Tottenham 3-0 Arsenal: 4 negatives and positives

Arsenal suffered their heaviest defeat to Tottenham since 1983 with a humbling 3-0 loss away from home on Thursday night, putting their top four aspirations at serious risk.

Starting the game relatively strongly, the press put in place had Spurs’ fans moaning and groaning even after seven minutes.

Trying to play out from the back, they were either pounced upon to force mistakes, or made to go long with options limited. That, sadly, was about as good as it got for the Gunners.

A soft penalty was awarded albeit one that were it the other way around would have been screamed for, and Harry Kane got his token North London Derby penalty. Right on cue.

Tottenham 3-0 Arsenal: 4 negatives and positives as Premier League top four race goes down to the wire for north London sides

Rob Holding exacerbated the entire situation with an inexplicably stupid elbow into Heung-min Son’s face, prompting him to rightly receive a second yellow card and his marching orders. There is no way of defending his actions.

From thereon in it all came tumbling down. The second goal arrived moments later, with the third coming just 75 seconds after the restart to well and truly end the game as a contest and extinguish any modicum of hope that Arsenal could claw their way back into the game. There wasn’t much to begin with, anyway,

For the neutral it sets up an engrossing climax to the season with two games left to decide the outcome of the top four, although it could all be effectively over depending on what transpires on matchweek 37.

Was there anything positive to take from this game? While almost everything wasn’t, we must try to find something. However, starting with the negatives…

Negative #1 – Momentum Shifts Dramatically

Were Arsenal to have lost this game by a narrow margin, perhaps being undone by a 30-yard screamer while simultaneously peppering the Spurs goal and having a few efforts hit the post or be cleared off the line, the mood might be different.

Tottenham would still have reduced the deficit in the table to one point, but only by the skin of their teeth. Arsenal could count it as a game they were merely unfortunate to lose.

Instead, they were humbled. Bar the opening moments, Spurs were the better team on the night.

Falling to such a considerable defeat has altered the emotional landscape dramatically. The table still reads that Arsenal are in pole position with two games left, a scenario that everyone would have taken after three games of the season, but confidence levels for both teams and supporters couldn’t be more different.

It all comes down to how the side refocuses. Can they write this game off immediately like Mikel Arteta demanded? Can they find space in their minds to store the emotional scars of this game away until after the season ends?

They have to, because Spurs will fully believe this is theirs to lose now.

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Negative #2 – Arsenal Couldn’t Punish Davinson Sanchez

When the team news was announced and it was revealed that Benjamin White hadn’t recovered in time to feature, there was some fear that set in.

The prospect of Cedric Soares lining up against Heung-min Son was a terrifying one. It played out as you would imagine.

But that wasn’t the only change. Cristian Romero, easily Tottenham’s best defender and comfortably one of the finest centre-backs in the Premier League, missed out entirely. In came Davinson Sanchez, an absolute calamity of a central defender, who was starting his first game since February.

Arsenal never truly got the chance to exploit him.

Tottenham did a solid job of double and tripling up on Martinelli down that side, with Emerson constantly having Kulusevski covering him. Sanchez, on the right of the back three, was troubled early doors with Martinelli breaking through down that wing. He did look rattled at times, but then game state changes everything when the penalty and red card happened.

It was such a huge opportunity missed for Arsenal based on their own failings. With none of the ball and ten men, that weakness couldn’t be exploited.

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Positive #1 – Takehiro Tomiyasu Looks Strong at Centre-Back

Holding’s red card prompted a change of shape from Arsenal, who moved Tomiyasu into central defence alongside Gabriel and ended up playing a malleable back four with Xhaka at left-back.

Given Holding will miss the Newcastle match and Gabriel looks certain to miss the rest of the season, suddenly there is a gigantic defensive crisis facing Arsenal.

Fortunately, Tomiyasu knows a thing or two about playing centre-back.

Moving into the position during the game, he rarely put a foot wrong. Operating there for large spells of his career, the Japanese’s extreme comfort across the whole defence is now more valuable than ever as he will have to come into central defence against the Magpies.

If White is fit then it will be on the left of the two, which is also no concern given how ambipedal he is and that he operates in that position for his national team. Some people question how important positional versatility is in players – they really shouldn’t.

Spurs did sit off as the game wore on, relieving Tomiyasu of too much pressure, but he filled in well and will need to repeat the feat on Monday.

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Positive #2 – Arsenal Lost the Battle, They Haven’t Lost the War

No defeat cuts deeper than losing to Spurs, with the exception of cup finals. The 24 hours that follow a derby loss are some of the most disheartening and crushing of all.

Writing about it all makes you feel like you lose twice. Trust me.

But this was just one battle. Like playing a best of five card game, it was as if Arsenal were two to zero and Spurs pulled one back to make it 2-1. They won this round, but that is exactly why they’re called rounds: there are more than one.

For them they simply had to win. No ifs, buts or maybes. Were they to even draw the game they would have have to pin their hopes on Newcastle and Everton. Now, they need only pin their hopes on one of them.

Arsenal still have the advantage in the table. They are one point clear. If the season was fast forwarded to this point, perhaps before it even began, almost all would have been pleased with the circumstances facing Arsenal.

There are no certainties in football, especially with Arsenal, but if they go and beat Newcastle before hosting a hopefully safe Everton, they will be in the driving seat to secure top four.

It. Is. Not. Over.