Arsenal moved four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool as two goals in four first-half minutes sparked a 2-1 north London derby comeback win over rivals Tottenham.
After Arne Slot’s side drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, the Gunners knew they could increase their title chances by picking up a win.
But despite dominating the opening exchanges at a pulsating Emirates Stadium, they fell behind at home for the third time in eight days.
Dejan Kulusevski warned the Gunners by forcing David Raya into a good save from a corner but from their next set-piece, Heung-Min Son’s strike from the edge of the box took a deflection off Thomas Partey and past the Arsenal goalkeeper.
Heung-Min Son celebrates his goal in the north London derby
It left Arsenal stunned and their attacking problems looked set to continue for another half as it took them 40 minutes to register their first meaningful chance. But they scored from it.
For the 10th time this season, it was from a corner – albeit incorrectly given as the ball touched Leandro Trossard before going behind. Declan Rice’s deep delivery was met by Gabriel, whose header across goal came off Dominic Solanke’s chest and into the net.
Four minutes later, Arsenal completed the turnaround on the stroke of half-time as Martin Odegaard fed Trossard down the left, with his drive going through Antonin Kinsky’s hands and into the far corner.
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Michael Dawson reacts to Arsenal’s rapid-fire second against Spurs as Leandro Trossard puts the Gunners 2-1 up
That gave Arsenal the impetus to sit deep in the second half – but still the hosts had the best chances after half-time.
Kai Havertz, much-maligned after missing big chances in the recent losses to Newcastle and Manchester United, missed two glorious opportunities inside the box.
The forward fired over from four yards out at a corner before nodding a free header straight at Kinsky. Martin Odegaard, who missed a penalty in the FA Cup loss to United, also fired a good chance wide to seal the points late on. “The feeling is we could have scored 10,” said Arsenal’s Declan Rice after the game.
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Sky Sports News’ Gary Cotterill and Sam Blitz break down Arsenal’s comeback victory against Spurs in the North London Derby.
It did not matter, though, as despite Spurs bringing on Richarlison in his return from injury, Ange Postecoglou’s side barely threatened, with Pedro Porro’s stoppage-time shot off the post from an impossible angle the closest they came to a second-half response.
Spurs remain in 13th with just one league win – against 20th-placed Southampton – since beating Manchester City in November, while Arsenal have an eye on the title.
Ange: This cannot be accepted
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou:
“Not good enough, especially the first half which was way too passive. We allowed Arsenal to take control. I was disappointed with us with and without the ball, allowing them to dictate the tempo. Nowhere near good enough.
“That’s not who we are. That’s not how I set the team up to play. To be sitting in and allowing Arsenal to play just wasn’t good enough.
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Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou says Spurs’ defeat to Arsenal in the North London derby can’t be accepted by anyone.
“There’s no magic cure. We need to work hard and go into battle on Sunday and turnaround our fortunes and our season. There are always reasons why things happen but the reality is our results and form in the league has been nowhere near good enough. That needs to change.
“We just didn’t play near the identity of what I want us to be. We’re an aggressive team with and without the ball – we showed that against Liverpool but tonight we were way too passive. That’s not acceptable. Second half was a little better but it wasn’t enough.
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Sky Sports News’ Michael Dawson says Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou will be fuming over the way his side conceded Arsenal’s second goal in their 2-1 North London Derby defeat.
“This can’t be accepted by anyone at the club, us losing so many games in a league season isn’t right. Yes we are asking big jobs but I hope the 18-year-olds [Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall] are hurting as much as anyone else in terms of not being able to deliver on a big day.”
‘For sure’ – Arteta confirms Arsenal still looking for forwards despite win
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta:
“The boys were outstanding. We played 120 minutes less than 72 hours ago, but the way we performed was exceptional.
“We made it hard for ourselves, but the attitude was outstanding. The purpose and intensity was really good.
“We play every three days, so it’s just a foundation, it’s about the next day now. We won today, great, but now it’s about Aston Villa. My confidence comes from what I see every day, not just results. Sometimes in football you don’t get what you deserve.
“We cannot feel sorry for ourselves. What we can control is performance, and today they have done it again.”
On the possibility of reinforcements in January, Arteta added: “Yes, for sure. We’ve lost two big players with Gabi [Jesus] and Bukayo [Saka]. We’re going to try, we’re actively looking. We have lost two very important players. We will try but let’s see what we can get.”
‘Ashley Cole vibes’ – Lewis Skelly set for greatness
Myles Lewis Skelly impressed against Spurs
Sky Sports’ Lewis Jones at the Emirates Stadium:
We cried: Where are all the English left-backs?
England apparently have a problem now Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw are struggling to make impressions at the top level for various reasons.
England don’t need to worry though. Miles Lewis-Skelly is the answer. And Thomas Tuchel was at The Emirates to witness it first-hand.
The 18-year-old was phenomenal, again. Right from the first whistle he snapped into a tackle and released Raheem Sterling through on goal. That set the tone. And he didn’t relent.
Tottenham are a dangerous team down the right flank with Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski but you wouldn’t have known based on this game. Lewis-Skelly saw all-comers off with a performance full of tenacity, class and an amazing maturity.
No player made more tackles for Arsenal (4), won possession more times (6) and had a higher passing accuracy (93.8 per cent) than Lewis-Skelly as the statistics backed up the visuals.
There was real Ashley Cole vibes about what we witnessed. Arsenal and England have such a talent on their hands.
