Arsenal wins again, third winning in a row, thrashes Tottenham 3-2 & cement lead in EPL table
Premier League leaders Arsenal survived a second-half scare at Tottenham to hold on for a 3-2 win in the north London derby that cemented their place at the top.
A 23-minute first-half blitz saw the Gunners take a 3-0 lead through a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg own goal, Bukayo Saka’s finish and a Kai Havertz header.
But with Arsenal in complete control, a 64th-minute howler from goalkeeper David Raya saw Cristian Romero pull one back.
An 87th minute Heung-Min Son penalty then set up a nervy finish for the Gunners, who withstood late pressure from Spurs to move four points ahead of Manchester City and keep alive their hopes of a first Premier League win. title in 20 years. .
Tottenham, meanwhile, suffered a second straight defeat to fall seven points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in a further blow to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Arsenal made the short trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium full of confidence after the midweek thrashing of London rivals Chelsea, but amid an electric atmosphere it was Spurs who made a good start
However, the Gunners resisted early pressure to take the lead in the 15th minute when Hojbjerg headed into his own net after Saka’s cross.
An own goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gives Arsenal an early lead at Tottenham.
Spurs responded well when Cristian Romero headed against the post five minutes later and in the 22nd minute the home side thought they had equalized when Micky Van de Ven kicked the ball in, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR for a tight offside move.
Spurs then had two penalty claims turned down in quick succession in the 27th minute when Dejan Kulusevski fell to a trip from Leandro Trossard before James Maddison went down under a tackle from Declan Rice.
The home side’s frustrations were immediately heightened as Arsenal launched a devastating counter-attack, with Havertz brilliantly eliminating Saka, who finished clinically low behind Guglielmo Vicario
