It was a tough London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as they battled it down yesterday in the 2024/2025 English Premier League title race.
After a controversial red card that saw Declan Rice off the pitch, Arsenal in their previous match were forced to a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion. This denied Arsenal a third win in the title race.
As the game kicked off, Tothenham proved too strong for the Gunners as they were fully in control of the game with a confident possession of the ball. Son Heung-Min mounted high pressure on Arsenal’s defense from the left flank. This made the Lilywhites dominate the game having most of the clear chances to register a goal but failed to crack the solidified defense line of Arsenal. A total of 16 goal attempts, five shots on goal, 282 passes, 121 attacks, and 80 dangerous attacks, were the statistics that showed how predominant Spurs were.
This dominance looked as though the Gunners would lose but the historic header from Gabriel dos Santos Magalhães in the 64th minute saved the day for Mikel Arteta in the away game. The header makes it the 10th headed goals out of 15 in the English premier league for the Brazilian.
With 209 previous meetings, both teams have sweated it out. Spurs defeated Arsenal sixty-seven times, while Arsenal gained victory eighty-seven times over them, and both shared the points fifty-five times.
Martin Odegaard’s Absence: The absence of Odegaard from the North London’s derby was clearly visible. Though Arsenal had midfielders like Thomas Patey, but they lacked control of the midfield as no one could hold the ball and enhance the attacking football strategy they are commonly known for. Odegaard sustained an ankle injury after a challenge with Austrian Christoph Baumgartner that led to a twisting. This is a pressing concern for Arteta as the absence of the captain of the squad may face several weeks on the sidelines.
Arsenal’s Next four Fixtures: With the narrow win on Sunday, the Gunners will be in action on Thursday 19th September, 2024 in their first 2024/2025 UEFA Champions League game against the historic UEFA Europa League Champions Atalanta. Atalanta who also defeated Fiorentina in a commanding 3-2 win are very much ready for the game.
The weekend too will be against 10 times EPL champions Manchester City. City is no push over as they are currently leading the Premier League table and are also confident so far in the title race.
Three days after the two tough matches, Arsenal will be taking on Bolton Wanderers on 25th September, 2024 at 7 pm, and newly promoted Leicester City who had a 2-2 draw in the Selhurst Park Stadium against home side Crystal Palace.
Arsenal and Arteta: Since his appointment in December 2019, Mikel Arteta has been doing quite well with Arsenal. His first trophy was in 2020 when he won the FA Cup. Other trophies include the Community Shield (2020 and 2023).
His notable achievement can’t be overlooked as he has also developed young potentials like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Emile Smith-Rowe. With his newly signed 3 year contract, Arteta will continue to hold his tenure as the manager until 2027.
