Arsenal hero Martin Keown has fired shots at Tottenham ahead of the north London derby by taunting them for their “night off” from the Champions League. Keown was in the TNT Sports studio to give his thoughts on Arsenal’s showdown with PSV – and the former defender couldn’t resist a jibe at the Gunners’ bitter rivals.
“Spurs have had a nice evening off tonight and they’ve been watching their opponents at the weekend,” Keown said as he shared his thoughts in the aftermath of Arsenal’s 4-0 victory.
The 57-year-old then went on to laud his former employers as he talked through the footage viewers were seeing on the screen. “They create that kind of canvass in wide areas, nice and wide,” he added. “That’s really difficult to play against because Arsenal wingers…this one v one situation. You can’t really protect.
“And it’s what the opposite winger then is doing, moving into position. No one really stops moving and they’re all alive to this situation. And I really like the way [Leandro] Trossard particularly has come into the team again tonight and he has just picked it up.”
Arsenal were in inspired form on their return to Champions League action and took the lead after just eight minutes as Bukayo Saka turned the ball in from close range after Martin Odegaard’s shot had been parried out. Trossard then got his name on the scoresheet midway through the first half after being picked out by Saka. And the home side killed the contest off seven minutes before the break as Gabriel Jesus controlled Trossard’s cross and lashed the ball into the corner of the net.
PSV tightened up in the second half, although they offered little going forward. And Arsenal struck their final goal of the night 20 minutes from the end as Odegaard unleashed a powerful drive from long range.
Tottenham aren’t playing in any European competition this campaign after finishing a lowly eighth in the Premier League last time around. The Lilywhites, who reached the last 16 of the Champions League last season, won less than half of their top-flight matches last term and finished 11 points behind fourth-place Newcastle.
But Spurs have been rejuvenated since appointing Ange Postecoglou as their manager in the summer and are unbeaten in their opening five matches of the new campaign, as are Arsenal. The Lilywhites and the Gunners are level on 13 points, with the teams both winning four matches and drawing the other. And Sunday’s north London derby at the Emirates Stadium is as hotly-anticipated as they come.
