Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Sunday, and that owed a lot to the performance of the Gunners’ central defenders.
Some say it is the sign of champions – to win ugly, to hold out for a victory that seems terrifyingly close to becoming a draw or a defeat. And that was exactly what Arsenal did against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, scoring a sublime early goal courtesy of Tomas Rosicky and then defending for their lives in the second period.
Two men in particular stood head and shoulders above the rest, and that was the defensive pair of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.
The two Arsenal players repelled everything Spurs threw at them. And it is telling that while the hosts had 17 shots (10 more than the visitors) only two were on target.
The Gunners’ defensive duo have been impressing for much of the season, but against Spurs they upped their game. After all, they knew how important the win was, not just for bragging rights, but to capitalise on Chelsea’s slip-up 24 hours earlier. And that is exactly what they did.
Koscielny and Mertesacker made 35 effective clearances between them. They also made 26 effective headed clearances, while winning a combined total of 17 duels, 10 aeriel duels and two interceptions.
| Player | Effective Clearance | Effective Head Clearance | Duel Won | Aerial Won | Interception Won | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurent Koscielny | 15 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 90 |
| Per Mertesacker | 20 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 90 |
In short they were outstanding, and after the match we took to Twitter to see what the fans made of their performances.
It was no surprise that what we found was a truckload of praise, and you can read a selection of them below:
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