ARSENAL CLAIM BRAGGING RIGHTS AGAIN
THEY call it St Totteringham’s Day in the red half of north London, the point in the season when Tottenham can no longer finish above Arsenal. For so long, it looked as though the day would never come this year. Spurs, just two weeks ago, were going toe-to-toe with Leicester City for the league title. Yesterday, somehow, they finished in third place, below Arsenal for the 21st consecutive season. It’s not as though Arsenal fans had any celebrations planned. Not even the most optimistic Gooner could have predicted this ending. Nevertheless, Arsenal are, yet again, north London’s top dogs. Judging by his post-match comments, Arsene Wenger seemed more concerned with finishing second than above their arch-rivals. But, with his side leading 3-0, the Frenchman — just for a moment — showed his true colours with an impromptu fist pump when a supporter informed him Newcastle had just put their fifth past Spurs. Make no mistake, Wenger understands the currency of finishing above Tottenham. Twenty years in north London will do that to a man. He said: ‘We did not start the season saying we want to finish above Tottenham. We wanted to win the league and there is a frustration because we didn’t win the league. ‘Today, we could only play with the target we had. And the only one we had before the game was to finish second. ‘For a while, our supporters have not been going home happy — at least today they had some satisfaction.’ It took Arsenal only five minutes to assert their authority when Olivier Giroud headed past Mark Bunn. Intent on enjoying their final Premier League clash for at least a season, the away fans ironically celebrated Giroud’s header. Arsenal fans were buoyant as news of Newcastle’s opener came through but things became nervy with the score at the Emirates still 1-0. Finally, in the 78th minute, Arsenal sealed victory as Giroud flicked home Mesut Ozil’s pass before completing his hat-trick two minutes later after being put through by Hector Bellerin. Bunn notched an unfortunate stoppage-time own goal when Mikel Arteta saw his shot rebound in off the keeper after hitting the bar. ‘Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again,’ roared the home fans. Indeed. Happy St Totteringham’s Day, Arsenal fans.