Late Lennon leveller leaves Wenger livid

Last updated : 30 October 2008 By Gareth Davies
Vive la Différence! Just four days into the Redknapp regime and Tottenham looks a club transformed. Last week the players could barely muster enough spirit to threaten the opposition goal, yet tonight they scored four at the Emirates during one of the most spectacular, entertaining and, quite frankly, ridiculous games of football you are ever likely to see.

Having looked dead and buried at 4-2 down with just two minutes left in normal time, somehow we dragged ourselves back on to our feet to score twice in the space of five minutes to rob Arsenal of two points and catapult the travelling support into dreamland.

Harry's face said it all. As Luka Modric's beautiful arcing shot crashed off the post and Aaron Lennon stole in to tap in the equaliser, Redknapp was a picture of disbelief. And who could blame him, I'm sitting here typing this report wondering if I'm about to embark on some wild fictional tale of drama and redemption.

Never was a point more richly deserved. Forget the fact that Arsenal dominated vast swathes of the match and - were it not for some wasteful finishing - should have put the match beyond doubt way before our plucky upstarts decided to make it one of the most memorable North London derbies in living memory.

No the fact that, on the balance of play, Arsene Wenger can feel hard done by is irrelevant. In the end ours was a point earned through sheer bloody minded spirit and never-say-die attitude, but perhaps most importantly, karma. Simply put, good triumphed over evil.

Dramatic perhaps but let me explain. For the dancing celebrations, the show-boating and the arrogance of the players and their manager, we deserved it. For the fact that their best midfielder felt the need to say their ladies team could draw with us, we deserved it. And finally because Arsene Wenger can never just hold his hands up and admit the acknowledge that the opposition played any role in the match, we deserved it.

Tonight was a night that exemplified why Harry Redknapp is so highly regarded by those in the business. In as little as four days Redknapp has transformed the spirit of the club and seems to have given certain players - bereft of confidence under Ramos - the licence to do what they do best, express themselves.

Quite how he has achieved this in such a small space of time is beyond me but to deny he is the catalyst of this revival would be foolish. The man exudes practical optimism and preaches the value of good old fashioned hard-work, which is exactly what we saw tonight.

Alright it wasn't perfect. The central midfield is too lightweight and seems unable to put in an effective challenge, meaning at times Arsenal were given far too much time on the ball in which to do what they do best - passing football.

In goal, Gomes was yet again worryingly erratic. A good shot stopper, the Brazilian appears to lose all reason as soon as the ball is floated in via a set-piece. Such was calamitous display that it now seems certain that Harry will look to bring in a goalkeeper sooner rather than later - with Ben Foster of Manchester United a possible loan signing.

Yet picking out the mistakes of individuals is overly pedantic for a game of such stunning levels of pure entertainment. Instead it seems more appropriate to revel in individual examples of skill, of which David Bentley's sumptuous volley was the most magnificent.

It takes a special kind of talent - the quick thinking, almost instinctive breed - to control the ball 44 yards out and in the same movement send an arching shot sailing over the hapless 'keeper. Bentley's effort was as good as Matt Le Tissier in his prime, and having been booed vociferously by the home support, he savoured the moment in understandable elation.

If Redknapp's arrival has benefited the spirit of the players, it has had a more direct impact on David Bentley's game. Early signs are that Harry will give Bentley the licence to roam from his birth on the right side of midfield, and it is unlikely we will see him starting out of position. Today his crossing and dogged determination where there for the onlooking Fabio Capello to see. If he keeps playing in this way, it won't be long until he forces his way back into the national side.

Elsewhere there is a new lease of life for Luka Modric, the pesky little scamp who was chomping off the bit to escape the yoke of central midfield for a more advanced role. Although not perfect, his performance behind Pavlychenko was full of promise, and his last minute dipping volley deserved to restore parity to any match, let alone against the man who wrote him off during the summer as too lightweight.

Don't get me wrong, there is still an awful lot of work for Harry to do, but the early signs are encouraging. Finally the fans have a result to savour and some will do some more fervently than when we demolished a depleted Arsenal at White Hart Lane last season.

5-1 victories are good but give me a last gasp goal to rescue a point from the jaws of defeat any day. There was something truly special about those 30 seconds of complete elation, when just moments before you had resigned yourself to defeat. I wrote after the calamitous Stoke defeat that it's always darkest before the dawn. It appears I may just have been right.