Tottenham Hotspur's English midfielder Dele Alli (C) is involved as players clash in the celebrations after Tottenham's equalizer during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium in London on December 2, 2018. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

Trained Tottenham cheats & 9 other delights from Arsenal’s Spurs spanking

Dec 3, 2018

Arsenal made a lot of people look really stupid on Sunday when they spanked Tottenham and sent them back across north London to take a long, hard look at themselves.

Here are some standout things I noticed from the game (and before)

1Mesut Ozil rumours are quick to spawn

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 25: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal looks on prior to the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Arsenal FC at Vitality Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

It took less than half an hour for the first rumour to emerge that Mesut Ozil had refused to train on Saturday after being told he wouldn’t start on Sunday despite there not being a whisper of any trouble before the Arsenal team was announced.

Convenient, huh?

While it might fit certain people’s narratives to act like Mesut Ozil is a diva who likes to throw strops, he isn’t. I don’t believe for a minute that he refused to train because he was told he was dropped.

He’s a professional footballer who has made his way to the very top of the game, not some no-mark on Twitter thinking about how he’d act if he had the chance.

Questions certainly need to be asked about his fitness for the squad. He is the highest earner at the club by a distance so he needs to be a player who can be relied on.

Is he?

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