So, it turns out that I am no Mystic Meg when it comes to predicting football results but who could have foreseen the events that unfolded at the Etihad yesterday afternoon? A spurs side who are full of confidence up against a team without their captain, who has been the rock of their defence this season. It had all the makings of a classic, and in some respects it was.
I was in the pub, slightly hung over and eating a roast with friends which meant my full attention wasn't on the first forty five minutes but even so, I could tell that it wasn't setting up to be the rocket fuelled battle that I was expecting. How wrong I was!
The second half kicked off with our stomachs full of beef and the chit chat out of the way, eyes glued to the big screen. The players seemed to have gained that little bit of extra umph to kick the game into over drive. We commented on David Silva having a quiet match, and as soon as the words exited our mouths he slotted an inch perfect pass to Nasri who fired home with style. My spurs supporting friends didn't seem too worried and I definitely felt they could get back in to it, but with what seemed like seconds it was 2-0. A scruffy goal by Lescott. Now, I have never been to the Etihad, but I know some Man City fans and they can be proper mental, and I can imagine the atmosphere at this point was like 40,000 of the soldiers from 300 shouting and screaming encouragement at their team (but obviously without the tiny pants) which could have put spurs necks firmly in the sand. Wrong again! Within a minute a big hoof upfield is flicked into Jermain Defoe's path by the truly awful Savic. The small striker showed his class by rounding Harte and finishing calmly in the empty net. I couldn't hear the commentary too well but I can imagine it was the point when Martin Tyler shouts "Game On!" A phrase over used on tv but does charge up the listener for what is set to come.
Five minutes later and up stepped Gareth Bale, valued at £150million before the game, whose monkey like ears gleamed in the sun light as he curled a shot past the finger tips of the City keeper. By this point I thought they could have pushed on and maybe snuck a winner, just for my predictions sake, but Harry Redknapp took off Van Der Vaart and brought on Jake Livermore to try and hang on to the point.
Next came the controversy. Mario "Why always me, I don't know what all the fuss is about, what do you mean I'm in the papers AGAIN?" Balotelli had come on the pitch and seemed to get in a tangle with the perfect 1950s footballer Scott Parker. The replay showed not only had he kicked him in the head, but then stamped on it which, in my book, should have been a red card but as it happened so quickly, Howard Webb didn't spot it. This turned out to be a catastrophic point in the match for Spurs. With 10 seconds of injury time left to play, Ledley King decides to play "paper, scissors, stone" with Balotelli with his legs as the scissors and the italian as the paper. When playing this game I tend to advise people not to do it in a penalty area at the very end of one of the biggest games of the season in the Premiership. Webb gave the penalty. Who was involved in the incident and then stepped up to slot home for the win? Of course it was Super Mario. How does he steal the headlines week after week?
There were tears, tantrums and looks of disbelief around the pub. We were half time in our super Sunday and another big game was about to start. Ten years ago this match would have been massive. Yesterday it seemed to lack that excitement and interest that it has lost since Wenger's men started not being able to get their hands on a trophy and United seem to have become a bit hit and miss in recent times and are dangerously close to being knocked from their mantle at the top of the league by their closest of rivals.
With Vermaelen back for Arsenal, the back four looked like a solid unit for a change and with the inclusion of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his first start of the season it was starting to look like a more exciting day for the Arsenal fans. It was a real battling performance from both sides throughout, but after seeing so much drama in the first game, little could come close. the atmosphere wasn't quite as electric and the biggest cheer was when someone sitting behind us called Nani a "vagina". Very odd terminology to describe a professional athlete!
As expected, the manchester side dominated the first half and just before the break got the goal they had been striving for, set up by the 89 year old Ryan Giggs, who has one of the highest pass completion ratios in the league. He sprayed a fabulous cross which was despatched tidily by the head of Valencia. The Emirates crowd did not like that. Boos rang around the stadium as their team trudged back to the dressing room. All this grand new stadium has seen in it's short years has been disappointment it seems, apart from the obvious Thierry Henry moment against Leeds.
Just over half way into the second half the game opened up and Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was fantastic all afternoon and put Theo Walcott to shame on the other wing, slotted a ball to Van Persie who finished beautifully off the post. I was amazed that the Gunners were back in it, after thinking there was a danger of a repeat performance of the Old Trafford mauling before the match.
This encounter too, had a turning point. Three minutes after the goal and Arsene Wenger did something that a whole stadium, everyone frequenting a bar and pub, people at home and even Arsenal players disagreed with. He took off "the Ox", an 18 year old flair player who can create chances at the drop of a hat and seems to have no fear, and brought on the wet blanket that people call Andre Arshavin. I do feel sorry for the guy. He came to Arsenal with the reputation as one of the worlds best, and has somehow ended up as a shadow of his former self and unfortunately an easy scapegoat for already frustrated fans. In the 81st minute the little Russian tracked back as best he could and defended, how can only be described as a blind man running with fake legs on ice. Valencia almost walked passed him as he flew across his path and disappeared off to somewhere near Camden. After a one-two with Park he gave the ball back to Welbeck who scored another nice goal to add to his growing collection. Even with ten minutes still to go, I could already hear the commentator in my head screaming "Game Over!" and so it was.
It was an emotional Sunday afternoon filled with lovely food, great company, drama, excitement and goals. Almost all the best things about watching the Premier League.
The title is now in City's hands, and with Dirty Harry's court case and imminent imprisonment an unwelcome distraction, it looks to be down to which end of Manchester the trophy ends up this year. But, all can change in a second. That's the beauty of football!
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