Wenger says Arsenal now over hangover
Arsene Wenger insisted Arsenal had finally cured their Old Trafford hangover after emerging victorious from a “crazy” nine-goal North London derby thriller.
Arsenal recorded their first victory outside the Carling Cup for four weeks as they beat Spurs 5-4 at White Hart Lane.
New Spurs boss Martin Jol insisted he was proud of his players, even though he curiously observed that they had “birds flying in their head” after half-time as they allowed their advantage to slip.
Having seen Thierry Henry equalise Noureddine Naybet’s strike just before the break, Spurs were soon 3-1 behind as Lauren converted a penalty won by Freddie Ljungberg and Patrick Vieira struck.
Jermain Defoe, Ledley King and Freddie Kanoute all hit the target for Spurs, but they were never level again as Ljungberg and Robert Pires both scored for Arsenal in an incredible second-half.
Wenger declared: “It was important to get the three points. We had a hangover after the Manchester United game.
“We had gone so long unbeaten that it took us a while to digest it. But the first victory since then is important to get back to our normal confidence level.
“Local derbies are either completely locked with no chances or completely crazy. This time, you got the crazy version.”
While Wenger was delighted with his team’s response, he admitted his concern at their vulnerability to set-pieces, especially in the continued absence of Sol Campbell through injury.
“I’m not too happy that we conceded four goals but derbies are a little bit special,” he added.
“It’s strange as we had the best defence in the league last season with the same back-four. But we’re a bit smaller as a unit now.”
Spurs boss Jol should have been equally frustrated at the eight goals conceded in the two league games since he took over from Jacques Santini.
Instead, however, he chose to concentrate on the nine goals they have scored in the past three games, including a midweek Carlin Cupg win against Burnley.
Jol declared: “At one moment, I was very proud of my team, especially in the first-half.
“It’s amazing, after working for just five or six days with them, to be pressurising Arsenal and to score the first goal.
“The equaliser was a bad moment as I told them that, if you are leading, you have to kill the game off until half-time.
“You can’t be sloppy at the back and we will work on that, but this was a crazy old game.”
