(Football news) Arsenal extended their lead to 8 points at the top of the Premier League as they beat Tottenham 2-0 in the north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The league leaders took the lead in a commanding first half performance as they profited from a Hugo Lloris own goal before a brilliant Martin Odegaard goal put daylight between the two sides. Although Spurs recovered in the second half as their improved performance paid no dividends as they failed to score against Arsenal for the first time since 2017.
Antonio Conte’s side and Lloris were horrible in the first 15 minutes and Arsenal took advantage of the sluggish start as they took the lead on the 14th minute mark through an own goal by the France goalkeeper. A long ball over by Thomas Partey found Bukayo Saka free on the left as his tame cross deflected off Sessegnon into the torso of Lloris who failed to clear over the line. Arsenal did not beat their north London rivals away from home since 2015, but they were rampant in their first half display and self inflicted errors were enough for Arsenal to dominate in the first half.
Partey was close from doubling the lead in spectacular fashion as he lashed a volley from outside the box. The visitors’ scored a second goal as Odegaard scored his eighth goal of this season in the 36 minute in spectacular style. Arsenal had the measure of Spurs in every department in the first as Saka found space on the right and set Odegaard in space in the centre, who took a low effort into the far corner from 20 yards. Aaron Ramsdale was forced into his first save by Harry Kane on the stroke of half-time.
Conte’s side this season have regularly been rescued by good second half performances and that showed. Kane’s effort was well saved by Ramsdale before Ryan Sessegnon’s strike from a tight angle was brilliantly kept out. After the full-time whistle, Ramsdale was kicked by a Spurs fan behind the goal, which resulted in a fight at the end of the match. Arsenal have 47 points from 18 matches, they took advantage of Manchester City’s defeat against Manchester United on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League. Spurs remained fifth and are five points from the top four. Arteta said that Arsenal were a long way off winning the Premier League, suggesting 90 points was the minimum number they would need to lift the trophy at season’s end.
“I’m very happy for two reasons,” Arteta said. “One because I saw a lot of determination, quality and that we really wanted today to come here and win the game. And the other one because we have a job where we are really privileged we can make a lot of people happy. Celebrating the victory with the fans was a great feeling and the suffering makes a lot of sense when you have moments like this. It’s great and to go into the dressing room and just feel the joy and the togetherness around the team and how much it meant for them is special.”
“One hundred percent. Yes I do,” Arteta said when asked about the 90-point mark. “I don’t want to do too much calculation, it’s just how we’re going to prepare for Manchester United and play well to win. But if you ask me about the points, yeah it’s happened in the last few seasons, so it will demand almost perfection. It is about time. It felt amazing,”
Arsenal captain Odegaard told Sky Sports “We remembered what happened here last time and we wanted to play a better game and show a different side to us. We enjoyed the game. We are in a good position, there is no doubt about that. We’ve got to stay humble and keep working hard. You saw the difference in the first and second half today so we have things to improve. We have to keep going.”
Also read: Premier League: Manchester United come from behind to defeat Manchester City
