Arsenal vs. Tottenham: Gunners Prove They Are the Most Fascinating Side in EPL

For better and for worse, we are drawn to the mercurial.

Whether that's the result of a chemical inclination or simply a matter of acquired taste is subject for debate, but I tend to lean toward the former as an explanation.

And when speaking about Arsenal—this season in particular, it is difficult not to fall victim to broad generalizations about their yin-yang comportment.

There have been the harrowing defeats (8-2 at Old Trafford, 4-0 at the San Siro), interspersed with the most thrilling of victories (5-3 at Stamford Bridge, and most recently, 5-2 Sunday at the Emirates).

To be perfectly honest, there hasn't been much in between those broad, canvassing strokes. Everything seems to gravitate, as the group White Lies once sang, between "love and death."

Perhaps it would be better explained as love and hate. For a Gunners fan this season, there hasn't been too much in between those two emotions.

We hail the return of Thierry Henry, he of the (now) 229 goals for Arsenal, when he heroically delivers the club to victories against Leeds United (Jan. 9) and Sunderland (Feb. 12) with last-gasp winners.

We subsequently bemoan the group when they fall victim to slews of defeats. When the losses accumulate—eight already in league this season—we fear that we are witnessing a side that is becoming an unwelcome guest to the Premiership's elite.

The moribund start to the season, which included that debacle against United, found Arsenal sitting ensconced in 15th place in mid-September following yet another brutal defeat (the last of which came at the hands of hapless Blackburn at Ewood Park).

The three-match losing streak in January, tying Arsenal's longest-ever league drought, when games were dropped to middling sides Fulham and Swansea, along with second-placed United.

Both of those ignominious runs of form seemed to verify all that was wrong with Arsenal.

Every time the pendulum swings sharply to (let's call the "bad" end the left), the left end, the calls for Wenger to resign, the laments about the lack of adequate talent within the side, the forlorn glances at the trophy cupboard now empty for what seems almost assuredly seven seasons, threaten to overwhelm even the most grounded of supporters.

But then, every time, Arsenal find a way to come back.

That horrible start to the season?

After an excellent October, November, and December, where Arsenal took 22 points from a possible 24 before falling to Manchester City at the Etihad on Dec. 18, brought the Gunners firing back to fifth place.

The sputtering run in January?

Consecutive victories against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, then Blackburn and Sunderland in the Premiership, erased that memory like it was a bad dream forgotten in the morning.

Maybe then, it was fitting that Sunday's north London derby, the topic of such relentless debate in the week's run-up, came after an 11-day spell in which Arsenal had effectively seen their European dreams snuffed (that Milan defeat) and their FA Cup title designs eviscerated (the 2-0 defeat to Sunderland).

Most had risked a cursory glance at the table, where Tottenham sat 10 points clear of Arsenal on 25 games played, in far better form at the moment, and derided any possible chance of an Arsenal victory.

The calls for Wenger's removal grew to a deafening roar. Fans risked an embarrassment at home.

It was the perfect setting for Arsenal to launch their third offensive of the season.

But maybe that's when Arsenal work best. Like a journalist fighting a midnight deadline, the club have shown a remarkable resiliency and sense of fortitude to battle back when their backs are most firmly against the wall. They were certainly there before (and midway through the first half) on Sunday.

When they went down 2-0 in the space of 35 minutes to Spurs, they were deemed down and out. Twitter exploded with angry peals from supporters. Piers Morgan likely suffered an aneurysm in the Fox Soccer studio.

Obviously, the parallels between Sunday's game and the 5-3 win over Chelsea are striking. Both times, the Gunners scored five, and were forced to come from behind.

Both times, Theo Walcott unleashed a bit of brilliance, whether it was his fall down/get back up/dart through Chelsea's flummoxed defense/then strike a fierce shot past a bewildered Petr Cech from 18 out, or Sunday's brace against Spurs after a first half when he'd been at his worst.

Walcott's heroics aside, when the Gunners went down 2-0, only the most hardened optimist would have ever dared predict they would score five unanswered.

But score five they did.

In the 150th edition of the derby, the club celebrating its own anniversary (125 years in existence) provided an unforgettable portion to one of the most thrilling matches yet.

And was there any player who provided a more perfect personification of Arsenal's season so far than Walcott?

From a player's perspective, no. Walcott was in a league of his own, his vindication as sweet as that of Wenger's.

The 22-year-old's oscillating performance in the match was in every way indicative of the club's rocky path since August, his brilliance in the second half (when he got his brace within four minutes' time) rewarding Wenger's patience.

And in a season where the French boss's tactics and philosophy have been the subject of such vitriolic ridicule, could you blame him for taking a measure of revenge after this one, something he hadn't been quite able to do since the 2-1 victory over Barcelona just 375 days ago?

Like in that match against the Blaugrana, Arsenal showed once more, this time against Tottenham, why they are the most interesting team in Europe. Dos Equis, take some notes.

Just as fans were set to be lost in the most intense despair given the foreboding nature of the past 10 days, the Gunners came firing back.

And while a trophy might yet be deemed an impossibility, any Arsenal fan had to feel hope at the sight of their side scoring five times ahead of the return leg against Milan, where five Gunner goals and a clean sheet would see them through to the quarterfinals.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Does one match reverse a trend? Of course not.

Arsenal still must fight tooth and nail to hold onto fourth place (they're currently just a fraction ahead of Chelsea despite being level on points, having defeated them in the first encounter), and progressing past Milan in Europe will be one of the tallest orders Wenger will have ever taken upon.

But for fans looking for a response from a side who had seemed heart-breakingly broken just one week before against Sunderland, Sunday made a wonderful impression.

Just like the win at the Bridge, Sunday's 5-2 triumph was the sort that latches into the mind and keeps one in a good mood for an entire day. Hopefully, Sunday's win will serve as the same sort of springboard that saw Arsenal ride their wave of form through an unbeaten November.

In the end, we live vicariously through our favorite teams—I know I do, anyhow—and how could I not share in the joy of today's fightback? Like the band The National sing in "England," "Someone sen(t) a runner through the weather that I'm under for the feeling that I lost today."

We find the greatest source of light when we emerge from the darkness. That's been a theme of Arsenal's season, and it was on full display once more on Sunday.

Battling back from the darkest of dreams. The Gunners have shown us their very worst, and now their very best, in one week's time.

Maybe Bacary Sagna was that "runner" The National spoke of, firing life back into the Gunners with that forceful header. Maybe it was Van Persie, fulfilling the role of captain with perfect grace with his equalizing strike, the manner of which was so indicative of his indelible quality as a footballer.

Maybe it was Tomas Rosicky, who battled back from the brink of injury-induced despair just two seasons ago now, and whose third goal—his first in the Premier League in what felt like ages—sent the Gunners ahead.

It was a lead they would never relinquish.

But I most enjoy thinking it was Walcott, so maligned this season, adding the fourth and fifth goals for the Gunners.

Bringing both the fans and himself back from the brink. Done in the span of 45 minutes' time. Mercurial, wouldn't you say?

As I sifted through the pictures from Sunday's match, looking for just the right ones to accentuate what I've tried to portray in this article, I found myself lost in a reverie.

It's not often you see unchecked emotions, purer than snow at the tip of Mount Everest. But the Arsenal players' celebrations in so many of those pictures, whether it was Rosicky lost in euphoria, or the squad tumbling down in celebration, or Walcott happily acknowledging the crowd, made me realize something.

This team is special.

And speaking of Walcott, you might forgive him and, to a greater extent his manager, for taking some time to relax on Sunday night.

After everything they've gone through this season, no two in the Premiership deserve it more.