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The entire world stopped to witness one of the most highly contested derbies in the footballing world as Arsenal hosted Tottenham Hotspur. The recent Unai Emery revolution and Tottenham's revival under Mauricio Pochettino added more flavour to this particular fixture apart from an otherwise already rich history of the rivalry.
The game certainly lived up to its expectations, it was full of twists and turns as if someone had handwritten the plot of the game. The momentum shifted quite a lot but Arsenal came out as the ultimate victors and deservingly so.
So let's rate the performances of each Arsenal player.
Bernd Leno- 6/10
Definitely not the way he would have wanted his North London Derby to pan out. It was his error that caused Arsenal to concede the first goal. A very loose effort by the German to stop the ball that just skimmed off Diers' head. Rest of his match went fairly well, serving the sweeper-keeper role comfortably.
Hector Bellerin- 7.5/10
The Spaniard did give away the ball on a couple of occasions but made up for it by providing width in the attack. His blistering pace was becoming too hot to handle for Ben Davis. Additionally, he played an exceptional pass to Ramsey in the build-up to Arsenal's equaliser.
Shkodran Mustafi- 7/10
A major prospect of a derby is the players' enthusiasm and Mustafi was oozing with it. Looked pumped up throughout the game showed what it meant to him. Though Son gave him a couple of nervy moments, his marking of Harry Kane kept the Englishman out of the game for major periods.
Sokratis Papastathopoulos- 7.5/10
His tendency to give away cheap fouls just doesn't seem to be going away. Sokratis gave away the foul which led to Spur's first goal. If we just ignore that part, the Greek international had a really good game, succeeding in suppressing the wrath of Kane.
Rob Holding- 6.5/10
Penalty or not, it's needless to say that he shouldn't have gone flying like that on Son. This is something that the young Englishman will learn from experience. Watching his progress, it's safe to say that this is a prospect that Arsenal fans should be looking up to with excitement.
Sead Kolasinac- 8.5/10
The Bosnian is an absolute tank. The reason why Arsenal were so dominant throughout the game was due to their utter dominance on the flanks by their wingbacks. Most of the good things came from the left flank as the Bosnian created 5 chances by himself. Defensively, he looked solid but he has to work on his decision making which can be a bit rash at times.
Lucas Torreira- 8.5/10
Stepping up to big occasions doesn't seem like a problem for the Uruguayan as he scored his first goal in his first derby. But what matters more is what he did throughout the game. Pugnacious as ever he hardly gave the Spurs players time to breathe as he tackled them every time they gained possession. He seems like the player that Arsenal were missing for so long.
Granit Xhaka- 8/10
This was the most anti-Xhaka game I've ever witnessed. He was handed the captaincy in a crucial game and he restored the faith shown in him by putting up a solid performance. In a very unlike Xhaka fashion he remained the only player on the pitch to not surrender the possession or make an error. He created the second most chances behind Kolasinac but his yellow card means he'll miss out the next game against Manchester United.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan- 5.5/10
The Armenian seems to have lost the plot since his departure from Dortmund. He looked strong at the start of the game pressing up high and looking like a real attacking threat but those were the only 15 minutes he was present at the field. As the game progressed, the Armenian vanished from the scenes only to be taken off at halftime.
Alex Iwobi- 5.5/10
Iwobi has certainly lit up under the new administration, growing into one of the hottest Arsenal prospects but this wasn't his day as the youngster tried really hard to create something only to see it fizz out due to his irrational decision making. Just like Mkhitaryan, he was substituted at halftime to pave the way for Lacazette.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang- 9/10
Two goals and an assist for the fourth one, the Gabonese international had the derby debut of his dreams. His brace has taken him on top of the charts of goalscorers this season. The striker was surprisingly brilliant at his defensive duties too as he made 5 tackles during the game, the most by any player. In a match in which the stakes were high, he definitely put up a match-winning performance.
Substitutes
Aaron Ramsey- 8/10
His introduction to the game showed who Arsenal were missing in the starting XI. He set up Arsenal's equaliser and complemented Lacazette really well.
Alexandre Lacazette- 7.5/10
A pure number 9, he was brought on at halftime to give Arsenal that extra attacking edge and he repaid his manager's faith by scoring a goal.
Matteo Guendouzi- 6.5/10
He provided the extra energy needed in the midfield in the second half. All in all, a good cameo role in his first North London Derby.
