Arsenal held on for a much-needed 2-1 win at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.
Mikel Arteta called the north London derby “the most beautiful game of the season to watch”. The neutral – if such a thing exists in the modern game – would certainly have enjoyed this middling offering of chaos-ball, a contest filled with more moments of misfortune than quality.
Arsenal started the better of the two sides, running to formidable rivals against the backdrop of a wild crowd that Arteta had spent all week rousing. However, Son Heung-min silenced Emirates in the 25th minute.
The Tottenham captain was first to a corner on the stroke of half-time, controlling a low volley into a crowded box that went wide. William Salibatoe and beyond David Raya.
The Gunners, fresh from back-to-back cup defeats in front of their home fans against Newcastle and Manchester United over the past week, it could very well have swung. In reality, Arsenal had to hang on long enough for Tottenham's insecurities to come into play.
Spurs – and the rest of the division – will have been aware of the threat Arsenal, and Gabriel in particular, pose from corners. However, the Brazilian centre-back – who scored the winner in the reverse fixture – still found space at the back post to head the ball over the line through the middle of Dominic Solanke in the 40th minute. Before the whistle of the first half, a trio of Tottenham mistakes gave Arsenal the lead as Leandro Trossard broke through the visitors' soft centre.
Ange Postecoglou it is nothing if not a manger that lives by the sword and dies by the sword. The half-time interval saw the arrival of James Maddison and Brennan Johnson, emptying Tottenham's midfield in search of an all-important equaliser.
This dramatic change served to expose rather than invigorate Spurs. The visitors didn't force Raya into a single save in the second half and remained equally susceptible to the odd lapse in concentration with the ball in their own half.
Arteta – who responded to Postecoglou's sweeping attack by switching to a two-left-back system – watched as his side again missed a number of clear-cut chances. Unlike Arsenal's last two opponents, Spurs could not punish the Gunners' sloppiness and were consigned to a second derby defeat of the league season.
|
Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: David Raya |
7.3/10 |
|
RB: Jurrien Timber |
7.5/10 |
|
CB: William Saliba |
7.5/10 |
|
CB: Gabriel |
7.2/10 |
|
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly |
7.5/10 |
|
CM: Martin Odegaard |
8.4/10 |
|
CM: Thomas Partey |
7.2/10 |
|
CM: Declan Rice |
7.3/10 |
|
RW: Raheem Sterling |
7.0/10 |
|
ST: Kai Havertz |
6.3/10 |
|
LW: Leandro Trossard |
8.2/10 |
|
UNDER: Gabriel Martinelli (61' for Sterling) |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Kieran Tierney (77' for Trossard) |
6.2/10 |
|
UNDER: Oleksandr Zinchenko (87' for Lewis-Skelly) |
N/A |
|
UNDER: Mikel Merino (87' for Rice) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Neto (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, Ismeal Kabia, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji
|
Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Antonin Kinsky |
6.6/10 |
|
RB: Pedro Porro |
6.5/10 |
|
CB: Radu Dragusin |
6.1/10 |
|
CB: Archie Grey |
5.9/10 |
|
LB: Daddy Spence |
5.8/10 |
|
CM: Pope Sarr |
5.4/10 |
|
CM: Yves Bissouma |
5.0/10 |
|
CM: Lucas Bergvall |
7.3/10 |
|
RW: Dejan Kulusevski |
6.8/10 |
|
ST: Dominic Solanke |
5.2/10 |
|
LW: Son Heung-min |
7.1/10 |
|
UNDER: James Maddison (46' for Bissouma) |
6.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Brennan Johnson (46' for Sarr) |
6.0/10 |
|
UNDER: Richarlison (78' for Son) |
6.1/10 |
Subs not used: Brandon Austin (GK), Malachi Hardy, Callum Olusesi, Sergio Reguilon, Mikey Moore, Will Lankshear