It was a derby but it was also a clash of emerging narratives, which is always a confusing, if thrilling, moment for the great soap opera of the Premier League. In the end, Tottenham’s haplessness prevailed over the idea that Arsenal might be inveterate bottlers, fated to let another title race get away from them. But there was a time in the first half when it seemed like it might be a close-run thing.
It shouldn’t have been. Arsenal are better than Spurs. They outplayed Tottenham for long periods. They had 20 chances to Spurs’ six. They won 4-1 and could easily have won by more. But bottling takes no account of that; indeed, the better the side plays the more certain it is that they are bottling if they somehow fail to win. And frankly, the fact that Arsenal were level at half‑time was hard to explain as, for the third league game in a row, and fourth in the past six, they conceded within 10 minutes of scoring. Only the vague sense that this is the sort of thing Arsenal do made it seem like they might drop points, but football is rooted in such anxieties.
As Declan Rice went in the space of two minutes from pointing at his temples to encourage his teammates to stay switched on after taking the lead, to waving his hands in apology after giving the ball away as Spurs equalised, it was possible to think there could be a stumble. Rice, with the melancholy flop of his hair, gives the impression of a world war one poet, doomed despite his brilliance. There is every chance he could win player of the season but it’s also possible that Arsenal’s campaign is defined by images of him shaking his head sadly.
But if fate is to come for Arsenal, it was not Tottenham who were to be their nemesis. Spurs have far too many demons of their own. The only real positive for their new manager, Igor Tudor, this weekend was that none of West Ham, Nottingham Forest or Leeds won either. The gap to the relegation zone though is down to four points.
The pre-match rabble-rousing from Spurs’ on-pitch announcer, Paul Coyte, focused on the possibility that something remarkable could happen, transforming “a small flame” into “a roaring fire”. Which seemed to get a good reaction from the home fans, contributing to a raucous early atmosphere. But when your new manager is regarded as one of the best firefighters in the business it did seem like confused messaging, while also being perhaps over-accepting of Tottenham’s subservient position in the rivalry.
But maybe that is just how things are, a state of affairs that it does nobody any good to ignore. That run of six seasons in a row in which Tottenham finished above Arsenal only came to an end in 2022 but they feel a lifetime ago now. The seats at the new stadium so highly regarded that when River Plate refurbished El Monumental during lockdown they imported exactly the same specification from the British suppliers. There was at least plenty of opportunity to admire their splendour as home fans poured out after Viktor Gyökeres had made it 4-1.
If only the same focus on excellence had been applied to the squad. The biggest problem Tudor has is that this is still Tottenham, with all their quirks and foibles. What should trouble him is less that there were spells when his side struggled to stop the waves of Arsenal attacks but their moments of profound carelessness.
For much of the game Spurs were committed and got bodies in the way. The first goal was a little unfortunate, the sort of thing that can happen when one side is applying consistent pressure – a ricochet off Pape Matar Sarr that fell kindly for Bukayo Saka, followed by a deflection off Conor Gallagher that led to Eberechi Eze knocking the ball up in such a way he could then volley it in.
But the two goals that restored and then reinforced Arsenal’s lead in the 16 minutes after half-time were both the result of moments of dismal, self‑destructive defending. Gyökeres was left unmarked, allowing him to receive Jurriën Timber’s pass and sweep a finish into the top corner. The third was unfortunate in the way Micky van de Ven’s tackle popped back off João Palhinha for Eze but the chance only came about because of Radu Dragusin’s weak header, all the dogged work of the first half undone in two moments of inexcusable sloppiness.
Perhaps in Randal Kolo Muani’s combative performance and his first league goal for Spurs, there is a glimmer of hope but there are few other reasons for optimism. Two 4-1 defeats against Arsenal in the same season is not just miserable for Spurs fans, it’s an accurate reflection of where they are. And for the same reason, nobody at Arsenal should think a crushing derby win means anything other than that they are much better than a poor Tottenham.
