Without Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and Mikel Merino, Arsenal were not going to face Tottenham with their strongest line-up for the Northern London derby. Even so, to win the Premier League, they had to do whatever it took, and they just did that for a 1-0 win Sunday afternoon.
Recapping the Arsenal win, ex-striker Dean Ashton, on talkSPORT, highlighted that the Gunners didn’t play their game; instead, they did play like a newly promoted team does. Like a newly promoted team, they were eager to sit back and defend their goal, hoping to capitalise on a single chance to score the winning goal. Well, they did that; they picked up the much-needed win with a Gabriel header from a Bukayo Saka corner, securing all three points.
At first, Spurs dominated possession, but they were unable to breach a defensively set-up Arsenal, who were determined not to give their local rivals any opportunities.
“[Arsenal] played like a promoted side”, Ashton said on talkSPORT’s Sunday Session post match. “They did.
“They sat and played like a team who want to nick a goal and win.
“Look, it worked, but if Tottenham were a little bit cuter today then they would have easily scored one or two goals in that first half.”
Injury-ridden Arsenal proved their title credentials in their win against Tottenham. The Gunners had a game plan, and they implemented it.
Though not dominant, they won, and that’s all that matters. Winners triumph no matter what, whether they get up like a promoted side or not, and the boys in red and white demonstrated this with their victory over Tottenham.
Darren N
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Whatever it takes. 3 points. Job done.
We arrived, we scored and we got three points. How many points got Tottenham 🙂
Like anybody gonna take any notice what this nobody thinks ffs 🙄
Could it be that, as some reports had it, Arsenal’s was a “Mourinho-style” win?
It was definitely a smash and grab job ,nothing really between the sides ,stat wise they had the upper hand .
Personally wasn’t impressed with any of the forward 4 ,saved again from the defensive side of the game .
The forward 4 ran their socks off, put in a defensive shift of their own. We were set up in a particular formation and every player played their part in the execution. Fans seem to forget that 1-0, 5-0 or 15-0 all count for 3 points only.
With our selection options it was never going to be open and direct attacking football. Appropriate tactics by Arteta I thought, very spot on. Spurs play a high line, and with Martinelli and Saka on the wings, we were set up to hit on the counter and take advantage.
Our strength most definitely last match was our defense, so we stayed firm and organized, and waited to capitalize on opportunities when they came, because our creator and best midfielder were out.
3 points was the aim, pretty or ugly, it so happened to come ugly on Sunday.
Towards the end of the Wenger Era we would have lost this through sticking to principles and not adapting to the situation.
This time. Pragmatic approach. 3 points. Thank you. More kudos to Artera, he’s growing as a manager.
That’s called being sensible and simply pragmatic. Sometimes, you need to win ugly given the circumstance.
On the other hand, I think Ange’s approach since his arrival reminds me of Wenger’s last decade at Arsenal; he seems to care more about attacking than his defence. I think he will learn in the hard way because in the EPL, no matter how fluid and technical your attack is, you will achieve next to nothing without a well organized defence. Liverpool and City (and more recently Arsenal) are not fools for focusing heavily on that aspect during their rebuild.