Birthday boy Robert Pires saves the day for Arsenal as the Gunners escape Shite Hart Lane with a draw.

The first 60 minutes were the absolute worst 60 minutes of football Arsenal have played in a long, long time. It was absolutely abysmal. Sp*rs were dominating, and Arsenal couldn’t string two passes together, let alone create a scoring chance.

Thierry Henry was out injured, so it was Bergkamp and Reyes up front, but that wasn’t the problem. It was a midfield of Ljungberg, Flamini, Gilberto, and Fabregas that was the weakness today. Gilberto kept passing to white shirts, Fabregas was out of position, Ljungberg was playing his first match back from injury, and Flamini was just useless.

This ineptitude meant that the ball spent most of its’ time in Arsenal’s half. In the 17th minute, Sp*rs earned a free kick, and Ledly King got a head to it to put them ahead 1-0 at the half.

Robert Pires, who turned 32 today, started on the bench, but came on for Flamini at half-time. From that point on, Arsenal looked much better, a reaction, I’m sure, to the tounge lashing Arsene Wenger must have unleashed during the break. Fifteen minutes into the second half Freddie Ljungberg came up lame with what seemed to be a hamstring injury.

Robin van Persie came on for Freddie, and he was an inspiration. Within moments, he had created more chances than the rest of the team had during the entire match. Finally, his presence was the spark that the Gunners needed, and for the next 20 minutes it was all Arsenal.

That pressure led to the equaliser.

Arsenal earned a free kick in the 75th minute, and Dennis Bergkamp’s cross was almost parried by Paul Robinson. However, luck was on the Gunners’ side, as the ball tipped off his hands, and kept going towards Robert Pires at pace. Pires stepped up, and from 15 yards out, drilled a shot into the empty net.

The remainder of the match found the Gunners searching for a winner, and they almost got it through van Persie a few times.

When the full-time whistle blew, it was a point well earned, but oh, what could have been if van Persie had started?

Up next is Sparta Prague at home on Wednesday. Kickoff is @ 2:45 PM ET. It’s the first match of the Arsenal America Road Trip 2005. As we all know, the Gunners are undefeated in those matches during past roadtrips. Let’s hope the streak continues.