No Rice, no Ødegaard, no problem: Arsenal top Spurs in derby

LONDON — Arsenal overcame the absence of key midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard to win the North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and move into second in the Premier League ahead of next week’s clash with leaders Manchester City.

Gabriel’s 64th-minute header was enough to seal a 1-0 win against Ange Postecoglou’s team, who are now languishing in 13th position after winning just once in four games this season.

The Gunners had gone into the game without the suspended Rice and injured Ødegaard at the heart of their midfield, boosting Tottenham’s hopes of a first home win against Arsenal since 2022.

But Jorginho and Thomas Partey stepped into the void and proved Arsenal have the squad to compete for the title as they produced a gritty and resolute performance to claim victory against their local rivals.

While Arsenal hammered out their title credentials, the picture looks less promising for Spurs, however.

Postecoglou’s team has now lost seven of their past 11 Premier League games, winning just three — a dismal sequence that will place the former Celtic manager under pressure unless he is able to oversee a quick turnaround in results. — Mark Ogden

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Arsenal’s set-piece specialism shines again

The first person Mikel Arteta celebrated Gabriel’s’ 64th-minute goal with was set-piece coach Nicolas Jover — and for good reason.

Jover has revolutionised Arsenal’s set-piece record since joining the club from Manchester City in 2021; the Gunners scored 22 goals last season from dead-ball situations, more than any other team. Standing at the corner of the technical area for every set-piece, Jover micromanages Arsenal’s handling of offensive and defensive corners and free-kicks to great effect.

They were without regular corner-taker Rice and also Ødegaard, but Bukayo Saka‘s delivery was pinpoint for Gabriel to capitalise on poor Spurs marking.

Contrast that detailed approach with Postecoglou’s cynicism towards appointing a set-piece specialist, explaining back in April that he “always think[s] it’s better if that’s somebody who’s a part of the coaching staff because then that’s an extension of how we play our football.”

However, perhaps the issue by extension there is if the football isn’t quite firing — as Tottenham’s isn’t right now — then set-pieces aren’t quite the devolved game-changer they could be, as proved the case here.

Perhaps the Spurs coach’s attitude will change when he looks at the bare numbers; since the start of last season, Tottenham have conceded 18 goals from set-pieces (not including penalties). Only Nottingham Forest (23) have conceded more. — James Olley

Spurs fail to take advantage of Arsenal’s midfield woe

The absence of Ødegaard, Rice and summer signing Mikel Merino — which could potentially have been Arsenal’s starting midfield on another day — created an obvious opportunity for Tottenham to exploit.

Spurs were missing Yves Bissouma but, rather than start Pape Matar Sarr, Postecoglou opted for an open midfield three with Rodrigo Bentancur anchoring while winger Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison operated as two No. 8s.

Tottenham had 64% of the possession and more shots (15-7) but only managed a fractionally higher expected goals figure of 0.77 to 0.73.

Although there were times when Partey and Jorginho were unable to stem the flow of Tottenham attacks — particularly early in the first half — Spurs gradually ran out of ideas and were unable to move the ball quickly enough to dislodge the Gunners from their disciplined shape.

Postecoglou responded to Arsenal’s goal by introducing Sarr and winger Wilson Odobert for Bentancur and the ineffective Brennan Johnson, but by then it felt as though the opportunity had been missed, because the visitors could concentrate on shutting down space and protecting their lead rather than chase a second goal. — Olley

Solanke needs time to become Tottenham’s goal threat

Dominic Solanke was all work and no reward against Arsenal. The £55 million summer signing from Bournemouth missed two of the first three games of the season with an ankle injury and is still playing catch-up in terms of fitness and match sharpness, but Spurs fans will need to accept a different kind of centre-forward with Solanke than what they grew accustomed to with Harry Kane.

Kane was a totally reliable goal scorer, but he was also a player who would often drop deep to start attacks with long balls out wide before racing into the penalty area to help finish the move.

Solanke is a more traditional No. 9, and he was effective against Arsenal in terms of providing his teammates with a target man. He also gave Arsenal defenders Gabriel and William Saliba a physical test throughout the game, but his lack of pace means that Spurs will need to adjust to his attributes and work out how to get the best from the former Chelsea and Liverpool forward.

Against Arsenal, he created a couple of good chances and almost scored with a first-half header, but he needs to boost his fitness and his movement if he is to be the solution to Tottenham’s goal-scoring problems. — Ogden

Timber showing he was worth the wait

Jurriën Timber was signed for £34m as the final piece of the defensive jigsaw when he arrived at Arsenal from Ajax in the 2023 summer transfer window, but a cruciate ligament injury suffered on his Premier League debut forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

But the Netherlands international is now back to full fitness, and he showed against Tottenham just what Arteta’s side missed last season as the Gunners narrowly failed to beat Manchester City to the title.

Arteta had signed Timber to play on the left of Arsenal’s defence, and his absence was never satisfactorily resolved, with Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko both proving solid if unspectacular replacements.

Timber made a huge difference against Spurs with his energy and tenacity down the left flank. He also displayed a real tough streak that will only serve Arsenal well in the games against title rivals such as City and Liverpool.

Timber was booked in the first half following a clash with goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after a firm, but fair, challenge on Spurs defender Pedro Porro. The yellow card meant he was walking a tightrope for the rest of the game, but it didn’t affect his performance and he continued to give Arsenal rock-solid reliability at left-back. — Ogden

Arsenal start a big week in the best possible way

Three away games in eight days starting with visiting their fiercest rivals and ending with a game at the Premier League champions offers a searching early test of Arsenal’s credentials. This was an ideal way to start.

Bereft of influential midfielder Rice and captain Ødegaard, Arsenal lined up with Partey and Jorginho in central midfield and Leandro Trossard operating as a No. 10. They were rarely at their most fluid, but Arsenal dug in and secured a result which will fuel their self-belief for the challenges ahead.

The Gunners were fortunate with injuries last season. Saliba was one of only two outfield players to play every minute of their Premier League campaign while Ødegaard and Saka were regulars and Rice was tireless along with Ben White and Gabriel.

Arteta was right to claim “a lot of work” went into that level of availability but, nevertheless, modern-day demands on players always make a repeat unlikely. Therefore, overcoming the absence of several absentees — new signings Riccardo Calafiori and Merino were also among the missing — will be a useful boost ahead of two huge games at Atalanta and Manchester City

Rice will return from suspension. The prognosis on the rest is unclear but any lengthy absences should not prompt the fear that may have before Sunday’s result. — Olley

North London derby breaks a disciplinary record

Referee Jarred Gillett set a record during the first half of this game by issuing seven yellow cards — the most ever handed out in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League game.

At one stage, it seemed as though every foul or infringement was deemed to be worthy of a caution, but Gillett slowed down in the second half by only issuing one yellow card after the interval.

But less than 24 hours after 14 yellow cards were awarded during Chelsea’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth, the sight of so many bookings in the early stages of the North London derby hinted at officials being urged to clamp down on every area of rule-breaking this weekend.

Over the course of the first and second rounds of matches this season, there were 38 yellow cards issued in each weekend, but that number jumped to 57 on the weekend before the international break. Yet before a ball had even been kicked in Sunday’s two games there had already been 58 yellow cards in the weekend’s eight previous matches.

VAR controversies have been noticeably few and far between, but yellow cards are definitely on the rise. — Ogden

Arsenal get right result, but in the wrong colours

For the first time in living memory, Arsenal played Tottenham in a different colour than their traditional red, and it just didn’t look right.

The Premier League announced in the build-up to the game that Arsenal would not be allowed to wear their home colours — red with white sleeves — because there was too much white in the shirt, and therefore would potentially clash with Tottenham’s predominantly white shirts. As a consequence, Spurs will have to wear their light blue away kit when they play at the Emirates in January.

The decision left both clubs and their supporters bemused, but it meant that Arsenal played their traditional rivals in an unfamiliar all-black uniform — or black with a big rip in it if you are Trossard, who had to change his jersey late on after the front of his original one had a square torn in the front.

The North London derby is one of the Premier League’s biggest games, one that has a global appeal, so it should actually look like the North London derby.

Imagine Everton-Liverpool and Manchester United-Manchester City being played with teams in changed colours? It wouldn’t happen, so maybe the Premier League should go with tradition rather than a minor kit clash next time. — Ogden