Redknapp praises returning Gallas

Harry Redknapp said former Arsenal man William Gallas was his man of the match in Tottenham’s rousing win over the Gunners at the Emirates.

Tottenham came from 2-0 down to triumph at Arsenal in the league for the first time in 17 years.

Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh gave the hosts a comfortable lead but goals from Gareth Bale, Rafael Van der Vaart and Younes Kaboul in the second half were enough to secure the win for Spurs.

Redknapp said: “William Gallas did brilliantly today. I made him captain and for me he was man of the match.”

“We have lost Ledley King and Michael Dawson (to injury) and William has come in on a free transfer and been outstanding for me.”

“He was struggling at one stage but he wanted to carry on so I left him on.”

With his team trailing 2-0 to their rivals at the break, Redknapp knew he had to make changes.

He said: “We had to go for it, we could have lost by four or five or tried to get a goal back and see if we could make a game of it and that’s what we did.”

“I stuck with the two upfront, stuck Van der Vaart out right and he’s a forward player – he’s not going to defend for you.”

“We were open and we needed a goal and we got it at the right time. We got it early and it brought us back into the game.”

But Redknapp did not forget the fact that his side began poorly.

He said: “It was a great comeback but I wish we wouldn’t go behind – there’s no point as a manager saying I was clever because we shouldn’t have gone behind in the first place.”

“But it was a great result for us to come here and pick up three points having been two goals behind.”