How Arsenal won 3-2 at Tottenham to claim the north London derby

It’s rare for Ange Postecoglou to spring a big surprise with his team selections, but opting to start Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg certainly fell into this category.

Doing so meant benching both Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, and picking someone who had only started six Premier League games this season, when others have been unavailable. In eight games he had started in all competitions before this, Spurs had won just once.

Did the decision pay off? You’d have to say no. Hojbjerg’s headline contribution was an own goal to open the scoring after an even first 15 minutes, and in general, this was an afternoon where his limitations were shown up.

The odd loose touch and misplaced pass are nothing to slate a player for, but this was an afternoon when Spurs needed to be perfect. After a loose touch in the first half that Saka pounced on, Hojbjerg puffed out his cheeks knowing he had to up it.

He improved as the match went on, but it was a difficult game for a player who may well have just played his last north London derby.

Earlier this season when Kai Havertz was struggling to make a consistent impact on games, it was fair to question precisely what he was.

Was he a natural No 8? Not really. Was he a natural No 9? Definitely not. Where was his place in this system? What was he offering?

That seems a long time ago. Stylistically, Havertz is something in between those roles and on Sunday, he was both.

Few No 9s in the Premier League are capable of dropping deep and spraying the wonderful diagonal ball out to Saka for Arsenal’s second goal. And few No 8s would be capable of ghosting into the six-yard box unmarked and nodding home from a corner for Arsenal’s third of the game.

Havertz’s aerial ability also proved useful when Arsenal wanted to go long, particularly in the opening stages when Tottenham were trying to press, and won a couple of important headers inside his own box when Arsenal were defending set pieces — an area where they’d looked vulnerable in the early stages.

Other striking options — Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah — offer something different. But in this form, Havertz is undroppable.

The first half of this game was really strange. You could be forgiven for imagining Tottenham had been outplayed. Or that they’d been in the game but were naively caught out on the break.

Tottenham were right in the contest and were extremely close to equalising on three occasions in the 12 minutes between falling behind and Saka making it 2-0.

Put it this way, they’ve played much worse on occasions this season but been ahead at half-time. That said, they’ve struggled defending set pieces all season and this is an area they have to improve in.

In open play, Dejan Kulusevski was particularly impressive, giving the Arsenal defenders a really difficult time and fully justifying his selection. With better finishing and a bit more luck, they wouldn’t have left themselves with such a mountain to climb.

Arsenal extended their record as the Premier League’s most potent force in the opening 15 minutes, when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg directed Bukayo Saka’s corner goalbound.

It was their 12th goal in that period of a Premier League game this season, the most in the division, with Tottenham’s 10 the second highest.

Those fast starts have been crucial to Arsenal’s title charge in the second half of the season specifically, with just three of those goals coming in the first 19 league games.

Equally important was the fact their opener came from a set piece. It was their 20th set-piece goal of the season, also the most in the Premier League, and allowed them to capitalise on their best period of the opening 15 minutes.

Aside from those five minutes, Tottenham were on top. That is why having a routine of having players start at the far post to come to the near post, with Benjamin White causing confusion with the goalkeeper, can be so important. It opens games up and gives them a platform for more.

The same was the case for Kai Havertz’s 38th-minute goal. The corner came from the other side, but White stayed on Guglielmo Vicario while his team-mates ran across the six-yard box. The combination of these actions created enough chaos for Arsenal to claim their 21st set-piece goal of the season.

The smile was radiating from Bukayo Saka's face as he spoke to Sky Sports after that. Here's what he said:

💬 "That last 20 minutes wasn’t nice but it was worth it. We know it’s a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home. Once they got one the crowd was up, they were up.

"The momentum shifted their way but I’m proud of all the boys. We fought to the end and got the three points.

"We just needed to be calm. Everything was quite frantic but we showed our level heads at the end and got the win. It was a very nice moment at the end with the fans. We know what it means to them and what it means to us, so we are delighted.

"We’ve got three games to go and we are going to give it everything and see where it leaves us.

"Maybe last season that game could have ended in a draw but we showed we have the experience now. We can come here and get three points, even when the stakes are high and it’s a massive game."

Well, Tottenham won the second half 2-0 - but this is how the final numbers look...

FT: Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

• Possession: 62% - 38%
• Shots: 14 - 9
• On target: 2 - 3
• XG: 2.37 - 1.08
• Big chances: 4 - 3
• Successful duels: 55 - 58
• Possession lost: 130 - 122

Maybe it really was more even than it felt at times, but that just adds to the satisfaction Arsenal will feel at earning their 25th win of the season.

North London is red - I believe that's the saying.

The celebrations were real from Arsenal after the final whistle - and as Bukayo Saka just said, they now get onto the bus, watch Manchester City on their ipads and hope for the best.

A really strange game. Arsenal didn't do loads to be 3-0 up, Spurs didn't do all that much to make it 3-2.

Tottenham will be so annoyed at themselves for giving away those first-half goals.

What a brilliant game of football and north London derby. The tempo rarely dipped below frantic, despite Arsenal's best efforts to control it.

You can see why Tottenham are short of the best Premier League sides, and why Arsenal are going to go extremely close to the title this season - if indeed, they don't win it.

Over to you, Manchester City.

It's over. Arsenal hold on and secure a priceless win.

90+4' Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

Brilliant pace from Van de Ven to prevent Havertz running clear on goal. Spurs continue to press for an equaliser either side of it.

This is compelling stuff. Spurs corner...

90+3' Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

And to prove that last point, Havertz takes an Arsenal free-kick and runs the ball into the corner.

It sucks up a few seconds but the ball is swiftly back with Spurs.

90+1' Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

Six added minutes left for Spurs to win it - or in other words, for Arsenal to throw two points away...

90' Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

Romero and Van de Ven clear an Arsenal corner for another one. But in truth, Arsenal will like the minutes dripping away like this.