Arsenal earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby to cut the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points.
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A header from Gabriel Magalhaes forced a Dominic Solanke own goal from a 40th-minute corner to get Arsenal level after Son Heung-min had opened the scoring 15 minutes earlier.
Leandro Trossard’s strike four minutes after the equaliser proved the difference between the two sides as the Gunners did the double over Spurs, having won the reverse fixture 1-0 in September.
Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard all passed up chances to increase the home side’s lead in the second half, meaning they had to survive a nervy finish to secure the victory.
Arsenal reclaim second place from Nottingham Forest following the victory, while Spurs are 13th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
20 | +28 | 47 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
21 | +22 | 43 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
21 | +10 | 41 |
| 4 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
21 | +15 | 38 |
| 5 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
21 | +15 | 37 |
How the match unfolded
The Gunners were dominant early on, but Spurs scored against the run of play in the 25th minute when captain Son’s side-footed effort from the edge of the box nestled in the back of the net after taking a deflection off Thomas Partey.
Arsenal found a way back through a Rice corner, as Gabriel’s run towards the far post put Radu Dragusin under pressure, with the Arsenal defender's header going in off Solanke in the 40th minute.
Trossard then put Mikel Arteta’s side ahead four minutes later as his powerful low drive beat Antonin Kinsky at the end of a quick break.
Arsenal’s set-pieces continued to create problems for Spurs, with Havertz heading inches wide in the 53rd minute, while Rice produced a good save from Kinsky later on.
With Odegaard also dragging a shot wide from close range with six minutes left, the visitors had a chance to make them pay for their missed opportunities. That nearly came to pass when Pedro Porro’s effort in the fourth minute of stoppage time rattled the woodwork, but the hosts held on.
Arsenal get statement win
Arteta and Arsenal were desperate for a victory against Spurs, coming into the derby on the back of consecutive cup defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester United.
With high-flying Forest holding Liverpool to a draw on Tuesday, it was also an opportunity for the Gunners to cut the gap to the leaders and underline their title credentials.
Gabriel Jesus became the latest attacker to join Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri on Arsenal’s injury list this week and his team-mates paid tribute to the Brazilian with their pre-match shirts.
But the hosts made light of their issues with incessant attacks from the off, pushing Spurs onto the back foot with a string of free-kicks and corners.
It was a test of Arsenal’s character after they went behind but Arteta’s side came out in the lead at half-time.
If anything, it was their finishing that let them down in the second period and denied them a far more comfortable victory.
They will now host Aston Villa on Saturday and will hope to pounce if Liverpool, who have a game in hand at the top, slip up again.
Spurs stumble again
Ange Postecoglou’s side were made to suffer in the early stages at the Emirates Stadium, with Archie Gray making a couple of important defensive interventions to keep the score level, including heading a deflected Trossard strike off the line in the 13th minute.
Kinsky also had some nervy moments in the Spurs goal and did just enough to recover after Havertz robbed him of the ball inside the box four minutes later.
It took Spurs 22 minutes to register their first shot as Dejan Kulusevski was denied by a good save from David Raya, before they stunned the hosts by taking the lead through Son.
However, that proved to be their final shot on target and their high point of the derby
Postecoglou responded by introducing James Maddison and Brennan Johnson in place of Bissouma and Pape Sarr for the second half but his side failed to create enough and were second-best for most of the evening.
They now go into their away game against Everton on Sunday having taken just one point in their five-game winless run in the league.
Club reports
What the managers said
Mikel Arteta: "Outstanding today. From the first minute we were really at it, really intense. We played with a real purpose to hurt them. We created an unbelievable atmosphere. We know how important the game is. It's a gift we can make the supporters very happy.
"The attitude we played with, not feeling sorry for ourselves, was phenomenal. We played 120 minutes three days ago. We had some big chances and big situations. At the end we had to suffer more than we wanted.
"When you have opportunities [to close the gap] you have to take them. We are on a really consistent run in the Premier League. It's about recovery tomorrow and Aston Villa on Saturday, going and going."
Ange Postecoglou: "Yeah we could have got something but that is kind of irrelevant to the point that we were nowhere near the levels we needed to be at today.
"In the first half, we were way too passive and let Arsenal get into a rhythm. We hung in there, we hung in there the whole game really. The second half was a bit better but nowhere near the level it needed to be."
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Match facts
Arsenal have done the Premier League double over Tottenham for a fifth time (twice under Mikel Arteta and three times under Arsène Wenger). Indeed, they’ve now achieved the double four more times than their rivals Spurs in the competition, who’ve only ever done so in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93.
Tottenham have lost 11 games in the Premier League this season; their joint-most at this stage of a single campaign in the competition (also 11 in 1997/98, 2003/04 and 2008/09). The only sides who’ve lost more this term are the three teams currently in the relegation zone (Wolves, Leicester, Southampton).
This was the 11th time the team scoring first in the North London derby in the Premier League have gone on to lose, with seven of those being by Tottenham. Only against Newcastle (7) have Spurs lost as many games in the competition after opening the scoring.
