Arsenal survived a second-half rally from Tottenham to win the North London Derby 3-2 and move closer to winning the Premier League title.
Spurs truly wanted to spoil the party for Arsenal, and that early tackle from Timo Werner was intended to send a message, but was it enough to stop Arsenal?
In the first ten minutes, Arsenal kept pressing to break through the Spurs defence, but the Lilywhites defended well enough.
However, just three minutes later, Kai Havertz had the ball in the back of the net, only for it to be disallowed for offside.
That was a warning that Spurs refused to take seriously, and the Gunners scored the opener after 15 minutes when Pierre Emile Hojbjerg put through his own net.
Six minutes later, the home side could have levelled the score, but Cristian Romero’s header hit the crossbar.
Spurs then thought they had equalised, but after a lengthy VAR check, Micky van de Ven was adjudged to have been offside.
Four minutes later, Arsenal scored their second as Havertz set up Saka, who scored brilliantly.
Spurs were then forced into a change as Werner couldn’t continue due to injury, but the Lilywhites kept searching for a way back.
It didn’t come, and Arsenal scored their third goal of the half with a superb header from Havertz.
Spurs were left reeling, and they still couldn’t find a way past the Arsenal defence in the first half.
Five minutes after the break, Takehiro Tomiyasu missed a chance to extend Arsenal’s lead, and the referee turned down Spurs’ penalty appeal.
Guglielmo Vicario then denied Saka in the next big chance of the game.
In the 63rd minute, Mikel Arteta substituted Gabriel Martinelli for Leandro Trossard as he looked for another goal.
However, Spurs scored a minute later through Romero after a poor clearance by David Raya.
That goal gave Spurs some momentum and seemed to rattle Arsenal’s confidence as Spurs began to control the game.
With six minutes left to play, Ben Davies won Spurs a penalty after a VAR check. Son Heung-min converted to make it 3-2.
Arteta then substituted Martin Odegaard for Jakub Kiwior to strengthen the defence and secure the win.
Spurs continued to press for a third goal, and in added time, it was all about their attack. Arsenal had to defend with all they had to secure the win by the narrowest of margins.
Great result, but our inability to escape from Spuds’ high-press is very concerning. We won’t be able to win EPL if we can’t dominate in tough away matches as Man City do consistently
Having said that, we might not win anything this season, but our goal difference has made me really proud. That’s a sign of our upward trajectory under Arteta
Tottenham having two weeks to prepare for the game was always going to be a factor later on. We got the early goals then momentum faded in the second as expected. I believe we have played 3 since Tottenham last played a game ? I’m not sure they would have scored had Raya let them get back in the game either. Big performance from Saka and Havertz. Let’s hope city slip up against Forrest. COYG.
As if 2 goal gifted in the reverse fixture were not enough that we again gifted them 2 goals in this fixture again. I think Arsenal players love tottenham so much and continue to gift them goals like christmas present. Meanwhile we just did favor to Aston villa who did favor to Mancity by doing double header against us. Sitting at the top still doesn’t feel good as mancity are showing no signs of slowing down and swiping teams for fun. Losing to Villa might have final lost but all we can do now is to hope till the very last.
Partey can be pressed into making mistakes. Far easier than Jorginho. I know people rate partey higher but something to think about for next season too. Think we can improve the 6 position if we plan of playing rice higher, and jorg leaves us.
Have you been watching the same games as everyone else where Partey has played? Gorginho always passes side ways and backwards. There is no comparison here, Partey is world class.
Only after his injury.. Before he was very good when pressed
@Gai Give some. Credit to the boys.
The dominant ManCity haven’t won on this ground in 4 seasons. If not for Raya who helped Spurds into the game Arsenal probably would have ran away with 3:0. At this stage with 3 games remaining Arteta got his cautious but efficient tactics right. What matters is 3 points till end of the season.
And don’t be too sure Spurds will lose to City considering it would be their last game at home.
We can still win the league. No disrespect I don’t consider Arsenal remain matches impossible
Arsenal has been dominating in tough away matches.
Without thinking very hard – Chelsea, Brighton?
I am sorry but your comment is laughable…tell me which tough away game man city have “dominated”
Great first half.
2nd not so much
We won. That’s the main thing
COYG!
Not like the 1st half was great
But the Spuds have been doing give-away to teams willing to take the bonanza with their poor defense & we took advantage also.
We almost never had a moment in this whole game
Like a straight 10-15 minutes when we were the ones controlling the game
But that’s what actually proves that we’re now Champion stuff
Raya single handedly nearly ended our season, what was that? Glad we held on for a narrow win.
Great result. But the way we conceded two goals was too bad. Raya, as usual, made too many mispasses. His long balls were never correctly placed.
Really ?
He had many good long balls today
It was only the one mistake all game.
Kai Havertz is now living up to his price tag. He is winning me over though I reserve judgement and wait for consistency.
Having secured at least 2nd plus CL quarter finals run, whatever happens now it has already been a successful season.
HH he makes a good run and he will be a monster if he can improve his finishing particularly on one on one. He is far better playing upfront but makes team worse when he is in the Mid
Good thing he turned out well upfront. We needed a striker more than a midfielder. Lucky we signed a midfielder but got a striker in the end. Just what we needed
@HH
Nice saying, most important is top four which gives us CL football next season also. Secondly, tittle contenders second year in a row, long time since last time. It’s my opinion that top two is better than top four, even without silverware. We have become consistent again and have definitely had a successful season 🔴⚪️
Great match. The derby is just different..not about form, it’s about the derby.
But to say we survived spurs’ second half onslaught, is a misnomer.
Raya brought them back into game. Rice was unfortunate with the penalty. He missed the ball completely.
So we gave Tottenham a way into the game. Without these two mistakes, Tottenham would have been out of sight. But the mistakes and the result made the win more sweeter.
As the purpose of all defenses is to keep clean sheets, every goal conceded then comes from a mistake.
We killed the game when we had the chance and that’s what counted in the end.
I agree we didn’t survive Spurs’s anything.
Good win but they need to cut on self inflicting problems. Raya need to stop making stupid mistakes. You give an inch to opponent in a derby, they will end up taking a mile but luckily this team is built to defend a lead
Was the second goal Rayas mistake? When the match ended, they all hugged themselves not blaming a particular player….
Tottenham played really well first half, we scored 3 goals…..they scored nothing.
One goal was disallowed by VAR for a very close off side and Romero hit the post, so Spurs had their chances in the first half. It was essential that Arsenal took their chances in the first half given that Spurs should have had fresher legs, due to Arsenal’s heavier schedule.
Job done, just some bad choices are the only reason spurs got goals but we deserved to win. I watched a horrible broadcast though. Lee Dixon was incredibly against us the whole game which makes no sense. That Kulusevski/trossard controversy is NEVER a penalty. I cannot believe all the pundits saying it is. They would never say that for us. Idk why I’m still shocked pundits hate us like this but it’s just incredible to hear. Especially when just a few weeks ago these same guys were saying no pen for the neuer/Saka situation
For whatever reason I always thought they hated us because of Wenger. How wrong I was!
The way we have been and still going they are in for a lot of heartache for a foreseeable future.
Either they are going to get in line or risk looking like idiots with their Arsenal envy.
you’re absolutely right. There is definitely this general, popular bias against us, especially in the media. I was watching the game with the commentary from Lee Dixon and John Champion and Dixon didn’t have a sincere, positive comment to offer us. On most occasions he done everything he could to endorse how underserving we were in every part of the game, how Spurs were so hard done by. When he did show some impartiality, it was only conciliatory. To be honest…since he’s taken up his punditry role he’s become a bit of an arse. I think he thinks he’s the new Mark Lawrenson with his idiotic attempts at humour!
One down, three to go. We host an in form Bournemouth next. COYG!
Massive win! Happy St Totteringham’s Day!
KH is my MOTM. A goal and an assist in a game we were outplayed. Raya made a mess of what should have been an easy victory.
Now let’s hope City drop points
We were OUTPLAYEDbut then you say we could’ve had an easy victory 😳 Does it make sense 🙄🤔
I guess English isn’t for everyone right.
Just need a bit more understanding in football when reading I guess
Why doesn’t it make sense? Happens in football all the time. Can’t you outplay a team but concede easy goals from set pieces and defensive mistakes?
They dominated possession, had more chances, corners, but couldn’t defend corners and scored an own goal from it. Just calling it as it is
I don’t think we were outplayed. They just proved to be just as stubborn and resilient as you’d expect in a hostile North London Derby !
My view too
Result is all that matters. Our day.
Even though we 3-0 up, Spurs were the better side in the Ist half. Romero should have got a hat-trick before Raya’s gift. Marginal offside for Micky VDV’s goal. Saka’s goal could have been brought back to a Spurs penalty (albeit soft) as it was in the same phase of play. I will happily take the lucky calls.
I think a narrow win is perfect.
3 more cup finals in the hope that Man City drop points at least once. Hopefully today.
Sorry but Raya at GK is a lateral move at best.
Both Ramsdale and Raya have a mistake in them waiting to happen.
Ramsdale is the better shot stopper, and Raya slightly better in distribution.
Question is would we have been better staying with Ramsdale and investing the 27 million for Raya elsewhere?
There’s something else he’s better than Ramsdale at – in the air. Sure he made a mistake but the way he kept on plucking balls from the air was impressive. Most goalkeepers punch some of the balls he catches in the air which create shot-creating opportunities for opponents.He’s second to none in the league when it comes to that.Part of the reason why we concede fewer shots is Raya being proactive in the air.
It actually felt like we were not up to it, even in the first half. We gave away a lot of easy balls in our own half, lost most of the 1 v 1s, did not have extensive spells on the ball, and we gave Spurs three good chances. Luckily, they missed their chances and gave us three cheap goals.
We were too complacent in the second half, and two stupid mistakes almost cost us the game. And Rice from all people…
Good thing we had nerves of steel.
Considering how crazy our schedule was I did expect spurs to have more of the energy. Our set pieces did mask just an okay performance, but that’s why we practice them so much. And Kai and Saka on the counter were just deadly. Those two and our usual solid cb’s the standouts. And white annoying gk’s on set pieces is such a blessing. It’s so hard to stop too
We were playing a Spurs side determined to prevent us winning the PL, at WHL…and guess what…we won!
Pheeewww!!!!
Just what i expected, just the sort of drama that defines the North London Derby.
Thankful for the blietzkrieg in the first half that effectively won us the game.
Spurs were obviously fresher having played just one match in 15 days, while this was Arsenal’s 5th match within the same 15day period, & it showed in the second half, but thankfully we had done enough in the first, to secure the result.
Glad we were able to hold on to the victory. Hoping City slip up, unlikely but certainly not impossible. They’d have to sweat for every point now, and this is football where just about anything is possible.
Massive, massive, three points⚽
On to the next one 💯
One game at a time 🎯
We fight till the end ✅
Onwards and Upwards 🚀
COYG 💪
He scored again but Havertz isn’t convincing me. He’s slow, soft and many times spoils good balls.
and an assist, and superb one
one several fouls in professional way in tight situations
put the ball in the net from Odegaard off-side
headed flick on putting Odegaard through
turns up and turns it on for the big games, transformational signing no-one [including me} saw coming
umm, anything more you want…
Maybe a pair of these? 👓
Not a great performance but the result was all that mattered today .Had it not been for the Raya gift I think we could have played out the second half with relative ease but ,to be fair, I think it’s his first clanger for some time.I thought White and Havertz did well but once again, our left flank failed to function.
💯 in my view grandad
Well said. Kai is proving great value
Great team man too.
Credit where credit is due Havertz was very good in the first half but 2nd half he was his usual self. He does appear to be improving, however it wouldn’t take much to upgrade him.
Cornell- do you understand football or you have impaired vision?
Three great points, bragging rights in London once again and this result showed how much we have improved from last season.
A shame we gave them their two goals, but, until then, there was only one team in it.
A big decision for MA to make this week regarding our keeper, apart from that let’s bring on Bournemouth, united and everton!!!
COYGunners.
Raya is going to start and be our no 1. Next season too. Done okay for a first season and is better than Ramsdale but still not by that much. As others have said, Raya is more so very lucky he has the best CBs in the league that makes his job 10x easier. I will say Raya has improved his cross claiming in the box compared to earlier in the season. I can’t see him as our long term no 1. though and wouldn’t surprise me if we’ll be back on the market in 2025.
You are very wrong. Raya will be here for years to come.
The same was said for Ramsdale last season. And could have been said for Jesus and Zinchenko too.
Baser on the manager history, of all Arsenal players I think Raya has the least secure spot.
Blessing or a curse,?
Cheating City getting away with another penalty not given. how to you fight against them.
1-0 City 🤦♂️
Class game from a class team. The first 45 was brilliant. Even better than vs Chelsea.
Anyone know why Richarlison wasn’t sent off for that blatant off ball assault on Gabriel. He needs a lengthy ban, he tried to start a fight in the last game, but refs seem to ignore him.
i don’t know why that guy is constantly angry. Even when he played for Watford and Everton…..he’s always had a face like a smacked arse !
City – Forest what a joke, PGMOL still favouring city, but Forest deducted points and penalties for far less serious infringements.
Forest players seem to be already planning their vacation destinations. They’re just going through the motions.
Did Arteta nearly get hoist by his Raya Petard?
No , clearly he did not! In any case your phrase makes no sense inEnglish at all!
Shakespear!
I don’t care about how we played in this game. All I care about this late in the season are 3 points.
City will win the title but let’s win all the remaining games and get maximum points.
We shot ourselves in the foot in that Aston Villa game. So we can only blame ourselves.
A great win, a lot closer than it should have been. Two big gifts from us to turn the tide, after we had silenced them. It could be said Spuds played better than us but they were sloppy, just like us and we had a bit more up front than them. I thought Partey and Rice stitched up the midfield. Massive win but City just keep winning. That dodgy January will come back to bite us.
The Aston Villa game two weeks ago is the one. I did not see us losing that game this late in the season and at the Emirates.
Now City will go on to win the title.
So frustrating.
The season is not over. Arsenal need to keep winning and we will then see where we are at the end of the season.
Giving up so easily then? Just as well ourteam dont share your disheartening gloom!!
I am far more confient than you.
You are right Reggie. But so is Goonster below. The Villa game surprised me
I see us winning our final three games. Will City though? I say not, after seeing how poor they were today at Forest.
Just had a look at the City / Forest match stats. Nottingham Forest has more shots than Man City.
Wow.
In reply to you and JF
They still won and I believe there was illness in their camp
Yes…….Foden cried of sick and Harland was on the bench and they still won. I don’t agree with one of the above comments though about Forest planning their holidays. They really did try to make a game of it but City had too much clout, too much experience and a shed load of confidence going into this game 1
I think rather that it was Chris Wood who decided to hand Man City the 3 points on a plata of gold for missing two sitters.
Lt Dan We must havewatched very different game then, as I thought City were poor and lucky to win.
I would have to agree with Jon Fox. Man City looked vulnerable in defence. Ederson had a nightmarish first half. He’s possibly out for the remaining matches, not that that will be a major hindrance. The second choice goalkeeper is very capable between the posts. That match was very frustrating to the eye. Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood was so wasteful in front of goal. He should have definitely scored two goals, and may have had a third from off his head. I can see Manchester City dropping points. Old Trafford has always been a nightmare of a place to go to. I’m confident Arsenal can lay that ghost to rest. And I do respect with what Bournemouth are doing this last half of the season. Arsenal’s task is simple,,,, win the remaining three matches to keep the pressure on Manchester City
I should explain. Although they weren’t the usual fluent, self assured machine they normally are and looked a bit rough around the edges. City even if they were on the ropes, due to them being seasoned campaigners with all their experience still knew how to negotiate their way through the game. One of the commentators above implied that Forest were just going through the motions and perhaps disinterested in the outcome. I despite being close to the relegation zone, they still tried put in a shift and avoid it hence giving City a hard time. My disagreement was that Forest had already given up the ghost !
Thank God we survived the onslaught. It is important at this time of the season for every player to be serious with game until it’s over. Raya’s gift gave them the morale to push us. Partey is sluggish sometimes. I know this may not be a popular opinion but, it’s true. Let him be more faster with the ball.
It’s really unfortunate that the season is no more in our hands. We just hope and pray for manc to slip.
All the same, good three points. Congratulations Gunners
I was really nervous before the game, as the vermin always up their game against us. Although they had more possession in the first half, and a couple of opportunities, we took our chances well. Half time came and my nervousness had calmed down. Raya mistake for their first goal and then the penalty saw my nervousness come back. Thankfully we held on for the 3 points.
Something that was said by the commentators during the game that I hadn’t realised, the last time we had won 2 league games on the trot in N17 was in the George Graham days.
My rating
9. The Big German got a fat nine, that Hollywood pass to Saka was sublime
7 Tossard all-round performance
8 Saka the workhorse with the dirty work all day.
7 Captains Odegaard, something about that fitting name.
7 Two more marquees signing to go along with the Englishman Arsenal could become unplayable.
7 Partey is back forget about the early mistake
7 Tomi give him a task and forget it.
8 Magahlase the Brazilian was immense.
7 Saliba a genuine ball playing defender
7. Big Ben Mr consistent, Southgate needs to sharpen his man management skills and berry the hatchet with the Englishman
6 Raya Howler like today, makes the gaffer press conference uncomfortable
I just love the way Havertz is proving the point that fans should wait before judging ANY player signed by the club.
That pass for Saka was reminiscent of the best of Cazorla, Ozil, Brady and even the majestic Bergkamp!!!
We TOTALLY outplayed them and it was only our own mistakes that let them back in to the game.
Tough, tough WIN!
Take it and move on…
Forrest, so unlucky to not get a point. Both City goals came at moments when key Forrest defenders were down injured. And Chris Woods, how could he miss those two sitters. Curses!!!
I hope that Tottenham’s chances still
a live for fourth place and their match with City becomes a matter of life and death.
Otherwise they will ruin our season deliberately.
The villa game cost us the tittle City won’t drop any points on the run in been there seen it and done it for years still believe Arteta will win the prem league but unfortunately not this season!
Just realized we have played 15 Premier League matches since turn of the year and only lost once and drew once. So that’s 13 PL wins and yet, City might still nick the title.
These wins include beating Pool at home and Spurs away. I guess if we end up not winning the title, I could lay the blame on the 2 losses at the end of December against W Ham and Fulham which really dented our run.
Well, 3 matches left. Let’s keep fighting until the end!
A great win considering the circumstances and also considering they are our most bitter rivals. Giving 2 goals away when we were leading 3-0 was a bit clumsy but it happens in football. The most important thing is we won and although City also won, the pressure is still on City. The best we can do is to win our remaining matches and hope City slip up.
An accurate aricle MARTIN,though ,personally I would only concede the apparent “onslaught” only began after Rice conceded that last penalty, around the 85th minute.
Essentially, we well controlled all but the first 15 and last 10 minutes out of 95 mins all told.
I am now believing for, in truth, the very FIRST TIME this season that we WILL win the title.
Forget silly rumours that some Spurs fans put forward that Spurs will hold back against City.
Plainly they will not, despite what some of their fans will hope.