Arsenal moved four points clear at the top of the table after a 3-2 win over Tottenham in an entertaining and controversial north London derby.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed Bukayo Saka’s corner into his own net before the England winger doubled the visitors’ lead with a brilliant finish - moments after Dejan Kulusevski appeared to have been fouled in the Arsenal box.
Mikel Arteta’s side exploited Spurs’ weaknesses at set-pieces again before half-time, Kai Havertz heading home Declan Rice’s corner to leave them in complete control at the interval.
Spurs pulled a goal back when Cristian Romero finished coolly following a mistake by David Raya and set up a tense finale when Heung-min Son converted from the penalty spot after Rice’s foul on Ben Davies.
Here’s how we rated the Spurs players…
Made a brilliant save with his feet to deny Saka a fourth but his reluctance to come for corners was exposed again.
Pedro Porro 6
Dealt well with Arsenal’s threat down the left and created a chance for Son with a raking pass in the first half.
Cristian Romero 7
Had all of Spurs’ best chances, with three headed efforts before he pulled one back with a canny finish. Robust defensively.
Micky van de Ven 8
The closest play to Havertz for Arsenal’s third goal. Unlucky to have an equaliser ruled out for a fractional offside at 1-0 and his pace was so important at covering behind in the second half.
Ben Davies 6
Bamboozled by Saka for Arsenal’s second goal but won the penalty with his last act of the game.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 5
Unfortunate to head into his own net to open the scoring. His quality at playing out was exposed by Arsenal’s excellent press.
Rodrigo Bentancur 5
Struggled to make an impact on the game and replaced by Sarr at half-time with Spurs trailing 3-0.
James Maddison 6
Got into some good positions in the first half but not at his free-flowing best.
Dejan Kulusevski 8
Perhaps unlucky to be denied a penalty moments before Arsenal’s second goal. Played well, helping Spurs to hold up the ball and delivering some dangerous crosses.
Timo Werner 5
Forced off after 30 minutes with a suspected muscle injury without making a significant impact.
Heung-min Son 7
Dispatched his penalty well to give Spurs hope of a comeback. Blazed his only opening from open play over the bar in the first half and generally well-shackled by Arsenal’s defence.
Subs
Brennan Johnson (Werner 30’) 6
His directness caused Takehiro Tomiyasu problems in the second half but his final ball was lacking.
Richarlison (Maddison 63’) 7
Spurs improved when he went through the middle, the Brazilian providing them with a focal point and a physical presence.
Yves Bissouma (Hojbjerg 63’) 7
Swept up nicely around the half-way line as Spurs pushed forward in the second half.
Giovani Lo Celso (Davies 87’) 6
Not enough time to impact the gameNot used: Austin, Dragusin, Gil, Emerson, Lo Celso, Sarr.
