Arsenal beat Tottenham to stay on top of the table

Winning 3-2 away to Tottenham in round 35, Arsenal is still firmly on top of the Premier League with 4 points more than Man City.

Arsenal seemed to have a devastating victory when they led 3-0 in the first half and did not allow Tottenham to have a shot on target. But mistakes by David Raya and Declan Rice - two new players recruited by Arsenal in the summer of 2023 - caused the "Gunners" to concede two goals and experience heart-stopping final minutes.

Coach Mikel Arteta even had to bring on Jakub Kiwior to replace captain Martin Odegaard in the 89th minute to strengthen the defense under great pressure from the home team. Only when Son Heung-min crossed the touchline in the sixth minute of injury time and the referee blew the final whistle, could Arsenal players and fans breathe a sigh of relief.

A dramatic win over their London rivals took Arsenal to 80 points, four points ahead of Man City but with two games in hand. The gap could be narrowed when Man City travel to Nottingham Forest in the late game today.

Kai Havertz celebrates scoring the third goal for Arsenal in the 38th minute of their 3-2 win over Tottenham in the 35th round of the Premier League on May 28. Photo: Guardian

Before the big match of round 35 of the Premier League, Tottenham is said to have the advantage in terms of physical strength because they have not played since the 0-4 loss at Newcastle on April 13. During the same period, Arsenal played four matches, lost 0-2 at home to Aston Villa, was eliminated from the Champions League by Bayern, then returned to winning streak against Wolves and Chelsea.

But the physical difference was not shown at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the evening of April 28. With the goal of winning three points to keep their championship hopes alive, Arsenal entered the game with great enthusiasm and created great pressure right after the opening whistle.

In the 13th minute, Thomas Partey dropped the ball into the penalty area for Odegaard to run down. The Norwegian midfielder controlled it neatly and then turned to pass it to Kai Havertz, who connected with the ball and put it past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. But the goal was disallowed due to Odegaard's offside.

Arsenal did not have to regret the loss for long. Just over a minute later, the visitors took the lead when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed home Bukayo Saka's right-wing corner. Hojbjerg had not scored in 35 games in all competitions this season, but he did score an own goal.

All five own goals in Premier League north London derbies have been scored by Tottenham players. All five have resulted in Arsenal taking the lead, with Armstrong in March 2000, Wimmer in November 2016, Lloris in January 2023, Romero in September 2023 and Hojbjerg today.

It wasn't until midway through the half that Tottenham finally made a comeback. In the 19th and 20th minutes, centre-back Cristian Romero headed the ball wide and hit the post. In the 23rd minute, his partner, centre-back Micky van de Ven, shot close to the goal, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Saka scored the second goal for Arsenal in their 3-2 win over Tottenham in the 35th round of the Premier League on April 28. Photo: Guardian

Four minutes after escaping defeat, Arsenal doubled their lead. From a cross in the box, the visitors counterattacked when Havertz passed the ball long for Saka to break down the right flank. The English midfielder cut into the box and curled his favourite left foot into the far corner, sending the ball beyond Vicario's reach. Saka has now scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season - his best tally in a single campaign. Saka is also the first English player for Arsenal to score in both legs of a Premier League match against Tottenham since former striker Ian Wright in 1993-94.

Continuing their momentum, Arsenal found the third goal in the 38th minute. From a corner kick from the left wing by Declan Rice, Havertz ran to head the ball into the home team's net. Arsenal scored 16 goals from corners in the Premier League this season - a record for a club in a season, equal to the achievement of West Brom under Tony Pulis in the 2016-2017 season.

Arsenal dominated the game, not allowing their opponents to shoot on target once and it seemed like they would win easily. But the surprise came in the 64th minute, when Raya passed straight to Romero in front of the penalty area and the Tottenham defender did not miss with a diagonal shot to shorten the gap. With five goals, Romero is the defender with the most goals in the Premier League this season.

In the 86th minute, another new Arsenal player, Rice, made a mistake when he kicked Ben Davies in the penalty area. After going to the sideline to review the video, referee Michael Oliver awarded the home team a penalty. On the 11m mark, Son shot hard to the right corner, Raya guessed the right direction but could not touch the ball.

Son Heung-min took a penalty, reducing the score to 3-2 for Tottenham in the 87th minute. Photo: Reuters

Arsenal showed their mettle by holding on for the remaining ten minutes, including six minutes of added time, to keep their title hopes alive. Mikel Arteta's team will play three more matches, against Bournemouth on May 4, Man Utd on May 12 and Everton on May 19.

Line-up :

Tottenham : Vicario, Porro, Van de Ven, Romero, Davies (Lo Celso 88), Hojbjerg (Bissouma 64), Bentancur (Sarr 46), Werner (Johnson 31), Maddison (Richarlison 64), Kulusevski, Son Heung-min.

Arsenal : Raya, Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Saliba, Ben White, Partey, Rice, Odegaard (Kiwior 89), Trossard (Martinelli 63), Saka, Havertz.

Hong Duy

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