Arsenal 2 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur

Arsenal scored two goals within four minutes of the first half to defeat rival Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the north London derby, trailing Premier League leader Liverpool by four points.

The Gunners know they can boost their title chances with a win after Arne Slott's side drew 1-1 with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.

However, despite their dominance in their first game at a thrilling Emirates Stadium, they fell behind at home for the third time in eight days.

Dejan Kulusevski forced David Raya into a fine save from the corner to warn the Gunners, but at the next set-piece Son Heung-min's shot from the edge of the area looped past Thomas Partey and past the Arsenal goalkeeper .

Son Heung-min celebrates goal in North London derby
image: Son Heung-min celebrates goal in North London derby

This left Arsenal stunned and their attacking problems looked set to continue into the second half as it took them 40 minutes to get their first meaningful chance. But they scored from it.

It was the 10th time this season that a corner kick had been taken - despite the ball touching Leandro Trossard before going behind, it was wrongly awarded. Declan Rice's long pass was met by Gabriel, whose header sailed over Dominic Solanke's chest and into the net.

Arsenal completed their comeback on the stroke of half-time four minutes later when Martin Odegaard fed Trossard on the left and his shot passed through the hands of Antoni Kinski and into the far corner.

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Michael Dawson reacts to Arsenal's second quick shot against Tottenham as Leandro Trossard puts the Gunners 2-1 ahead

That gave Arsenal momentum in the second half - but the home side still had their best chance after half-time.

Kai Havertz, who has been heavily criticized after missing chances in recent defeats to Newcastle and Manchester United, missed two excellent opportunities in the penalty area.

The forward fired from four yards out from the corner before nodding straight at Kinski. Martin Odegaard, who missed a penalty in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, also had a great chance to seal the score in the final seconds of the game. "It felt like we could have scored 10 points," Declan Rice said after the game.

It didn't matter, though, as despite Tottenham bringing on Richarlison, who was back from injury, Angie Postecoglou's side posed little threat, with Pedro Polo scoring a goalless goal in stoppage time. A shot from a possible angle was the closest they came to a response in the second half.

Since defeating Manchester City in November, Spurs have only beaten 20th-placed Southampton in the league, finishing 13th, while Arsenal have their sights set on the title.

player rating

arsenal: Eid (6); Timber (6), Saliba (7), Gabriel (7), Lewis Skelly (8); Partey (6), Rice (7), Odegaard (7) ); Sterling(6), Havertz(6), Trossard(7)

Substitutes used: Martinelli(6), Tierney(6), Zinchenko(n/a), Merino(n/a)

Tottenham Hotspur: Kinski (5); Polo (6), Dragusin (6), Gray (6), Spence (5); Bissouma (5), Sarr (5); Bergvall ( 6); Kulusevski (6), Son (7), Solanke (5)

Substitutes used: Madison(5), Johnson(6), Richarlison(​​6)

Best player of the match: Miles Lewis Skelly

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