Arsenal picked up a huge three points in the North London Derby against Spurs on Wednesday evening.
The home side came out all guns blazing in the first half and adopted a very fast-paced and aggressive approach which put some early pressure on Spurs and led to some shaky moments at the back early on for Ange Postecoglou's men. Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky in particular was being targeted straight from the off from set pieces which have been key for Arsenal this season.
Despite Arsenal enjoying plenty of dominance and comfort in the opening 20 minutes of the match, it was Spurs who took the opening goal. Prior to the goal, Spurs had two huge chances through Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski and none of them could direct it home but the one man who converted his chance was Son Heung-min and he did it thanks to the help of a deflection.
Spurs may have drawn first blood but it did not help them in the general run of play as the hosts maintained control of the match straight after their goal and managed to equalise just five minutes before half-time thanks to yet another well-worked set piece which was headed in by Gabriel, with the help of a slight deflection off Solanke. It is worth noting that there was controversy around the goal as Pedro Porro felt the corner should have instead been a goal kick for his side but it was not given.
The away side's failure to push with their 1-0 lead came back to bite them as the hosts turned the game around in just four minutes and found themselves in the lead right on half time. Leandro Trossard bombed down the left wing and unleashed a powerful shot on goal which somehow found its way in. Kinsky will be disappointed when he looks back on the goal as he gets good contact on the shot but he still let it in. This was the final action for the first half and the hosts went into the break with a 2-1 lead.
Postecoglou made two big attacking changes at half-time, introducing both Brennan Johnson and James Maddison into the match in place of defensive midfielders Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr who were poor in the first 45 minutes. Those changes did make a difference as Spurs straight away looked more threatening going forward.
Despite a strong start to the second half for Spurs, Arsenal mainly controlled the second half and went close to adding to their lead on several occasions, most notably when Kinsky made a huge double save to somewhat make up for his previous error in the match.
The match ended 2-1 and even though Spurs had late spells of pressure, Arsenal came away with the three points.
Match Highlights
Arsenal Player Ratings
GK: David Raya - 6.5/10
The Spaniard could not have done much to stop Son's goal due to the deflection. Other than one save in the first half, he did not have much to do at all.
RB: Jurrien Timber - 7/10
Defended really well against Son and didn't really give him a sniff at goal. In possession he was calm and composed too.
CB: William Saliba - 7.5/10
Dealt with Solanke very well and looked very comfortable in defence.
CB: Gabriel - 8/10
Made several heroic tackles to save his side in vital moments. He also dealt with Solanke well and didn't really give him a chance at goal.
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly - 7.5/10
The youngster just gets better and better with every match he plays. Lewis-Skelly was calm and composed on the ball and didn't look out of place despite his youth.
CM: Thomas Partey - 6.5/10
Partey was solid but he slowed down play a lot in midfield at times.
CM: Declan Rice - 8.5/10
His set-piece delivery all evening was sublime and caused constant problems for the Spurs goalkeeper and defence. As well as his set-piece delivery, Rice battled well in midfield and also got into some really good attacking positions.
CM: Martin Odegaard - 7.5/10
Worked hard and also was quality in possession. At times Odegaard ran the midfield and was a key player in Arsenal's victory.
RW: Raheem Sterling - 6/10
Substituted after an hour after not being able to really get into the match for Arsenal.
ST: Kai Havertz - 6/10
Struggled to get into the game and was pretty ineffective up front.
LW: Leandro Trossard - 8/10
The Spurs goalkeeper probably should've done better to keep out his shot but he won't complain. Trossard had Porro on skates several times during the match and looked a nightmare to play against.
SUB: Gabriel Martinelli - 7/10
Was a constant threat down the wing after his introduction.
SUB: Kieran Tierney - N/A
Didn't do anything of any note after entering the pitch.
SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko - N/A
Didn't do anything of any note after entering the pitch.
SUB: Mikel Merino - N/A
Didn't do anything of any note after entering the pitch.
Spurs Player Ratings
GK: Antonin Kinsky - 5/10
Really struggled at times dealing with Arsenal's set pieces and he probably should've kept out the home side's second goal after getting good contact on the ball.
RB: Pedro Porro - 5.5/10
Had a horrible time up against Trossard and was sat down on several occasions. He could not contribute as much going forward as he normally does.
CB: Radu Dragusin - 5/10
Struggled at times getting dragged out wide up against Trossard and was pretty sloppy in posession.
CB: Archie Gray - 7/10
Held the entire Spurs back line together at times despite once again playing out of position. In posession he looked calm and composed and physically held his own as well.
LB: Djed Spence - 7.5/10
Had some good moments going forward, particularly in the first half and was arguably the away side's most threatening attacking outlet.
CM: Yves Bissouma - 4/10
Substituted at half-time after a really poor first-half showing. He was partly to blame for Arsenal's second goal due to giving the ball away.
CM: Pape Sarr - 4.5/10
Substituted at half-time along with Bissouma after a poor opening 45 minutes. Sarr was sloppy on the ball and was outrun out of possession and there was no real surprise that Postecoglou took him off so early.
CM: Lucas Bergvall - 7.5/10
Despite his starting midfield partners being poor, the young Swede actually had a good performance. Bergvall had plenty of energy in the middle of the park and made several huge tackles to break up play.
RW: Dejan Kulusevski - 5/10
Outrun and outfought. At times the Swede looked like he couldn't be bothered which is not good in a North London derby.
ST: Dominic Solanke - 5/10
Solanke was unluckily credited with an own goal and didn't really have a sniff at goal. He really struggled up against Saliba and Gabriel.
LW: Son Heung-min - 7/10
Got quite lucky with his goal as it took a huge deflection. Other than that, he did not really get into the game.
SUB: Brennan Johnson - 6/10
Struggled to get into the game despite being brooght on at half-time.
SUB: James Maddison - 7/10
Had a great 45 minutes and was arguably Spurs' best attacking outlet in the match.
SUB: Richarlison - N/A
Didn't do anything of any note after entering the pitch.
Man of the Match
Declan Rice
What a performance. The Englishman dominated the middle of the park with his energy and physical presence. Rice was solid defensively but also going forward he provided quality and innovation.
His set-pieces caused problems for Kinsky all evening and probably should've had an assist to his name but Gabriel's header went down as a Dominic Solanke own goal. There have been many great performances in this fixture throughout the years and Rice has just put in one of the strongest performances for Arsenal in the last few years.