Arsenal won another edition of the north London derby after beating Tottenham 3:2 away in a thrilling clash in the 35th round of the English Premier League.
Among the more active minutes for Spurs early on, the visitors punished the city rivals from a corner kick. The ball was centered in the penalty area, where Pierre-Emile Høiberg found his own goal and gave the Gunners an advantage. The hosts responded and came close to equalizing but Cristian Romero first headed wide from close range and then was unlucky and his shot hit the post after James Maddison's pass. Tottenham's strong minutes looked to have paid off when Micky van de Ven put the ball past David Raya in the 23rd minute, but the goal was disallowed for an offside position. Soon after, Arsenal took advantage and Bukayo Saka converted with his left foot. At the end of the half, Spurs' defense cracked again at a corner. Kai Havertz soared into the air and made the score 3:0.
After the break, Raya made a blunder and Romero took advantage to reduce Tottenham's deficit in the 64th minute. Three minutes from the end of normal time, Son-Heung Min scored from the penalty spot after a Declan Rice foul on Ben Davies. The Arsenal midfielder kicked the Welshman and after a check at the VAR side monitor, referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty, which was converted by the Korean striker for the hosts. Until the end, Spurs tried to score an equalizer, but the status quo remained unchanged.
Thus, Arsenal continue the chase in the battle for the title with Manchester City. Mikel Arteta's men are at the top with 80 points, four ahead of second-placed City, but also two games ahead of the champions. Third-placed Liverpool are five points off the top. Tottenham remain fifth with exactly 60 points, seven adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa, but with two games in hand. Ange Postecoglou's side have a postponed game against Chelsea on Thursday, while Arsenal host Bournemouth.
In this afternoon's other fixture, the Cherries had a classic 3:0 win over Brighton at home. /BGNES
