Match statistics: Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham
Who needs Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang...?
Arsenal are celebrating their first north London derby win in nearly three years tonight, and they did it while their captain and talisman was sat firmly on the naughty step.
Dropped from the starting XI by Mikel Arteta for breaching pre-match protocols, Aubameryang did not even come off the bench as the Gunners fought back to claim a 2-1 win after Erik Lamela had given Tottenham the lead.
It was a deserved win for Arsenal, who were excellent throughout, and one that keeps their faint hopes of earning themselves a top-six finish this season alive.
But for Aubameyang, the day was a stark reminder that it does not matter who you are, you will be punished if you step out of line under Arteta.
Make no mistake about it, this was a huge call from the Arsenal boss.
"I made what I thought was the right decision," said the Spaniard after the game. "We draw a line there. We know how important Auba is for us, for the club. That's it. That's been dealt with so let's move on."
When Arteta arrived at Arsenal, he spoke constantly of his "non-negotiables", and made it clear that there would be consequences for anyone who went against them.
But he must have thought long and hard about what to do with his captain, who had scored in each of his last two north London derbies at the Emirates Stadium and had found the net nine times in his last 12 appearances for the Gunners.
Clearly he felt that the breach of pre-match protocol, which is believed to have been down to lateness, warranted punishment. But also that it needed to be brought out into the open.
Given Arsenal’s hectic fixture schedule and Thursday night’s crucial Europa League last 16 second leg against Olympiacos looming large, the sight of Aubameyang being named on the bench would not have raised many eyebrows.
Had Arteta not said anything during his pre-match interviews, the punishment could easily have been kept in-house.
So the fact the Arsenal manager publicly offered up the information before kick-off suggested he wanted to make a point to his captain that no-one was above the law.
It was a very public dressing down of Arsenal’s skipper in the middle of the most crucial fortnight of the season.
"For me it's the foundations and the platform that mean we can build something medium and long term that is sustainable," Arteta said, when quizzed on why he has now added Aubameyang to the list of players he has punished for off-pitch incidents since taking over.
"That can bring us joy and happiness. Without that, I don't believe that it would happen. That's why I keep talking about it and acting on it."
Arteta will now be hoping that Aubameyang takes it in the right manner and responds in the best possible way when he gets brought back into side.
Given how important the upcoming Olympiacos clash is, you would expect the Gabon international will be back in the starting XI on Thursday night, and will have a point to prove.
Having to watch from the sidelines against Spurs would have hurt, though the 31-year-old would have been delighted by the way his team-mates performed without him.
Arsenal were utterly dominant against their neighbours and fully deserved their first north London derby win since December, 2018.
Even after they had fallen behind to Lamela’s outrageous goal on 33 minutes, which came from Tottenham’s first shot of the match, they continued to press forward and deservedly levelled through Martin Odegaard.
They ended the first half having had 10 shots on goal to Spurs’ one, and had rattled the woodwork twice through Emile Smith Rowe and Cedric Soares.
Arteta’s side were excellent, and although they seemed to tire after the interval, they did enough to claim all three points - with Alexandre Lacazette scoring the winner from the penalty spot 25 minutes from time.
It is a win that keeps Arsenal’s hopes of finishing the season in a European spot alive. They now sit 10 points off the top four with 10 games remaining, but more importantly they are just five points behind sixth-placed Everton.
They remain 10th in the table, but have closed the gap on those above them and have moved to within four points of Tottenham in the process.
It is a massive confidence booster ahead of Thursday's European assignment as well as next weekend’s trip to West Ham at the London Stadium.
And for Arteta - who had lost his two previous north London derbies as Gunners boss - the result was justification for his decision to drop his captain.
He made a huge call, and had it backfired he would have opened himself up for huge amounts of scrutiny.
But it went his way and for the first time in nearly three years, the north London bragging rights now belong to Arsenal.
