Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal: 5 Talking Points

#2 Spurs' pressing was very effective

Tottenham Hotspur effectively cut out passing options for Arsenal

Mauricio Pochettino went with a strong lineup in the derby but the first half was a drab affair with nothing really working for either team. While Arsenal had personnel in the wrong positions, Spurs were initially unable to get going with only Son Heung-min providing moments of brilliance in attack.

But one thing the Spurs did right throughout the game was to press Arsenal when they had the ball. Despite having five midfielders on the pitch, Arsenal simply couldn't string more than three passes together.

Spurs also played a high line to narrow down the zones where Arsenal could have played themselves out of trouble. This also served another purpose - keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang further away from goal.

Whenever the speedy striker did break free to potentially go one-on-one, he was flagged offside. The high line was always a foot or two too high for Aubameyang who never got a shot on goal in the entire game.