Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur – Premier League Match Report | football news
Arsenal are four points closer to Premier League leaders Liverpool after the upset in north London against Spurs.
Arsenal revived their Premier League title challenge by beating Tottenham 2-1 in the North London derby.
Mikel Arteta’s side were shocked by Son Heung-min’s early opener at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, but Dominic Solanke’s own goal and Leandro Trossard’s strike just before half-time earned them the right to win against their arch-rivals .
Arsenal’s first win in four matches in all competitions took them to within four points of leaders Liverpool, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
Liverpool’s game at Arsenal still makes them title favourites, but the Gunners are at least putting some pressure on Arne Slott’s men.
Beat 2-0 by Newcastle in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final last week and knocked out of the FA Cup third round by 10-man Manchester United on penalties on Sunday, Arsenal were desperate for a response, and Tottenham made a Once again proved to be his ideal opponent.
Questions have been asked over Arteta’s ability to add more silverware in the 2020 FA Cup, which remains the only trophy of his reign that began in 2019.
With Bukayo Saka already sidelined due to hamstring surgery, Gabriel Jesus’ potential season-ending knee injury added to Arteta’s troubles.
But Arsenal have now won seven and drawn one of their last eight league matches against Tottenham.
It was another painful blow for under-fire Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, whose side are just eight points above the relegation zone.
Postecoglou must find a solution to the inconsistency that saw him beat Liverpool 1-0 in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, before requiring extra time to beat fifth-tier Tamworth in the FA Cup third round.
Tottenham have not won any of their last five league matches and have lost four of them, slipping to 13th.
Raheem Sterling wasted a golden chance to put Arsenal ahead in the opening moments when his heavy touch allowed Jade Spence to clear after the winger raced through on goal.
A nervous looking Tottenham keeper Antonin Kinski was fortunate to deny Arsenal a chance on goal on his Premier League debut, taking a long time to clear, while Kai Havertz was unable to provide the finishing touch.
Tottenham counter-attacked in the 25th minute by applying strong pressure.
When Arsenal could only clear a corner on the edge of the area, Son fired a shot that bounced off William Saliba and past David Raya.
The South Korean’s goal moved him into fourth place in the all-time North London derby scoring charts with eight, behind Harry Kane’s 14 and Emmanuel Adebayor and Bobby Smith’s 10 each.
Arteta’s men regained their composure to take control in controversial fashion before half-time. He won a corner in the 40th minute, which replays showed should have been a goal-kick as it hit Trossard and took full advantage.
Declan Rice’s delivery was misjudged by Kinski, and Gabriel’s header went back into the six-yard box via a heavy deflection off the unfortunate Solanke. It was the fourth time since the start of last season that the Arsenal set-piece specialist had scored from a corner against Tottenham.
Postecoglou was angry at the decision to allow a corner, but worse was to come for the Australian as Trossard put Arsenal ahead in the 44th minute. Thomas Partey initiated the move by robbing Yves Bissouma in midfield and fouling out Martin Odegaard.
The Arsenal captain’s pass sent Trossard into the penalty area for a fierce low drive, which deflected Kinski’s weak save effort into the far corner.
Arsenal remained on top after the interval, but the fizzling Havertz headed home Odegaard’s cross and nodded Partey’s delivery straight to Kinski. Kinski saved from Rice and Odegaard in the closing stages as Arsenal threatened to win at a canter before Pedro Porro hit the post for Tottenham in a dramatic finale.
