Arsenal overcame the hurdle of a north London derby and an anxious finale to maintain momentum in the Premier League title pursuit with a vital victory at Tottenham.
The Gunners’ meeting with their bitter rivals was seen as arguably the most treacherous of their remaining fixtures, but they took ruthless advantage of Spurs’ defensive flaws to establish a three-goal lead by half-time.
Arsenal were then thrown off course when a dreadful clearance by goalkeeper David Raya presented Cristian Romero with a goal, the nerves really jangling when Son Heung-min scored from the spot three minutes from the end of normal time after Declan Rice fouled Ben Davies.
It was all so different when Arsenal went ahead after 15 minutes when the recalled Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg glanced Bukayo Saka’s corner into his own net, the England forward crowning a sweeping counter-attack with a smooth finish for the second after 27 minutes.
Spurs, who had Micky van de Ven’s goal ruled out by the video assistant referee (VAR) for a marginal offside with the score 1-0, were infuriated as they claimed Leandro Trossard had fouled Dejan Kulusevski before Saka scored, and were even more frustrated when the unmarked Kai Havertz headed in Arsenal’s third from another corner seven minutes before the break.
Arsenal were then content to see out the victory, only for Raya to give Spurs hope by sending a clearance straight to Romero.
An unlikely Spurs comeback seemed on when Son scored from but the Gunners closed out the win.
