Frustration: Arsene Wenger could hardly bear to watch as his
Arsenal side lost at White Hart Lane
Arsene Wenger cut a forlorn figure as the Arsenal boss
conceded his side lacked the maturity to win the
title.
Danny Rose’s wonder 30-yard strike followed by a 47th-minute
second from Gareth Bale was too much for the Gunners despite a late
consolation from Nicklas Bendtner.
And Wenger admitted his players were second best as Spurs
clinched their first league north London derby win in 11 years.
Wenger said: ‘We lost a game we couldn’t afford to lose in the
title race and that shows we are not mature enough. If you want to
win a championship you can’t lose this type of game.
‘A point tonight was not good enough. We wanted to win. We are
six points behind (Chelsea) and we’ll continue to fight, but this
makes it very, very difficult.
‘As long as it’s not mathematically impossible, it’s not
impossible.
Our job is to fight and we will do that. All credit to Spurs —
they defended very well. If Tottenham want to fight for the
Champions League they can show they have the quality to do it (by
beating Chelsea on Saturday).’
For 19-year-old Rose, who was playing his first Barclays Premier
League match, it was a night he will never forget. His stunning
left-foot strike had Spurs boss Harry Redknapp drooling.
Redknapp said: ‘It was an amazing goal for Danny. He’s a young
kid and I gave him a first chance tonight. He tweaked his ligament
just before half-time so I had to take him off, but he’s full of
running and that was a wonder strike. He will never forget
that.’
Even Wenger said: ‘Their first goal was one in a million. It
gave them confidence and gave them the start to then defend very
well.’
The win keeps Tottenham in the hunt for fourth place, one point
behind Manchester City and the all-important Champions League
spot.
Stunning strike: Danny Rose fires home Tottenham's
opener at White Hart Lane
Redknapp added: ‘We are still in there. It’s going to be
hard but we are still in there. We have a very difficult run-in,
starting against Chelsea, but we are still on track and we have got
a big chance.’
For Spurs, it was the perfect response to Sunday’s 2-0 FA Cup
semi-final defeat by Portsmouth. Redknapp said: ‘I thought it
was a really good London derby, competitive and played in a great
spirit.
‘We worked very hard and lifted ourselves after a very difficult
day on Sunday. To come out and turn in a performance like that was
great.’
Tottenham captain Ledley King added: ‘It was a massive game,
coming off such a disappointing result in the Cup.
Pure joy: Danny Rose celebrates after scoring for
Spurs against Arsenal
Party time: Michael Dawson leaps on the back of hero keeper
Heurelho Gomes at the final whistle
‘It was a good time to play Arsenal. We didn’t have a
time to dwell on the Cup — we had to make sure we were right for
this.We’ve seen the table. It’s a big, big result for us. We feel
like we can beat anybody — now we have to do that against
Chelsea.
‘We have quality in the squad so, if we perform like that, why
can’t we (get fourth place)?’
Robin van Persie, playing his first match for five months after
rupturing his ankle ligaments on international duty with Holland,
came on after 67 minutes.
The striker tested Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes with a
left-foot volley after 80 minutes and came desperately close to
beating the Brazilian three minutes later with a curling left-foot
free kick.
Wenger said: ‘Van Persie looked sharp and dangerous when he came
on and he transformed our game because, apart from that, we were
not efficient up front.’
Only a string of saves from Gomes late on prevented Arsenal from
scoring an equaliser.
King said: ‘He’s one of the best in the world at the moment.
Time and time again he’s there for us.’
Gomes added: ‘We now have a chance (to get fourth place).’
