Sensational Arsenal Blows Spurs Away in North London Derby
Arsenal put in their best performance of the season to dazzle arch-rivals Tottenham in the first North London derby of the 2017/18 Premier League season.
First-half goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez were enough to secure all three points for Arsene Wenger's men and extend their unbeaten home league record to 11 matches.
The Gunners dominated the opening half of football between the two North London clubs and following a number of half chances for both teams the home side broke the deadlock in the 36th minute thanks to Shkodran Mustafi's magnificent header from a Mesut Ozil free kick.
The German centre-back was marginally offside, but the real controversy surrounding the goal came from the foul which was awarded against Tottenham defender Davidson Sanchez, despite him appearing to win the ball in a tackle with Alexis Sanchez.
Arsenal scored from the resulting free kick and Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino was visibly angered by the decision of Mike Dean.
Five minutes later the away side were in double the trouble as Alexis Sanchez extended Arsenal's lead. Alexandre Lacazette fizzed the ball into the path of Sanchez and the Chilean, who was practically on the goal line, smashed the ball past the helpless Hugo Lloris to spark wild celebrations at the Emirates before the interval.
Following the break nothing seemed to change in the second-half as Arsenal continued to look a class above their arch-rivals. The Gunners constantly looked more likely to score a third than to concede a goal and Mauricio Pochettino seemed to admit defeat with just over 15 minutes to go when he subbed off Harry Kane and Dele Ali.
Spurs did have a couple of late chances to get a goal back, Eric Dier forced Petr Cech into making a good save from his header before Son Heung-min blazed Tottenham's best chance of the game over the bar.
Despite this convincing victory Arsenal remain one point behind Spurs, however, it is the Gunners fans who certainly hold the local bragging rights for the next few months following the conclusion of this North London derby.
