LONDON – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hosted a strong and entertaining North London derby on Sunday, with Arsenal beating Tottenham 1-0 to make a big statement early in the season.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were without several key players and Gabriel’s goal secured a huge win for them to move to 10 points from four games. It was a determined and professional display from the Gunners.
Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur created plenty of chances, dominated possession for long periods and will feel they could have taken all three points. They will be happy with their performance but unhappy with a second successive defeat having taken just four points from their opening four games of the season.
Here’s what we learned from Tottenham’s match against Arsenal.
The Gunners are much stronger than we thought.
Arsenal were without Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiore, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney on Sunday but still found a way to pull off an impressive derby win. They were not at their best, with Odegaard and Rice largely missing in midfield, but Arteta’s men were functional as the manager dug deep into his side and adapted his style of play accordingly as they ceded possession. The likes of Jorginho, Martinelli, Timber, Trossard and Partey, who could all be considered fringe players in a perfectly decent squad, did well to cover for the absentees. Arsenal’s bench was full of teenagers but had Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling coming off the bench late on to help see the win over the line. With a tough test at Atalanta next Thursday followed by a huge trip to Manchester City next Sunday, Arteta’s side will be stretched thin this week. It’s not perfect, but the injury crisis at the start of the season has shown that Arsenal are a much stronger team than we thought. That will be a huge relief for Arteta given the long slog ahead of them in the chase for Manchester City.
Gabriel leads Arsenal against Tottenham
The Gunners were silenced at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Gabriel Magalhaes rose to head home a corner to make it 1-0.
Pressure mounting on Solanke
Dominic Solanke has played like a player who knows he cost $85 million this summer. He has yet to score for Tottenham, and two moments have summed up his stagnation as Tottenham’s goalscoring problems continue. In the first half, Tottenham won the ball back on the edge of the box and Solanke was there. He had a free-kick on target inside the box. But he was low-headed, couldn’t control his feet and Arsenal cleared him before he could get a shot off. Late in the second half, Maddison played him in but Solanke again couldn’t control his feet and the chance evaporated. On both occasions, the murmurs echoed around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and will only get louder as Solanke continues to look like he is running through molasses. The high expectations are already weighing on him and are spreading to the entire Tottenham attack as both Heung-min Son and James Maddison look tall and distant. Everything up until the final third was good from Tottenham, but the lack of decisiveness has become a worrying trend at the start of this season.
Wood is ideal for this Arsenal side
Juergen Timber is exactly the type of character Mikel Arteta wants in his squad. this Arsenal. He is perfect and has the potential to become their spirit animal. Tough, reliable, fiery and playing on the edge of what is acceptable. His tackle on Pedro Porro deserved a yellow card, nothing more. His reaction in the ensuing melee, to grab the towering Vicario and stand tall, proved he is ready to fight. After missing almost an entire season through injury in 2023-24, Timmer is hungry and making up for lost time. His ability to put the team first, play in multiple positions seamlessly and maintain his focus will be crucial for Arsenal, especially in the coming weeks as they deal with key injuries in Timmer’s comfort zones. The Dutch full-back’s character and spirit are perfectly aligned with Arteta and the other key players in the Arsenal squad. By the end of this season, Timmer looks set to win plenty of plaudits for his adaptability, aggression and determination.
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