Arsenal avenged their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the season as they overcame their North London rivals 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Despite the omission of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from the starting lineup for alleged lateness, Arsenal started on the front foot and were inches away from taking the lead inside the opening 20 minutes, but Emile Smith Rowe's long-range effort rattled the woodwork before Tottenham lost an attacker of their own in Son Heung-min through injury.
However, the South Korean's replacement Erik Lamela broke the deadlock with a remarkable rabona in the 33rd minute, but Arsenal soon found themselves deservedly level as Martin Odegaard followed up his stunner in midweek with his first Premier League goal on the stroke of half time.
The Gunners picked up where they left off in the first half and took the lead through an Alexandre Lacazette penalty in the 64th minute after the striker was fouled by Davinson Sanchez. Lamela then went from hero to zero as he received a second yellow card for shoving Kieran Tierney in the face, and despite some Tottenham pressure in the final moments, Mikel Arteta's side held on for a memorable win.
Seventh-placed Tottenham remain six points adrift of the top four places as their five-game winning streak came to an end, while the Gunners move up to 41 points, but remain 10th in the standings.
The two bitter rivals now turn their attention to Thursday's Europa League last-16 second legs, with Arsenal hoping to build on the 3-1 lead they boast over Olympiacos while Tottenham will aim to ease past Dinamo Zagreb after a 2-0 first-leg triumph.
HIGHLIGHTS
5th min: Alexandre Lacazette gets the first shot of the game away but the Frenchman's effort is blocked. Kieran Tierney lashes a ball across the area moments later which comes to nothing.
13th min: Arsenal enjoy a period of pressure as Bukayo Saka attempts to pick out Lacazette at the back post, but under pressure from Matt Doherty, the Arsenal man cannot get close enough to it.
15th min: Arsenal win the ball back after some awkward play from Hugo Lloris, and Granit Xhaka's long-range effort sails over the crossbar.
16th min: Spurs give the ball away once again and Emile Smith Rowe aims to find the top corner from a long way out, but the 20-year-old's effort crashes against the crossbar.
Inches away...
β Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 14, 2021
Emile Smith Rowe rattles the bar for Arsenal
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19th min: Son Heung-min pulls up after an explosive run forward, and the South Korean attacker cannot continue. Erik Lamela takes his place.
23rd min: Thomas Partey's wait for his first Arsenal goal goes on as his long-range effort goes harmlessly wide of Lloris's goal.
26th min: Smith Rowe does brilliantly to get away down the left-hand side and pick out Lacazette, but he slices his effort from a terrific position. All Arsenal in the opening periods.
33rd min: Tottenham take the lead with one of their first attacks of the game. Sergio Reguilon's first-time cross finds Lucas Moura, and the Brazilian lays it off for the substitute Lamela, whose cheeky rabona finds the far corner. 0-1 Tottenham.
OH MY π²
β Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 14, 2021
Γrik Lamela with the Rabona in the North London Derby...
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37th min: Arsenal hit the woodwork again - this time Cedric Soares's effort cannons off the post as Arsenal desperately search for an equaliser.
OFF THE POST π²
β Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 14, 2021
Arsenal hit the woodwork for the second time!
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43rd min: Arsenal's desperate search for a goal is yet to bear fruit. Martin Odegaard finds himself in some space and manages to get his head on the ball, but the playmaker cannot direct an effort on target.
44th min: Odegaard makes no mistake this time. The Gunners break down the left and Kieran Tierney finds the Norwegian, whose effort takes a nick off Toby Alderweireld before trickling over the line. 1-1.
56th min: The ever-sharp Lacazette manages to turn away from Davinson Sanchez and get a shot away, but Lloris is equal to his compatriot's effort as he gets down well to save.
61st min: Partey gets a shot away from outside the area but it is wild. Arsenal are pressing for that second goal as Dele Alli comes on for Tottenham.
64th min: The hosts take a deserved lead. Nicolas Pepe plays a glorious ball in to Lacazette, who completely fluffs his effort but Sanchez hauls him down and Arsenal are awarded a spot kick. The Frenchman steps up to take it and coolly rolls it into the bottom corner. 2-1 Arsenal.
ππ¨π§ππ«π¨π―ππ«π¬π² π
β Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 14, 2021
Arsenal lead from the spot - but was it a penalty?
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71st min: Lamela is once again at the heart of things as he directs a header goalwards, but Bernd Leno safely gathers.
76th min: From hero to zero. Lamela, on a booking, shoves his hand into Kieran Tierney's face and Michael Oliver has no choice but to brandish a second yellow card. Tottenham down to 10 men.
83rd min: Tottenham goal disallowed. Harry Kane has been quiet all afternoon but manages to meet Lucas Moura's cross and head home. However, the goal is correctly chalked off for offside.
90th min: Kane's late free kick wrong-foots Leno and comes back off the post, with Gabriel then preventing Davinson Sanchez's goalbound follow up from finding the back of the net. Outstanding defending from the Brazilian centre-back.
90th +5 min: Tottenham are awarded a late free kick as the effervescent Lucas Moura is brought down. Kane takes but his effort sails over the crossbar, and the final whistle blows.
MAN OF THE MATCH - Martin Odegaard
Β© Reuters
Davinson Sanchez was exceptional in the Tottenham defence before giving away the penalty, but Martin Odegaard stood out among a number of exceptional Arsenal performances.
The Real Madrid loanee followed up his thunderbolt against Olympiacos by darting into space excellently to level the scores, and his close control was terrific throughout the 90 minutes. He is certainly growing into his role under Mikel Arteta.
STANDOUT MOMENT
Β© Reuters
Not many rabonas are seen during a Premier League match, let alone a North London derby, but the shocked reaction of his teammates told you everything you needed to know about Erik Lamela's outrageous effort in the first half.
The Argentine's effort ended up proving futile and he would soon make headlines for all the wrong reasons after being sent off, but he will struggle to score a more memorable goal during his time in North London.
BEST STAT
7 - Spurs have conceded seven penalty goals in the Premier League this season, the most by a JosΓ© Mourinho side in a single campaign in the competition. Self-sabotage. pic.twitter.com/D4CbMKZ5kS
β OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 14, 2021
MATCH STATS
Possession: Arsenal 53%-47% Spus
Shots: Arsenal 13-6 Spurs
Shots on target: Arsenal 3-3 Spurs
Corners: Arsenal 6-3 Spurs
Fouls: Arsenal 12-14 Spurs
LINEUPS
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Cedric, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Xhaka, Partey; Saka (Pepe 45'), Odegaard, Smith Rowe (Willian 77'); Lacazette (Elneny 88')
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Doherty, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Reguilon; Ndombele (Alli 62'), Hojbjerg; Bale (Sissoko 57'), Lucas Moura, Son (Lamela 19'); Kane
Ben Knapton
