Tottenham Hotspur may have enjoyed the lion's share of possession against their local rivals, Arsenal, inside an atmospheric Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - but an emphatic headed goal from Gabriel Magalhaes saw their north London rivals leave with all the spoils.
Struck by injuries to key midfield personnel such as Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Mikel Arteta's side managed to return to the red half of north London with three extra points on the board.
David Raya was called into action in the first five minutes to deny Dejan Kulusevski from bagging the opener, while the Spaniard - once again - thwarted another chance from the Swede two minutes after as the visitors found themselves under copious amounts of pressure.
The Gunners struggled to get a foothold on the highly anticipated Premier League encounter with Ange Postecoglou and Co enjoying a positive first 45 minutes, though their attacking attempts were to no avail.
A monstrous leap from Gabriel Magalhaes saw Arsenal take the lead against their fierce rivals, leaving Guglielmo Vicario flailing his arms in the air, much to the delight of the travelling - albeit just up the road - contingent.
From that point onwards, Arteta and Co were in full control of the affair and, despite Tottenham enjoying the majority of the possession, Arsenal's work and shape when out of possession made them very difficult to break down - as the hosts began to realise.
Match Highlights
Match highlights from Tottenham vs Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings
Maddison and Solanke struggled to produced in the final third
GK – Guglielmo Vicario – 7/10
Remained alert when called upon and received a yellow for his involvement in the byline scuffle in the 35th minute.
RB – Pedro Porro – 7/10
Reduced Martinelli to sour grapes as he asserted his dominance on the Brazilian, and he covered plenty of grass up and down the left flank as he proved to be an attacking nuisance from minute one to 90.
CB – Cristian Romero – 6.5/10
Aggressive as usual, the bitty Argentine - alongside his defensive teammates - kept Arsenal at bay in the early embers and the Argentine was up to his tough-tackling antics as always. Poor marking for Gabriel's opener.
CB – Micky van de Ven – 6/10
Upon his return to action, the Dutchman struggled in the heart of the Tottenham defence. His raw speed when teams are on the attack remains an impressive sight and, without it, the score line could have been very different.
LB – Destiny Udogie – 6/10
Picked up Tottenham's first booking of the afternoon after struggling with the trickery of Saka. Ventured into central midfield to provide depth and cover int he middle but to little effect.
CM – Rodrigo Bentancur – 6/10
Left with an underwhelming amount of defensive work to do, Bentancur covered a lot of grass in his all-action role.
CM – Dejan Kulusevski – 6.5/10
Picked up some lovely positions between the Arsenal lines and was, perhaps, unlucky not to get on the scoresheet in the opening 10 minutes.
CAM – James Maddison – 6/10
We've become accustomed to James Maddison's pinpoint deliveries - and the latest instalment of the north London derby was no different. Looked largely ineffectual when dropping deep to receive the ball, however.
RW – Brennan Johnson – 5/10
A tumultuous showing from the Welshman, who looked to be in two minds every time he was on the ball - evidenced by his shot on the cusp of half-time that cleared the bar. Hooked on the 67-minute mark.
ST – Dominic Solanke – 6/10
Energetic and intelligent from the off, Solanke impressively thrived in the strident atmosphere, though he will be kicking himself for not letting off his shots earlier. His work rate faded in the second half and he was largely anonymous.
LW – Son Heung-min – 5.5/10
Not at his firing best, Son was unable to pounce on a poor White performance, much to the annoyance of the home crowd.
Sub – Pape Matar Sarr – 5/10
Brought on to add a bit of grit and determination to Tottenham's centre of the park in the deep midfield role.
Sub – Wilson Odobert – 4/10
The winger made little of his possession when introduced and his audacious shot was blocked on the verge of the full-time whistle.
Sub – Timo Werner – 4/10
Introduced to make an impact in the final third.
Arsenal Player Ratings
Gabriel and Saliba shine in the heart of the defence
GK – David Raya – 7/10
Alert to the majority of shots that were directed towards his goal and kept his side in with a shout of winning in the opening stages of the encounter.
RB – Ben White – 5/10
An atypical bad performance from the Englishman, who often gave up possession unnecessarily, in an otherwise solid Arsenal defence.
CB – Gabriel Magalhaes – 8.5/10
Gabriel remains one of the most underrated centre-backs in the English top tier. The Brazilian rose above the rest to put his side in front to top off a masterful display at the heart of his side's back line.
CB – William Saliba – 8/10
Picked up an unnecessary booking after delaying the re-start but Saliba was imperious as always. An absolute man mountain who put out plenty of fires today against a dynamic Tottenham front line.
LB – Jurrien Timber – 8/10
A brilliant performance from the Dutchman, who was strong defensively and a menace going forward at the same time. He did, perhaps controversially, avoid receiving a red card for his challenge on Porro in the first half.
CM – Thomas Partey – 5/10
What lets Thomas Partey down, in possession at least, is his naivety on the ball. Too often did the Ghanaian take an extra touch, which instantly put his side in jeopardy - but luckily for him, no mistake was pounced on by Postecoglou's men.
CM – Jorginho – 5/10
His lack of pace was on show in a game of such high intensity, and he lost possession on plenty of occasions. Fans of Arsenal will be excited at the prospect of Rice returning to the fold on the back of the Italian's performance.
CAM – Leandro Trossard – 5/10
Playing the 'Martin Odegaard' role, Trossard struggled. The Belgian failed to release the ball quickly enough and, as a result, got caught on the ball a lot and in very dangerous areas.
RW – Bukayo Saka – 7/10
Helped White to double up on Son Heung-min, which didn't go unnoticed by the pundits and was one of Arsenal's brighter sparks in the final third, and delivered the all-crucial ball for Gabriel to nod home.
ST – Kai Havertz – 7/10
Often wasteful with his passing, Havertz was, however, a tricky customer for Van de Ven all afternoon, as he put himself about across the Tottenham back four. Again, the former Chelsea man lacked a level of calmness in the box.
LW – Gabriel Martinelli – 6/10
After falling down Arteta's pecking order on the left, injuries allowed Martinelli to return to his usual spot on the left. The Brazilian had plenty of chances to give his side the lead but ultimately struggled to make a difference when it mattered the most - in front of goal.
Sub – Gabriel Jesus – 5/10
Joined the fray with just over 10 minutes of regulation time left on the clock.
Sub – Raheem Sterling – 5/10
Replaced Martinelli on the left to make his Arsenal debut and will take time to bed in to Arsenal's culture.
Sub – Ethan Nwaneri – 4/10
The youngster was given the final five minutes of normal time.
Man of the Match
Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
Just one glance of his celebrations shows how much the centre-back's header meant to Arsenal's title aspirations. Effective in both boxes, Gabriel's partnership with Saliba continues to be one of the most - if not the most - imperious in the world.
In terms of his appetite to throw his body on the line and defend Raya's goal, the 26-year-old put it - yet another - brilliant performance for the capital club, who have painted the north of the capital red after an imperious derby day victory, courtesy of the ex-Lille man.
