Is this the turning point for the run-in or just a win over the rivals?

Arsenal have seen their advantage over Manchester City evaporate in recent weeks. City have started to pick up wins, whereas Arsenal have been on the receiving end of some disappointing draws. The Gunners needed some kind of mentality shift if they wanted to sustain a tentative advantage over City. The capitulation at Wolves encouraged a rather bleak perspective from Arsenal fans. There was an awkward North London derby that awaited Mikel Arteta’s men. Thomas Frank gone, Igor Tudor in. New manager bounce for a team battling relegation. All the ingredients for a vengeful late afternoon at Tottenham Hotspur.

First Half

Arsenal began the game on the front foot. The ball was fizzed around, players on the move and little triangles forming all over the pitch. Viktor Gyokeres forced the first chance for Arsenal, but his shot from close range was blocked. Leandro Trossard then had a speculative effort from range, but Vicario was equal to it. Gyokeres, again, found some space to get a shot off, but his effort flashed wide of the post. The Gunners were knocking on the door. William Saliba missed a header about 10 minutes later, from a corner. Spurs then had a small opportunity to test David Raya, but Pape Sarr’s attempt was blocked. Arsenal kept probing, but struggled to really carve out chances. It would take until the half hour mark for another opportunity to fall Arsenal’s way. Eberechi Eze found his effort to be blocked on the outside of the box. But, the Gunners didn’t relent. Bukayo Saka found a way past the defender and was able to slip the ball back to Eze in the box. The ball flicked up off his boot, but he managed to show the agility to get his leg up and direct the ball into the net. 1-0 Arsenal. Arteta’s men could only hold that lead for around a minute or so. Declan Rice was caught in possession, in the Arsenal box, and Randal Kolo Muani was able to break free. No Arsenal defender could provide a crucial tackle, so the Spurs striker thundered an effort beyond Raya. 1-1. Suddenly the casual chance creation intensified. Saka was leading the assault on the Spurs goal, but without much success. He forced a save from Vicario and had another shot blocked. Arsenal couldn’t really test the Spurs keeper for what remained of the half. The Spurs defence were quick to shut down chances as well as Arsenal being wildly inaccurate with their attempts.

Second Half

Spurs actually began the second half like they wanted to put themselves in front, not just settle for a draw. Xavi Simons took the game to Arsenal and was able to test Raya, however, the distance it was struck from certainly aided the Spanish keeper. But, that rejuvenation was short lived as Gyokeres slammed home a shot from the edge of the box. Jurrien Timber played a pass inside that was destined for Gyokeres. Eze drew the attention of the defender away from the Swedish striker with a clever bit of movement. Viktor then had time to settle himself and unleash a fierce strike. Vicario stood helpless. 2-1. Eze then tried to get another goal for himself, but had his attempt blocked. Kolo Muani did stick the ball in the Arsenal goal, but he was deemed to foul Gabriel in the process. Soft? Yes. Within the laws of the game? Ever so slightly not. In order to not let any kind of lead slip, the Gunners tried to put the game to bed. Saka and Cristian Mosquera were able to win possession high up. Saka exchanged passes with Eze, and was put through. Vicario was equal to it and snuffed out the danger. However, moments later, Saka was put through again. The Italian keeper was quick off his line, yet again, but he couldn’t do anything to prevent the rebound falling to Eze. The English star, despite being off balance, managed to find the net. 3-1 Arsenal. Arteta’s men were the ones that continued their siege on the Spurs goal. Trossard found a yard of space to curl an effort just wide of the post. The tempo on the game deteriorated after Trossard’s chance. Spurs tried to engineer some space up top, but they were getting dealt with by the Arsenal defence. However, in the 84th minute, Tudor’s men were presented with a chance to halve the deficit. Piero Hincapie couldn’t quite prevent a low driven cross from Djed Spence. His ball across the box was skilfully flicked on by Richarlison. The ball disappeared through a pair of Arsenal legs and deflected off another. This resulted in the ball heading in the direction of the goal, but Raya sprung into action and scooped the ball off the line. Mosquera was on hand to ensure no Spurs player could pounce. Despite barely troubling the Arsenal goal, Spurs almost made the last 5-10 minutes very uncomfortable. It seemed like Spurs were on the verge of giving up. A couple of hopeful set pieces were dealt with by the Arsenal defensive cohort. A 3-1 scoreline was more than enough to see the Gunners through, but Gyokeres added the cherry on top. Martin Odegaard spotted his movement through the middle. His delicate pass was taken in the stride of Viktor, who managed to ease Archie Gray to one side and get his shot off. It curled around Vicario, who was again left helpless. 4-1 and the game was done.

Statistics

The stats do support the theory that Arsenal were overwhelmingly the better side. The Gunners had 20 shots with 7 on target. This generated an xG of 2.07, within that was 6 big chances created. Spurs, on the other hand, only had 6 shots with 5 on target. This created an xG of 0.76, no big chances were created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya – 8 – If he had more to do then I’d put him in the upper echelons of the player rating system. However, Spurs threw very little at him. He couldn’t do much for Kolo Muani’s strike, but he did well to get across for Simons’. But, that save off the line is enough to earn a high rating. After his error against Wolves in the week, he more than redeemed himself here. That claw off the line ensured Arsenal kept that control over the game, rather than making it a frantic last 10 minutes.

Timber – 6 – Clearly fatigue is holding him back. He deserved the yellow card that he received and it came from his mistake. I did like that he didn’t operate inside of Saka so much, he held the width. He did grab an assist though, his pass was good.

Saliba – 7 – The more composed of the two central defenders. He hardly let a thing slip by him. In reality, he had very little to do.

Gabriel – 6 – Could’ve cost us a goal and could’ve been sent off. He was weak for Kolo Muani’s disallowed goal and was fortunate to get the decision. I’d much rather he remain strong and get that header clear. Again, with Kolo Muani, he stepped across him and both tumbled to the ground. I’ve seen red cards given for that. Very fortunate not to cost Arsenal in this one. However, he won a lot of duels and ensured that Spurs couldn’t trouble Raya all that much.

Hincapie – 8 – I think we’re starting to see why Andrea Berta pushed through this deal. In hindsight, this could be one of the most important deals that was made. He looks more assured on the ball and almost grabbed an assist. He’s a demon in defending transitions and will be crucial to supporting our defensive prowess over time.

Zubimendi – 6 – It was just a bit of an average performance. I think he showed slightly more than what we have seen recently. He anticipated danger a bit better here, but overall it was just not up to the standards he set earlier in the season. Rest is crucial for him.

Rice – 5 – I’m not going to say he’s hampering the team, but he’s got a slight petulance about him right now. He seems to be getting agitated at his colleagues if they misplace a pass or they don’t receive his pass. He told the team to concentrate, following our opener, and we conceded from his mistake. He almost cost us again, if it wasn’t for the heroics of Raya. He needs to dial down the attitude. His second half was much better than the first, but those mistakes were avoidable.

Eze – 9.5 – Like a bull to a red rag, Eze loves playing against Spurs. Another two goals here to complete his five for the season over the North London rivals. It wasn’t just his goals though, it was his overall play. He was sensational. He dominated the edge of the Spurs box and everyone in the squad was benefitting from it. Now we need to see it more regularly.

Saka – 9 – My MOTM outside of the two goalscorer’s. He was absurdly good down the right. There was so much desire to beat his man and force things to happen. He should be credited with the assist for Eze’s goal. He should’ve scored himself on a few occasions. But, fingers crossed his injury was just impact and it just felt a bit sore, like a bruise more than anything structural.

Gyokeres – 10 (MOTM) – Wow, this is the striker we need. I get that the output won’t be like this every week, but that consistency is all we ask for. He’s up to 10 Premier League goals now and these two are perhaps the best of the bunch. Outside of those goals, his game felt elevated. It was like a different side to him was coming out. It’s more refined. His first touch felt more secure, his link up play felt more intentional and he was using his body more effectively. Brilliant performance.

Trossard – 6 – Either everything comes off for him, or nothing at all. He leaned towards the latter here. It was a frustrating afternoon for the Belgian. He certainly tried to make things work, but it just didn’t. Shots were wayward, passes were overhit and he just took too many touches on the ball. I did, however, like his willingness to receive the ball tucked into more of a midfield role. He felt closer to the team and it helped progress the ball up the pitch.

Substitutes

Mosquera – 7 – I really liked what I saw from him again and in an unfamiliar position, right back. Timber looks shot to pieces right now, but Mosquera added fresh legs and it completely shut down that left flank of Spurs. He did make a small error, but it led to nothing.

Martinelli – 6 – He worked hard, but was pretty ineffective.

Odegaard – 7 – It’s good to have him around the squad again and he showed what he can provide when he’s not obsessed with playing the safe pass. His assist for Gyokeres is exactly what we expect from him and it’s now five Premier League assists for the Norwegian. Given his injuries, that’s pretty good.

Madueke – N/A –

Summary

The perfect response. It was exactly the kind of response you get from potential champions. To face the disappointment against Wolves in the week and seeing the title slip further from your grasp is agonising. But, to face your rivals who have the chance to dent your title dreams, could’ve been so disastrous. Every scenario played in my head and hardly any had us winning 4-1. Spurs are certainly depleted and that significantly helped, but sometimes shared pain can make you stronger. We proved to the league, and to City, that we’re not finished yet. What we need to do now is have this week off, really make the most of it and go and beat Chelsea on Sunday. That would be an incredible way to begin our final third of the season. City also go away to Leeds, which could be a banana skin. But, focus should be on us and us only. If we win all our games and avoid losing to City at the Etihad, we win the title.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

I don’t think the team will be much different to what we saw against Spurs. Chelsea will provide an entirely different challenge, but they have struggled in their last two fixtures. Drawing with Burnley and Leeds. As much as I do think Timber and Zubimendi need more than just a week off, Arteta will likely roll the dice with them. Clearly Mosquera is capable of replacing Timber and we still have Ben White in the ranks. I think Hincapie will be preferred to again over Riccardo Calafiori as the former has that defensive superiority. Chelsea use quick wingers, so our full backs need to be monsters at winning duels. I think we found good balance in the attack against Spurs and that’s why I think Eze should retain his spot. Kai Havertz will likely be back for this one, but there’s no need to risk him in the starting XI. Fingers crossed Saka is cleared to play, but if not then Noni Madueke will slot in. Chelsea could be without a few regulars, so we have a great opportunity to pick up three points here. Let’s get it!