Gabriel’s header secures a thrilling 1-0 victory for Arsenal in the derby against Tottenham. Discover the match highlights and key moments here.
Introduction:
Arsenal went back to winning, thanks to a decisive goal from center-back Gabriel Magalhaes as they edged out Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the North London Derby. At one moment in the match, Spurs’ center back let his guard down and allowed a match-winner in the 64th minute. Arsenal thereby went to second position in the Premier League table with 10 points. Meanwhile, Spurs fell to 13th and continued their shaky beginning to the season.
How the Match Unfolded
From the very start of the match, Tottenham was keen, which kept Arsenal’s defense on their toes. Early in the game, Dejan Kulusevski managed to force Arsenal’s goalkeeper David Raya into a sharp near-post save, which signaled Spurs’ intention to strike first. However, despite Spurs having looked very dominant in the first half, Arsenal gradually found some rhythm and started creating chances of their own.
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It was headed wide by Kai Havertz, while a true driving run down the wing was made by Gabriel Martinelli, only shooting straight at Tottenham’s keeper Guglielmo Vicario. The game could have gone either way in the first 45 minutes; however, neither team was able to breach the opposing defense going into the interval.
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Tottenham’s best chance of the half was a looping header by Dominic Solanke which bobbled narrowly wide of the far post, sending fans gulping. At the start of the second half, Spurs Micky van de Ven tested Raya with a shot requiring another canny save from Arsenal’s keeper.
Gabriel’s Decisive Moment
It was the 64th minute that Arsenal capitalized on a set piece when Bukayo Saka provided a pinpoint cross from a corner, finding Gabriel Magalhaes unmarked in the box. The Brazilian thumped a free header into the net, punishing Tottenham for sloppy defending. A lapse in marking by Cristian Romero was what allowed Gabriel to find the space for an Arsenal lead.
Having wasted that lead, Spurs could only look to try to score again but lacked the flash of earlier fire. Pape Sarr shot just as low, with no problem for Raya, and while Kulusevski did get close enough to level the score with 10 minutes to go, he cut inside and shot just above the crossbar. The late charge was in vain again from Tottenham on derby day.
Spurs’ Derby Day Blues
Tottenham were not able to stop their losing sequence in North London Derbies after falling behind Arsenal for the third time in a row by a 1-nil margin this time. Last year they trailed 3-0 at half-time in losing 3-2 at Highbury. They preserved their clean sheet at half time this but squandered their opportunity to take the initiative on the back of chances created by Kulusevski and Solanke.
The visitors seemed to tire a little in the second half, and even when the substitutes Pape Sarr and Wilson Odobert were brought on, they couldn’t penetrate Arsenal’s tight defense. Ange Postecoglou remains the only manager who has yet to win a game against Arsenal, having lost his last three managerial attempts against the Gunners. With them having secured only one win in four Premier League matches this season, Tottenham will go into next week’s home game against Brentford with an awful desperate streak to undo.
Midfield Crisis for Arsenal
Arsenal were not short of problems ahead of the tie, to say the least, especially in midfield. Mikel Arteta had to rebuild his side after some injuries and suspensions. New signing Mikel Merino will sit out the game with a shoulder injury while Declan Rice will also not be available having been given a red card in the previous game. More shame when captain Martin Odegaard was taken off on international duty with an ankle injury.
Arteta responded to these absentees with tactical changes. He pushed Thomas Partey further forward on the right side of midfield and pushed Jorginho into a deeper position, allowing him to begin dictating play from midfield and, in turn, set his center-backs the job of playing simple passes to Jorginho and leaving him to respond. Finally, he gave Gabriel Martinelli a freer rein down Arsenal’s left wing, where he was able to cause Tottenham problems up the flank and contribute to Arsenal’s high press.
Arsenal’s defense performed well despite the situation; in fact, at times thanks to a great job done by Tottenham’s goalkeeper David Raya, who made some fantastic saves to keep Spurs from scoring and helped Arsenal maintain an unbeaten start to the campaign.
But, on the other hand, Arteta needs to look at Bukayo Saka, who suffered some kind of injury at the end. So, if he is good to go, the Gunners will pump it all into next week’s Manchester City clash.
Conclusion
In a hotly contested North London Derby, it was a Gabriel Magalhaes strike that proved the game-changer. Tactical discipline and a very solid rearguard performance helped Arsenal dig their way to victory here as Spurs cursed the chances they missed and a second half of damagingly reduced tempo. The win places Arsenal second in the table, in at least a three-way race for leadership now, with the chances of Tottenham improving ever far removed. Both these teams now have tough games to come, and improvements should not come amiss: neither is going any better just yet.