Gabriel’s towering header secures derby win for depleted Arsenal at Tottenham

Injustice. A costly suspension. Injuries. Erling Haaland. The schedule. Arsenal had watched the obstacles line up in front of them and they knew what everybody was thinking: champion teams in the making find a way to cope. To Mikel Arteta’s delight, Arsenal coped.

After the dropped points against Brighton, the draw shaped and scarred by Declan Rice’s controversial red card, and the loss of Martin Ødegaard to injury on Norway duty, it was a day for a makeshift lineup to dig deep, for the collective resolve to shine through.

Related: ‘Best in his field’: Arteta lauds Arsenal’s Nicolas Jover for set-piece dominance

It was epitomised by the toughness of the centre-halves, Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba; they led an intimidating last line, which featured a standout performance from Jurrien Timber at left‑back. Arsenal routinely got men around the ball, suffocating a Tottenham team that began brightly but ran into walls.

Manchester City had won again on Saturday, Haaland scoring the goals against Brentford, but how Arsenal found a response, the celebrations long and loud at full time after a third successive win in the back yard of their fiercest rivals.

The decisive moment had familiar trimmings. Two of Arsenal’s goals in the 3-2 win here last season came from corners; part of a Premier League‑high 22 from set pieces. So when Bukayo Saka sent over a second-half corner, there was a sickening sense of deja vu for Tottenham.

Guglielmo Vicario was boxed in, Arsenal’s physicality pronounced yet again and there was Gabriel to power home the header. The victory was the perfect start to a difficult week for Arsenal. After a Champions League trip to Atalanta on Thursday, they travel to City on Sunday.

For Spurs, there was only frustration. Ange Postecoglou is not a man for compromise. Everybody knew how the manager would try to play and his starting XI reinforced the message, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in attacking midfield roles, looking to push behind the front three.

His team simply could not make it happen; they grew increasingly perplexed at how to outmanoeuvre Arsenal’s defensive titans. If there was a serenade for Postecoglou from the Spurs support in the early running, there were some boos for him and the team upon the final whistle. Then again, there always are after a bad result. The Carabao Cup trip to Coventry on Wednesday has assumed greater significance.

With no Rice and no Ødegaard, Arteta paired Jorginho with Thomas Partey in midfield and asked Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard to work as the central forwards in front of them. It was Jorginho’s first action of the season and only the second time he had started a game with Partey. On both of the previous occasions, Partey had played at right-back.

Arsenal had to learn on the hoof and Spurs were in the mood to ask questions of them at the outset. The first half flew by, the tempo high, some of the transitions dizzying. The aggro was a big part of it, too. Naturally.

Spurs raged when Timber clattered into Pedro Porro; he looked to have got his boot to the top of the ball before rolling into the Spurs full‑back and there was a confrontation between Timber and a furious Vicario, which led to a melee. Timber was booked for the tackle, which was about right. There was not enough in it for a red card.

Vicario was booked for his reaction; one of five Spurs cautions in the first half. Choice cuts included Destiny Udogie on Saka and Micky van de Ven on Trossard.

Spurs almost contrived the early breakthrough. Kulusevski shot at David Raya while he almost profited after whipping in an inswinging cross from the right, which went through a crowd. Raya had to have seen it late, which made the tip away at full stretch more impressive. There was irritation for Spurs when they forced Ben White into a loose pass and Dominic Solanke had a clear shooting chance. He did not unload quickly enough and Saliba was able to block.

Back came Arsenal. Arteta was unhappy when Gabriel Martinelli curled weakly at Vicario after being sent clear up the inside left by Trossard while moments earlier, the Spurs goalkeeper had saved smartly from a towering Havertz header.

Amid all of the physical stuff leading up to half-time, there were further flickers of actual football. Maddison crossed deep for Solanke, who looped a header just past the far post. Kulusevski won the ball in a crowd and fed Brennan Johnson, who lashed high.

Could we have a moment of quality amid the maelstrom? Solanke was crowded out at the start of the second half as he attacked a header; Van de Ven flashed another at Raya from the ensuing corner. It was from one at the other end that Arsenal edged ahead. Of course it was.

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Arsenal won it after a slick counter, ignited by Trossard’s volley and featuring good hold-up play by Havertz and a Saka shot that was blocked. When Saka bent in the kick, it was impossible to ignore the mass of bodies that engulfed Vicario. He could not get out to the ball, which Saka had dropped into the ideal area. Gabriel applied a bit of pressure into Cristian Romero’s back and, when he rose, the conversion was straightforward.

What did Spurs have left? Very little. Maddison drew howls when he tried to usher in Solanke rather than shoot and he was replaced by Timo Werner shortly afterwards, Postecoglou moving Son Heung-min into a more central role. The die had been cast. Arsenal would not be breached.