Arsenal extended their remarkable unbeaten run in all competitions to 19 matches but now they have their statement victory. Unai Emery and his re-energerised team have built momentum and belief during the sequence, although they had not been able to beat a Big Six Premier League rival.
That changed on a wild afternoon in north London when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his dead-eyed scoring exploits and Arsenal fought back from 2-1 down to register yet another come-from-behind win.
Aubameyang got the equaliser for 2-2 – his second of the game – and he has now scored with his last 10 shots on target in the league. It was the substitute, Alexandre Lacazette, who put Arsenal in front with a shot that deflected off Eric Dier after a lapse from Juan Foyth and the outstanding Lucas Torreira added the gloss with his first goal in Arsenal colours.
Tottenham’s frustration was complete when Jan Vertonghen jumped into a rash challenge on Lacazette to earn a second yellow card on 85 minutes. They will reflect on how they had stabilised after Aubameyang’s early penalty only to be overrun towards the end. Mauricio Pochettino mentioned fatigue as a factor, in the wake of his team’s Champions League exertions against Internazionale last Wednesday. After six straight wins in all competitions this was a jolt.
Emery deserved credit for how he reacted at 2-1 down, making bold attacking changes, the first of which saw Aaron Ramsey and a second striker, Lacazette, come on for the second half. At 2-2 Emery moved to a 4-4-2 diamond midfield system and, on each occasion, the dividends were immediate.
It was a rip-roaring derby, in which tempers were never far from boiling point and the atmosphere pulsed from the first whistle. Things spilled over after Dier had equalised for 1-1 when some of the Arsenal substitutes took exception to the Tottenham midfielder’s celebrations with his teammates. Stephan Lichtsteiner appeared to tap Dier and, as projectiles were thrown from the stand, players in red and white came together in a mass confrontation.
Ramsey, who was then off the field, had to be pulled apart from Dele Alli while another Arsenal substitute, Mattéo Guendouzi, rowed with Jesús Pérez, the Spurs assistant manager. There was plenty of pushing and shoving. Pochettino had run up the touchline to act as a peacemaker.
Arsenal started at breakneck pace and the touchpaper was lit when Aubameyang opened the scoring from the penalty spot and celebrated in front of the away supporters, who pelted him with missiles, including – most regrettably – a banana skin. The penalty was awarded when Vertonghen touched Granit Xhaka’s free-kick away from Shkodran Mustafi with his hand. Vertonghen was booked for the offence.
Arsenal were irrepressible in the opening 20 minutes, with Sead Kolasinac, in particular, making inroads from left wing-back. He cut one cross back for Alex Iwobi, who forced Hugo Lloris into a smart save with his legs. Moments later the other wing-back, Héctor Bellerín, saw a volley at the far post blocked by Ben Davies.
It felt as though Arsenal might struggle to maintain the intensity and Spurs roared back into the game, turning it on its head before half-time. Alli had started off the left but he regularly tucked in behind Harry Kane and Son Heung-min and the visitors gained a foothold. Son showed his pace and threat with a series of darts, two of which saw him test Bernd Leno from tight angles.
The equaliser came from a Christian Eriksen free-kick, whipped in towards the near post, and it was a horror moment for Leno as he allowed Dier’s flick header to bounce, rear up above his hands and squirm inside the near post.
There was controversy when Spurs went ahead. Son had sprinted through again and Rob Holding jumped into a risky tackle but, when Son checked back, there was no contact from the Arsenal defender on him. Mike Dean still awarded the penalty and, after further arguments between rival players, Kane converted for his eighth goal in eight games against Arsenal. He has equalled Emmanuel Adebayor’s scoring record in north London derbies.
Mustafi hit the crossbar with a looping header in first-half stoppage time but Spurs were in the ascendancy and Emery made his double substitution at the interval. Arsenal were level soon enough. Bellerín curved a ball in behind Vertonghen and Ramsey twisted to hook it inside for Aubameyang. The striker bent a precision first-time finish inside the near post.
Amid the bedlam it was easy to forget the sub-plot of Mesut Özil’s absence. Arsenal said that the playmaker had felt another of his back spasms but there was nevertheless plenty of eye-rolling when the teamsheets landed. It was easy to wonder whether Özil would have worked in Emery’s starting 3-4-2-1 formation.
Spurs flickered at the start of the second half, with Kane twice going close, but Arsenal – and Emery – turned the screw after the equaliser. Mustafi was denied by a goalline clearance by Alli and, after Son had tested Leno following a Bellerín error, Emery swapped Mustafi for Guendouzi and went to the midfield diamond.
Ramsey initiated Arsenal’s third goal when he robbed the dawdling Foyth and found Lacazette. There was fortune because the striker was slipping as he shot – there was also the deflection off Dier – and the best day of Arsenal’s season was complete when Torreira rolled away from Dier on to Aubameyang’s pass and shot into the corner.
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