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Arsenal produced a stunning and an attractive second half comeback to take honours in the North London Derby beating Tottenham 4-2. The Gunners started the match with great intensity and the first half hour completely belonged to the Gunners. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first-half penalty gave Arsenal the lead. But as soon as the match started looking easy for Arsenal, Spurs took away the initiative by scoring two goals in quick time.
Unai Emery who was seen animated in the opening minutes of the match was seen pretty calm in the later stage of the first half, urging his team to do damage control so that they can bounce back in the second half.
And the calmness paid off. Emery’s substitutions were key as Arsenal didn’t allow Spurs to start the second half on the front foot and the forwards pressed hard to seize control. Aubameyang’s neatly taken second goal, Lacazette’s deflected shot, and Torreira’s first goal for the club meant Arsenal finished off a stunning comeback.
Here are the three reasons why Arsenal were able to win the North London Derby.
#1. Aubameyang’s clinical finishing -
When Aubameyang scored the first goal of the match with a penalty, it was his 19th in the Premier League after making a move to the Emirates. His stocks are rising day by day and he is currently the top scorer in the EPL this season.
If his first was a neatly taken penalty, the second one had class written all over it. A neatly taken first time shot left Lloris with no chance to stop it. Just few days back Aubameyang had talked about how he wants to give the fans a glimpse of what they are missing after Henry’s career was over at Arsenal.
And he lived up to the billing. Not only the goals, he worked pretty hard to press Vertonghen and Aurier which made it easy for the midfield of Xhaka and Torreira to operate smoothly.
2. Emery's substitutions -
The first half was one of mixed emotions for the Spanish manager. But his calmness in the later stages of the first half gave us the feeling that he was already preparing for the second half. It’s too early to judge The Gunners under Emery in such a short time. But the belief he has got into the team is enormous.
Lacazette for Iwobi and Ramsey for Mkhitaryan were the substitutions Emery made after the first half. These types of substitutions were unheard during Arsene Wenger’s time as he usually waited till the 70th minute to bring on replacements. Ramsey clearly looked more creative then Henrikh and Lacazette offered more trickery and direct approach than Iwobi.
Emery was quick to notice that Henrikh and Iwobi are safe options to play for a draw or to play with the handbrake. And derbies are not meant to be played with that approach. Ramsey’s pass for Lacazette sealed Arsenal’s victory and Torreira’s first goal for the club was icing on the cake.
3. The Derby environment inside the Emirates -
Spurs have only won once at the Emirates and the derby atmosphere inside the Emirates is something they have found it difficult to cope up with. Even as Spurs equalised in the first half, the Arsenal substitutes on the touchline got involved and so did the crowd to remind the Spurs players that they are not going to have it easy today.
The Spurs second goal did make the atmosphere a little bit quiet and all noise was made by the travelling supporters. But as has been the case throughout the season, the Arsenal fans knew that they can trust Emery and his players to fight in the second half. And that’s when they got involved, urging the team to give their best.
Torreira’s first goal for the club spoke about how indebted he was to the fans who have treated him very well after his move to the Emirates. Lacazette was seen gesturing to spur the crowd on and it paid off. Mustafi, Holding, Ramsey, and Aubameyang were all seen playing to the gallery and tried to involve the crowd at every possible opportunity. Finally, we had a game to remember for a long time to come.
