Arsenal brush Tottenham aside in a north London derby to forget

Football

Published: 16 Jan. 2023, 16:34

Arsenal brush Tottenham aside in a north London derby to forget

Tottenham's Son Heung-min reacts during a Premier League match against Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Son Heung-min emerged from behind his mask for the first time in two and a half months on Sunday, regaining his full peripheral vision just in time to watch Tottenham Hotspur get humiliated by rivals Arsenal in a north London derby Spurs would definitely rather forget.

Son looked vaguely effective in the first half on Sunday, forcing Aaron Ramsdale into a save fairly early on and having another effort deflected over the bar. Those efforts quickly petered out into the second half, however, and like the rest of the Spurs squad, he put in a very lackluster performance toward the end of the game.

But Son’s general lack of spark was nowhere near as much of a problem as captain Hugo Lloris, who was docked with an own goal in the 14th minute after inexplicably diverting a Bukayo Saka effort from an impossible angle into the back of his own net.

The mistake was met with stunned silence by the home crowd and a very audible pause before the away fans realized they had cause to celebrate. The embarrassment that was the first goal may well have been Spurs’ undoing, with any hope of a serious response quickly crumbling.

Tottenham Hotspur's Hugo Lloris scores an own goal in a match against Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Both Harry Kane and Son made attempts over the following few minutes, as did Dejan Kulusevski marking his return from injury, but none of them seriously troubled Ramsdale.

It didn’t take Arsenal long to make it 2-0, with a 36th-minute effort from Martin Odegaard blasted into the bottom corner. The Gunners’ offensive continued, and by the time the whistle blew for half time it was a miracle that Tottenham were only down by two.

Spurs rallied after the break, at least insofar as they stopped conceding, but the fight was gone and Antonio Conte’s dressing room speech clearly had not done enough to come close to turning things around. Both Kane and Ryan Sessegnon had some serious efforts, but Ramsdale was on point for all of them.

The expected north London derby tensions were never far from the surface, and there were six yellow cards — four for Spurs, two for Arsenal — given before the final whistle blew.

When the game did finally end there was a confrontation between Ramsdale and substitute Richarlison, undoubtedly caused at least in part by the Arsenal goalkeeper’s admittedly deserved showboating. When the two players had been pulled apart, a Spurs fan hopped the barrier to kick Ramsdale in the back — a shameful moment to end a very embarrassing night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“If it happened, this situation is not good,” Conte said after the game. “It's not positive. I think in every moment you have to show respect. If we want respect, we have to show respect. Honestly I didn't see it, but if it happened this situation then for sure I didn't like it.”

Conte credited Arsenal with the win, saying it’s clear why they’re at the top of the Premier League table.

“I'm not disappointed because we knew that the game could be really difficult because Arsenal is a really, really strong team,” Conte said, “and tonight showed that they deserve to stay top of the league, they deserve to be title contenders. In my opinion Arsenal and City are the only two teams that can fight for the Premier League this season.

“At the same time I'm a bit disappointed for the way we lost. I think we started well, with the right intensity and the right focus, but then we conceded a goal and after this goal we created an important chance with Sonny and I think the Arsenal keeper made a fantastic save. Instead of going 1-1, we went 2-1 as we then we conceded another goal.”

Spurs will look to rebound from Sunday’s loss with some more tough opposition later this week as they take on Manchester City in a league game on Thursday.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]