Arsenal climbed to second place in the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, securing their fifth league double over their north London rivals.
After disappointing cup defeats to Newcastle United and Manchester United, Arsenal were eager to get their Premier League title challenge back on track. Spurs, 16 points behind Arsenal, had much lower ambitions, and were under pressure early in the match. Radu Drăgușin made a crucial block to deny Leandro Trossard, and Tottenham goalkeeper Antonín Kinský nearly made a costly mistake when Kai Havertz intercepted a clearance, though Kinský managed to recover.
Spurs grew into the game, with David Raya needing to make a save to deny Dejan Kulusevski. Tottenham took the lead when a corner found Son Heung-min, who fired home a deflected shot past Raya. However, Arsenal responded and equalised through Gabriel Magalhães, whose header from a Declan Rice corner deflected off Dominic Solanke and beat Kinský at his near post. Trossard then gave Arsenal the lead before half-time with an angled shot that slipped through Kinský’s hands.
After the break, Havertz missed a chance to extend Arsenal’s lead, heading wide from a corner before shooting straight at Kinský. Spurs were vulnerable at the back, and Rice nearly capitalised, but his shot was saved. Kieran Tierney set up Martin Ødegaard, but the Norwegian missed the target from inside the box.
Arsenal held on for a narrow win, moving within four points of league leaders Liverpool, though they have played one more game. This victory also marked their third consecutive Premier League north London derby win, a feat they hadn’t achieved since 1989. Spurs, on the other hand, dropped to 13th after just one win in their last nine league matches.
