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Why Maddison joked with Arteta, Romero repeat - 5 things spotted in Tottenham vs Arsenal

James Maddison and Mikel Arteta shared a moment early on in the North London Derby
-Credit: (Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)


Tottenham fell to a second successive Premier League defeat after losing 1-0 to Arsenal in the North London Derby. Following the team's 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United last time out, Ange Postecoglou made four changes to his team as Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke came into the Spurs starting XI.

Tottenham did start brightly and forced David Raya into action after Dejan Kulusevski got on the end of Son Heung-min's low cross. Arsenal did have a couple of good chances as the first half wore on, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli passing up good opportunities to give the Gunners the lead.

Despite Tottenham getting into some good positions and going close on a couple of occasions, notably Solanke's looping header, it was Arsenal who opened the scoring as Gabriel Magalhaes powerfully headed home Bukayo Saka's corner midway through the second half. That goal proved to be the only one of the contest as Arsenal won at Tottenham for a third successive match.

Here are five things we spotted in the game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

A bold approach

Postecoglou certainly went for it with his Tottenham team to take on Arsenal in the North London Derby. Having a big decision to make in midfield with a host of options to choose from despite Yves Bissouma's absence, the Australian named a rather attacking midfield trio of Bentancur, Kulusevski and James Maddison from the off.

That meant Pape Matar Sarr had to settle for a place on the bench as Postecoglou decided against going with a more defensively-minded midfield against one of the Premier League's best. While of course Sarr would add plenty of energy into the midfield, Kulusevski deserved another starting spot in the team after impressing in a central role in recent months.

The Sweden international, as he has been this season, was an influential figure in Tottenham's bright start to proceedings as he caused Arsenal problems with his movement and powerful running.

Solanke impact

Tottenham fans have had to wait a month to see Solanke make his debut at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following his big-money move from Bournemouth. Missing the last two games through an injury sustained on the opening weekend of the campaign away at Leicester City, the striker immediately came back into the starting XI after returning from injury.

Giving Spurs a presence up front that they have been lacking, Solanke put himself about from the very first whistle and used his strength to get the better of William Saliba and help Spurs win a free-kick through Kulusevski. He then showed some nice footwork to create some space down the left to link up with Son, who in turn crossed for Kulusevski as the Swede tested the goalkeeper.

Solanke wasn't far off opening his Tottenham account just past the midway stage of the first half with a looping header from James Maddison's cross that just dropped wide of Raya's far post. A goal didn't come Solanke's way but he delivered a decent showing in the defeat.

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Maddison and Arteta moment

James Maddison and Mikel Arteta shared a moment in the opening few minutes of the contest. With the ball heading out of play and the Arsenal head coach appearing set to knock the ball back to the Tottenham midfielder, he instead let it run through his legs to stop Spurs regaining possession immediately.

Maddison didn't look too happy with what the Spaniard did and looked set to have a go at Arteta before eventually seeing the funny side of it and subsequently sharing a laugh with the Gunners boss. The duo did embrace as Maddison could be seen with his hand on Arteta's face before the ball went back in play.

Yellow peril

It was no surprise to see referee Jarred Gillett brandish his yellow card a number of times in the North London Derby as both sets of players fought for the three points. It may have surprised many how regularly the official reached for his pocket, though.

In total, seven players were booked during the first half, with Spurs receiving five yellow cards and Arsenal two. Son didn't appear to be happy with two of the decisions as he went over to speak with Gillett after Van de Ven was booked for a foul on Leandro Trossard and then Kulusevski received a similar punishment seconds later for fouling Jorginho.

Following such a disruptive first half, it was rather different after the break with Jorginho the only player to get booked. As busy as the referee was with his yellow cards, he wasn't as active as Anthony Taylor on Saturday evening as he dished out 14 yellow cards in Chelsea's win at Bournemouth.

Set-piece woes

Set-pieces have been a major problem for Tottenham for quite some time now and it was something that again proved rather costly in the North London Derby. Punished by Arsenal last April with the Gunners scoring from two corners in the first half of their 3-2 win, this time it was another corner that helped Arteta's side claim the points.

Saka swung the ball in and Gabriel powerfully headed home beyond Vicario with ease. Cristian Romero was the man marking the Brazilian but he ultimately lost him following a slight nudge and the Arsenal centre-back had all the space he needed to make Tottenham pay.

The fourth goal Spurs have conceded this season in the Premier League, Romero has unfortunately had a part to play in them all. It was such a soft goal to concede from a Tottenham perspective and one that saw Arsenal earn the North London Derby bragging rights once again.

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