SETTABLOID

Arsenal secured a 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday away from home after a second-half header from Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes.

Arsenal went into the game on the back of several injuries but managed to get the better of their city rivals after a brilliant corner from Bukayo Saka provided the assist for their winner.

However, manager Mikel Arteta could be left sweating over the fitness of the England international attacker ahead of the trip to Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City next weekend.

Saka limped off after going down injured and had to be replaced by Ethan Nwaneri in the closing stages of the game.

Arsenal returned to winning ways with a 1-0 Premier League victory over north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Gunners went into the game without seven key players including midfield duo Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.

This forced manager Mikel Arteta into a tactical switch. Jorginho came into the line-up to partner Thomas Partey in midfield.

Kai Havertz played from the number 10 position with Leandro Trossard leading the attack as the false 9.

Havertz did not make any goal contribution in the derby, but he was brilliant with his clearances and duel-winning ability.

The German won an impressive 12 aerial and ground duels with five headed clearances – four of those from set-pieces.

The 25-year-old had the most touches for any Arsenal player (51) and worked hard for the team with and without possession.

With Odegaard’s unfortunate ankle injury, Havertz had to adapt to a different role and he did his job with relative success.

With the 1-0 win, Arsenal have moved to second in the Premier League table with 10 points, two behind leaders Manchester City.

The Gunners face the Cityzens at the Etihad Stadium in their next league outing on Sunday, September 22.

Prior to that, Arsenal will start their Champions League campaign with an away trip to Atalanta on Thursday evening.

The Gunners have a testing schedule with less than 72 hours to prepare for the City game. We could see some changes in midweek.

Havertz is one of those who has been ever-present under Arteta and he could continue in his new role against the Serie A outfit.

Even before his goal, Gabriel was so impressive at the back, often bailing out the likes of Thomas Partey and Jorginho, who were prone to one or two shortcomings in the middle.

Gabriel made seven clearances, made two tackles, blocked two shots, and did just about everything.

The £23m-Brazilian has often delivered a performance of this echelon over the years, but there was something special about his aura against Spurs.

When Arsenal were missing Declan Rice and Odegaard, they needed one or two leaders to step up, and in came Gabriel.

The ‘incredible‘ centre-back was first to almost every ball into the box, and if he wasn’t then Saliba was swiftly behind him – the best partnership in the Premier League.

And it’s now so clear that Gabriel and his teammates are ready to win trophies in North London, it would be a catastrophe if they were empty-handed again come May.

Along with the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, Jurrien Timber was also immense – three players praised after the game by Ian Wright.

Speaking via the Premier League, Wright was left blown away by all four defenders, and in particular he singled out Gabriel – who cost the Gunners £23m.

Ben White perhaps wasn’t quite at his best on this occasion, possibly why Wright didn’t mention his name specifically, but he was still part of an impressive unit.That being said, Wright praised him alongside his three counterparts, a quartet good enough to win trophies.

Super happy obviously. We know what it means to our club and our people to win a North London derby. We have the power to make them very happy so hopefully we achieved that.

On the performance we had good moments and others where we had to suffer. We suffered because we had to adapt the plan because of the players that we had available. I loved it. The second we started to get that news, the team got hungrier and hungrier to play that game. It’s a big compliment to everybody at the club to behave in a certain way. It’s a tough week coming and instead of finding any excuses we did the opposite. We faced the challenge, played with courage and acknowledged the qualities we had to win the game.

The people that we have. We have people that are hard and have thick skin. They love the game and we love winning. In order to love the game and win you have to do things that people call ugly. Enjoying those ugly things is a big compliment to this team right now. When you’re able to do that normally you get a good gift.

Arsenal have been dealt yet another injury blow after Bukayo Saka limped off during their 1-0 win over Tottenham in the north London derby.

The 23-year-old, who assisted Gabriel’s second-half winner, went down in the 86th minute without contact. After being treated by the Arsenal medical staff, Saka hobbled off to the nearest possible exit from the pitch and was replaced by 17-year-old sensation Ethan Nwaneri.

When asked about Saka in his post-match press conference, Mikel Arteta said: “I don’t know. I made two changes with the front players and suddenly he’s down. I don’t know exactly what it is but he could not continue.”

Although the scale of the problem does remain to be seen, Saka could join the likes of Martin Odegaard on the treatment table. Declan Rice missed the trip to Spurs following his red card before the international break, while Odegaard sat out after injuring his ankle playing for Norway last Monday.

Arsenal continue to hold the bragging rights of North London after a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s men were made to work for the win against their fierce rivals and had to work until the hour mark to take the lead. The Gunners’ threat from set-pieces continued to be a menace as Gabriel Magalhaes headed Bukayo Saka’s corner into the back of the net.

The win leaves Arsenal two points behind Manchester City at the top of the table after four games. Focus now turns to the start of the Champions League league campaign on Thursday before the highly-anticipated clash with Man City.

Arsenal have been accused of setting up like a newly-promoted team at Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby by former Premier League striker Dean Ashton.

The Gunners and Spurs faced off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday for the first time this season. Both sides had opportunities to open the scoring in the first half with Gabriel Martinelli and Dominic Solanke coming close.

Spurs were the ones who enjoyed more of the possession in the opening 45 minutes, with Arsenal spending most of their time defending and containing their fierce rivals.

Speaking at half-time, ex-West Ham United striker Ashton slammed Arteta’s tactics. “Let’s get it right, if I’d have come here and not known, this Arsenal side looks like a promoted team who has come here and said ‘we’ve got to sit deep in a 4-4-2 shape, quick wingers who have got to come back and defend.

Arsenal won the bragging rights on Sunday afternoon as they picked up a 1-0 win away victory at Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby.

The Gunners had to grind out the victory and show their steeliness, with William Saliba particularly impressive at the back.

Gabriel, too, put in a battling performance and scored the winning goal from a corner kick, which is proving to be one of their most threatening forms of attack.

With that said, Sky Sports’ Gary Neville spotted Arsenal fans doing something very interesting just before Gabriel’s opener.

Arsenal claimed a tense 1-0 win over Tottenham in the North London Derby. The Gunners got off to a slow start in the game as the lack of Martin Odegaard or Declan Rice proved to be key. Spurs had chances through Dejan Kulusevski, Cristian Romero and Dominic Solanke, but David Raya stood firm.

Without much midfield control it seemed a counter attack would be Arsenal’s best bet and Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz both went close. The game remained tense and tetchy though with seven yellow cards being shown in the first half alone.

The tight affair continued into the second period, but it was Arsenal who eventually got their noses in front after Gabriel’s header from Bukayo Saka’s inch perfect corner.