Tottenham Hotspur went down 2-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.
Garth Crooks has revealed on BBC Sport’s Final Score program (broadcast on Saturday, November 18) that he was worried about Arsenal within 10 minutes of Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat at the Emirates.
Arsenal won their first North London derby in the Premier League in over three years on Saturday by edging out Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Tottenham were slight favourites going into the game after winning six of their last seven games in all competitions – a run of form which included a victory over European champions Real Madrid.
But the Gunners looked more up for it on the day and Crooks says that he could sense the Gunners were “going for the throat” shortly after kickoff.
He told BBC Sport’s Final Score program: “I could see what sort of mood Arsenal were in in the first 10 minutes.
“And that’s part of the DNA of any team, and certainly the manager. If those players are as good as I’m told they are then they should have recognised that this was an Arsenal team that meant business, and you heard me say in the green room that after 10 minutes ‘I’ll settle for a 0-0 here.’
“This is a serious Arsenal team. They’re going for the throat.
“Look, this is a difficult game, if we come away with something here we’ll be very lucky. But no, they did not adjust at all to the mood Arsenal were in, so yeah I am disappointed.”
Consequence of the win, Arsene Wenger’s side moved back to within a point of Tottenham and victory for Arsenal is likely to quell talk of a significant power shift for now.
Spurs are probably the better side between the two, but the gap is evidently nowhere near as vast as Lilywhites supporters believed – or perhaps hoped – it was.
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