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Defeat tastes far bitter when it’s inflicted by one’s worst adversary. That is exactly what Arsenal inflicted on Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho’s side were on an impressive run before facing Arsenal in the North London derby. But the Gunners ensured. Spurs’ five-game winning run came to an end.
Goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette were enough to secure all three points for Mikel Arteta’s side after Erik Lamela opened the scoring with a stupendous ribona midway through the first half.
This is yet another impressive result for Arsenal following their 3-1 win against Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 game. The Gunners may have left it late, but they’re finally beginning to click into full gear.
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No Aubemeyang, no problem for Arsenal
A major talking point ahead of the game was Mikel Arteta’s decision to drop captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the bench for disciplinary infractions.
The absence of the Gabonese striker, however, did not affect Arsenal, as they run out 2-1 winners against Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners completely dominated proceedings against their neighbours, and it can be argued that Lamela’s goal came against the run of play.
It is unknown what exactly Aubameyang did to warrant his exclusion from the Arsenal starting line-up or how long he will stay in the cold. But Arsenal hardly missed their captain against Tottenham Hotspur.
The fact that Arsenal played very well with Willian, Nicolas Pepe, Hector Bellerin and Dani Ceballos all on the bench is a testament to the quality the team boasts of.
Until the last 20 minutes, Tottenham Hotspur rarely threatened Arsenal. Spurs’ defensive tactics may have played a role in the Gunners’ dominance, but nothing can be taken away from Arsenal's win, especially with Aubameyang on the bench.
Arsenal revive slim European hopes
Arsenal remain 10th in the Premier League table after beating Tottenham Hotspur, but Arteta’s side have a slim chance of qualifying for Europe.
Mathematically, they can still qualify for the UEFA Champions League, but the Europa League looks a more realistic target at the moment.
“We know that we have to put together four or five wins in a row to give ourselves any chance of looking up in the table, but we are ready for a fight,” Artea said in the aftermath of the game, as quoted by Arsenal.com.
“I think while it's mathematically possible, we're going to believe, and we're going to give it a go, for sure. We know that we have to be extremely consistent to have any chance in the next two or three matches to be very close to them. But we're going to give it a go and keep trying, going game by game,” Arteta continued.
Arsenal are ten points off the top four and five behind sixth-placed Everton. Surely, qualifying for Europe is not beyond their reach.
