FA Premierleague 

ARSENAL 2 (Odegaard 44, Lacazette pen 64)

SPURS 1 (Lamela 33)

THE North London derby is rarely decided on form and often simply comes down to who wants it more.

Right from the off the Gunners were on the front foot, pegging a stunned Spurs back with wave of well-worked attacks that set the tone for the match.

Goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Martin Odegaard – who shone along with Thomas Partey, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel and Keiran Tierney – ensured a fully-deserved win.

Arsenal fought back after Spurs took the lead through an outrageous ‘rabona’ goal from Erik Lamela, who was later sent off.

The last 15 minutes, after Spurs were reduced to ten men, were a nervy and fraught affair but this time the defence held strong.

After the match, manager Mikel Arteta said: “We started the game very strongly. Lamela scored an incredible goal and after that we had to react. Mentally it’s not easy but I love the way the team reacted.”

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang was left on the bench as an unused sub for undisclosed “disciplinary reasons”.

Lacazette may not have the Arsenal captain’s deadly-eye for a goal, but me makes up for that in energy. That was what was needed today and he deserved his penalty, although the foul on him looked soft and was surprisingly not overturned by the VAR.

Spurs fans were going on and on about the rabona, but Emile Smith Rowe almost scored an equally memorable goal.

Brilliant throughout the game, the 20 year old crashed the underside of the bar with a looping long range strike. It was part of the early siege on Tottenham’s goal that instilled panic and at one point had Hugo Lloris barking out orders to his defenders “don’t be so passive!”

Jose Mourinho – sensing a rare defeat to Arsenal – rushed out of the technical area and launched a sweary rant towards his players about “dealing with pressure”.

Despite the one-way traffic, it was Tottenham that took the lead with their first shot on target.

Lamela hooked his left leg around the back of his standing right to curl the ball perfectly around a bamboozled Bernd Leno.

The midfielder – who had replaced the injured Son early on in the first half – did not have the last laugh however as he was sent off on 76 minutes after a second yellow for an arm in the face of Tierney.

The reliably brilliant Tierney crossed to Odegaard for his deflected equaliser right before half time, when Saka was replaced by Nicolas Pepe.

Arteta said after the match that the midfielder was not injured and was perhaps not fully fit. Cedric Soares crashed the post with a thunderous drive as Arsenal hunted the winner.

In the end it came with a touch of fortune after Lacazette was judged by Michael Oliver to have been fouled by Davison Sanchez. Replays showed the foul came after the Arsenal man had fluffed his shot, but somehow the VAR did not overrule the ref.

Partey – arguably man of the match – drove the ball forward throughout and had some excellent touches while bustling through the midfield. Next to him Granit Xhaka, played a different role, always passing sideways or backwards in a bid to calm the play down.

Gareth Bale, ineffective throughout, was subbed off in a huff before Lamela’s red that appeared to stoke Spurs up.

They they were by far the better side for the final 15 minutes. Harry Kane, who had barely touched the ball throughout the match, had a header ruled out for offside.

He then hit the post with a powerful free kick with Gabriel heroically saving the follow up shot off the line.

In the end, Arsenal – unbeaten in their last ten home games against their north London rivals – hung-on through five minutes of injury time to take the victory and keep the St Totteningham’s Day dream alive.

Arsenal: Leno, Soares, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Partey, Xhaka, Saka (Pepe 45), Odegaard, Smith Rowe (Willian 77), Lacazette (Elneny 88).

Substitutes not used: Bellerín, Ceballos, Aubameyang, Holding, Chambers, Ryan,

Spurs: Lloris, Doherty, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Reguilón, Højbjerg, Nbombele (Alli 62) Bale (Sissoko 57) Moura, Son (Lamela 19), Kane.

Substitutes not used: Winks, Hart, Dier, Aurier, Morais,