Premier League 2018-19: Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham | Major Takeaways from the game

Arsenal, who had gone 18 games unbeaten in all competitions, hosted the high flying Spurs at home. The North London Derby as it is called, was played for the first time with Unai Emery as a coach. The Gunners came into the game with their first team well rested from a game against Vorskla. Spurs, on the other hand, were in the midst of a tight schedule, facing Chelsea last weekend and Inter mid-week in the Champions League.

Having failed to win 7 out of the last 8 Premier League games against Spurs, Arsenal had something to prove in this game - that they can win the North London Derby convincingly. It has to be said they did that with perfection.

Unai Emery stuck with his three-man defense with Sokratis, Holding, and Mustafi. Bellerin and Kolasinac were pushed up as wing-backs with Xhaka and Torreira in the double-pivot. Aubameyang, Iwobi, and Mkhitaryan completed the front three.

Tottenham stuck with young Juan Foyth in the center but changed his partnership, pairing him with Vertonghen. Aurier and Ben Davies continued to start. Eriksen, Dier and Moussa Sissoko lined up in the midfield. Kane, Alli, and Son completed the Spurs' front three.

Arsenal drew first blood in the game with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scoring from the spot. Tottenham struck back with Eric Dier, whose "stay quiet" signal to Arsenal fans caused quite a stir among the Arsenal substitutes. A minute later, Harry Kane converted from the spot to give Tottenham the lead going into half-time.

Aubameyang brought things back on level terms with a stunning strike in the second half. Goals from Lacazette and Torreira in quick succession put the game out of Spurs' reach. Arsenal is now tied with their neighbors with 30 points but they are ahead on goal difference. They are only one point away from their other neighbors Chelsea in the table.

Here are the major takeaways from the game.

#5 Jan Vertonghen's horrific night at the Emirates

Jan Vertonghen was sent off after a poor tackle on Lacazette

With fixture congestion being a major part of the Spurs' schedule, and the need to play the best 11 both in the league and in Europe, Pochettino had to rotate his squad. He had rested Juan Foyth for the Inter clash and had one of his center-backs rested. Even though Pochettino started Foyth, he changed his partner from Toby Alderweireld to Jan Vertonghen.

The possible gamble backfired on the Spurs, and it was showing from the first minute. Spurs lacked the communication in defense, possibly due to the sparse amount of time that Foyth and Vertonghen have played together.

The events turned bad for Vertonghen in the 10th minute itself. While defending a corner, he raised his arm insanely high and Mike Dean spotted it. Arsenal won the spot kick and went ahead through it.

Even after it, Vertonghen had a lackluster night, winning only one aerial duel and two tackles. He failed to cut off the pass from Bellerin to Ramsey and failed to foul as well. The move culminated in giving Aubameyang his second goal.

To round up his already horrific night, he was shown a second yellow and a red by Mike Dean for his poor tackle on Lacazette. A bad gamble was taken by Pochettino and was extremely demoralizing for the Belgian.

#4 Son Heung Min is the only positive for Spurs

The central maxima for Spurs: Son Heung Min

Even when Arsenal dominated and danced with the ball in the first half, only one Spurs player really threatened them: Son Heung Min. Son ran at the defense whenever he could, but could do little with the tight angles in front of him. He was away from the defense twice and chose to shoot on both occasions from wide angles, resulting in saves by Leno.

Spurs had two goals that night, both of which came with the South Korean's involvement. He coaxed Mustafi into challenging him when there was no real threat from him. He won the free-kick for Spurs and Eriksen's splendid curler found the net from Dier's head.

Minutes later, Son ran clear off the defense again but got caught by Holding. He had no second thoughts about going down and winning the penalty. Kane converted from the spot.

In the second half, Son had a golden chance to fire Spurs ahead thanks to a gifted pass from Bellerin. However, he chose to go for the short corner rather than the long one, which was saved by Leno. He won one or two free-kicks as well, frustrating the Gunners and making himself a villain at the Emirates.

The crowd booed Son Heung Min off when he was substituted and it goes to show how much he got under their skin.

#3 Too many errors from the Spurs

This goal combined errors from three players: Foyth, Dier, and Lloris

Spurs under Pochettino likes to keep their balance and stability. They were the exact opposite at Emirates. They lost possession a lot in the first half hour, completing just one or two passes before the ball was pinched. As a result, Arsenal burst through the sides and caught Spurs off guard.

During a free-kick, Arsenal caught Spurs half asleep, and a quickly taken lobbed freekick found Iwobi under no pressure. Spurs lived dangerously due to missed chances and poor finishing by Arsenal in the first half.

Jan Vertonghen's poor reading of the corner was a huge error in giving Arsenal the first penalty. No one pressed Hector Bellerin, allowing him to take all the time to weave a through ball for Ramsey. Ramsey and Aubameyang were under little pressure from their markers Vertonghen and Dier.

Juan Foyth gave the ball away cheaply, which allowed Lacazette to take a shot away. Then Hugo Lloris' complacency let the ball slip in. Dier tried to win the ball when Torreira was through, he ended by missing the ball and letting Torreira slip by.

Three clear errors led to goals, and an awful lot more mistakes turned the game into a nightmare. Spurs just made too many errors.

#2 Aubameyang shines brightly at the Emirates, Kane subdued

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang came into the game tied with Aguero for the Golden Boot with 8 goals. After the game today, he leads the golden boot all by himself by adding not one but two goals to the tally. Aubameyang made several runs through the left and through the middle.

He stepped up for the Gunners from the spot and launched them in front. He had several more chances which went off either due to his poor finishing or his failure to control the ball, but he still caused problems with his constant threatening runs.

In the second half, he equalized for Arsenal with a glorious shot from outside the box. He turned away from Dier and curled the ball past Lloris. To cap off a wonderful game, he found Torreira with a sublime reverse pass, which gave Arsenal breathing space.

Harry Kane, on the other hand, was hardly a threat. He got the equalizer from a good spot kick. But other than that, we didn't see Kane making Leno work as much. The only other shot from Kane was his free-kick from far out. He had poor pass success compared to his opposite number as well.

While Aubameyang staked his claim for the Golden Boot, Harry Kane hardly made his presence felt.

#1 Unai Emery's tactics, choice and timing of substitutions was perfect

Unai Emery made a big decision by starting with Bellerin and Kolasinac as wing-backs, as Arsenal had played most of their games in a 4-3-3. But it turned out to be a great decision. Both Bellerin and Kolasinac caused problems from their respective sides. They attacked more freely due to released pressure from defensive duties. His instructions to stay with possession and keep pressing were a success.

Despite depriving Spurs of possession, Arsenal still fell behind. Emery wasted no time in making amends and took out the underwhelming Mkhitaryan for Lacazette. He also introduced Aaron Ramsey for Iwobi. Emery's substitutions made their impacts. Ramsey won corners and freekicks and assisted the goal from Aubameyang.

Lacazette also made several runs down the flanks and when it mattered he scored as well. Matteo Guendouzi performed well in the short amount of time that he was on the pitch.

Emery's decision to make a double change at halftime itself was a good one. On the contrary, Pochettino waited for too long to make his substitutions, giving them no time to make an impact.

Emery came in with a brilliant plan and succeeded.