North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham both suffered their first defeat in the Premier League this weekend, and seemingly for a similar reason. Arsenal were the better footballing side in their 1-0 loss at Newcastle but allowed the game to descend into a battle and went down in the second half to Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner.
On Monday night, Spurs were beaten by Chelsea with much the same dynamic at play; Spurs were the dominant side for the opening 25 minutes and led 1-0, but they were too fired up, lost control of their emotions and, with them, control of the contest. They finished with nine men and a 4-1 defeat.
