Leandro Trossard changed the mood at Arsenal with the winning goal as they bounced back from an early defeat to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at home on Wednesday to move back into the Premier League Second place.
Belgian Trossard's shot before half-time sealed the derby win, not only cutting Arsenal's gap on Liverpool to four points and reigniting title hopes, but it was a timely shot in the arm after a difficult start to the year. tonic.
Last week's 0-2 home loss to Newcastle United in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals and Manchester United's elimination in the third round of the FA Cup in a penalty shootout at home put Arsenal's season in danger of collapse.
Gabriel Jesus' season-ending injury has added to Arsenal's woes this week, and the gloom seemed to be over when Son Heung-min's volley gave Tottenham the lead after 25 minutes. It may deepen.
But they fought back impressively to deservedly win their third consecutive Premier League north London derby since 1989. Arsenal return to Nottingham Forest with 43 points from 21 games against Liverpool, who held to a 47-point draw with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. Starting from 20.
"Today was outstanding. From the first minute we were very committed, very intense. We played to hurt them. We created an unbelievable atmosphere," said Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta . “We played with a great attitude and didn’t feel sorry for ourselves.”
Tottenham Hotspur manager Angie Postecoglou has no complaints about his team's 11th league defeat of the season, which leaves them in 13th place with 24 points. His side have won just one of nine league games and the Australians know it better.
"We were not where we needed to be in the first half in such an important game," he told reporters. "Too passive."
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Tottenham barely got out of their own half in the first 20 minutes but almost took the lead in their first attack when Jed Spence's low cross looked like it would be Dominic Solan Ke's catch was then brilliantly intercepted by Gabriel.
Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya made a fine save on Solanke but Son Heung-min's volley caught William Saliba off guard and he had no chance.
In the 40th minute, the home team relied on reliable tactics to equalize the score. Declan Rice took a corner kick, Tottenham goalkeeper Anthony Kinski was in trouble, and Gabriel's header at the back post went wide. Rank.
Tottenham Hotspur were rightly frustrated after Arsenal's equalizing corner proved to be wrongly awarded, although a frustrated Postkoglu did not take it seriously.
Four minutes later, the reversal was completed. Tottenham Hotspur once again lost the ball in the dangerous area and was punished. Trossard was replaced by Martin Odegaard and his left-footed shot went past Kinski's save. Key would have been disappointed if he didn't have a shot on goal. Let's do it.
Arsenal failed to beat Tottenham after the break, with both Kai Havertz and Odegaard guilty of failing to give their side some breathing room. It almost cost Arsenal, with Pedro Polo scoring on the outside of the post in stoppage time for the visitors, but Arsenal had done enough to secure the points.
Arteta's side are on an 11-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and, while still behind Liverpool, victory over Spurs could prove the spark they need to catch Arne Slott's side.
"Three points are the most important thing. Hopefully now we can move forward because that's the most important part of the season," Rice said.