- Arsenal managed to hold onto first place in the Premier League on Sunday with a thrilling 3-2 victory against bitter rivals Tottenham.
Arsenal managed to hold onto first place in the Premier League on Sunday with a thrilling 3-2 victory against bitter rivals Tottenham in the north of London.
From the start, the Gunners showed off their aerial prowess as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg turned into his own net from a corner. Bukayo Saka’s precise finish and Kai Havertz’s own header from a set-piece put Mikel Arteta’s team ahead three goals to two at the half.
Spurs made a valiant effort in the first half, and with goals from Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min, the home team nearly pulled off an amazing comeback; nevertheless, Arsenal eventually prevailed by the narrowest of margins.
Arsenal’s quick start
Bukayo Saka celebrates his goal with teammate Odegaard. Photo/ Eurosport
The set-piece dominance started in the 13th minute when Arsenal had the ball in the net for the first time but Havertz’s shot was disallowed for Martin Odegaard’s offside.
Saka’s fifteenth-minute corner seemed meant to be blocked at the near post, but Hojbjerg, who had been given a surprise start, headed past an unguarded Guglielmo Vicario by mistake to give Arsenal the lead.
Despite their usually lackluster start, the reds kept their celebrations short, going straight into a post-goal huddle. Hojbjerg’s unlucky contribution was followed by a Spurs offensive onslaught.
Dead-ball scenarios proved to be the most lethal for both teams. Romero’s header in the 19th minute went just wide, and a second later, he crashed the post with another aerial attempt. His center-back partner, Micky van de Ven, appeared to tie the score for the home team in the 22nd minute.
The Dutchman scored after a fortunate bounce following a deflected effort, and Arsenal narrowly avoided catching Van van Ven offside as Spurs’ joy swiftly changed to frustration due to Gabriel Magalhaes’s protruding posterior.
Arsenal, who had a strong defense and had escaped a penalty shout in the 27th minute after Leandro Trossard looked to clip Dejan Kulusevski, whose determination to stay upright did him no favors, continued to put up a fight against Postecoglou’s side.
Arsenal shot quickly at the other end of the field after Havertz’s superb play-making move to find Saka on the right. Saka then cut inside Ben Davies before curling the ball into the bottom corner with style.
The 3-0 scoreline did not, by any means, tell the whole story, but Tottenham also squandered their opportunities as Arsenal mercilessly scored goals. Son was the next to waste a promising opening in the 45th minute, sending his strike over the bar after Pedro Porro’s fantastic ball over the top set him clear.
At halftime, Postecoglou decided he had had enough of Rodrigo Bentancur and substituted Pape Sarr. However, Tottenham’s fortunes remained unchanged as the team was giving the ball away cheaply at whim in the second half.
Son scored from the penalty spot. Photo/ The National
In the 53rd minute, Havertz’s fine cross set up Saka for a left-footed volley inside the box, and Arsenal might have—and probably should—been up 4-0. However, Vicario somehow got a foot out to deflect the 22-year-old’s powerful effort over the top.
Arteta’s team had the derby effectively under control, but in the 64th minute, a mistake by the goalkeeper allowed Spurs to re-enter the game. Romero had come up from the back, charging upfield and making up for earlier misses with a cool finish into the bottom corner.
Although Raya’s blunder insured that Arsenal would not be maintaining a seventh straight Premier League clean sheet away from home, Rice also made a critical mistake by tripping over Davies in the unmentionables, giving up a penalty in the 84th minute.
Michael Oliver instantly waived Spurs’ protests and quickly changed his mind after seeing the monitor. Son’s penalty was expertly put into the top corner to set up an exciting conclusion.
But in the six minutes of extra time, the hosts were unable to create any more clear-cut opportunities. An ecstatic and relieved Arsenal team ran over to their supporters to celebrate a thrilling derby victory that might prove to be a season-defining event in May.
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