Dave Kitson, the Reading forward, last night deployed as a lone forward against the Gunners at the Madjeski stadium, has spoken of his admiration for the way this Arsenal team plays the game.
Coming from a Tottenham fan, it cannot have been easy for him to say, but speaking after the match against the Gooners, in which our boys prevailed 3-1 to return to the top of the table, The Guardian reported Kitson's views on Arsene's team:
It is unbelievably difficult playing against them and, to be honest, there wasn't a lot we could have done, they are without doubt the best footballing team on the planet right now. It's absolutely phenomenal stuff. Trying to get near Fábregas, Hleb, Rosicky, it's a tough ask. The thing that amazes you most is they are not just passing to each other. They are passing so that the next person can run on to the ball and, by then, his mind is already made up with what he is going to do next. It is unbelievable.
Fabregas puts his foot on the ball, has a look, sees what he wants to do and then he plays it four yards in front of him to Hleb. He'll turn round, play it another four yards by which time Fabregas has already gone past, and so it goes on. Trying to get near to them and stop it - I'm not saying it can't be done because the team they beat 7-0, Slavia Prague, managed to do it last week - but it is tough. They don't have off days very often.
It's interesting to compare them with
They have one major injury in Robin van Persie and they don't even look as if they are missing him. Emmanuel Adebayor plays up front on his own and he is almost like two strikers up there. When
Just looking at Adebayor as a technician and as a football player, that is what every striker should aspire to. He is very right footed but, when you are that good, you don't need your left foot. He is 6ft 5in and you look at him and think: 'How is he doing this?' For his goal, the ball came at him at 100mph and he just cushioned it into the far corner. Then there's Fabregas. It is not even fair that a kid that young can have so much talent. He is world-class already: definitely among the top five players in the league, definitely one of the top players in the world. It's frightening. Wenger must be licking his lips because there is just silverware here on in for Arsenal.
Unsurprisingly Kitson also described Wenger as the "best manager in the world" while Fabregas – still just 20 – "is world class already". "It's not fair that a kid that young can have so much talent," Kitson added. "He's definitely among the top five players in the league, definitely one of the top players in the world."
We had to keep counting how many players Arsenal had on the pitch on Monday night — it felt like we were playing against 14 men or something, their movement was that good.
I called them the 'give-and-go kings' in my last Sportsmail column and, unfortunately for us, they proved me right.
But how do you stop Arsenal playing? We watched some clips of how Man Utd tried to cope with them — and even they put tons of people behind the ball at times. Arsenal's style is so fluid that they'll tear you apart given half a chance. They constantly drift into new positions and organising a defence is very difficult.
We lined up with two banks of four in a 4-4-2 formation, while they went 4-5-1. We expected that from them, but also knew it would make it a very, very difficult night for us — especially on a pitch like ours which is pretty wide.
The back four and midfield couldn't stick to their own positions because their men were moving all over the place. They had to track them, which obviously left gaps which others needed to fill. Imagine letting a runner like Theo Walcott go. With his pace, he'd kill you.
Everything we planned before the game and everything we did during it needed to be flexible. It was a hell of a challenge both mentally and physically. That's why, having done so well for 44 minutes, conceding so close to half-time was a real killer.
We knew once they'd scored, we had a choice to make. Go and press them and they might cut us apart.
Keep it tight and we were facing certain defeat. That's what a team of that class reduce you to. It's Catch 22. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. And remember, we defended pretty well, especially in the first half.
We did have 11 men behind the ball at times but it's important against a team like Arsenal that you always try and keep one person up, otherwise you don't have an 'out ball' and the pressure is unrelenting.
But then again, even if you do win it back, it's still difficult because everyone is so tired from chasing that you can't get going again. I kicked one out early to Kitson and Doyle and everyone yelled at me to keep hold of it for a bit!
We may have lost, but overall I think our game-plan worked as well as we could probably have hoped.
After all, let's be realistic, they are top of the Premier League and have just won a game 7-0 in the Champions League. On that form, I reckon plenty of other teams will struggle even to score against them this season.
Reading manager Steve Coppell believes Arsenal will be the team to beat for champions Manchester United fourth-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed Liverpool.
"The first goal just before half time was critical because up until that point they'd had a lot of possession without creating too much," said Coppell, whose side had won three home Premiership matches on the trot.
"There were just a few signs they were starting to get frustrated.
"One-nil down at half time was not the end of the world but they have that extra bit of quality and once they got their noses in front the confidence came flooding back and we buckled under the pressure.
"They have some fantastic players and will be the team to beat right to the very end of the season."
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I think we should have more players calling Arsenal magical, unbelievable, and hellish to counter.
So there you have it.
Spoken from a spurs fan, who's experienced the beauty and deadly potency of Arsenal's play up close and personal. Fair play to Kitson.
Any other spuds wanna pay homage to the team playing the best football on the planet (according to one of your own...)?
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