Arsenal earned a vital 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in their efforts tostay ahead of Manchester City in the Premier League (PL) title race, while also extending their winning run in the North London Derby to five matches.
Boos at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have usually been reserved for Spurs’ own, but with Igor Tudor at the helm and bitter rivals Arsenal making the short trip, the home fans’ ire was directed at the visitors whenever they had the ball early on.
The Gunners had plenty of possession but Radu Dragusin denied a Viktor Gyökeres header and Leandro Trossard effort from range.
Gyökeres then hit an attempt that flashed marginally wide, before the match was halted due to a communication fault for the officials.
Arsenal continued to look menacing once play resumed, although William Saliba headed wide from a well-worked corner and Trossard failed to punish a lax Xavi Simons pass with a shot that sailed harmlessly off-target.
Despite Archie Gray taking a blow to the face, Spurs looked to throw punches of their own but went behind just after the half-hour mark when Bukayo Saka showed determination to get past Sarr and find Eberechi Eze, who got a touch on the ball and reacted to finish.
Spurs responded within 24 seconds of the restart, though, as Randal Kolo Muani dispossessed Declan Rice and fired past David Raya. Trossard then struck agonisingly wide as the teams entered the break level.
There was another delay due to communication issues prior to the second half kicking off, but it got going rapidly.
Simons had already tested Raya before Gyokeres emphatically fired past Vicario within 90 seconds of the restart.
Kolo Muani momentarily thought he had provided another rapid response with a clinical finish, but the striker’s goal was ruled out for a push on Gabriel Magalhaes.
Saka then linked up nicely with Eze but struck straight at Vicario, and while he was denied again by Van de Ven shortly after, Eze was on hand to finish again and take his personal tally to five goals in two North London derbies.
It wasn’t all Arsenal in the endgame, as Raya then made a superb save to claw away a Richarlison flick, in a clear effort to avoid late nerves after what happened at the Molineux Stadium in midweek.
The devastation that time out was replaced by further elation on this occasion, with Gyokeres holding off Gray before finishing as Arsenal secured just their third win in eight PL games, duly restoring their five-point lead on Man City – albeit having played an extra game.
The Gunners also inflicted Spurs’ third consecutive defeat, which leaves them just four points above the relegation zone, following a dismal failure to capitalise on Forest’s late defeat to Liverpool earlier.
