I just could not understand why Toby Alderweireld did not play in what was Spurs’ biggest game of the season so far.
It was bizarre and a huge surprise.
Whether he was trying to make a statement because Alderweireld’s contract expires at the end of the season and he has not signed a new one, I do not know.
But it was a huge call to drop him and it massively backfired as the two players he decided to play at centre-half, Jan Vertonghen and Juan Foyth, were very poor.
This was the first time they have started a game together – and it showed.
I really don’t have a clue what Vertonghen was thinking with the handball which led to Arsenal’s penalty, and Foyth also made an error which led to a goal.
After demolishing Chelsea last weekend, Spurs are now out of the top four and must go back to the drawing board.
But where Pochettino got the big calls wrong, his opposite number Unai Emery got them all right and deserves huge credit.
What I really like about the new Arsenal boss is that he is not afraid to make those tough decisions.
We do not know how bad Mesut Ozil’s back was, but he was nowhere near the Emirates yesterday.
And that comes a week after he was left on the bench because the manager felt he could not trust him going away to Bournemouth.
Then when Arsenal were trailing 2-1 at half-time in the North London derby, Emery made two substitutions which changed the game.
He basically said to Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 'You’re off, you’re not doing what I am asking you to do'.
And brought on Alexandre Lacazette and Aaron Ramsey, who gave Tottenham so many problems with their running forward and in behind.
Arsenal bossed that second half. They overran Spurs, who were weak and offered nothing.
The Gunners have not led in the first half of any Premier League match this season but their record after the break is astonishing.
It shows Emery has obviously got his side fit and believing in what they are doing.
He is getting every single ounce of sweat, ability and effort out of his players.
And if they are not doing what Emery wants from them, they are out – as with Ozil, and with Mkhitaryan at half-time.
We witnessed at Manchester United how difficult it can be for the man who replaces a manager who has been at a club for such a long time.
But Arsenal have gone 19 games unbeaten now and what Emery is doing is very impressive.
Of course, it helps when you can call upon a goalscorer like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
I was sat with Ian Wright all day yesterday and I joked to him that he’s the best striker Arsenal have ever had! Aubemayang is the Premier League’s top scorer now and his last ten shots have all resulted in goals.
The way he curled the ball into the corner first time to score his second goal against Spurs just stank of confidence and belief.
And his movement off the ball is a nightmare for defenders because he loves running in behind.
I still don’t see Arsenal challenging for the title but a top-four finish would be a very, very good season for them.
And they have certainly sent a big message out to their rivals with the way they swept Spurs aside.
JORDAN PICKFORD will wish he could play again today.
The only way he is going to get over yesterday’s monumental error is by getting back out on the pitch and making saves again and putting in performances.
But even then, Pickford will probably still not sleep for a week – or maybe even longer.
I can only think that he was trying to prevent a corner with it being so late on in the game.
But he knows there is no escaping his catastrophic mistake, which is why he held his hands up to the Everton fans the end of the game.
Pickford seems a bubbly character so that could help him.
He got criticism after England’s defeat to Belgium in the World Cup and bounced back next game to be the hero in the last-16 penalty shoot-out win over Colombia.
But he is now going to be reminded about yesterday’s defeat to Liverpool for the rest of his career.
For 95 and a half minutes, Pickford had played his part in what looked like being a very good clean sheet for Everton at Anfield, making a tremendous save from Xherdan Shaqiri.
And the way Everton defended, there is no way they deserved to lose. It was extremely harsh.
I also don’t know where the referee got another two minutes from, because there was only supposed to be four minutes of added time and they played on for six.
But Liverpool will not care because, the way the Manchester City are bulldozing everyone, it was imperative that they found a way to win if they are to stay as title challengers.
When you are not playing well, you have to pick up three points, and by hook and by crook they did that.
That is probably why Jurgen Klopp reacted in the way he did when Divock Origi scored.
I was surprised he did not get a warning from the referee.
But it just shows how much it means to have a winning goal with virtually the last kick of a derby game.
RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK will have a big decision to make at the end of the season.
He scored against Fulham yesterday – just like he did the last time he played in the Premier League against Burnley back in October.
But despite doing very well every time he does play, he is just not getting enough game time.
Loftus-Cheek had a good time on loan at Crystal Palace last season and then went to the World Cup with England.
I understood his decision to come back and give it a go at Chelsea because a new manager had taken over.
But he will have to wait and see if he plays more between now and the end of the season, otherwise, he will really have to consider his future in the summer.
It was important Chelsea got back to winning ways yesterday against Fulham after last week’s defeat to Tottenham.
It was not a scintillating performance but they did just enough.
For Fulham, it was always going to be very difficult for them once they fell behind after only four minutes.
They came into it a little bit in the second half but we cannot judge Claudio Ranieri on games like this.
Wednesday’s match against Leicester will give us a much better guide as to whether Fulham have actually turned a corner under their new manager.
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