HERE was a thoroughly impressive display of Arsenal’s title credentials.
Just four games into a season in which they might not even have to finish above Manchester City to win the crown, Mikel Arteta’s side entered a seething Tottenham Hotspur Stadium without two of their best players and strolled away with all three points.
Shorn of injured captain Martin Odegaard and the suspended Declan Rice, Arsenal claimed a third successive win at the home of their bitterest rivals thanks to a second-half header from Gabriel Magalhaes.
As in the corresponding fixture last year, Arsenal’s set-piece prowess – and Tottenham’s deficiency in the same area, proved decisive.
Back in April, Arsenal cruised into a three-goal lead here, courtesy of two set-piece goals and this time, it was a single corner which proved the difference.
Tottenham were bold and aggressive, they dominated possession and the shot-count but were ultimately beaten by a calmer, more methodical team.
—Source: Sun football
