Arsenal vs Tottenham: 4 talking points from North London Derby win

Arsenal showered north London in a sea of red as Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty secured a 2-1 comeback win over bitter rivals Tottenham in Sunday’s Premier League meeting. Here are the talking points.

Phew. What a rollercoaster 95 minutes of football.

Intriguing before kick-off was how Tottenham would approach the game. They’ll have seen just like the rest of the world that the Gunners have been the victims of their own downfall playing out from the back, thus a more intense press wouldn’t have come out of the blue.

No such plan came into action as Arsenal utterly dominated the first half, seeing all the ball and wreaking havoc down the left hand side with every attack. Emile Smith Rowe came within a whisker of adding numerical value to that control when his fierce effort struck the frame of the goal, before the inevitable happened.

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Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham: 4 talking points as Alexandre Lacazette penalty secures North London spoils

With their first shot of the game, Erik Lamela plucked magic out of the air with a rabona goal to savour (but one that can now hilariously never be savoured since he got sent off and they lost the game).

Martin Odegaard’s deflected effort restored parity just before half-time, the least the home side deserved.

The second half continued in a similar vein as Arsenal kept Spurs at bay with a stranglehold in midfield, even if the winner came in fortuitous fashion. Nicolas Pepe’s zipped ball into Alexandre Lacazette was mishit by the striker, although Michael Oliver opted to punish Davinson Sanchez for his late follow through. Lacazette doesn’t miss penalties.

It was a case of trying to hold on from there, even if Lamela finally received his marching orders for a stray arm in Kieran Tierney’s face. Harry Kane struck the upright with a free-kick and Gabriel cleared off the line in spectacular fashion, but Arsenal held on. What a win.

What a Difference a Few Months Make

Arsenal had control of the ball for large spells of the reverse meeting, producing nothing but hopeful crosses as a result of it.

This time around, it was a similar scenario with Spurs granting their opponents time in possession, challenging the Gunners, almost, to break them down. This was different.

Never laying a glove on them in the 2-0 win, that level of control is worthless without penetration. Tottenham had Arsenal right where they wanted them. On Sunday, Arsenal had Tottenham right where they wanted them.

Harassing the left flank through the magnificent Smith Rowe and Kieran Tierney, they found ways to punish their enemies and create chances off the back of it. Hitting the frame of the goal twice and manufacturing dangerous openings in front of goal, it’s evidence if there ever needed to be any that the improvements many fans claim to be ongoing are not folly. It was many of the same players in both matches but nothing close to the same performance.

Having the technical operators in Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard added what was lacking at the Toilet Bowl. Combining in the half-spaces, creating and using space and adding the penultimate touch in and around the opposition box. This team is not only getting better, it is better.