Arsenal extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 21 matches with a narrow 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.
There were no goals in the first half but referee Paul Tierney did show seven yellow cards, including for simulation against Arsenal pair Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi.
Alexandre Lacazette saw a goal disallowed for offside just prior to the break, but the Terriers largely kept Premier League top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang quiet.
Aubameyang did not do the damage on the scoresheet but did supply Lucas Torreira for an acrobatic volley on 83 minutes which ended Huddersfield's brave resolve.
Relive how the actio unfolded in North London with Sports Mole's minute-by-minute updates below.
Arsenal's last encounter with Huddersfield Town in May signalled the end of Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign as Gunners manager. Few would have expected his successor to have stamped his mark so quickly but victory today would lift Unai Emery's side as high as third in the Premier League table. Let's get to the team news from the Emirates...
ARSENAL: Leno; Bellerin, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac; Guendouzi, Torreira, Xhaka; Aubameyang, Lacazette
Subs: Cech, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Nketiah
Subs: Cech, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Iwobi, Nketiah
HUDDERSFIELD: Lossl; Smith, Kongolo, Schindler, Jorgensen, Lowe; Hogg, Mooy, Williams; Pritchard; Depoitre
Subs: Hamer, Bacuna, Kachunga, Ramadan, Mbenza, Hadergjonaj, Durm
Subs: Hamer, Bacuna, Kachunga, Ramadan, Mbenza, Hadergjonaj, Durm
It is approaching peak rotation time in the Premier League season and Emery makes another three changes to his Arsenal side from the midweek draw with Manchester United. Alexandre Lacazette starts alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front for the first time in a month, with the Gabonese having been in prolific form in the lone striker role.
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The Gunners will be without Rob Holding for up to nine months because of the knee injury he suffered at Old Trafford, but Emery sticks with his back three as Stephen Lichtsteiner comes in. Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal may fill that spot in the coming weeks and are both back on the bench this afternoon after long-term layoffs - Koscielny hasn't played since May because of an Achilles injury.
Conspicuous by his absence once again is Mesut Ozil who misses out on the matchday squad for a third successive time. The World Cup winner has been carrying a back injury, but Emery has admitted to leaving him out previously because he cannot count on his defensive ethic. Today it seems Henrikh Mkitaryan and Alex Iwobi pay that price as Granit Xhaka is recalled following suspension to beef up the midfield.
Emery arrived at the Emirates with the reputation of a disciplinarian so you'd expect he'd have been angered by the pictures leaked this week showing some of his players inhaling 'hippy crack' on a pre-season night out. The boss hasn't taken that anger out on his team selection with culprits Lacazette, Aubameyang, Mattéo Guendouzi and Sead Kolasinac all starting.
Emery arrived at the Emirates with the reputation of a disciplinarian so you'd expect he'd have been angered by the pictures leaked this week showing some of his players inhaling 'hippy crack' on a pre-season night out. The boss hasn't taken that anger out on his team selection with culprits Lacazette, Aubameyang, Mattéo Guendouzi and Sead Kolasinac all starting.
Huddersfield boss David Wagner also makes three changes from their last outing, a spirited defeat to Bournemouth on Tuesday. The German swaps his wing-backs as Chris Lowe and Adam Smith come in for Florent Hadergjonaj and Erik Durm, while Laurent Depoitre deputises for the suspended Steve Mounie up front.
Abdelhamid Sabiri is out with a broken collarbone for the Terriers, while Phil Billing has joined Mounie on the naughty step. The visitors will match up with Arsenal's 3-5-2 formation, although I suspect that will very much turn into a back five for the most part, with Alex Pritchard operating in the No.10 role behind Depoitre.
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The Gunners are now unbeaten in 20 matches in all competitions, winning 15 of those including 11 in a row through September and October. This is the club's longest such streak since a 28-game run in 2007 and an indication of the new toughness that Emery has brought to a group that many had considered to have become complacent and flaky.
Last weekend's 4-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur was undoubtedly the most significant result of Emery's tenure to date and exemplified this change in attitude, which has helped the Gunners win a league-high 12 points from losing positions this season. In contrast, they lost 18 points from winning positions last term.
The Londoners found themselves on the wrong end of a comeback on Wednesday as Manchester United twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford. If there is one thing that Emery has not yet addressed in his short time at the helm it is Arsenal's defensive fragility - it has been eight league matches since they have kept a clean sheet.
At the other end, the Gunners have scored in 14 league games in a row since their 2-0 opening-day defeat to Manchester City. They have the Premier League's top goalscorer in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who has 10 for the season and a total of 20 in 28 English top-flight appearances for Arsenal. However, only one of those goals has come on a Saturday!
That Auba stat is slightly skewed by Arsenal's regular Sunday fixtures, by virtue of their Europe League involvement. This is their first Saturday 3pm kickoff since September's 2-0 win over Watford, and the Gunners have actually been unstoppable in the traditional timeslot, winning 16 of their past 17 Premier League games played at 3pm on a Saturday, including each of the last nine.
A massive 25 of Arsenal's 34 league goals this season have come in the second half of games, three more than Man City and a division-high tally. However, Emery's side are yet to lead at half time in a league fixture this season, something that could well change today with the visit of Huddersfield considered arguably the home banker of the weekend.
However, Emery has warned his team against complacency, telling BBC Sport in his pre-match press conference: "On Tuesday against Bournemouth, they (Huddersfield) played a very good match and also they won at [Wolves] in the last match away. On Saturday, they are going to push a lot and they are going to prepare the match to be a surprise."
The Terriers sit only one point above the relegation zone and have lost back-to-back league matches, having previously been unbeaten in three. They gave a very good account of themselves in Tuesday's 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, finishing with 68% possession and three times as many shots on target as the Cherries, but that has been the story of their season.
Scoring goals is Huddersfield's biggest challenge, as they remain the least potent team in the division with 10 goals in 14 matches. They have found the net in each of their last five league games but only on a single occasion this season have they scored more than once in a game, and that did yield a valuable win away at Wolverhampton Wanderers a week ago.
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The victory at Molineux is Huddersfield's only win in their last 10 top-flight away games, although that run has included five draws and points earned from trips to Manchester City and Chelsea, so they have showed that they can compete with the elite clubs.
Having said that, Huddersfield have claimed only one point from a possible 24 against sides currently in the top half this season, courtesy of a draw at Goodison Park. They have been easily put away by Spurs, Watford and Leicester and conceded six to Man City.
While Aubameyang and Lacazette have combined for 16 league goals this season, Huddersfield's group of strikers, namely Mounie and Depoitre, are yet to find the net once between them. Aaron Mooy and Mattias Jorgensen are the club's joint-top scorers with two apiece, and defenders Terence Kongolo, Christopher Schindler and Jon-Gorenc Stankovic have also contributed to their paltry goal haul. Their attacking players really need to start pulling their weight.
Pritchard is one player that Huddersfield need more end product from. The former Spurs youngster has bags of talent and technique but has only managed one goal this season and is yet to provide an assist, so reports this morning that Wolves are lining up a £15m move for the playmaker in January to improve their offensive output don't seem to add up.
Wagner's pre-match comments to BBC Sport seem to suggest that today is not a day to focus on finding their shooting boots. He said: "We have to fight with everything we have to keep the ball out of the net. This is the first thing you have to make 100% right if you like to get something out of a game against a team like Arsenal away."
HEAD TO HEAD: Arsenal are unbeaten in 10 games against Huddersfield, winning eight and drawing two. The Gunners won both league meetings last term, including 5-0 at the Emirates in what was the Terriers' heaviest reverse of the season.
Huddersfield have lost eight of their last nine top-flight matches against the Londoners, and failed to score in each of those defeats. Their only win during that run came in 1971, and you have to go back to 1954 for their last triumph at Arsenal.
Around 10 minutes until kickoff at the Emirates, where Arsenal fans will be hoping that their current manager will be celebrating three points come full time. But it was their former manager being celebrated on Thursday when Arsene Wenger was honoured with the LMA Service to Football Award at Wembley on Thursday.
"Since I don't compete any more, I get a trophy every week," Wenger joked, according to BBC Sport. Great to see his difficult final years at Arsenal didn't dampen his sense of humour!
RESULT: The Premier League has new leaders with Liverpool having gone above Manchester City courtesy of a statement-making 4-0 win over Bournemouth, with Mohamed Salah back to his very best with a stunning hat-trick. The title pace is absolutely electric but Jurgen Klopp's side are keeping up!
There are five more Premier League kickoffs at 3pm, before the blockbuster Chelsea vs. Man City encounter and Tottenham's trip to Leicester. You can follow live coverage of Manchester United vs. Fulham with my colleague Darren Plant, but here we are nearly ready for Arsenal vs. Huddersfield, which means prediction time!
PREDICTION: Arsenal have put six past Spurs and Manchester United over the course of this week and if they find the same attacking fluency today then the visitors could be on the end of a mauling. I can't see how Huddersfield are going to present an big enough attacking threat without leaving themselves badly exposed to a three or four-nil defeat.
AS IT STANDS: With Chelsea and Spurs not in action until later this evening, Arsenal have the opportunity to leapfrog both of their capital rivals into third in the table with victory this afternoon. Only a shock win would guarantee that Huddersfield remain out of the bottom three, of whom Burnley and Southampton have what they'd see as winnable games.
KICKOFF: The action is underway in North London where our referee is Paul Tierney - his first visit as an official to the Emirates. Huddersfield are in their changed yellow strip, can it bring about a change of luck?
The visitors have been keen to get upfield and press Arsenal which shows that they are not going to just sit back and take a beating, but it does make them vulnerable if the likes of Xhaka and Torreira can pass it through midfield quickly.
Lacazette and Aubameyang have started alongside each other in a central two - previously Emery has squeezed one of them in on the left wing. This worked really well in the second half against Spurs with Ramsey making runs in between them to occupy the defenders, but I'm not sure Torreira or Guendouzi are going to make those same runs today.
A first decent opening for the Gunners with Lacazette and Bellerin combining down the right. A better cross from the Spaniard and Aubameyang would have had a great chance in the centre but Jorgensen cuts the ball out at the front post.
Huddersfield have started with good energy which will please Wagner but at the moment it is difficult to see their route forward when they do get possession. A couple of balls have been knocked into the right channel for Depoitre but he has not had the pace to chase them down, and Mustafi, Sokratis and Lichtsteiner aren't exactly a sprint relay team!
SHOT! Lowe drives forward down the Huddersfield left, cutting inside and letting fly with a shot that he drags horribly wide. The German may have been caught in two minds as Depoitre had made a late run to the back post, and the ball wasn't too far away from reaching him in the end so awry was Lowe's strike.
Concern here for Wagner with play halted for Jonathan Hogg to receive treatment. The midfielder fell to ground awkwardly following a 50-50 challenge with Guendouzi and it looks as though his wrist has taken the brunt of his weight.
Good goalkeepering from Lossl who is quick off his line to collect a through-ball from Torreira aimed at the rampaging Bellerin. Torreira broke through the middle too easily from a Huddersfield perspective but his pass was a little heavy.
Good goalkeeping from Lossl who is quick off his line to collect a through-ball from Torreira aimed at the rampaging Bellerin. Torreira broke through the middle too easily from a Huddersfield perspective but his pass was a little heavy.
Kolasinac does really well to chase down a ball into the left channel and hooks a cross back into a dangerous area but just behind Lacazette. Aubameyang may have arrived late onto it had Schindler not intercepted and made the clearance.
The visitors are enjoying their best spell of possession so far, keeping the ball nicely albeit without any penetration. It seems as though Wagner has made the early decision to switch to a back four, with Kongolo at left-back and Lowe further ahead of him on the wing to help with the pressing in numbers.
LATEST: Man United have become used to falling behind in games but this afternoon they have taken the lead at home to Fulham through Ashley Young. Crystal Palace are also ahead in the early going away to West Ham United, James McArthur the goalscorer at the London Stadium.
Aubameyang peels off into the right channel and delivers a pacey cross which is turned away by Schindler. There has not been much sign of a link up between him and Lacazette as yet but we know Arsenal haven't come to life until the second half for much of this season.
YELLOW CARD! Paul Tierney pulls out his yellow card for the first time, and it is shown to Granit Xhaka, who has only just returned from suspension, for simulation. It appeared as though Mooy was going to be punished for a trip on the Swiss on the halfway line but referee Tierney feels that Xhaka dived.
The visitors have started to hit balls directly up to Depoitre's head, with the likes of Pritchard and Lowe looking for knockdowns. The striker has bought his team a couple of fouls with his hold-up play, as while not the quickest he can compete with Mustafi and company in the air.
CLOSE! The closest that we have come to an opening goal here, and you would expect Aubameyang to put this away on current form. Xhaka is attempts a right-footed shot from 25 yards out and drags it into the centre of the box where Auba reacts well to stick out a leg but can only divert it wide from eight yards out.
CHANCE! If that was a decent chance for Aubameyang, this is a golden one for Lacazette. Arsenal pinch the ball in the Huddersfield third and via Bellerin and Guendouzi work the ball to Lacazette unmarked on the penalty spot, but the Frenchman slips as he goes to pull the trigger and balloons his shot over the crossbar.
With three big centre-halves on the pitch, set pieces could be a good source of chances for the Terriers but this particular delivery from Lowe, out wide on the left, does not beat the first man and that will annoy Wagner.
You get the sense that Arsenal are starting to move through the gears here. There is frustration among the home support after that pair of missed chances, but the Gunners have pushed Huddersfield back and they look poised for a barrage before the break.
YELLOW CARD! Pritchard picks up a booking for wrestling Torreira to the floor in the Huddersfield half. Arsenal take the free kick quickly and Xhaka is urged to shoot by the crowd, who soon come to regret their encouragement as the midfielder slices high and wide into the stands.
YELLOW CARD! Williams comes flying through the back of Torreira in a harmless area and is rightly cautioned by Tierney. Lichtsteiner earns himself for a yellow for his dissenting reaction. Wagner will want his players pressing high but that was needlessly aggressive and was only ever going to end one way.
YELLOW CARD! Referee Tierney is threatening to lose control of this game, brandishing two more yellows in the last couple of minutes - one Tommy Smith for clattering into Guendouzi and another for Sokratis for sliding through Hogg. That is three bookings apiece and with tempers flaring, Tierney calls the captains over to try to calm things down.
DISALLOWED GOAL! Lacazette thinks he has opened the scoring for Arsenal but his effort is ruled out, somewhat controversially. The Frenchman is offside initially from Aubameyang's flick on, but then when Jorgensen leaves a back-pass short for him to round Lossl and score, surely that is a separate phase and Lacazette is back in play? Not according to the officials.
CHANCE! Huddersfield won't get many better chances than this today, with Hogg perfectly teeing up Pritchard who sends his 12-yard curler over the crossbar. Xhaka's poor clearance allowed the Terriers to recycle the ball after the initial crossed was cleared but Pritchard could not make the most of the space afforded to him.
SAVE! Torreira lines one up from 25 yards and it takes Lossl diving at full stretch to tip the shot around the post. The Uruguayan scored his first Arsenal goal in the North London derby last weekend and nearly added to it in spectacular style there.
YELLOW CARD! The SEVENTH yellow card of the half is shown to Mustafi and it is a second handed to an Arsenal player for simulation this afternoon. Referee Tierney gets this spot on as the defender anticipates contact that never comes and throws himself to ground in a bid to win his team a penalty.
HALF TIME: ARSENAL 0-0 HUDDERSFIELD
No goals, but seven yellow cards in a fiery first half at the Emirates, and a couple of golden chances for Arsenal to take a lead into the break, but once again Emery's boys are going to have to rely on a second-half show.
Aubameyang and Lacazette have both been lethal in front of goal this season but were each guilty of spurning good chances in that first period. This two up-front partnership experimented by Emery hasn't brought the best out of his star forwards so far and I wonder if he will shift one of them to the left wing for this second period.
Aubameyang and Lacazette have both been lethal in front of goal this season but were each guilty of spurning good chances in that first period. This two up-front partnership experimented by Emery hasn't brought the best out of his star forwards so far and I wonder if he will shift one of them to the left wing for this second period.
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The Arsenal boss may have a selection dilemma at the other end of the pitch for the trip to Southampton next weekend, with Sokratis and Mustafi each having picked up their fifth yellow card of the season to join Holding on the sidelines. It may be that Koscielny and Monreal are rushed back into first-team action sooner than ideal.
LATEST: Here are the half-time scores from elsewhere in the Premier League:
Burnley 1-0 Brighton; Cardiff 0-0 Southampton; Man United 3-0 Fulham; West Ham 0-1 C. Palace.
BENCH WATCH: The Auba-Lacazette pairing needs a little more creativity behind it so Emery may consider sacrificing one of his three central midfielders for Alex Iwobi or Henrik Mkhitaryan. Wagner will be happy to keep things as they are but will have an eye on those three players who are on yellow cards.
STATS: The Gunners enjoyed 61% possession in that first half but only managed to convert that into one shot on target, which drew a top-class save out of Lossl. That being said, Arsenal may feel aggreived not to be 1-0 up with Lacazette having a goal ruled out for offside which may need some explaining from the officials.
KICKOFF: The action is back underway at the Emirates and Emery has made a double change, with Iwobi and Mkhitaryan on for Lichtsteiner and Lacazette. Emery changed shape in the North London derby a week ago and it worked a treat so he will be hoping for more of the same with this move to a back four. Sacrificing Lacazette is a big call though.
SHOT! Mkhitaryan is involved immediately as he pinches the ball off Lowe and quickly gets it back from Guendouzi before unleashing a low left-footed shot from the point of the D, missing the bottom corner by five or six yards.
SHOT! An Arsenal clearance rolls out invitingly to Smith but he can't set himself for a shot from the edge of the box. He shifts it left to Pritchard who aims across Leno and into the bottom corner, and it is made difficult for the goalkeeper by the run of Depoitre into his eye-line but he gathers it at the second attempt.
Mustafi knocks a ball over the top and Aubameyang brings it under his spell skilfully. It appeared as though the Gabonese had timed his run perfectly but he had just strayed offside.
SUBSTITUTION: Hogg was in the wars in the first half and requires more treatment now on what looks like a different problem, perhaps a hamstring concern. Wagner can't afford to be one man down so makes the change, with Juninho Bacuna coming on in central midfield.
Aubameyang gets up high at the back post but doesn't connect cleanly with his header, and is given a let off by the officials who say that Xhaka's corner went out of play before it curled its way back into the area.
Huddersfield appeal for a penalty as Pritchard turns away from Bellerin. There are nervous looks towards the referee from the Spaniard and a couple of his defensive colleagues but referee Tierney reckons Bellerin got enough of the ball.
SUBSTITUTION: A second injury blow for Huddersfield and this time it definitely is a hamstring, with captain Smith pulling up as he was retreating from an advanced position. Hadergjonaj is on at right-back.
The action has resumed after a long stoppage which has allowed Huddersfield to catch their breath. Their work rate in this second half has been outstanding and they are going to have to dig even deeper if they are to hang on to something, because this Emirates crowd is getting restless and a response is surely coming from the players.
CHANCE! Difficult chance for Aubameyang who is not expecting the ball to reach him at the back post, but Sokratis misses his header and the Gabonese cannot react quickly enough to direct his effort at goal from a tight angle.
SUBSTITUTION: It is now Arsenal's turn to feel the toll of this busy period of fixtures, with Mustafi limping over to the bench having pulled a muscle. Monreal is on for his first appearance in two months.
Lossl nearly makes a mess of Bellerin's low cross, going for it with his feet for some reason, and is lucky that the ball did not fall more kindly for Aubameyang before the goalkeeper himself could recover and dive on the danger.
A clever pass with the outside of his foot from Iwobi sets Kolasinac free to the left byline and it takes a really good piece of defending at the front post from Hadergjonaj to quell the threat. You fancy this is going to be the pattern of the game for the last 20 minutes and Huddersfield will need to show more awareness and application like that.
A clever pass with the outside of his foot from Iwobi sets Kolasinac free to the left byline and it takes a really good piece of defending at the front post from Hadergjonaj to quell the threat. You fancy this is going to be the pattern of the game for the last 20 minutes and Huddersfield will need to show more awareness and application like that.
SUBSTITUTION: Erik Durm, who has been a regular starter for the Terriers of late, is on here in place of Danny Williams. That is all three changes used by both managers who will be hoping they can get through without any more injury casualties.
Including injury time there is still a good 20 minutes left here so there is no need for Arsenal to start panicing yet. They can afford to still be patient but this crowd is making it hard for them, jeering every stray pass or poor touch. Expectations have been raised by the derby win and this would be a very disappointing result if the Gunners can't find a winner.
LATEST: Elswhere in the Premier League as it stands...
Burnley 1-0 Brighton; Cardiff 1-0 Southampton; Man United 3-1 Fulham; West Ham 3-2 C.Palace.
A decent spell for Huddersfield who have a free kick and then a corner in quick succession. Schindler wins the first ball from the corner but his header goes straight up in the air and Leno does enough to clear the danger.
YELLOW CARD! This is remarkable! A third Arsenal player has been booked for simulation and you have to say referee Tierney has got this one absolutely spot on again. Guendouzi leans into Mooy on the edge of the box and jumps up theatrically to try to accentuate the contact.
Kolasinac deliverys a decent cross towards the penalty spot but it falls to the wrong man, going beyond Aubameyang and reaching Mkitaryan, who is not known for his aerial prowess and knocks his header over the crossbar.
GOAL! ARSENAL 1-0 HUDDERSFIELD (LUCAS TORREIRA)
The deadlock is broken seven minutes from time and Lucas Torreira looks set to be the Arsenal hero for the second home game running! Guendouzi finds the creative spark that has been lacking with a dink over the top for Aubameyang, who can't quite bring it down to shoot himself, but does centre for the unmarked Torreira. All the Uruguayan has to do is hit the target and he does so in style with an acrobatic volley.
YELLOW CARD! Referee Tierney gets his yellow card out again to punish Bacuna for a rash challenge, and you fear that Huddersfield could get frustrated now in this final five minutes after seeing their efforts go out the window. Tierney may want to get his red card ready...
YELLOW CARD! In fairness to Huddersfield they have responded admirably and have started to throw bodies forward. Depoitre runs into the left channel and is knocked to ground by Sokratis but Tierney does not point to the spot. He does not brandish another card for simulation as there was contact, but not enough for it to warrant a spot kick.
We're approaching the final minute of the 90 and Aubameyang wins Arsenal a corner which will help them kill some time. Torreira has been down in the past couple of minutes but that too may have been an attempt to wind the clock down.
There will be SEVEN minutes of stoppage time at the Emirates - enough time for some late drama!
Pritchard delivers a fantastic early cross into the heart of the box and Depoitre gets above Sokratis but can't make clean enough contact to direct it goalwards. The ball falls to Kolasinac who hoofs it clear.
We are only four minutes into the additional seven but Huddersfield goalkeeper Lossl has been sent up for a free kick!
The last couple of minutes have been played in the Huddersfield half and it looks as though they will hang on for a narrow win.
FULL TIME: ARSENAL 1-0 HUDDERSFIELD
Arsenal were made to work very hard for it, but this 1-0 win takes them above Spurs and Chelsea into third in the Premier League table, temporarily at least. Lucas Torreira was the match-winner with his volley eight minutes from time as Huddersfield's resolve was broken. The Terriers drop into the relegation zone with this defeat.
That's it from our coverage from the Emirates Stadium. You can read our match report on the action here, and catch up on the rest of today's Premier League scores here. Thanks for joining me for this one, and stay with Sports Mole for our updates on the big game between Chelsea and Man City, and later Tottenham's trip to Leicester...
That's it from our coverage from the Emirates. You can read our match report on the action here, and catch up on the rest of today's Premier League scores here. No need to go anywhere though! We have live updates from Chelsea vs. Man City and Leicester vs. Tottenham coming up this evening. Should be two crackers...
Written by
Joe Fish
Joe Fish
