Walcott strike thwarts Spurs
Walcott rescued Arsenal late on against their local rivals
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Wednesday, 09, Jan 2008 10:39
Theo Walcott grabbed a late equaliser for Arsenal to deny Tottenham Hotspur victory in the first leg of their Carling Cup semi-final.
The north London rivals drew 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium but it was Spurs who dominated the game against Arsene Wenger's young side.
However Juande Ramos will be disappointed that his team once more failed to keep a clean sheet and conceded another late goal this season that denied them a victory.
The Spaniard had surprised many pundits prior to kick off by dropping goalkeeper Paul Robinson in favour of Radek Cerny, but the Czech repaid his manager's faith with a fine display between the posts.
The game began in typical derby fashion with both sets of players competing fiercely for the ball but Tottenham's midfield eventually gained the ascendancy.
Steed Malbranque spurned two excellent opportunities in the space of three minutes midway through the first half as Spurs seemed to break Arsenal's offside trap at will.
Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane combined both times to set up the Frenchman but he shot wide on both occasions while the Gunners' defence was left flat-footed.
Spurs were not left to regret those misses however, as Jermaine Jenas soon put them in front. The effervescent Keane again broke into the Arsenal box before squaring the ball to the midfielder to tap home.
The visitors deserved their half-time lead but were put under more pressure by a determined Gunners outfit in the second half.
Ledley King blocked a goal-bound shot from Bacary Sagna midway through the second period while Cerny also denied Nicolas Bendtner.
Arsenal gained more territorial dominance as the match wore on and Spurs' defence, which had looked solid for much of the game, eventually yielded under the pressure.
With ten minutes of the match remaining Eduardo da Silva played Walcott through and as Lee Young-Pyo tackled the teenager the ball hit Walcott on the chest and went in.
Despite the setback Spurs continued to press for a winner – substitute Jermain Defoe almost got on the scoresheet but his strike went over the bar.
The draw at the Emirates means the tie remains finely poised ahead of the second leg at White Hart Lane on January 22nd.