Arsenal vs Tottenham Review
Arsenal climbed to second place in the standings and achieved their fifth Premier League double over Tottenham by coming from behind to win 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Despite suffering two demoralizing cup losses to Newcastle and Manchester United, Arsenal aimed to revive their struggling Premier League title hopes in this match. In contrast, Ange Postecoglou’s team was 16 points behind their rivals, making such lofty goals seem out of reach.
Tottenham faced an early onslaught from Arsenal, with Radu Drăgușin making a crucial block to deny Leandro Trossard, while Antonín Kinský nearly faced disaster on his Premier League debut when Kai Havertz intercepted his clearance, but the Czech player managed to recover the ball.As the match went on, Tottenham gained confidence, prompting David Raya to make a save against Dejan Kulusevski’s shot, which foreshadowed what was to come. Son Heung-min quieted the Emirates crowd when he scored a deflected goal after a corner was headed into his path.
However, Arsenal equalized when Gabriel Magalhães charged into the box to connect with Declan Rice’s corner, and his header took a significant deflection off Dominic Solanke before getting past Kinský at the near post. Trossard then completed a remarkable comeback before halftime, as his angled shot slipped through Kinský’s hands and found the far corner.
After the break, Havertz missed a great chance to increase Arsenal’s lead, heading wide from a corner by Martin Ødegaard and then shooting directly at Kinský. Spurs struggled defensively, and Declan Rice almost capitalized on this by slicing through their defense, only to shoot straight at Kinský. Kieran Tierney then set up Ødegaard, but the Norwegian frustratingly missed the target from close range.
In the end, Arsenal secured a slim victory, earning three points that bring them within four points of league leaders Liverpool, although they have played one more match than Arne Slot’s team. This win is particularly satisfying as it marks the Gunners’ third straight victory in the top-flight north London derby, a milestone not reached since a five-game streak from 1987 to 1989. On the other hand, Spurs have fallen to 13th place after managing just one win in their last nine league matches.