Gabriel Magalhaes’ lone goal helped Arsenal to secure a 1-0 victory over Tottenham in a fiery North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
The Arsenal centre-back rose above Cristiano Romero to power home Bukayo Saka’s corner midway through the second half as Tottenham’s set-piece frailty proved costly again.
The Gunners were without captain Martin Odegaard due to an ankle injury suffered on Norway duty, while Declan Rice served a suspension for his red card against Brighton.
Losing two such influential players appeared to make Arsenal vulnerable on their trip up the Seven Sisters Road to face their bitter rivals in the 196th North London derby.
But the Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing before Gabriel bagged the winner in the second half.
The goal came from one of few clear chances in a tense and dogged encounter which featured eight yellow cards, including seven in the first half, equalling a Premier League record.
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Tottenham started the game strongly but couldn’t find a breakthrough as David Raya denied Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke sent a looping header just past the post.
Those first-half chances were as close as they came, bar a late, long-range effort from Kulusevski which flew narrowly over, with Arsenal producing an outstanding defensive display, led by scorer Gabriel and his centre-back partner William Saliba.
The victory in the North London derby, their third in a row at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, ensures unbeaten Mikel Arteta’s side remain within two points of champions Manchester City ahead of next Sunday’s blockbuster showdown at the Etihad Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou’s side, meanwhile, are left with only four points from their first four Premier League games of the season, making it Tottenham’s worst start to a campaign since the 2015/16 season under Mauricio Pochettino.
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