Arsenal came out on top in last weekend’s North London Derby, securing their third win in a row at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while also making them unbeaten in their last 5 North London derbies.
Heading into the derby there was growing scepticism over Arsenal’s ability to win with the club facing a tough injury crisis which meant significant changes to the first team and squad would be required in Mikel Arteta’s preparation for the game. Arsenal went into the fixture with seven first team squad players unavailable, most notably weakened in midfield with Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard out injured and Declan Rice serving his one-game suspension following his controversial red card. The Gunners also appeared weakened in defence with Riccardo Calafiori, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu all unavailable to face Tottenham. Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta approached the game with optimism and enthusiasm, ensuring that Arsenal’s injuries would not be an obstacle in their pursuit of glory and the bragging rights in North London.
“It’s a privilege to have the power to contribute to making someone really happy.”
– Mikel Arteta on what the North London Derby means to him
As expected the home support provided a challenging atmosphere to play under, creating the expected noise of a derby and encouraged by the positive start to the game by Spurs who forced David Raya into action in the opening minutes. Mikel Arteta’s strategy to defend compactly and slow the pace of the game down allowed the gunners to prevent Spurs from playing their football posing a tough challenge that Ange Postecoglou simply could not crack, and this frustration translated into the crowd as the clock continued to run down. As emotions grew, tempers boiled over in the first half of the derby with a clash between Jurrien Timber and Pedro Porro sparking an intense conflict between the rival players resulting in bookings for Vicario and Timber. Arsenal’s collective patience was rewarded as they capitalised on an area which had been so successful for them last season yet a continual weakness for Tottenham; Gabriel was the man of the moment who made a vital contribution 64 minutes in to head the ball home from a typical pinpoint corner from Bukayo Saka. After a tough 90 minutes of battle, Mikel Arteta’s tricky reds were able to secure all 3 points in spite of the adversity surrounding their squad depth, further sweetening the taste of victory for Arsenal fans.
“Its always good to beat Tottenham”
– Martinelli on the victory
What we learned:
Arsenal are a very different team to the squad which capitulated as a result of injury absences at the back end of the 2022/23 season, displaying much resilience and mental toughness to get a result. Whilst Spurs supporters had every right to gain confidence from the depleted nature of Arsenal’s squad, it is clear that the success of Mikel Arteta is driven by an understanding of the standards expected by all members of the squad and a deep rooted culture of hard work with everyone playing their role in collective success. This is the key differentiator between Arsenal and the majority of the Premier League which has allowed them to challenge for titles, a characteristic perfectly exemplified in the recent derby.
“Loving the game means that you are able to do things regardless of the context”
– Mikel Arteta on the attitude of his side in another derby win over Spurs
For Tottenham, their old failings returned to haunt them as they failed to capitalise on a depleted Arsenal. Postecoglou’s side fell victim yet again to the obvious weakness of defending from set pieces, causing much frustration amongst fans over the failure to address the problem. Despite dominating possession having 64% possession, Tottenham were unable to break down Arsenal with a number of poor decisions and failures to deliver quality in the final third. Whilst it is concerning the manner in which the confidence of the Spurs players deteriorated, allowing Arsenal to exploit a clear mental vulnerability; it is crucial that the supporters keep faith in Ange Postecoglou who has showcased a number of promising qualities and has certainly earned the opportunity to be given the time which his rival Mikel Arteta was privileged to receive.
For the gunners, they must remain grounded with a tough fixture list ahead this week with trips to Atalanta away and then a huge title clash at the Etihad against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City
Image credit: www.arsenal.com