Arsenal fortunes transformed by Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe

And so we remain our own worst enemy. Despite producing one of our most complete performances of the season, it was the fortunate survival of a late onslaught that saw Arsenal take home all three points at the weekend, recording a nerve-wracking 2-1 win at home to Tottenham that secured our first victory in the North London Derby since 2018.

In true Gunners fashion, there were plenty of talking points to sieve through post-match, including the ill-discipline that cost Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang his place in the team and the contentious penalty decision that decided the contest.

However, Arsenal were by far the superior side throughout the game and deservedly held on for the win, thanks in no small part to the performances of Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard.

For two players making their derby debuts, Smith Rowe and Odegaard displayed few signs of nerves during Sunday’s showdown. It was clever positional play from the ‘Croydon De Bruyne’ that enabled our domination in central areas, and his combination play with Kieran Tierney tormented the visitors’ unforgiving defensive line in the first half – including in the build-up to the equaliser.

The introductions of Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard during the winter months have turned Arsenal’s season around

Meanwhile, we also witnessed a fine afternoon’s work from the Norwegian loanee, who built on his midweek thunderbastard against Olympiacos by grabbing the equaliser just before the break. The 22-year-old regularly dropped deep in the right half-space to draw in the Tottenham attack, where his brilliant creative ability helped us play through them and freed up space for our devastating left-wing attacks.

While there can be no doubt about their roles in the derby win, statistics demonstrate the greater, far-reaching impact the young midfield duo have had in transforming a meandering campaign.

Collecting a dismal 14 points from the opening 14 games, Arsenal’s dramatic improvement since Christmas has coincided with the introduction of our winter arrivals, which has seen the club acquire a further 27 points from the following 14 matches, leaving us fourth in the Premier League form table since Boxing Day.

After a season that has been full of disappointment and frustration, it looks like Mikel Arteta’s squad are hitting their stride right on cue. Victory in the North London Derby leaves us five points off the domestic European spots, while we are still going strong in the Europa League and should advance to the quarter-finals on Thursday.

This could yet be a great campaign for Arsenal, and Smith Rowe and Odegaard will be instrumental in any measure of success that is achieved.