Arsenal inject life into stalled season with vital derby win but transfer need remains | OneFootball

Gunners bounce back crucially from nightmare week to beat Tottenham, but they still need attacking reinforcements fast

Arsenal closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points by beating Tottenham in the north London derby.

The Gunners had been on top before then, though, and they were deservedly ahead before half-time.

Dominic Solanke’s own goal got them back on level terms and then Leandro Trossard fired Arsenal in front.

The victory means Arsenal are now just four points off league leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

Simon Collings was at the Emirates Stadium to pick out the main talking points for the Gunners.

A familiar game, but a different result

This was a performance that Arsenal fans have seen a few times recently, but thankfully for them this time they were on the right side of the result.

The Gunners created enough chances to win this game far more comfortably and the need for attacking reinforcements this month remains clear.

Kai Havertz missed a huge chance from a corner early in the second half and Martin Odegaard somehow dragged a shot wide late on.

There were other opportunities as well and last week’s defeats by Manchester United and Newcastle showed how Arsenal can be punished if they are not more clinical.

This derby, however, was all about the result for Arsenal. After a difficult week where it felt like the mood was turning at the Emirates, they needed a win to inject life into their season.

Not for the first time, it was a set-piece that got them back on level terms after Son’s deflected opener.

Gabriel got free at the back post and his header went into the net off Solanke after Declan Rice’s corner had picked him out.

Arsenal then, perhaps, got the luck they have been craving. Winning the ball in midfield, Thomas Partey found Odegaard and he set Trossard away.

The Belgian drove forward and hit the ball well, but Spurs goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky will feel he could have done better.

Search for Saka replacement goes on

Mikel Arteta must have been hoping it was fifth time lucky when he named his team for this north London derby.

Since Bukayo Saka tore his hamstring last month, the Spaniard has been trying to find solutions to life without his star winger.

Before Wednesday night, four players had started on the right flank and that became five as Raheem Sterling was given the nod.

The 30-year-old has had a difficult time in north London since joining on loan from Chelsea on transfer deadline day in the summer.

Sterling has failed to break into the team and, just when Saka got injured last month, he picked up a knee injury of his own.

Back from that, Sterling was given a chance here and he started brightly. Within minutes he was almost in behind after Myles Lewis-Skelly’s ball picked him out.

Kinsky was able to thwart him, though, and it summed up Sterling’s night. There were bright moments, but not the end product Arsenal needed on the right and he was taken off after 60 minutes.

Lewis-Skelly shines again

It is a sign of Lewis-Skelly’s rapid rise that when Arsenal travelled to Tottenham earlier this season in September, he hadn’t even made his senior debut.

The 18-year-old has broken into the Arsenal team since then and established himself as a genuine contender at left-back.

Riccardo Calafiori missed this game due to injury but, even if he was fit, there is an argument to say Lewis-Skelly would have started.

The teenager looks fearless on this stage and that was despite him being the first 18-year-old to start a north London derby for Arsenal since a certain Cesc Fabregas in 2005.

Lewis-Skelly oozed composure in the battle and he physically held his own too, keeping Dejan Kulusevski as quiet as he has been all season. Spurs put Brennan Johnson on the right after the break, but he had no joy either.

Rice recently said how he is blown away by Lewis-Skelly, saying he must have been “built in a lab”, and it’s easy to see why. The maturity he shows is far beyond that of an 18-year-old.