Arsenal kept their Premier League title hopes alive on Sunday thanks to a narrow 1-0 win at local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

The only goal of the match arrived inside the opening two minutes as Tomas Rosicky fired an unstoppable shot past Hugo Lloris.

The victory has seen Arsene Wenger's side move to within four points of leaders Chelsea in the table.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the action between the two teams at White Hart Lane.

Match statistics

Spurs
Shots: 17
On target: 2
Possession: 59%
Corners: 5
Fouls: 18

Arsenal
Shots: 7
On target: 3
Possession: 41%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 11

Was the result fair?

Spurs should feel unlucky not to have taken something from the game after bombarding the Arsenal goal for much of the second half. However, some poor finishing meant that the Gunners were able to hold on and claim an important victory in their quest for the Premier League title.

Spurs's performance

Despite going behind so early, Tim Sherwood's side responded very well with some dynamic attacking football. They pinned Arsenal back for large parts of the game, particularly during the second period, but they just could not get the ball in the back of the net. Chance after chance fell to the hosts and chance after chance went begging. Much has been made of the commitment of his players in recent weeks, though Sherwood is sure to be pleased with the effort and graft that they put in on this occasion. That said, this was still a damaging defeat in their search for Champions League football.

Arsenal's performance

You would have been forgiven for thinking that the Gunners were going to run away with the match following their early goal, but they allowed Spurs a way back in by sitting back and failing to live with the intensity of their opponents. Arsene Wenger's men were limited to the odd chance on the counter-attack for much of the contest, though they did admittedly look dangerous when breaking with their trademark pace. By the end of the game it was just a case of them blocking everything that Spurs threw at them. And it worked.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Laurent Koscielny: The Frenchman was a mammoth presence in the centre of defence for Arsenal alongside Per Mertesacker. Koscielny embodied the Gunners' fighting spirit perfectly, putting his body on the line time and again to protect his side's lead.

Biggest gaffe

Spurs should have got themselves level at the start of the second half when Nacer Chadli had the goal at his mercy with Wojciech Szczesny nowhere to be seen. However, the Belgian saw his poor shot blocked on the line by the combined efforts of Koscielny and Mertesacker to keep Arsenal in front.

Referee performance

Mike Dean officiated with his usual sternness during what was occasionally a tasty encounter. He dished out a total of seven yellow cards by the end of the game but he managed to get all of the key decisions correct.

What next?

Spurs: Tottenham will try to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit on Thursday when they travel to Benfica for the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.

Arsenal: The Gunners are back in action on Saturday with a trip to title rivals Chelsea in the Premier League.