Arsenal rallied from 1-0 down to beat Tottenham 2-1 in the North London Derby. The Gunners pick up two points on Liverpool, who have a game in hand, but points on the board matter and table pressure can do funny things. But today and tonight are about Arsenal’s continued domination of Tottenham Hotspur, as they rack up another double over that white-wearing bunch. The Gunners are unbeaten in their last six against Spurs, 5 wins and 1 draw. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League matches. Tottenham, on the other hand, haven’t won in 5 straight in the league.
Arsenal willed themselves to a win. This bunch are worn out, banged up, and can’t seem to catch a break in front of goal, but they would not be denied. You know how much I hate talking about desire and effort, but to me, that feels like the story of the match. Declan Rice was everywhere. Martin Ødegaard was, too. Gabriel Magalhaes played with his heart on his sleeve (as he always does). Myles Lewis-Skelly, Arsenal’s youngest starter in a NLD since Cesc Fabregas in 2005, played like a seasoned pro. MLS isn’t a precocious academy product finding his footing. He’s a Premier League level player right now.
The play itself still isn’t scintillating. The passing patterns are alright, not great. Guys are still overthinking in and around the box and fluffing chances. Raheem Sterling, who played with energy and good movement, is struggling mightily when it comes to the final ball. Leandro Trossard, goal aside, had another “meh” performance. Thomas Partey’s legs are completely gone — he cannot run back in transition. The central midfielder was solid when he was around and on the ball, though.
Kai Havertz was clearly slowed by the yellow card he picked up in the first half. It was a deserved caution, but a tough one to swallow after Lucas Bergvall was not cautioned earlier for a similarly heavy challenge. Sidenote: I really don’t like Bergvall. He runs around the middle of the pitch out of control and repeatedly fouls. I’ve also got no appetite for his antics towards the end of the match. He threw Myles Lewis-Skelly into the goal then dove himself, grabbing his leg. The Arsenal youngster laughed at him, which was excellent.
The defense is still fantastic, though. I mentioned them earlier, but man, Gabriel Magalhaes and Myles Lewis-Skelly were immense. Take your pick of the pair for Man of the Match. You can’t choose incorrectly. William Saliba was his usual, rock-solid, composed self. Jurrien Timber is ticking along at right back with consistent, quality play. The Gunners did not concede a shot on target after Spurs opened the scoring in the 25th minute. That’s the Arsenal defense we know and love. They shut games down.
Also, Tottenham are bad. Like, really bad. They’ve got several more injuries than Arsenal, but their manager refuses to adjust his tactics. Ange plays Ange’s way, regardless of who he trots out there. It makes no sense. They’re using third and fourth choice defenders. They’ve got no midfield. Surely you have to adjust to try to protect your own goal, right? Arsenal hemmed them in their own half for extended periods of the match and when they did break, their attack was mostly toothless. Long may Ange Postecoglou remain at Tottenham.
Were you concerned when Arsenal conceded the first goal? Thinking back, I’m actually surprised at how confident I still felt. There definitely was a “here we go again” feeling, too. Arsenal had been bossing the game, hadn’t converted chances, and the other team get a goal from a massive deflection. An Arsenal defender won the header on a corner and it fell straight to Son at the top of the box, in acres of space (how are you leaving him, of all players, that open). He even miss-hit his volley. It still wound up in the Arsenal net because of course it did. That’s the way this season has gone.
One of these days, maybe Spurs players will learn not to shush the Emirates crowd. After scoring, Son put his finger to his lips and mimed for the crowd to sit down. I’ll reiterate that Spurs did not have another shot on target after that.
Arsenal equalized 15 minutes later with a bit of good fortune of their own. Finally the Gunners got a little bit of luck — they were awarded a corner on a bang-bang play where the ball looked to deflect out off Leandro Trossard. Gabriel won the header at the back post, which bounced in off Dominic Solanke and was credited as an own goal. Kudos to William Saliba and Thomas Partey for (cleanly) creating chaos and commotion in the goalmouth to keep Kinsky from punching the corner and to Declan Rice for (another) immaculate set piece delivery.
Four minutes later, Arsenal took the lead. Leandro Trossard ripped a shot into the bottom corner on a transition from a middle third turnover. The goal was equal parts keeper should have done better and the Belgian unleashing a howitzer of a shot that was knuckling, swerving, dipping nastily en route to goal.
Football can be a simple game, as two of the three goals showed. Good things happen when you shoot. Particularly when you absolutely leather it on frame, as Trossard did. The winger has struggled this season and his shooting, which was so good last year, has not been up to par. It’s great to see him catch hold of one. Maybe he can give Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz, both of whom continue to struggle with finishing, some pointers.
Arsenal needed this game. Losing at home to this poor Spurs side might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back of this season. Instead, the club get a massive morale boost and pick up points on Liverpool. Not surprisingly, Mikel Arteta and this group of players haven’t given up on anything. That’s not who they are. As the past few seasons have shown, these guys will give everything they’ve got, fighting until the bitter end.
Mind the gap, Spurs. It’s 19 points. North London is red.
