Sports - Dan Carrier and Steve Barnett Discuss Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur
Published: 8 April, 2010
Late action hero
IN THE GROVE with STEVE BARNETT
PREMIER LEAGUE
ARSENAL 1, WOLVES 0
LATE goal-hero Nicklas Bendtner believes Arsenal got what they deserved on Saturday.
The Danish striker headed home Bacary Sagna’s cross four minutes into injury time to keep Arsene Wenger’s side in the title race.
Bendtner, who also scored a stoppage-time winner at Hull last month, praised his team-mates for persisting with their brand of passing football against a stubborn defence.
“We knew Chelsea had won 2-1 to go six-points clear, but we kept composed and kept trying to pass the ball around,” said Bendtner.
“We didn’t hoof the ball or anything. Wolves like to take three minutes every time they have a throw-in and three minutes every time they have a goal kick. It was very frustrating when you are trying to play football. I don’t know if it was a tactic, but we kept creating chances and got what we deserved in the end, which was a victory.”
Arsenal have made a habit of scoring late goals this season, a factor Bendtner puts down to the squad’s “belief and character”.
Lennon in the wings
OFF THE SHELF with DAN CARRIER
PREMIER LEAGUE
SUNDERLAND 3, SPURS 1
WE’RE still in the hunt for fourth, striker Peter Crouch declared despite the blow of a defeat at Sunderland.
The defeat, their first in 10 games, meant Spurs dropped to fifth, with three games against teams higher in the table still to come.
But Crouch, who scored with his first touch after coming on as a sub, said he believed his team-mates had the strength of character to bounce straight back.
“We’ve got some important fixtures coming up now so we’ll work hard this week and start by trying to get the right result at the weekend”, he said. “Sunderland was a big disappointment but we’ve done well this season especially away from home, where we’ve won games people might have thought we’d lose. We’ll pick ourselves up and make sure we finish the season strongly.”
Meanwhile boss Harry Redknapp has been handed a massive boost with the news that Aaron Lennon is ready to return to full training.
The winger could be on the bench in Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth.