EPL: Arsenal boss over Tottenham

Arsenal bagged the bragging rights for this season’s first North London derby as they cruised to a comfortable 3-1 victory over arch-rivals Tottenham. 

Only a few weeks ago the teams were on opposite ends of the Premier League table. 

Tottenham Hotspur were on top of the league before the international break as they had won all three of their opening fixtures, including an impressive 1-0 win against defending champions Manchester City. 

Arsenal, on the other hand, were at rock bottom.

They lost their opening day fixture to Brentford, followed by a home defeat to Chelsea and a 5-0 hammering to Man City. 

A change of fortunes after the international break

The tables turned, however, after the international break.

Tottenham suffered back to back heavy defeats against Crystal Palace and Chelsea, while Arsenal steadied the ship, registering consecutive narrow wins over Norwich and Burnley.

But, Arsenal manager boss Mikel Arteta knew all that progress would be lost if Arsenal lost the all-important North London derby in front of their fans. 

A win, on the contrary, would give them great momentum for the coming run of fixtures. 

Nuno Espirito Santos also knew the potential of this tie to reverse Tottenham’s fortunes. With the stakes so high, an entertaining affair seemed to be on cards. 

The visitors probed the Arsenal d-box in the opening few minutes, but a well-drilled Arsenal backline denied the Lilywhites any early chance. 

Arsenal explode

Following two offside attempts on either end of the pitch, the Emirates came to life in the 12th minute. 

Bukayo Saka charged the right flank and played the ball inside the box.

An unmarked Emile Smith Rowe ran into the ball and thumped it home, much to the dismay of Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris. 

Heung-Min Son attempted to come up with an immediate response.

The South Korean’ ran into the Arsenal box menacingly but Aaron Ramsdale parried his shot away for a corner. 

In the 27th minute, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang played an elegant one-two with Smith Rowe and finished off the move with a stunning finish.  

The Arsenal captain recreated the iconic Thierry Henry celebration after the goal, as Henry himself watched on from the stands. 

Four minutes later, Saka put the final nail into Tottenham’s coffin.

He attempted to pass the ball to an onrushing Aubameyang. 

Harry Kane tackled Saka to block the pass, only to set it up along the England international’s path. Saka made no mistake to fire the ball home. 

Arsenal went down the tunnel with a 3-0 halftime break. 

Son pulls one back

In the second half, Tottenham stepped up their efforts to get back into the game. 

Early in the second half, Harry Kane did brilliantly to latch on to a long ball and find himself in a one-one situation with Ramsdale. 

But, he could not keep the ball on target and narrowly missed out. 

Son eventually pulled one back for the visitors in the 79th minute, but it was too little too late. 

Arsenal are now 9th on the Premier League table with 9 points in 6 matches.

Tottehnham are a position below the Gunners with the same amount of points in the same amount of games.