*Eberechi Eze Standout Gunner, Coach Gushes
By Jonathan Wilson, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
“After what happened against Wolves it was tough but that’s the beauty of this game.”
Mikel Arteta said that he could not be “prouder or happier” after his Arsenal side restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a 4-1 win against Tottenham yesterday that he suggested could be a “turning point” in their season.
This was an emphatic response after squandering a 2-0 lead at Wolves on Wednesday, a result that means City will win the league if they win all their remaining 11 games this season.
“After what happened against Wolves it was tough but that’s the beauty of this game,” Arteta said. “You watch it back and you cannot understand how they drew that game. You feel angry, upset, ashamed. We are all different nationalities, different people, but it’s been a joy to see how we came together and asked: ‘How will we use it to be a turning point and make ourselves better?’ It’s much bigger than a job – it’s our passion, our purpose. It’s very painful but it can be very rewarding.”
The Arsenal manager was notably relaxed as he prepares for his first week without a midweek game for two months. “It feels that we showed what we are made of, but then you have to show it again and again and again,” he said. “I cannot be prouder and happier from what I saw out there, especially how we lived the last 72 hours.”
He had particular praise for Eberechi Eze, who followed up his hat-trick in the derby at the Emirates Stadium with another two goals. “I could see he wanted to prove something,” he said. “He was upset even with me because I did not play him from the beginning [at Wolves].”
Reacting, Tottenham’s new manager, Igor Tudor, was unflinching about the scale of the challenge facing him. “I’m very sad,” he said, “but in one way it’s good to understand where we are, to have a game to show you reality, so each of us understand. The medicine is that each of us look in the mirror and really starts to change our habits. Working hard is the only way.”
Tudor spoke of changing the “mentality and brain sharpness”, but also acknowledged Spurs and Arsenal at the moment are in “different worlds”, saying: “We have too many problems in this moment that this level of team will not punish you. We want to press high but if you don’t jump then you are late. We wanted to go to press high but we didn’t take the ball. We need to be in a physical moment that we can go strong and take the ball. Even with the ball, a lack of confidence is very evident in the team.”
Despite the implication that he did not think Spurs are tough enough in mentality or physicality, Tudor was adamant that he is not despondent. “I saw the passion,” he said. “I saw the will. I was not angry, because they wanted to do all that we prepared but they were not able.”
Is there time to put it right? “Of course,” he replied.
Barça Overtake Madrid, Retake Top Spot
Barcelona returned to the top of La Liga with a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Levante as Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and substitute Fermín López struck at Camp Nou.
Last season’s champions moved to 61 points from 25 games, one ahead of Real Madrid after their rivals’ defeat by Osasuna on Saturday.
Barça had slipped to second after last week’s 2-1 loss to Girona but rarely looked troubled by a Levante side second from bottom on 18 points.
Hansi Flick’s team led in the fourth minute when 18-year-old Bernal slid in from close range after Eric García surged down the left and crossed low.
De Jong made it 2-0 in the 32nd, arriving unmarked to turn in João Cancelo’s arching cross, also from the left.
Barcelona controlled the second half, with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha missing chances before López came off the bench to seal it, drilling a left-footed shot from the edge of the box in off the post in the 81st minute.
RESULTS FROM MAJOR DOMESTIC LEAGUES ACROSS EUROPE, SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY
ENGLAND: Premier League
Crystal Palace – Wolves 1:0
Nottingham – Liverpool 0:1
Sunderland – Fulham 1:3
Tottenham – Arsenal 1:4
FRANCE: Ligue 1
Auxerre – Rennes 0:3
Angers – Lille 0:1
Nantes – Le Havre 2:0
Nice – Lorient 3:3
Strasbourg – Lyon 3:1
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Freiburg – B. Monchengladbach 2:1
St. Pauli – Werder Bremen 2:1
Heidenheim – Stuttgart 3:3
ITALY: Serie A
Genoa – Torino 3:0
Atalanta – Napoli 2:1
AC Milan – Parma 0:1
AS Roma – Cremonese 3:0
NETHERLANDS: Eredivisie
Twente – Groningen 2:1
G.A. Eagles – Heracles 4:0
Utrecht – Zwolle 1:1
AZ Alkmaar – Sparta Rotterdam 3:1
Feyenoord – Telstar 2:1
SPAIN: LaLiga
Getafe – Sevilla 0:1
Barcelona – Levante 3:0
Celta Vigo – Mallorca 2:0
Villarreal – Valencia 2:1
*PHOTO CAPTION: Arteta… Ecstatic.
