There was plenty to reflect upon after another north London derby classic on Sunday, as we edged out Spurs by the odd goal in five.
Here are five talking points from the fixture:
A game of fine margins
It was a difficult game to categorise. We were 3-0 up at half-time, but it didn’t feel like there was that much between the sides – a feeling backed up by the stats.
In the opening 45 minutes the hosts enjoyed more than twice as much of the ball as we did (72 per cent possession), had a higher expected goals total (0.85 to 0.7) and had taken eight shots to our four. But we had been ruthless, and at key moments. Tottenham had an equaliser ruled out for offside after a VAR review midway through the half, and within five minutes we made it 2-0. From potentially being level at 1-1, we were two goals to the good. Our second goal also came in the same passage of play that Spurs had had a penalty appeal turned down.
Spurs also hit the post in the first half, but Havertz scored our third goal with only the second effort on target of the whole game.
Then Tottenham profited from a mistake from David Raya – who had elected to go long with his passing for much of the first half – before VAR again intervened to award a late penalty for the home side.
From then on we were under pressure for the last ten minutes or so – including injury-time – but we stood firm. Raya magnificently claimed every cross into the box, and in the end we didn’t face another shot on target at all. The celebrations at the end were certainly mixed with a huge amount of relief.
Saka does it home and away
Bukayo Saka became the first Arsenal player to score in both north London derbies in a single campaign since Alexandre Lacazette in 2019/20, and the first Englishman to do so since Ian Wright in 1993/94.
And his goal was a superb, trademark finish on his left foot inside the area. He had acres of space to run into on the counter when Kai Havertz found him with a long pass, he then twisted past Ben Davies, shifting onto his stronger foot before finding the bottom corner.
It was his 15th Premier League goal of the season – his most prolific campaign to date – and his 33rd goal involvement in all competitions (he didn’t get an assist for the own goal).
It was also Bukayo’s 57th career goal for us, becoming now the 42nd top-scorer in our history, level with Malcolm Macdonald and Cesc Fabregas, as he moves up the list.
“I really enjoyed that goal,” he beamed afterwards. “It’s nice to score home and away as an Arsenal guy, we love this fixture. I’m buzzing.”
As the only homegrown player in either starting line-up, it was fitting he should have a huge say in the destiny of this local derby.
100 up for Mikel
This was Mikel Arteta’s 100th win as our manager, from his 169th game in charge, taking his win rate to 59.2 per cent. That’s the highest win percentage of any Arsenal boss in the Premier League era, and he is now the eighth manager in our history to reach a century of league wins – he got to the milestone 10 games quicker than Arsène Wenger did.
His first win came back on January 1, 2020, and five of those 100 wins have now come against Tottenham – he’s only recorded more wins against West Ham, Newcastle, Chelsea and Wolves.
The manager’s full PL record is now P169 W100 D27 L42 F321 A180 – and taken 327 points at 1.93 points per game.
Most importantly it’s our 25th league win this season, just one fewer than we managed last term, with three games still to play.
Back in the set piece groove
Our first and third goals both came from corners – Kai Havertz’s header from Declan Rice’s delivery was our 16th goal from a corner in the league this season - the most by any team since West Bromwich Albion in 2016/17.
It was also our 17th headed goal in the league – another club record. It allowed us to race to our second-fastest three-goal lead ever in this fixture. Just 38 minutes were on the clock when Havertz headed home.
It’s been a huge weapon for us all season, and after a few goals without a set-piece goal, they proved crucial again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
A special day
The win also ensured we would finish above Tottenham again this season, for the 24th time in the Premier League era. Known as St Totteringham’s Day among the fanbase, it’s always a day to be celebrated, and it arrives with three matches still to play.
Local bragging rights assured then for another year, and the victory also mathematically makes sure of Champions League qualification for next season. There are bigger targets still to play for though in our remaining fixtures – at home to Bournemouth, away to Manchester United, then at home to Everton.
This was the first time we’ve won consecutive league games away to Spurs since September 1988. The 195th meeting between the sides will live long in the memory, and could yet prove decisive when the honours are handed out next month.
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