Spurs gunned down in Emirates thriller as Arsenal stay top of the table
Arsenal set out to damage Tottenham’s hopes of overtaking them at the top of the table, with Gabriel Martinelli crashing an early effort off the near post. Richarlison then forced Aaron Ramsdale into a heart-stopping save, before Thomas Partey blew the roof off the stadium with a howitzer of a shot at the other end. The Ghana midfielder let fly an unstoppable drive into the top right corner after being teed up by Ben White to put the Gunners in the driving seat midway through the half.
It didn’t take long for the visitors to hit back though, as Richarlison forced Gabriel into a challenge 10 minutes later and won a penalty. The North London derby’s highest-ever goalscorer Harry Kane stepped up to comfortably slot the ball past Ramsdale, drawing level on terms and taking his tally to 14 goals in this fixture. As one of the two sides in the Premier League yet to suffer defeat, Spurs went into the break confident of maintaining that unbeaten streak, especially with Conte hungry to taste his first win at the Emirates in four matches.
However, Gabriel Jesus dented the Italian tactician’s hopes immediately after the restart, poaching a loose ball that slipped past Hugo Lloris to score his first derby goal and give his side the lead once again. Things only went downhill for Spurs thereafter, as they were reduced to 10 men on the hour mark when Emerson Royal was given his marching orders for a cynical tackle on Martinelli. Further damage was inflicted just minutes later, thanks to Granit Xhaka banging home a superb low drive from inside the box to make it 3-1. A visibly distraught Spurs outfit could hardly muster any momentum towards the end, ultimately falling to a third straight away H2H defeat.
In the end, clinical finishing made all the difference for the hosts, with Jesus proving to be a good omen, as he extended his incredible record of never being on the losing side in his last 62 goalscoring games. Arsenal maintain their spot on the summit of the table thanks to a second-straight win, whereas Spurs remain third having tasted a first league loss this season.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Thomas Partey (Arsenal)