Arsenal bested Spurs in another scorching north London derby on Sunday, with a single headed goal from defender Gabriel splitting the two rivals.
The game’s first half saw the most yellow cards shown in the opening 45 minutes of any Premier League game ever, and Jurrien Timber escaping a red card.
Arsenal went second with the win, while Tottenham remain in the bottom half after a difficult start to the campaign.
Mikel Arteta has underscored his side’s intent to win their first Premier League title in 20 years, while Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou will have questions asked of his squad’s capabilities and his tactics.
Mail Sport’s Isaan Khan delivers three talking points from the north London Derby.
Arsenal bested Spurs 1-0 in another scorching north London derby on Sunday afternoon
Gabriel (left) scored the only goal of the game, rising to head a corner into the back of the net during the second half
1. Are Arsenal the Premier League’s set-piece kings?
Death by set-pieces are a weapon, devised by specialist coach Nicolas Jover, which Arsenal have often used to devastating effect.
Since Jover joined Mikel Arteta’s staff in 2021, the Gunners have scored 42 goals via this method — that’s more than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues.
After striking 22 of these goals in the Premier League last season, you wondered when the north London club would open their set-piece account for this latest campaign.
Four games in and they did just that, Gabriel powerfully heading the ball home off Bukayo Saka’s corner-kick to down rivals Tottenham. It was the pivotal factor in match wisely navigated by Arteta’s side with a makeshift midfield shorn of Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard.
The Gunners scoring from a set-piece is not surprise but will delight Arteta in that their ploy has had to be adapted slightly. Ahead of the season, the PGMOL vowed to penalise obstructions in the box for set-pieces.
Arsenal have previously benefited from holding and jostling, Ben White standing in front of goalkeepers to leave them pinned on the touchline.
On this occasion, White could not pin Guglielmo Vicario but was in his peripheral vision. It is hard for a referee to police whether a player is blocking a goalkeeper in the area, anyhow. But Arsenal fans and Arteta can expect set-pieces to once again be a lucrative supply of goals this season — and the new rule to not be too troublesome for them.
The Gunners have scored 42 goals via set pieces since Nicolas Jover (centre) joined in 2021
Mikel Arteta (pictured) deftly managed an injury list to earn the win against fierce rivals Spurs
The Gunners scoring from a set-piece is not surprise but will delight Arteta in that their ploy has had to be adapted slightly
2. Arsenal overcome injury woe
This match was never going to be straightforward for Arsenal. Two factors were at play: the menacing atmosphere created away from home at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and their injuries.
Jorginho had not yet played a minute this season and Thomas Partey has had a rocky start, the Ghanaian having recovered from being exposed in the opener against Wolves.
Adding to mix of no Odegaard, Rice and Merino, Arteta had some task at hand — and he pulled it off to aplomb.
Kai Havertz playing up front was expected, but no one really predicted Leandro Trossard being slotted in the midfield. It’s a position he is not used in, his scoring exploits — Trossard is arguably Arsenal’s most prolific player in front of goal — superseding a need to play elsewhere.
The move was a brave one and worked out. Havertz was able to utilise his aerial presence in attack, while Trossard adapted for the sake of the team and had his best work in tracking back and pressuring the opposition in defending.
Arsenal, despite their injuries, just could not afford to drop points after the 1-1 draw with Brighton. These three points are a big credit to Arteta’s ingenuity, and his team’s ability to pick up points when the chips are down. Promising signs.
Arsenal called upon Jorginho to step up in place of several injured and suspended stars and he did so with aplomb
Leandro Trossard was also pulled back into midfield – a move which no one really expected
3. Ethan Nwaneri is ready to leave his mark on the Premier League
He only came on in the 86th minute. Yet, Ethan Nwaneri’s short cameo showed why many supporters are clamouring for the midfielder to play this season.
The 17-year-old looked comfortable on the ball, constantly wanting to feature, and played some eye-catching passes forward to break through the Spurs midfield.
Nwaneri has a maturity beyond his tender years and looks ready for his big moment.
The midfielder was always unlikely to start this crunch fixture, Arteta reluctant to throw youth in at the deep end.
What he did show, though, is that amid Arsenal’s injury crisis — particularly in the midfield — Nwaneri is more than capable of stepping up.
Teenage sensation Ethan Nwaneri (pictured) looked comfortable in midfield for Arsenal
He is still the Premier League’s youngest-ever debutant, aged 15 against Brentford in September 2022, and has yet to make his full debut.
That next step does not feel far away.
