigger teams in the league. You have to wonder what damage he would cause if he actually spent more time in the penalty area like a centre-forward, instead of being employed on the right.
Positives
There were positives for both teams in the Merseyside derby, as both looked more solid in defence than the last few weeks, although to be fair the Reds defence did not have much to deal with. The Everton defence looked more solid than in previous games and it always helps a team to get a result when they do not concede three goals, like in their previous two matches.
Young England international John Stones was particularly impressive in the centre of the previously fragile Toffees defence. The youngster replaced seasoned veteran Sylvain Distin and never looked out of place.
It was a far cry from his derby debut last season, when played at right-back his team suffered a 4-0 mauling at Anfield.
Liverpool’s defence also looked more secure, but the Reds will be highly disappointed at conceding such a late goal. However there was not much Liverpool’s defence could do about Jagielka’s effort, except maybe close down a bit earlier. The Reds slow start to the season has saw the Merseysider’s odds of finishing in the top four drift to 13/10.
Tottenham fans will also take positives from their draw at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal fans will however be lamenting the fact that their team put in a tepid display and the fact the Gunners lost Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey to injury will just add to the sense of frustration.
Rise
All four teams have European commitments this season which will add extra games, but at some point they will all put together a consistent run of form in the league.
No doubt all four will be in and around the top six positions this season, but fans of all the teams involved will no doubt feel a great sense of frustration at their team’s relatively poor slow starts to the season.
Can all four clubs involved in yesterday’s derbies challenge for the top four?
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
