When it comes to winning, this was the biggest Arsenal could have come up with. A patchwork midfield, missing key players, but The Gunners still put in a determined and tenacious performance.
This will give Mikel Arteta even more confidence in Arsenal's ability to dethrone Manchester City in the Premier League this season. At the heart of the victory was defender Gabriel, who scored the decisive goal from a set piece. And then the Brazilian also contributed greatly to Arsenal's clean sheet.
After the match, it was no surprise that Gabriel clasped his hands in joy and celebrated with the Arsenal fans in the stands. After 3 valuable points against Tottenham, the "Gunners" have risen to second place, 2 points behind the leader Man City. Notably, the two teams will face each other at Etihad in the next round.
For Tottenham, the only goal conceded against Arsenal was clearly unforgivable. Last season, they conceded 16 goals from set-pieces, the most in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Arteta’s team have scored 23 from similar situations since the start of last season. But Ange Postecoglou has not learned his lesson.
Tottenham fans booed at the final whistle, reflecting not only the defeat to Arsenal but also Tottenham's unimpressive start to the season, in which qualifying for the Champions League is seen as a must for the "Roosters".
For Arsenal, they have shown they can cope with adversity. Without Declan Rice or Martin Odegaard in midfield, no problem. Of course, there is no denying that Jorginho and Thomas Partey have tried very hard.
However, Jorginho seemed to struggle to get up to speed, while Partey was left stranded without Odegaard and Rice. Fortunately, Arteta's other players were able to fill the void in midfield. Kai Havertz chased every ball, Leandro Trossard provided good support, while Jurrien Timber worked tirelessly at left-back. Defensively, Arsenal were superb.
Tottenham couldn't find a way past Arsenal's defence, and their failure to beat a depleted Arsenal only highlighted the gulf between the two sides.
Incredibly, Arsenal have now won their last three North London derbies at Tottenham, the first time this has happened since September 1988, when the Gunners went on to win the league that season.
