Arsenal survived a late scare to move 4 points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 3-2 win at rivals Tottenham in Sunday’s north London derby.
Arsenal raced into a 3-0 half-time lead thanks to a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal, along with Bukayo Saka’s strike and Kai Havertz’s header.
However, a second-half collapse seemed imminent as Cristian Romero punished David Raya’s mistake before Son Heung-min pulled home another from the spot. However, the Gunners eventually held on.
Arsenal have at least temporarily strengthened their position at the top ahead of second-placed Man City, who play the first of their two games against Nottingham Forest later on Sunday, while Tottenham remain seven points off the top four in fifth.
Arsenal broke through in the 15th minute when Hojbjerg inadvertently nodded Saka’s corner past Guglielmo Vicario at his near post.
Tottenham responded and after Romero headed against the post, Micky van de Ven thought he had equalized when he headed home from close range. However, the decision to award the goal was overturned after a VAR review and the defender was found to be offside.
Gunners doubled their lead in the 27th minute after a quick counter-attack saw Havertz pick out Saka, who slotted past Vicario.
Kai Havertz then got involved before half-time, heading home Declan Rice’s corner from sixteen yards.
However, Ray’s mistake gave Spurs a lifeline after the break when Cuti Romero pounced to the wrong keeper’s distance to reduce the visitors’ arrears.
The matter was made even more serious for the Gunners later on when a VAR review confirmed that Spurs should have been awarded a penalty for Rice’s foul on Ben Davies.
Son struck a superb free-kick into the left-hand corner, but Spurs’ late onslaught ultimately came to naught as the Gunners secured another big win.
The jacket shines in the lime of the derby
The fate of the Premier League title may be in Man City’s hands, but Arsenal are still very much in the hunt after a second London derby victory this week.
Mikel Arteta’s side, who beat Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday, bounced back superbly from their defeat at Aston Villa two weeks ago, scoring 10 goals in three games and conceding just twice.
After his corner led to the opener, Saka doubled the lead with his 15th league strike of the term – the most in a single season – and became the first English player to score home and away for Arsenal against Tottenham in a single campaign since Ian Wright 30 years ago (1993-94).
The damage was effectively done as Havertz headed in the Gunners’ 16th goal from a corner this season, the most in a single campaign since West Bromwich Albion in 2016-17 (also 16), although Arteta will be concerned about their near slip. Spurs’ struggles at home continue
The 195th north London derby culminated in Tottenham losing back-to-back home league games against Arsenal for the first time since 1988.
Despite their best second-half efforts, it was always going to be difficult to turn things around against a side who have now won all 16 games when leading at half-time this season.
Now winless in four games with their rivals, they have also only tasted success once in five home games against the Gunners.
With their own title hopes not dented by their rivals, Arsenal will be hoping Tottenham can instead damage City’s chances when they host them on May 14.
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