Sports
Gunners get London bragging rights: Arsenal beat Spurs to go eight points clear top of table
Arsenal dispatched Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in a one-sided North London Derby and went eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The Gunners took the initiative from the off, probing Spurs’ backline and finding joy. It didn’t take long for Antonio Conte ‘s side to crumble, as Hugo Lloris flapped a cross-come-shot from Bukayo Saka into his own net in the 14th minute, a howler from Tottenham’s formerly reliable goalkeeper.
Martin Odegaard then doubled Arsenal’s lead before half-time, whizzing in an effort from 25 yards out to all but kill the contest. Spurs mustered a fightback in the second half but couldn’t sustain much, unlike Mikel Arteta ‘s rampant Gunners.
Spurs, so poor in the first half, did have their chances but found visiting keeper Aaron Ramsdale in top form as he saved twice either side of half-time from Harry Kane and also stopped Ryan Sessegnon’s angled effort.
Arsenal were handed a huge opportunity to take a stronger grip on the title race after closest rivals Manchester City were beaten at Old Trafford, but with the expectation also came pressure in the hothouse of a north London derby.
The Gunners, as they have so often this season, rose to the challenge by over-running Spurs to take control in the opening 45 minutes, then hold their nerve in the face of an expected rally from Antonio Conte’s men after the break.
Arsenal were simply irresistible in the first half as they outclassed Spurs – the own goal from Lloris and captain Odegaard’s strike scant reward for their vast superiority.
Odegaard was class personified in midfield, while Saka ran Spurs ragged down Arsenal’s right flank, creating the first goal and posing constant problems.
And the visitors showed they were prepared to do the dirty work when Spurs tried to mount a recovery. Keeper Ramsdale was outstanding and his defenders prepared to throw themselves in front of everything to protect the lead.
There was some ill-feeling and ugly scenes at the end when Ramsdale and Richarlison had a flare-up, before a Spurs fan appeared to aim a kick at the England keeper.
Arsenal’s players were eventually dragged away to enjoy their thoroughly-deserved celebrations with their own ecstatic supporters.
Spurs may have created chances and moments of anxiety for Arsenal, especially in the second half, but this was a sobering game for Conte and his players as they looked well off the pace until it was too late.
They were trailing once again at half time for the ninth time this season, the seventh in the Premier League, after a first period in which their mediocrity was a sharp contrast to the excellence of their rivals.
Spurs have made a habit of slow starts and occasionally been able to dig themselves out of the hole, but they left themselves too much to do against this super-confident Arsenal outfit.
Kane was attempting to equal Jimmy Greaves’ record of 266 goals for Spurs, but found Ramsdale at his best. At the other end, though, Lloris produced yet another of those errors that happen far too often to a goalkeeper of his reputation.
Saka’s cross took a deflection of Sessegnon but the French keeper had to do so much better than just let the ball drop behind him into his own net.
It summed up Spurs’ first-half display and they remain in fifth place, five points behind Manchester United in the Champions League places having played a game more.
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