Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal have extended their stay at the top of the Premier League thanks to a comprehensive victory over North London rivals Spurs.
Thomas Partey hit a beauty to give the Gunners the lead but Spurs hit back quickly with a penalty from Harry Kane to level at the break. But another in-form striker, Gabriel Jesus struck early in the second half before Granit Xhaka made it three after Spurs had gone down to ten men.
The Premier League 2022 betting odds are backing both these teams to finish the campaign in the Champions League places but top dogs Arsenal are aiming for the top two.
Highlights of the game
Xhaka has become a vital cog in this Arsenal team, doing the dirty work in midfield as well as contributing more to the Gunners’ attacks. And as the hosts made an electric start to the game he was in the thick of the action with a clever flick on which almost but Jesus in for the opener.
The hosts bossed the opening exchanges and reaped their reward in spectacular fashion on 20 minutes. Ben White picked the ball up and he rolled it to Partey on the edge of the D and the midfield man hit it beautifully with pace and swerve on it, beating Lloris off the inside of his post and notching his third, and best, goal for the Gunners.
Take a look at the weekend’s Premier League 2022 highlights when you get the chance…you won’t regret it!
As brilliant as Arsenal’s forward play was to give the hosts the lead, their defence was sloppy to throw it away. William Saliba tried cleared the ball to Xhaka but Richarlison nipped in to steal it and was tripped by Gabriel as he raced into the penalty area.
Kane stepped up and, with a sense of inevitability; he chipped it down the centre as Aaron Ramsdale made a hapless dive.
Jesus has been on fire since his move to Arsenal, scoring four goals in his last six Premier League games. And in the last action of the first half he jinked into the penalty area, beating two players before unleashing a shot from a tight angle which Lloris saved well.
But in the first action of the second half the Brazilian made it five from seven and 2-1 to the Gunners. Bukayo Saka unleashed a shot which Lloris failed to hold and Jesus was there to push the loose ball home.
Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when full back Emerson hit Gabriel Martinelli with a nasty challenge and he rightly saw red, and was on his way down the tunnel as soon as VAR confirmed his fate.
And then Xhaka got his goal, rifling home after Martinelli had slipped him through on goal, sparking wild celebrations at the Emirates.
Key statistics
Arsenal are top of the league and they have the North London bragging rights. The Gunners have lost just one of their last 30 Premier League home games against Tottenham.
Kane’s penalty made it 14 in the North London Derby, more than any other player in history and he has scored more Premier League goals against Arsenal than any other player. And the England skipper is the first man to score 100 away goals in Premier League history.
Tottenham have scored in each of their last 11 meetings with Arsenal, the longest run since 1967.
What’s next?
Tomorrow’s big derby is at the Etihad where Manchester City host United and we’ll be reporting on that match here at SBOTOP. A win for the Sky Blues would lift them to within a point of Arsenal.
The Gunners have two more home games to come this week with Bodo Glimt visiting on Thursday. A win for Arsenal would help them leapfrog the Norwegians to the top of Europa League Group A. Mikel Arteta will make wholesale changes to his team in preparation for the visit of Liverpool next Sunday.
Tottenham have two more away games to contend with but they are travelling a little further for their upcoming fixtures. First they will fly to Frankfurt to meet Eintracht in the Champions League. Both teams have won one and lost one and trail Sporting Lisbon, who lead Group D on six points. It’s a big game and a win for either will hand them a great chance to make the knockout phase, with three games still to play of course.
Then Antonio Conte takes his side to the south coast to face Brighton as Spurs try to get their Premier League challenge back on track.
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