Arsenal opened up a four point gap at the top of the Premier League table after beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the North London Derby. The Gunners became the first team to inflict a league defeat on Antonio Conte's side.
The win for Arsenal made it seven wins from eight games this season and continued their 100 per cent record at the Emirates Stadium this term. They haven't lost at home to Spurs in the league since 2010.
Thomas Partey, who was a major injury doubt for the game, gave Arsenal the lead after 20 minutes with a sublime strike, before Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot on the half-hour mark. Gabriel Jesus punished a mix-up between Hugo Lloris and Cristian Romero to give the Brazilian his eighth goal contribution in as many games, with Granit Xhaka continuing his fantastic start to the season by making it 3-1, shortly after Emerson Royal was sent off for a reckless challenge.
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There was plenty of praise for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta and Jesus as the national media reacted to Arsenal's derby day victory.
"There is always a danger, much recent Arsenal history will show, that this flourishing of the Mikel Arteta era may just lead nowhere when pitted against stronger forces, with greater resources, at a club that had forgotten what it was like to contend for a league title in a meaningful way.
"Yet for the time being the results say it with emphasis: the Premier League leaders have seven wins and just one defeat, and once more demonstrated themselves capable of overcoming setbacks. Not just any setback but a Harry Kane equaliser to quell the roar of the lunchtime North London derby, and shake the fragile confidence of the Arteta manifesto. Arsenal came back in style and by the end there was no question to whom this day belonged.
"For Arteta, results like these grow that elusive confidence that has flowed and mostly ebbed in the years since Arsenal last won titles. There is no doubt that he has built something, at a considerable cost when one contemplates his £265 million transfer spend, but it is moments like these that demonstrate what might be possible."
"After Thomas Partey had planted his early right-footer into the top corner of Tottenham’s net, Granit Xhaka tried to calm the celebrations.
"He called all bar Aaron Ramsdale into a huddle, the type normally reserved for pre-kick-off rituals. All for one - and all that. There is always a bond within teams that are winning matches, that much is obvious. Everyone gets on great when points are being clocked up at the rate table-topping Arsenal are clocking them up.
"And there is a lot of phoney stuff spoken about the ‘group’, about the ‘project’, about spirit, much of it by managers trying to mystify their simple jobs. On that front, Mikel Arteta is a guilty party but there is no doubt he has instilled a new unity at the Emirates - amongst the players, the backroom staff, the rank-and-file supporters and himself.
"There is a belief, make no mistake. This is not a squad that looks like taking a dip any time soon. And most importantly, there is, right now, a selflessness about the place, epitomised, for example, by Gabriel Jesus.
"It might be early days but there can have been few better signings made in the summer transfer window (his ‘replacement’ at Manchester City isn’t too bad, to be fair). So much of Arsenal’s early dominance in this hugely-enjoyable contest was based on Jesus’ work rate and heat map."
"In the 90th minute, Mikel Arteta finally had to start enjoying himself. Hard work, sacrifice, suffering: most of the time, these are the foundation stones of the Arteta method. You work, you fight, you suffer, and if you’re lucky you get to do it all again in five days. Even in the closing stages here, as Arsenal gleefully toyed with Tottenham and the Emirates lapsed into calypso mode, Arteta had lost none of his skittish focus: still urging his team forward, still whirling his arms round and round like a damaged toy.
"But as Kieran Tierney let fly from distance, almost scoring a spectacular fourth at the death, something in Arteta finally broke. As he turned to his bench, he melted into a broad, shimmering smile. It was the moment he realised – possibly the last man in the stadium to do so – that after 13 long days of waiting and worrying, of running through the permutations of this game over and over again in his mind, everything was going to be fine.
"When you are operating at Arteta’s rarefied level, these moments are vanishingly scarce. The week is consumed by strategy and anxiety; the day itself disappears in a torrent of emotion and adrenaline. By Monday, maybe earlier, the glow of victory has already given way to the next thing. Bodø/Glimt on Thursday, Liverpool next Sunday. Lose those two and you’re back in crisis. Sorry, those are just the rules."
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