Three positives and two negatives from Arsenal's thumping NLD win against Spurs

For Arsenal, positives do not come much better this.

The NLD is never dull and, for that reason, it perhaps suited the Gunners to face into one, just to light a spark under them after their Molineux collapse.

Critics had a field day in midweek, the fans despaired and their heroes, too, surely felt a pang of fear wash over them; for all the world it looked like Mikel Arteta’s men had lost their nerve, condemned to another year as the bridesmaids.

Three positives and two negatives from a 4-1 demolition job for Arsenal in the North London Derby

They are hardly out of the woods just yet, but thumping your noisy neighbours is always a great bet for injecting some feel-good factor and the boss will hope to build on that for another London derby next Sunday – Chelsea visit the Emirates then.

Enjoy this one first. Here are three positives and two negatives from a huge 4-1 NLD win for Arsenal against Sp*rs.     

Positive #1: Stopping the rot

Arsenal have stuttered since the turn of the year, winning just three of their eight league games prior to the Tottenham trip.

Four draws and a loss in that spell do not get you anywhere fast (apart from close to a drop down to second place). Therefore, it was crucial for the Gunners to earn all three points here and re-gain a taste for victories as they try hard to keep their noses in front of a somewhat resurgent Manchester City team.     

They achieved it and in some style too, with the 4-1 scoreline almost flattering a Sp*rs group which hardly laid a glove (though David Raya heroics and a theatrical Gabriel fall actually kept it from being closer).

Arteta and Declan Rice were out in force post-Wolves to rally the troops but the real talking is done on the pitch and Arsenal talked the talk on derby day.

Can we play them every week?

Negative #1: Surrendering the lead

Earlier this year, going 1-0 down to this Arsenal defence felt like game over; they do not give up shots let alone goals.

Recent weeks paint a very different picture.

It took Sp*rs only 24 seconds to hit back after the Eberechi Eze strike, with Randal Kolo Muani finding himself in the right place to capitalise on a poor bit of play from Rice before firing a low shot into the net.

As pointed out by Arsenal writer Tim Stillman on X, that equaliser marked the EIGHTH time since the Christmas period that the Gunners have conceded within twelve minutes of scoring, with Brentford, Wolves, Bournemouth and Manchester United being just some of the teams to take advantage of a bit of this post-goal sloppiness.

It happens with alarming frequency and is far from what you might expect from a title-chasing team. The Premier League is so tough and, once you find a way through a mean backline, the last thing you can afford to do is give them a route back into the match.

Those surrenders have cost Arsenal dearly in the past but they got away with it on Sunday; the boss will be desperate to stamp it out altogether.

Positive #2: Arsenal attack purrs

Normally, this only happens against a lowly Champions League team or a League One outfit in the FA Cup.

But it can happen to lowly Premier League teams too.

Arsenal often make hard work of their games, letting chance after chance go abegging before being forced into a backs-against-the-wall, attack-vs-defence game state that leaves fans peering on from behind the sofa.

They had no such problems on Sunday. Viktor Gyokeres put in one of his best Gunners performances to get a brace while Eze cashed in on his fine NLD superpowers to grab goal no. 3 and no. 4, his first strikes in the league since that NLD hat-trick last November.

It made for a refreshing watch after the turgid, frustrating efforts of recent games and might breathe new life into the Arsenal title charge – perhaps Gyokeres, Eze and a returning Kai Havertz can make a day like this happen more often.

Arteta could not have dreamt up a better reaction.  

Negative #2: Individual errors

That is the single biggest reason why fans and rivals alike doubt Arsenal in the title race – they keep on shooting themselves in the foot.

Rice was at fault on Sunday as his elaborate play led to the Sp*rs recovery which saw Kolo Muani get his first goal for the club. His error followed the mistake by Raya at Molineux and a sloppy pass from Martin Zubimendi versus Man United last month, blunders that would cost the Gunners so dearly at such a critical part of the season.

They are just the slip ups that led to goals; there have been several other mistakes that the team got away with both this weekend and in past games. Of course, players are only human and errors are a part of football, but the frequency with which they occur for Arsenal is a huge source of concern and frustration.

It has cost them a sizeable lead at the top. If they are not careful, those individual errors could soon cost them the title.  

Positive #3: Big win at both ends of the table

On paper, this NLD looked set to be one of the most consequential such clash in the recent history of the fixture.

Arsenal needed the win to keep their title hopes in their own hands – albeit it might still a bit early to talk like that – while, for Sp*rs, a first league victory of 2026 would have put some daylight between them and the relegation zone.

In the end, 4-1 may prove just the tonic for the Gunners to get their domestic show back on the road after a few difficult weeks. Their rivals, meanwhile, suffered a third straight league defeat to remain four points above the dreaded drop.

Three points here could get Arsenal over the line to end 22 years of hurt, but a Sp*rs relegation along with that would be the cherry on the cake.

If I had to choose, the title alone would suffice.