LONDON IS STILL VERY MUCH RED!
Arsenal won their first away North London Derby since 2015 in a dominant 2-0 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners came out firing from the get-go and didn’t let up to take an eight-point lead at the top of the table.
3 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 2-0 victory in the North London Derby
There’s a lot to get into from this match, so let’s get into it!
Positive #1: Super Aaron Ramsdale
A stellar showing. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
A Man of the Match display from Arsenal’s number one. When Tottenham attempted to get back into the match at the start of the second half, Ramsdale ensured they couldn’t.
2.32 xGOT and not conceding a single time is pretty remarkable, and it was without a doubt one of his best performances since joining the club. He even got a nice reward at the end of the match with a nice parting gift from a Spurs fan behind the goal.
Speaking of which…
Negative #1: Post-match mayhem
Aaron Ramsdale was at the centre of the post-match controversy. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
Ramsdale was at the centre of everything post-match. We know that our goalkeeper loves to mess with rivals and he did exactly that on Sunday. He kissed the badge at the home support after the final whistle, sparking Richarlison into action.
The Brazilian attacker hit Ramsdale in the head while the goalkeeper went to retrieve his gear by the goal. While doing that, a Spurs fan leapt on the barrier and kicked Ramsdale causing a large scuffle between both teams. It’s kind of insane that something like this can happen, but the fan in question will undoubtedly face pretty severe consequences.
Continued on the next slide…
January 15, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>2.32 xGOT and not conceding a single time is pretty remarkable, and it was without a doubt one of his best performances since joining the club. He even got a nice reward at the end of the match with a nice parting gift from a Spurs fan behind the goal.</p>
<p>Speaking of which…</p>
<h2>Negative #1: Post-match mayhem</h2>
<div id="attachment_131737" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131737 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1246257458.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1246257458.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1246257458-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Aaron Ramsdale was at the centre of the post-match controversy. (Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>Ramsdale was at the centre of everything post-match. We know that our goalkeeper loves to mess with rivals and he did exactly that on Sunday. He kissed the badge at the home support after the final whistle, sparking Richarlison into action.</p>
<p>The Brazilian attacker hit Ramsdale in the head while the goalkeeper went to retrieve his gear by the goal. While doing that, a Spurs fan leapt on the barrier and kicked Ramsdale causing a large scuffle between both teams. It’s kind of insane that something like this can happen, but the fan in question will undoubtedly face pretty severe consequences.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 positive & negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Positive #2: Saka & Ødegaard – oh my lord!</h2>
<div id="attachment_131738" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131738 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1246254952.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1246254952.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1246254952-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal raced into a 2-0 first-half lead. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>The two Arsenal goalscorers (sort of) were on another level in the match. There was just nothing Spurs could do to stop these two tremendous players.</p>
<p>Ødegaard is currently playing like the best player in the Premier League and Saka cannot be stopped one-vs-one by anybody. Both are absolutely unplayable right now.</p>
<p>These two continuing this kind of form will be vital for the rest of the season amid our title charge.</p>
<h2>Negative #2: Spurs getting back in it</h2>
<div id="attachment_131739" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131739 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1246256672.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1246256672.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1246256672-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Arsenal were under the cosh at the start of the second-half, but held firm. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>Tottenham are a second-half team. They showed it in the match, immediately looking more likely to score after half-time. Arsenal weathered the storm, however, bending and not breaking to ensure they kept a clean sheet.</p>
<p>The Gunners haven’t won away at Spurs since 2015, and given the unpredictable nature of this Spurs team after the restart, anything could’ve happened in the final 45 minutes. Fortunately, the defence just about held firm as Ramsdale came up big on a couple of occasions.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 positive & negative </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><h2>Positive #3: No more ‘free hits’</h2>
<div id="attachment_131724" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131724 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1246256666.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1246256666.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1246256666-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">There are no more ‘free hits’. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)</p>
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<p>There was a mentality particularly among the fans last year that particular games were ‘free hits’. That mentality never necessarily translated over to the players, but it’s 100% not there now. Manchester City dropped points in their loss to Manchester United, and we could’ve played our ‘free hit’ card in a tough away fixture, essentially meaning that it wouldn’t be too bad if we’d lost.</p>
<p>This team has got a championship-winning mentality, and they beat their biggest rivals away from home in some style to extend their lead at the top to eight points. That’s what title winners do.</p>
<h2>Negative #3: Positive bonus round!</h2>
<div id="attachment_131718" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-131718 size-full" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/01/16/3-positives-negatives-arsenal-2-0-victory-tottenham/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1246255194.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1246255194.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1246255194-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><p class="wp-caption-text">This was another afternoon full of positives. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)</p>
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<p>Tricked you guys, I refuse to actually be negative about a game like this. Here are some quick hits:</p>
<ul>
<li>Oleksandr Zinchenko… oh Zinchenko good lord this guy is good. He just has an unreal technical ability that has become so invaluable to this team.</li>
<li>Eddie Nketiah didn’t score and had some good chances but man was he good today, he’s becoming such an elite all-round striker.</li>
<li>Arteta saved Granit Xhaka from a rest-of-season ban by stopping him from joining the chaos at the end of the game. He would’ve gone full Mortal Kombat on someone for sure.</li>
<li>Hey, have I mentioned that we’re top of the league by eight points yet? Because we’re top of the league by eight points.</li>
<li>Ben White has now locked down Son Heung-min on two occasions. What a player.</li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li>Fun fact to end it: if Arsenal win next week they will be at a 100-point pace at the halfway mark of the season.</li>
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