ARSENAL continued their sensational start to the season with a huge North London derby win over bitter rivals Tottenham.
Harry Kane’s well dispatched penalty cancelled out Thomas Partey’s sublime long-range effort.
But goals from Gabriel Jesus and Swiss captain Grant Xhaka sealed all three points for the Gunners, while Emerson Royal saw red for a sickening challenge on Gabriel Martinelli.
- RESULT: Arsenal 3-1 Spurs
- Live stream: BT Sport
- TV channel: BT Sport 1
- Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Jesus
- Tottenham XI: Lloris; Romero, Dier, Longlet; Royal, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Perisic; Richarlison, Son Heung-Min, Kane
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Test after test for Arteta’s side
The big games come thick and fast for Arsenal as they welcome Liverpool to The Emirates in their next league fixture.
With two Europa League games sandwiched around a mouth-watering fixture against Jurgen Klopp’s side, the Spanish manager will be well aware of the challenge ahead.
He could not have asked for a better start to the new campaign.
Gunners send warning shot to City
Arsenal have shown Pep Guardiola’s Man City that they will have to work hard to get themselves to the top of the Premier League this season.
City play Man Utd tomorrow, now four points behind leaders Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta will be pleased to get one over his friend and ex-manager as the apprentice shows the master what he has got.
Meanwhile, the sale of Gabriel Jesus to a club they didn’t regard as rivals seems to be a questionable decision right now.
Credit: Getty Arteta looks to silence critics
Despite their fantastic start to the season, many have labelled Arsenal as a side only capable of beating the sides they are expected to.
After their defeat at Old Trafford, questions were being asked of their ability to beat rivals deemed to be in the ‘big six’.
With Antonio Conte’s Tottenham having pipped Arsenal to fourth spot last season, this victory will go a long way towards Mikel Arteta rewarding the fans for the pain of the previous season.
Arsenal showed their ability to beat a ‘big six’ team today and rarely did they look in trouble against their noisy neighbours.
Get us out of here drive!
Tottenham’s atrocious record at Arsenal continues.
They have only won two of their last 38 league fixtures away to The Gunners.
Those two victories came in 1993 and 2010.
Mikel Arteta’s side now find themselves four points clear of their North London rivals.
Credit: Rex FT: Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
The referee puts these Tottenham players out of their misery.
Arsenal get the result their performance deserved today.
Tottenham lost grasp of this game as soon as Emerson Royal got sent off for a needless tackle.
North London is red and white today.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
90+2. The Tottenham section looks like they’ve heard a fire alarm that nobody else has.
More seats than people.
Arsenal knock the ball around, keeping possession, ensuring that their rivals cannot get a consolation goal.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
90. Arsenal fans sing out ‘we are top of the league’.
We are going to have three minutes added on.
It will seem like a longer three minutes to the visitors than Arteta’s side.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
88. Tomiyasu comes on for Ben White.
Spurs seem to be going through the motions now.
Somebody will have to draw the short straw of sitting next to Antonio Conte on the way back, good luck with that.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
86. Mikel Arteta is set to become only the third Arsenal manager in their history to win his first three North London derbies at home.
The points will be more important in the grand scheme of things, but will give them confidence going into the rest of the season.
Conte will have to pick his players up for Champions League action in the week.
Credit: Reuters
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham – Martinelli yellow card
84. This has turned into a training ground game for the hosts.
So much space to utilise, passing the ball about with Spurs unable to do anything about it.
It was bound to happen sooner or later, the ole’s have started with any Arsenal touch of the ball.
Gabriel Martinelli lunges in on Doherty on the halfway line to earn himself an unnecessary booking and to ruin fantasy league teams up and down the country.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
82. Tottenham are still chasing shadows.
The extra player is having a big effect now as we enter the latter stages of the game as the visitors start to look fatigued.
Another goal would be the icing on the cake for Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
80. Odegaard hands the armband to Granit Xhaka as he comes off for Fabio Viera.
Gabriel Jesus comes off for Eddie Nketiah.
Both players have put in a good shift today.
We are into the final ten minutes of this North London derby.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
78. Tottenham seem resigned to just getting what numbers they have left on the pitch behind the ball.
They do not want this to turn into a humbling defeat.
Bragging rights are heading to the red and white side of North London.
Credit: Reuters Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
76. The fans in the away end do not look pleased.
At least it is not a long trip back home.
Ten players on the pitch and two goals down, nobody could forgive them for heading for the exits.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
74. Arsenal makes some changes as Lokonga and Tierney join the party.
Which is ironic as it is Partey and Zinchenko who leave the field.
This would be a big three points for The Gunners.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
72. Conte makes four substitutions.
Sanchez for Lenglet.
Bissouma for Perisic.
Sessegnon on Richarlison.
Doherty on for Son.
Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
70. Tottenham are in danger of sinking without a trace here.
They cannot get a toe on the ball currently.
Arsenal are stroking the ball around, making the visitors chase shadows.
Credit: Reuters Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham
68. With the extra-man advantage, Xhaka has more of a chance to burst forward from the centre of midfield.
As he receives the ball in the box, it opens up for him in front of goal and he strokes it home with his preferred left-foot.
What a career he has had for Arsenal….from villain to hero.
Goal – Granit Xhaka (Arsenal)
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
66. It is all Arsenal at the moment.
Tottenham are struggling with their hosts having numbers over all of the time.
Saka cuts inside and tries to bend a left-footed shot into the far corner but it goes just wide.
Conte looking to make changes before a second Arsenal goal.
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
64. Royal has really let his team down today.
There was no need to dive in like he did out on the touchline.
Replays can make these challenges look worse than ‘real-time’ but you can see why the red card was given, clumsy.
Red card – Emerson Royal (Tottenham)
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
62. Tottenham come away with Perisic.
The Croatian could find space in a single bed with Gemma Collins.
Whipping the ball across goal, nobody can get a touch on it.
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
60. Arsenal are getting numbers behind the ball whenever Spurs are in possession now.
Hojbjerg runs onto a ball on the edge of the box but his effort is high, wide and not so handsome.
Thomas Partey he is not.
Xhaka chips a ball into the box towards Jesus but his header is saved by Hugo Lloris.
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
58. This is the problem for Tottenham in terms of depth.
When they find themselves in a position like this, they do not have a lot of attacking options on the bench to rely upon.
With no Moura or Kulusevski, Conte’s options are severely limited.
Credit: Reuters
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
