(5 May 1999 – White Hart Lane)
If there was any question about Arsenal’s title credentials they were answered as the reigning champions beat Tottenham at White Hart lane for the first time since 1993, solidifying their position at the top of the table and piling the pressure on Manchester United and Fergie’s golden generation.
The Gunners won thanks to three world class goals from Petit, Anelka, and Kanu but it was a first-half masterclass from Dennis Bergkamp which quenched the Hotspurs.
George Graham was in the opposite dugout and Arsenal looked a bit raggedy at times, their famous back four bunching and attacking the ball in ways that surely made Graham wince. But if Graham was watching Arsenal he should have been paying closer attention to his own defenders because they were split like ass cheeks time and again with through balls by Bergkamp.
Wenger’s all-out attacking philosophy was on display for the first goal on the 17th minute. Wenger’s men love to play a sort of railroad approach where the defender passes to the midfielder who then plays a direct ball up along the ground for anyone who wants to make a run. For the first goal that was a Dixon to Bergkamp to Petit express train. Bergkamp’s perfectly timed 40 yard pass along the ground caught Sol Campbell napping as Petit slid in behind the center back. But the Frenchman still had to beat the Tottenham keeper, Ian Walker, and did so with an exquisite chip worthy of a World Cup and League double winner. It was a center forward’s goal, scored by Arsenal’s supposed holding midfielder.
Almost exactly 17 minutes later, Arsenal compounded Graham’s misery as once again Bergkamp collected a simple pass from the defense and slid in a perfectly weighted long ball. This time the 40 yard pass was to Anelka who driften in behind Luke Young, Tottenham’s up-and-coming young center back. And once again Ian Walker rushed out to stop the goal but where Petit took the high road, Anelka chose the low, nutmegging the keeper for Arsenal’s second.
Spurs scored a lucky goal from a set piece when Darren Anderton’s awful, woeful, and possibly illegal – he should be jailed on the moon – shot from a set piece took a deflection and just got past David Seaman, the greatest keeper in the history of mankind.
After the half, however, Wenger regrouped and from there the Gunners were in command. Arsenal’s powerful midfield bossed Tottenham. Spurs looked to play through David Ginola but despite a nervy opening 10 minutes Wenger’s men marked him well in the second half.
Kanu must be from the future because while this match was played in 1999, he scored a carbon copy of Bergkamp’s goal against Newcastle in 2002. Patrick Vieira lofted a free kick to Kanu who sealed off some red shirt guy on an away mission named Andy Stinton. Kanu clipped the ball over Stilton’s head, then rounded the cheese, and scored past Walker.
It was a goal of absolute astonishing quality and Kanu has been an inspired winter signing by Arsene Wenger, scoring 6 goals, including two from the bench in his last three matches. If he keeps up at this pace, I predict he will win his second African Footballer of the year in 1999. Kanu is Arsene’s second world class signing from a club in Italy where the player was languishing. How a player of Kanu or Vieira’s obvious quality can’t get a game in Italy is a mystery (racism).
With the win in hand, Arsenal have conceded just their 5th goal since Boxing day and retain 1st place, ahead of hated rivals Manchester United. Next weekend, they take on financial doping wonders Leeds United who are sitting pretty in 4th place. It would suck giant assholes if Arsenal lost the League this year because, say, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, scored in the god damn 86th minute or some nonsense.
ironically, both bergkamp and kanu went the ajax-inter-arsenal route. btw, dennis is white and he couldn’t get any love in italy either. with that, thank heavens for wenger bringing in yet another black player from a big european team later that year. a few years ago, i read an article where ancelotti said playing henry on the wing at juventus was the biggest mistake of his managerial career.
as for vieira, i believe his education at milan played a significant role in the player he became. despite losing the ’95 champions league final to kanu’s ajax, he was surrounded by world class players at milan who he must have learned a boat load from just talking around the water cooler. his unique route to arsenal is the reason why there’ll never be another vieira.
i didn’t watch the video you attached but i did watch that match back in ’99. i’ve watched hundreds of arsenal games. it’s crazy what the brain can recall from 21 years ago. too bad arsenal didn’t win the league that year. man united were simply too good but luckily arsenal were too good for tottenham.
…err, not big european team but big italian team.
I remember that match we lost to Leeds. We lost another one to Leeds in 2003 which also robbed us of the title (well, draws against Villa and Bolton hurt too.)
the 2003 season was the biggest arsenal choke job ever!
…an unbelievably historic collapse.
I watched the match. I was struck by how bad the passing was, and how much simpler throw ins were back then. Also, how bad our corners were.
I watched it too. “I thought Arsenal was cancelled” complained Wife-of-1-Nil. Arsenal cancelled? Arsenal will NEVER be cancelled, woman! It’s the Premier League on hiatus, not Arsenal.
Then she apologized, slipped into her lingerie, made me a sandwich and offered to massage my feet. Well, actually she made put out the recycling bins before banishing me upstairs to watch on my laptop. But that’s cool.
“Caviar” passes by Bergkamp to Anelka. Petit and Kanu in full form. Adams organizing the D against corner kicks. And, baggy, I mean really baggy kits. Great stuff!
I was at this game and have very fond memories of it apart from the chaos on the way back to Seven Sisters tube station caused by the upset Spurs fans/yobs.
Kanu’s goal was an amazing piece of skill, flicking the ball over Young’s head then burying it into the corner of the net. Only surpassed by his hat-trick at Chelsea. He was an outrageously talented footballer in one of the best sides Arsenal has ever had.
Those passes from Bergkamp, though. Wow.
Kanu was a great player for us and then lost it all when he was in dispute with the club about a new contract.
We have seen that so many times, that a good player becomes much worse because of money.
Greed takes over and cancels out skill.
Perhaps, a positive result of the current crisis is that players will cost and be paid sensible amounts.