LONDON — Arsenal overcame the absence of key midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard to win the North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and move into second in the Premier League ahead of next week’s clash with leaders Manchester City.
Gabriel’s 64th-minute header was enough to seal a 1-0 win against Ange Postecoglou’s team, who are now languishing in 13th position after winning just once in four games so far this season.
The Gunners had gone into the game without the suspended Rice and injured Ødegaard at the heart of their midfield, boosting Tottenham’s hopes of a first home win against Arsenal since 2022.
But Jorginho and Thomas Partey stepped into the void and proved Arsenal have the squad to compete for the title as they produced a gritty and resolute performance to claim victory against their local rivals.
While Arsenal hammered out their title credentials, the picture looks less promising for Spurs, however.
Postecoglou’s team has now lost seven of their past 11 Premier League games, winning just three — a dismal sequence that will place the former Celtic manager under pressure unless he is able to oversee a quick turnaround in results. — Mark Ogden
The first person Mikel Arteta celebrated Gabriel’s’ 64th-minute goal with was set-piece coach Nicolas Jover — and for good reason.
Jover has revolutionised Arsenal’s set-piece record since joining the club from Manchester City in 2021; the Gunners scored 22 goals last season from dead-ball situations, more than any other team. Standing at the corner of the technical area for every set-piece, Jover micromanages Arsenal’s handling of offensive and defensive corners and free-kicks to great effect.
They were without regular corner-taker Rice and also Ødegaard, but Bukayo Saka’s delivery was pinpoint for Gabriel to capitalise on poor Spurs marking.
Contrast that detailed approach with Postecoglou’s cynicism towards appointing a set-piece specialist, explaining back in April that he “always think[s] it’s better if that’s somebody who’s a part of the coaching staff because then that’s an extension of how we play our football.”
However, perhaps the issue by extension there is if the football isn’t quite firing — as Tottenham’s isn’t right now — then set-pieces aren’t quite the devolved game-changer they could be, as proved the case here.
Perhaps the Spurs coach’s attitude will change when he looks at the bare numbers; since the start of last season, Tottenham have conceded 18 goals from set-pieces (not including penalties). Only Nottingham Forest (23) have conceded more. — James Olley
The absence of Ødegaard, Rice and summer signing Mikel Merino — which could potentially have been Arsenal’s starting midfield on another day — created an obvious opportunity for Tottenham to exploit.
Spurs were missing Yves Bissouma but, rather than start Pape Matar Sarr, Postecoglou opted for an open midfield three with Rodrigo Bentancur anchoring while winger Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison operated as two No. 8s.
Tottenham had 64% of the possession and more shots (15-7) but only managed a fractionally higher expected goals figure of 0.77 to 0.73.
Although there were times when Partey and Jorginho were unable to stem the flow of Tottenham attacks — particularly early in the first half — Spurs gradually ran out of ideas and were unable to move the ball quickly enough to dislodge the Gunners from their disciplined shape.
Postecoglou responded to Arsenal’s goal by introducing Sarr and winger Wilson Odobert for Bentancur and the ineffective Brennan Johnson, but by then it felt as though the opportunity had been missed, because the visitors could concentrate on shutting down space and protecting their lead rather than chase a second goal. — Olley
Dominic Solanke was all work and no reward against Arsenal. The £55 million summer signing from Bournemouth missed two of the first three games of the season with an ankle injury and is still playing catch-up in terms of fitness and match sharpness, but Spurs fans will need to accept a different kind of centre-forward with Solanke than what they grew accustomed to with Harry Kane.
Kane was a totally reliable goal-scorer, but he was also a player who would often drop deep to start attacks with long balls out wide before racing into the penalty area to help finish the move.