Arsenal appeared to be hurtling towards a disastrous defeat after an early Louis Saha strike and an Emmanuel Adebayor penalty fired Spurs into a 2-0 lead.
But two goals in three minutes from Bacary Sagna and captain Robin van Persie made it 2-2 before Arsenal cut loose in the second-half with Tomas Rosicky’s strike and Theo Walcott’s brace completing a remarkable transformation.
Arsenal’s win eased the pressure on beleaguered manager Arsene Wenger, whose side were still reeling from a heavy Champions League defeat to AC Milan and a FA Cup exit at Sunderland.
Arsenal captain van Persie was understandably over the moon after his team’s fantastic display.
“If you come from 2-0 down to win 5-2 - and it could’ve been more - it’s fantastic, especially for the fans who have suffered in the last few weeks. It was a classic comeback. We scored a quick third goal and after that we were cruising.”
Meanwhile, Ryan Giggs – playing in his 900th game for United – struck in the 90th minute to clinch a precious victory for his team which saw them reduce Manchester City’s lead at the top to two points.
Grant Holt had pounced for Norwich on 83 minutes to cancel out Paul Scholes’ seventh-minute opener before Giggs produced the winner.
AVB denies owner’s influence
Elsewhere, Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas denied his team selection for the 3-0 victory over Bolton had been influenced by owner Roman Abramovich. The Portuguese had named Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Michael Essien as substitutes for that game — and all three started against Bolton. Villas-Boas attempted to laugh off suggestions that Abramovich had told him to bring back the three players.
“I got the call this morning,” he joked before adding, “I’m not in tune with Roman’s agenda. All I know is that it was important for the team to win, mostly for the fans as they’ve been deserving and demanding a lot.”
Meanwhile, Mario Balotelli returned from a four-match suspension to score the opener in City’s 3-0 win over Blackburn.
Meanwhile, Newcastle were held to a 2-2 draw by the Wolves, while Fulham beat QPR 1-0. West Brom crushed Sunderland 4-0, while Wigan held Aston Villa to a goal-less draw.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2012.
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EPIC.