Arsenal opened up a four-point gap at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win over cross-town rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium.
Thomas Partey’s thunderbolt strike midway through the first half was cancelled out by Harry Kane’s penalty, as both Arsenal and Tottenham went into the break on even terms.
However, just three minutes into the second half, a shambolic mistake from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gifted Gabriel Jesus a goal. The Gunners continued on the front foot after regaining their lead, and the afternoon went from bad to worse for Spurs when Emerson Royal was red carded for a nasty challenge on Gabriel Martinelli.
Granit Xhaka piled more misery on Antonio Conte’s men, wrapping up the victory in the 67th minute by firing the ball past Lloris after turning inside the box. On that note, here is a look at how the Arsenal players fared in the North London derby.
Arsenal Player Ratings vs Tottenham
Aaron Ramsdale- 6/10
A good save early on to deny Richarlison but other than that, was not called much into action by Spurs. He was played by Harry Kane for the penalty.
Ben White- 7/10
A solid performance from Ben White at right-back as he linked up and overlapped well with Bukayo Saka.
William Saliba- 8/10
Steady as a rock, William Saliba was excellent in his first-ever North London derby. Made the right decisions on and off the ball and never really let the Gunners down.
Gabriel Magalhaes- 5/10
Looked shaky and off the pace at times. The Frenchman gave away a needless penalty but had the mental strength to bounce back from that.
Oleksandr Zinchenko- 6/10
A little rusty on his return from injury. Didn’t really influence the game as he would like to, though, was still solid enough in his hybrid role.
Thomas Partey- 9/10
Ran the show in midfield along with Granit Xhaka for Arsenal. Partey’s range of passing was excellent and he rarely gave the ball away. Scored a belter from the edge of the box to ignite the derby.
Granit Xhaka- 8/10
A little sloppy in the first half, especially when he failed to clear the ball during the passage of play that led to Tottenham’s equaliser. Redeemed himself in the second half with a fine strike to seal the deal for Arsenal.
Martin Odegaard- 6/10
A decent performance from the Arsenal skipper, although he could not get on the ball as he would have liked to. Struggled at times to break down a rigid Spurs backline that sat deep.
Bukayo Saka- 6/10
Put a real shift at both ends of the pitch. Played a big hand in the home side’s vital second goal when he chopped inside and had a shot spilled by Lloris.
Gabriel Jesus- 8/10
Tenacious, aggressive and full of energy, Jesus demonstrated his class and gave the Spurs defenders all kinds of problems with his movement on and off the ball. Pounced on the ball for his goal in typical poacher fashion.
Gabriel Martinelli- 8/10
A tireless performance from Gabriel Martinelli. Caused real havoc against the Spurs backline with his pace, vision and dribbling skills.
Substitutes
Albert Sambi Lokonga- 5/10
Came on for Partey in the 73rd minute and did his job in midfield.
Kieran Tierney- 5/10
Replaced Zinchenko and played as an inverted full-back. Tested Lloris with a rasping long-range drive.
Fabio Vieira- 5/10
Came on for the last 10 minutes and kept the ball moving well in midfield.
Eddie Nketiah- 5/10
Nketiah held the ball up well and kept the pressure on Spurs intact.
Takehiro Tomiyasu- N/A
