Tottenham vs Arsenal result, highlights and analysis as Lloris howler helps Gunners to crucial derby victory

Joe Wright

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Tottenham vs Arsenal result, highlights and analysis as Lloris howler helps Gunners to crucial derby victory image

Arsenal moved eight points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

The Gunners were already top of the standings but knew that a positive result at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could be hugely valuable to pad their lead after Manchester City lost to Manchester United the day before.

They were gifted the lead inside a quarter of an hour thanks to a dreadful error from Hugo Lloris before Martin Odegaard doubled the advantage as the visitors took total control.

Spurs showed at least some fight after the break and it took some excellent goalkeeping from Aaron Ramsdale to keep out Ryan Sessegnon and Harry Kane.

Any hope of a comeback seemed to die at least 15 minutes before fulltime, though, as the Gunners eased to their first away league win over Spurs since 2014 to seize control of the title race as the season approaches the halfway point.

Tottenham vs Arsenal final score

  1H 2H FT
Tottenham 0 0 0
Arsenal 2 0 2

Goals: ARS — Lloris (OG) — 14th min

            ARS — Odegaard — 36th min

Knowing Arsenal's tendency to start well, Spurs needed to hold firm in the opening exchanges to make this a real contest. Instead, with less than a quarter of an hour gone, Lloris flapped at a drilled Bukayo Saka cross and managed to turn it into his own net, much to the delight and bemusement of the Gunners.

Son Heung-min was denied by a good Ramsdale save soon afterwards, but the error from their captain seemed to cause Spurs to wilt and Arsenal assumed control. Odegaard stung the palms of Lloris and Thomas Partey crashed a volley off the post as the leaders pushed for a second.

It came before halftime, Odegaard given far too much space on the edge of the area before drilling the ball into the bottom-right corner.

Spurs have made a habit of second-half improvements this season and duly offered a response after the break, Ramsdale doing well to parry a Kane shot before sticking out a foot to keep out Ryan Sessegnon's low strike from inside the box.

Gabriel stopped Kane from getting a clear shot from point-blank range and Son saw a shot from 12 yards deflected over the bar, but many home fans had already left for the exits by then, leaving Arsenal to celebrate an eight-point lead over champions Manchester City.

MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada

Ramsdale excels as Arsenal come through another test

"We deserved the two-goal lead and maybe deserved more. We played the way we wanted to play in the first half and got the deserved lead," Ramsdale said to Sky Sports after the match.

He was absolutely right: Arsenal were totally in control and it felt like they could have scored three or four if they had really wanted to. After the break, Spurs finally offered some threat, and that's where Ramsdale came into his own to ensure there was no sniff of a comeback.

"That's what I'm there to do," he said. "The manager also mentioned that in the last few north London derbies, we haven't kept a clean sheet, so that spurred me on a bit."

The incident at the end where the fan attempted to kick the Arsenal keeper will dominate some of the post-match discussion, but the focus should be on the performance of Ramsdale, who was a strong shot-stopped and calming presence throughout, in stark contrast to his counterpart in the Spurs goal.

Is the Premier League title Arsenal's to lose?

Former Gunner Paul Merson said on Sky Sports that Arsenal will not be caught in the title race now unless they let their standards drop. With 15 wins from the first 18 games giving them an eight-point lead at the top, it's hard to argue with that logic.

There are major tests to come, of course — Manchester United visit the Emirates Stadium on January 22, and they must still play twice against Manchester City — but the fact remains that, against the vast majority of opposition this season, Arsenal have simply been too good.

Yes, Spurs were so poor in the first half here that the game was effectively over by halftime, but Arteta's side did not look unsettled at any point in the 90 minutes. They are playing positive, authoritative football, and if they're feeling any pressure about their surprise title challenge, they're not showing it. They are the team to beat.

Tottenham vs Arsenal commentary, highlights from Premier League

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FT: It's all over at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but there's some concerning scenes after the final whistle: there seemed to be an argument between Aaron Ramsdale and Richarlison, and then a fan got onto the pitchside barrier and tried to get involved. It looked like he aimed a kick at Ramsdale from behind before leaping back into the stands. Mikel Arteta and his staff managed to calm the situation before celebrating with the away support. What a win for the Gunners!

90 + 5 mins: Aaron Ramsdale, who's been brilliant, catches a hopeful Bryan Gil cross... and that's it! Fulltime!

90th min: We're into five additional minutes here, but Spurs know this one is over. A lot of the fans have already left. The Arsenal section are having a party in the corner.

87th min: Son Heung-min has finally got into the action in these last few minutes. He lines up a free-kick on the edge of the box, slightly to the left of goal, but he strikes the ball right into the wall.

84th min: Big chance for Son Heung-min! Harry Kane's cut-back finds the South Korea star, whose powerful shot is deflected over the bar. Arsenal have everyone back now to defend as Spurs try to find some salvation.

82nd min: It was a decent cross that Aaron Ramsdale punched clear. After a few more scrambled clearances and Spurs clipped crosses, Richarlison's low shot is comfortably saved by the Arsenal keeper.

81st min: The crowd has gone very quiet again. Spurs need something, and they need it quickly. They've got a free-kick in the final third, and this needs to be a good delivery from Son Heung-min...

75th min: Two more Spurs changes as Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic come on for Pape Sarr and Ryan Sessegnon. It feels a bit like the fight is seeping out of the home side. Arsenal are looking fairly comfortable again.

71st min: Richarlison is on for his first appearance since the World Cup. Matt Doherty has gone off, so Cristian Romero is at right-back. A reminder that's he's on a yellow card and is now up against Gabriel Martinelli...

69th min: Big chance for Eddie Nketiah to seal it! Granit Xhaka leads a good break and plays in the Arsenal striker, but his first touch gives Hugo Lloris time to close the distance and make a good block with his chest.

66th min: Fine defending there from Gabriel to stop Harry Kane getting a clear shot at goal from inside the box. Arsenal are holding firm against this improved display from Spurs, although you wouldn't say the home side are exactly banging down the door.

60th min: Spurs' threat is coming down the right, just like Arsenal's did in the first half. Dejan Kulusevski and Matt Doherty combine well, but the former's cross is volleyed well wide by Ryan Sessegnon — so wide, in fact, that the ball stayed in play, allowing Arsenal to break upfield.

57th min: Dejan Kulusevski curls another left-footed delivery just wide of the left-hand post. Arsenal are playing a bit of a dangerous game, although Eddie Nketiah just had half a chance on the break only to shoot straight at Hugo Lloris.

52nd min: Aaron Ramsdale saves Arsenal again! Ryan Sessegnon combines well with Harry Kane but Ramsdale gets enough on his shot from the left of the six-yard box to turn it behind for a corner via his big toe. This is much better from Tottenham, but they've got to take one of these chances.

50th min: Harry Kane again! Pape Sarr battles for the ball and Dejan Kulusevski rolls Granit Xhaka before finding Kane. The England striker shifts the ball and shoots, but Aaron Ramsdale parries it away.

47th min: Spurs get us off and running for the second half and a decent bit of possession gets the crowd a little more buoyed. Dejan Kulusevski tries cutting on his left foot, but the shot goes over the bar.

HT: Tottenham have made a habit of second-half improvements this season, and boy, do they need one today. Arsenal have been totally and utterly dominant and Spurs simply haven't been at it. The own goal from Hugo Lloris really seemed to shake them and they've not recovered. Antonio Conte needs to work some magic.

45 + 1 mins: Kane! Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg swings in a cross and Harry Kane glances on a header that Aaron Ramsdale blocks. It was straight at the keeper, but he had to react well. Hojbjerg volleys wide after the resulting corner and that's the last action of the half.

45th min: Ryan Sessegnon is booked for kicking Bukayo Saka. It seems Spurs have decided that's the only way to stop him. They have been completely dominated in this half and Antonio Conte will be thankful it's only 2-0.

36th min: GOAL FOR ARSENAL! It's 2-0 to the Gunners and it's no more than they deserve. The ball is worked to Bukayo Saka, once more in far too much space, and he squares it to Martin Odegaard. The captain isn't closed down and promptly drills a low shot into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area. Spurs look utterly bereft here.

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25th min: PARTEY! Arsenal's midfielder crashes a stunning volley off the right-hand post. Spurs just can't get out of their own half here, and the crowd has gone eerily quiet. If things continue like this, Arsenal could kill this game before half-time.

22nd min: Martin Odegaard tries his luck from 20 yards and Hugo Lloris springs to his left to save. Arsenal are firmly on top and in danger of taking this game away from Spurs already.

20th min: Bukayo Saka is causing problems down the Arsenal right. This time, he finds Eddie Nketiah, whose low cross is cleared away from the six-yard box and scrambled to safety by Eric Dier.

17th min: Chance for Spurs! A clever reverse pass from Ryan Sessegnon puts Son Heung-min clear in the area, but Aaron Ramsdale is out quickly to make the save.

14th min: GOAL FOR ARSENAL! Oh, Hugo Lloris, what have you done? Thomas Partey's long pass releases Bukayo Saka down the right in far too much space. He cuts into the box and fires the ball across goal from the byline, straight at the Spurs keeper, who parries it into the net. There was a slight deflection on Saka's delivery, but that was awful from Lloris' point of view.

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8th min: Goodness me, Hugo Lloris! Spurs' keeper dithers over the ball and is closed down, then Clement Lenglet's clearance is blocked and suddenly Eddie Nketiah has a chance. Lloris makes a good block and the ball is cleared. That was wholly unnecessary from the home side.

4th min: Arsenal have been good for fast starts in the league this season but Spurs have come out of the blocks quickly here. They're pressing the Gunners high and Ryan Sessegnon has already led a decent break down the left that came to nothing in the end.

KO: Here we go! Arsenal get the derby underway.

30 mins before KO: The return of Kulusevski is a big one for Spurs. Alongside Harry Kane and Son Heung-min in that front three, he could pose a huge threat to the Gunners' backline, particularly on the break. The challenge will come in central midfield, where the visitors are likely to dominate the ball. It's a big day for Pape Sarr.

1 hr before KO: The team news is in! The big boost for Spurs is that Dejan Kulusevski returns to the starting lineup.

Arsenal are at full strength (barring long-term absentee Gabriel Jesus, of course).

1 hr 30 mins before KO: Has there been a bigger derby match (from an Arsenal perspective, at least) in recent years? If the Gunners win today, they will have an eight-point lead at the top of the table as we approach the halfway point of the season. Spurs need a victory to boost their own ambitions of at least a top-four finish, and they would like nothing better than to dent their local rivals' title chances.

2 hrs before KO: Here we go, then: the second major derby of the Premier League weekend. It's leaders Arsenal against Antonio Conte's Tottenham in North London in what could be a key fixture in this season's title race.

Here's what it looked like when these teams faced off in October.

Tottenham vs Arsenal lineups, team news

Dejan Kulusevski returns to the starting lineup and Richarlison is fit enough for the bench, but there is still no Rodrigo Bentancur.

Tottenham starting XI (3-4-3): Lloris (GK) — Romero, Dier, Lenglet — Doherty, Sarr, Hojbjerg, Sessegnon — Kulusevski, Kane, Son

Tottenham subs: Skipp, Sanchez, Richarlison, Gil, Emerson Royal, Perisic, Forster, Davies, Bissouma

Arteta has returned to his trusted starting XI following their FA Cup win over Oxford United, although Gabriel Jesus is a long-term absentee for the visitors.

Arsenal starting XI (4-3-3): Ramsdale (GK) — White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko — Odegaard, Partey, Xhaka — Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli

Arsenal subs: Tierney, Smith Rowe, Holding, Tomiyasu, Vieira, Lokonga, Marquinhos, Turner, Smith

Tottenham vs Arsenal live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:

  TV channel Streaming
USA — Peacock
Canada — fuboTV Canada
UK Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League Sky Go, NOW TV
Australia — Optus Sport
New Zealand Sky Sport Premier League Sky Go NZ, Sky Sport NOW
India Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports 3 Asia, Star Sports Select HD1 Jio TV, Hotstar VIP
Hong Kong Now Premier League TV (Ch. 620-621) now TV
Malaysia Astro Super Sport 3

Astro GO, Sooka
Singapore Hub Premier 1 (Ch. 221) StarHub TV+

UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with selected matches on Amazon Prime. Sky has the rights to this match.

USA: The English-language stream is available to Peacock subscribers.

Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport. 

India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.