Gabriel Magalhaes heads Arsenal to victory in the North London Derby as the Gunners win their third consecutive match away at Tottenham. The 1-0 victory continued Arsenal’s unbeaten away run in 2024.
The hosts initially dominated the match but were unable to get the goal to show for it. The first shot on target came from Dejan Kulusevski who aimed from a tight angle but his effort was turned away for a corner by David Raya.
The Arsenal shot stopper made five saves in the match but was caught scrambling for Dominic Solanke’s header. The English striker was making his home debut and came inches away from scoring, his header across goal was just wide of the far post.
Embed from Getty ImagesArsenal grew into the game as it progressed and despite having just 33% possession at half time and making 146 less passes than their rivals, they had three shots on target and were on top heading into the interval.
Gabriel Martinelli was key to Arsenal’s improvement, he registered six successful dribbles, more than the entire Spurs team combined, and created two chances.
Martinelli raced down the left winger before lofting a cross into Kai Havertz who came close to heading Arsenal in front. Then two minutes later, Martinelli opted to shoot instead when he entered the final third, curling the ball into the far corner, but he was thwarted by Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe match defining moment fell in the 65th minute, when Arsenal won a corner in front of the away fans. The travelling supporters were celebrating as the ball rolled out for a corner, almost knowing what would follow.
Bukayo Saka’s inswinging corner flew into the six-yard box, with Vicario unable to get out to clear the danger. Gabriel finds plenty of space after escaping Cristian Romero and powers the ball into the back of the net from close range. No centre-back in Europe’s top five leagues has scored more goals than Gabriel since 2020 and Spurs allowed him so much space in the box. It was a recipe for disaster for the home side.
Embed from Getty ImagesAlthough the set piece defending is to blame for the defeat, Spurs’ lack of attacking prowess must be looked at too. They made 18 entries into Arsenal’s danger zone – the most Arsenal has allowed in the last two seasons – but only registered an xG of 0.7.
The narrow win was Arteta’s fifth in a North London Derby since becoming Arsenal boss. According to the Premier League, he said: “When we had to defend in deeper areas, we did it really well. There are things to improve but we have another victory here and it’s huge.”
Arteta’s side are up to second in the table on 10 points, while Spurs are 13th after suffering their second defeat of the campaign. Next up for the Gunners, Manchester City.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
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