Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Partey, Jorginho, Trossard, Saka, Martinelli, Havertz
Subs: Neto, Kiwior, Kacurri, Heaven, Lewis-Skelly, Sterling, Nwaneri, Jesus, Kabia
Arsenal ensured they kept pace with Manchester City after beating rivals Tottenham 1-0 away from home on Sunday, thanks to a second half goal from Gabriel.
Mikel Arteta made two changes to the team that drew against Brighton before the international break, with Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli coming in for Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.
Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling were welcome additions to the bench, although Riccardo Calafiori (calf) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) were also absent through injury which left the Gunners’ bench looking incredibly young with five academy graduates also named.
It was a difficult start for Arsenal who were under pressure early on, with Spurs dominating possession and pressing the visitors into uncomfortable areas.
David Raya was called into action twice in the opening ten minutes, first saving well from Kulusevski before diverting a clever flicked effort from Brennan Johnson away from goal.
Arsenal were fortunate to survive another sloppy moment in possession after Ben White saw his cross-field pass intercepted, although Dominic Solanke dallied on the ball in front of goal, allowing William Saliba to intervene.
Arteta’s men did work their way back into things though and had two good chances of their own in quick succession, with Kai Havertz forcing a good stop from Guglielmo Vicario before Martinelli was freed in behind by Trossard – only to fire a tame shot at the goalkeeper.
It was a presentable chance for the Brazilian who ran beyond Pedro Porro with ease, but his curled finish lacked conviction when you would expect him to do better.
There was another nearly moment for Spurs when a looping cross was met well at the back post by Solanke, only for his effort to bobble just wide with Raya left scrambling.
Just as the game began to settle, things suddenly sparked into life when Jurrien Timber steamed into Porro – won the ball – and left the Spaniard in a heap on the floor which sparked a 20-man brawl.
Vicario and Romero both went for Timber and the defender responded by grabbing the Spurs goalkeeper by his shirt, with VAR deeming the challenge “reckless and not serious foul play” following reviews.
It was a tense first half with chances for both teams, and seven yellow cards with referee Jarred Gillett starting to lose control before half time – with the break providing welcome respite for all involved.
Spurs started brightly after half time and fashioned another quick opportunity when Solanke dispossessed Jorginho in midfield – needing a crucial intervention from Thomas Partey to clear – before Micky van de Ven headed James Maddison’s whipped cross towards goal but Raya saved comfortably.
With 60 minutes on the clock, the game was becoming increasingly stretched which didn’t suit Partey and Jorginho in the Arsenal midfield who were struggling to cover ground in transition.
But as they always do, Arsenal had set pieces to rely on and made the breakthrough when Gabriel rose highest to head home Saka’s pinpoint delivery. 1-0.
It was horrible defending from Spurs and Romero in particular, who was brushed aside by the Brazilian before complaining to the referee as he powered home from close range.
Spurs and Ange Postecoglou reacted quickly after going behind with Pape Sarr and Wilson Odobert coming on for Rodrigo Bentancur and Johnson, in hope of adding some fresh energy and impetus in the tie.
The visitors responded – bringing Jesus and Sterling on – for Trossard and Martinelli who were understandably starting to tire. Already the idea of Sterling being able to break in behind was an exciting one.
As soon as they went ahead, Arsenal fell into their familiar deep shape and continued to frustrate Spurs with organised and disciplined defending. Gabriel, Saliba and Timber in particular were brilliant and dealt with every cross that came in.
There was another nice moment for 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri who was brought on with ten minutes to play after Saka went down and was unable to continue. Ahead of a busy week, Arteta will be hoping it was cramp and nothing more.
Spurs continued to push for an equaliser but struggled to create anything of note despite some sights of goal, with Dejan Kulusevski and Romero both firing over from distance.
The final whistle eventually came and rubber-stamped an important, roll your sleeves up win for Arsenal who have a huge week ahead of them – both domestically and in Europe.
That victory means Gunners have now won three consecutive away north London derbies for the first time since September 1988. More of the same please!
Get in
Mate!
You can have more possession mate! But what counts is the goal scored mate! Good 3 ponits mate!
Impostergogulo exposed
SCREAMINGGG MY FUCKING HEAD OFF!!! Beat ’em lot without Rice and Odegaard… Not to mention Calafiori, Merino, Zinny, and Tomi!
This is as sweet as victories get! Take a bow, David Raya!! So gassed.
Incredible game, but partey had been truly atrocious (The only downside)
Partey and Jorginho made a few mistakes but overall stopped them coming through middle. They both did great.
I’ve defended him a while but he’s clearly in decline. Lost his man couple of times, air kicked a relatively simple clearance, weird passes and stepovers in areas that you can’t give up the ball. He’s still good passing forward but you can’t live on one skill alone.
He’s played four games as holding midfielder and we have conceded one goal. We wouldn’t have conceded that if it wasn’t for ref.
Sorry, some people are in denial at this point. We have to play him because we have to play him. But these are not *good* performances from a player of his reputation and experience. If we keep playing him big minutes, he will make a Xhaka-type mistake (or many of them). Glad Rice is back next game.
Rice will be back and he will play with TP. Keep up
On this evidence, he loses his place to Merino the moment he heals. Same energy then please.
I don’t want to detract from the occasion by dissing TP. But I agree, we need a succession plan, and he’s already arrived.
He may well do but I just think you and a few others are buying into something without much clarity and then say others are in denial. TP is doing a good job for us there. He’s without a doubt lost a little but he’s still very important player for us.
What did Partey do wrong today?
Our seasonal customary gift of 6 points from Spurs seems to be well underway. Long may it continue
Big result
I was in the pub watching this one. When Gabriel cleared a cross in the 89th minute a sp*rs fan behind me shouted with desperation and fury in his voice “why can’t they make just one mistake?!”
I smiled at my drinking buddy.
That’s not us anymore buddy.
3 or 4 nil thrashings are amazing.
But this was the performance of a top, top, top, top side. Professional. Calm. Disciplined. And deadly.
Very, very proud of that. Fucking buzzing!!!!
COYFG!!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly, they created basically nothing of substance despite all their possession. This is exactly what I was hoping for. I knew we’d be solid, and we snatched a winner on a corner against a team that doesn’t practice set pieces…perfect!
I think we should rename it 3 point lane
Oh me too! 🥹
Love it 🥰
Lol. No more Mustafi and Sokratis in defence (no disrespect to both gentlemen, mind.) The fact that them braindead Spurs fans have the nerve to compare their dead DUO in defence to our is laughable.
Imagine if that tw*t ref didn’t ruin the game against Brighton. We probably would still be with O goals conceeded.
Even without Rice who is essentially our 5th premium defender. Absolute top stuff.
I don’t think anyone would begrudge you disrespecting Mustafi
We were fucking rugged today! Love it!
Johnny, I really do believe we are morphing into a Graham/Wenger team. Long May this continue
It actually reminded me of (can I say it…?) a Jose Chelsea performance.
I understand what you mean but no you may not say that.
Like telling someone their daughter looks like Mia Khalifa. Understand that it can be complimentary, but just also please don’t.
Waah your mouth out!!!
That’s just magnificent. Lucky you, Hats!
One Nil to the Arsenal…
Well that’s the whole match report, right there.
North London is um black?
Sky Sports saying our goal should not stand because Bug Gabi pushed Romero? Give me a break, it was a mis-match, Gabi brushed that weakling aside,
Even Romero didn’t make a fuss about it!
You mean the same Sky Sports who didn’t see anything wrong with Joelinton’s two handed push in the back on Gabriel last season at Newcastle? Right, I’ll be taking that bunch of biased, click bait wankers seriously, then….
Spurs fan as usual grabbing at straw.
The exact opposite of white then.
Back Arsenal!
https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/11/black-arsenal-london-football-club-black-british-culture-book
https://shows.acast.com/arseblog/episodes/episode-797-arteta-signs-black-arsenal
Back Arsenal, Black Arsenal, Arsenal is back!
Magalhães!!!❤️❤️❤️
They should rename it the North London Gabi
someone needs to make a meme with Big Gabby’s head on Mutombo’s finger-wag, or his head on the “nuh -uh -uh!” gif from Wayne Knight’s character in Jurassic Park. The dude is a rock upon which all attacks break apart.
GET IN.
Getting a little frustrated with Martinelli but hopefully he’ll find his rhythm soon.
I thought Trossard did really well all things considered!
It doesn’t seem like he’s improved much since his start. Actually he’s gotten worse somehow…should of kept ESR.
Should of… come on mate
he is in a goal drought but defensively he does what Arteta requires now, which is why he plays at all. ESR didnt’ work out and we got a good fee. He’s free to have a great career at another club. Fulham got a decent PL player. It is a win for everyone.
Exactly the point. Martinelli, as usual, did imence job defensively which was crucial today. He is strugling up front but his defensive game helped us a lot today.
Should of could of, but would you of?
did you see his volume defensivly?
Good old fashioned 442. Arteta, you genius. Jurrien Timber! Take a bow, mate.
Timber was my MOTM. Very special player there!
I’m beyond surprised that he’s this good this early into his comeback from thst injury. Still trying to keep expectations in check and I think maybe still some slight up and downs might come, but there is no doubt in my mind he has the talent to be a world class defender.
It makes you wonder what the first choice back 4 will be in a few months, assuming everyone is fit. At the moment, these 4 are undroppable. Interesting to see where the also potentially world class Calafiori fits in. And Tomiyasau.
I love Tomi and he’s an excellent player when in form but I don’t see how he gets in this team as a starter if everyone is fit, other than for cup games. As for Calafiori, I think he might be a brilliant rotation option, and by that I mean real rotation, not just for the less important/easy matches. Inevitably Arteta has realised you can’t keep overloading players with 3 matches a week when they also have internationals if you want them to perform at their best and not get injured, and we needed someone like Calafiori to come in… Read more »
Not to mention full back is one of the most physically intense positions, I think it’s super important to have 3 top players you can use at the 2 full back positions if you want them performing at their peak. Not quite as much of an issue at CB.
He was excellent, everywhere when needed, never out fought. Thought his yellow was harsh.
What a player!
Big gabi is massive! COYG
Well, according to my dictionary, “big” is exactly what “massive” means.
Yes, 3 points!!! Thank you Gabriel!!!
Get the fuck in
“ Winning ugly “ Our defence is absolutely superb and with such a defence we can, on occasions, not play our best and still win
Desperately need Rice back then hopefully Odegaard not out for too long
Huge credit to Arteta’s coaching and the mentality of the players. Imagine being Rice or Odegaard watching that.
Also Merino
Rice probably needed the rest anyway.
ugly? maybe we have a different view… a tactical masterpiece fro min 1 to 95, no trembling, no hesitating!
Gabriel made up for fracturing Merino’s shoulder. Trossard and Martinelli need to get their act together. COYG!!
You’re weird x
3 Point Lane?
BLACKED
Rubbish game but a great result.
We defended magnificently and restricted Spuds to just a few scraps. Then we nicked that goal by taking advantage of their Achilles heel. Game over.
Our front three were awful, especially Martinelli, but they clearly missed Odegaard. Trossard didn’t work.
A point at City would make it a very good eight days.
Gabriel MOTM.
I thought the game was entertaining considering the lack of goals. Definitely missed Odegaard (who wouldn’t) but City is at home for us so we need all three points.
It’s not you know. Amazingly we get spuds and city away on consecutive weekends.
With the first Champions League match in between.
Which is also away. Difficult week, but a great start.
Great game for a neutral. None of us are of course lol 😂
Three points at C155eh would be even better.
I thumbs you up, just because we beat spurs one nil and deep down I know your heart is in the right place fg x
Agree. Great win. Trossard did not work in that role. Back 4 excellent.
Thing with Trossard is that If Marti scores that chance, Trossard gets an assist. Last game, if Ode scored, another assist. That’s what Trossard gives, decisive moments.
We played a 4-4-2 today, but don’t let that get in the way of your narrative.
Partey/Jorghino combo- didn’t believe in that. Happy to be wrong ( again)
I was just resigning myself to the fact that a draw wouldn’t be too bad under the circumstances, when Gabriel stepped up. You could see the goal was coming, with Gabriel outside the scrum, so not acting like a threat. Then all of a sudden he was right in place, and everything happened as expected.
By the way that’s 4 games played and 1 goal conceded and even that one was after Rice’s red card in the Brighton game.
|wards and upwards.
The way timber plays, I think calafiori gotta wait a lil longer. That back 4 of timber, gab, saliba and white are solid as rock. It’s been awhile since we had such a strong back 4.
Undroppable. They look immense. And Tomi, Calafiori, Zinchenko, Kiwior and Tierney all waiting in the wings. Ridiculous strength in depth – you’d trust any one of them to be in the starting 11 for any game.
You’d trust Tierney and Zinchenko to start again at LB? No chance.
We will need the full squad at some point this season for all the games despite the different levels of squad members. The season is long, players need to be rotated every week with 3 games a week until January. We will all need to trust Zinny and Tierney if they need to start to support the team.
Uhm, Tierney will be sold asap as soon as he recovers from the latest injury. He hasn’t started a game for Arsenal in over a year. He’s been told he’s not part of the plan. You missed this? Zinchenko is now behind 3 players at LB and will only be last option if the others are injured.
I think can all look around the dressing room and all the players know everyone is ready to dig deep and scrap. Glad that also includes Nwaneri, a big step for him, as well as Timber’s leadership by example.
Imagine coming on to close out in your first away NLD. He must have been BUZZZING
Absolutely titanic performance by Kai today. The stats will show no goal or assist. But the way he just seems to come up with the action that we need at the time we need it is a real super power of his. Early pass, win a foul, press the player and prevent them playing a long ball, win fouls, relentless work rate. He’s honestly one of my favourite signings of recent times. He is just a multiplier for our entire team. Shout outs to Big Gabby obviously but also Raya (he is ridiculously good at claiming crosses) and Timber was… Read more »
Yeah it shows just how good Arteta and Edu and their team are. Who else in the world looked at that squad last summer and saw Kai Havertz as a player who could take us up another level?! Yet that’s what they saw, and that’s what he’s done. Great signing.
Mate… hahahaha
Paul Merson has just said he thought the goal was a foul on Romero and he said before that Timber could have got sent off for his challenge when he was booked. He really pisses me off with his often anti Arsenal opinions. Fuck him and fuck Sp*rs. Great 3 points! COYG!
Casinos must have loved his money
He’s a knob. There, I’ve said it.
There’s nothing Arsenal about him, despite him playing most of his career for the club.
Fucking twat only signed for Arsenal cos his dad told him to, as Chelsea were absolute toilet at the time (where they belong).
Merson is a grade A twat.
I think this is uncalled for. Most of the time he is very pro-Arsenal in his commentary
I still want him to win Strictly 🤷♂️
Saka was definitely missing Odegaard
Not many teams would lose their two best midfielders and still ekk out a win in enemy territory. Kudos to the lads.
I see a win at the Etihad next Sunday.
So impressed with this. After watching that goal ogre at City do what he did yesterday, I felt so deflated. What’s the point even competing, when even if City play badly that monster will get them the win? For us to go to the toilet bowl without 2 of our most important players and get the win under that kind of pressure is just phenomenal.
Phenomenal … do doooo di do do
That “goal ogre” can be man-marked out of the game – I remember Rob Holding doing just that!
Yup. Just tell Big Willy that he’s never to get more than three inches away from Dr Frankenstein’s football golem.
Gabriel showing why he’s every bit as valuable as Saliba. What a defense we have and Rayas sure hands make it that much stronger. By 80 minutes spuds knew they weren’t getting in. They’d essentially given up because they are facing a steel trap.
442 didn’t expect that. Great discipline.
Great result at their place – remember those days when the ends of games would be absolute nail biters? When you’d worry we’d gift the ball away and concede needlessly? Fall apart like a wet paper bag? Those times feel very distant now. Absolutely imperious at the back, and big Gabi powering in a header and his celebration were just fantastic. He was excellent today.
Any spuds fans who feel hard done by must be higher than Morrison’s hairline.
Gritty! Same dose for city next week😊
Thought experiment… if we are able to go to City next week and draw, will it be seen as a “missed opportunity, you have to beat your rivals if you want to win the title” like they tried to tell us last season after we drew there.
Or because it’s Matchday 5 and not Matchday 32 or whatever it was (in other words, early) will it be seen as a good result (which it bloody well is as far as I’m concerned).
Does the stage in the season the result happens change the importance/value of it in other words?
Solid performance – get in there!
Sidenote… what is it about Pedro Porro (besides his Spursiness, obviously) that makes me dislike him so much? I can’t explain it, but every time I see his face or hear his name, I just think “Knobcheese”. Answers on a postcard please.
His mousy teeth methinks!
Oh My Arsenal 💖
SO proud of you guys today!
And the final pleasure today is reading their message boards. Ange out apparently.
#giveafuck;)
To be fair, he does seem to be an incredibly average manager. Everyone seemed to be so desperate to proclaim him the second coming last autumn (staggeringly, last season he won more Manager of the Month awards than Arteta, Klopp and Pep combined) but he’s clearly getting found out. That jolly Aussie accent and relentless ‘mates’ will only get one so far.
Five MOTM today: the back four plus Raya. Arguably the PL’s best defensive combo. (And scored the winning goal to boot!)
There’s no ‘arguably’ about it! They’re the best defense in the league and it isn’t close.
Timber is, as we say, a full grown man. Powerful.
this is the second week in a row where a yellow is given by ignoring everything that happened before the incident.
timber had foot on ball and under control. The spurs player, as he should, made a play to win the ball resulting in timber losing control and stepping on spur player’s foot.
I suppose if for optics sake you give a foul to timber well ok. A yellow card? He put his foot down in response to a challenge.
maybe I am wrong.
You are not wrong, you have those big Walleye’s, you see everything.
I thought Timber was excellent today Maybe he can unleash Marinelli
Left stadium and kicking on for an evening of jubilation. Seeing their sickened faces on the way out was the cherry on top of a very tasty cake!
One can not simply replace player with such an influence like Ødegard. Jorginho, Partey, Trossard and Martinelli might have made couple of errors in possesion, but they all have had extremely good performance tactically, especialy out of possesion. Trossard did a very decent job in a position that definitely doesn’t suit his skills. He threaded couple of balls excelently. Very smart, combatative and tactical performance from the team. Raya, Willy, Gabi and Timber were impecable at the back.
Spursssss🤣🤣🤣😂
A very physical game.
Normally, Spurs are better at wrestling than football, but this time Arsenal stood up and fought back. Timber! What a fighter. Trossard and Saka contributing in defense throughout the game. Kai! Our defense!
Neither team was able to stich together a decent sequence of passes. If you took a touch, someone slid in and removed your contact to the ground.
They huffed and puffed. So did we. Suddently, we won.