North London derby usually produces highly entertaining football between two of Premier League’s age old rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. This Sunday evening encounter looked even more significant due to its impact on title race as well as ‘top four’ chase. Spurs have become a deadly force under Mauricio Pochettino and were desperate to have three points at White Hart Lane to keep on pushing for their first title over fifty years in spite of Chelsea’s 4-point lead at the top. Also, Arsenal needed a victory from this tricky away fixture to grab a Champions League place. However, Spurs looked more dominant since kick-off and secured a vital 2-0 win that restored their 4 points gap with league leaders Chelsea with four games remaining. Arsenal, on the contrary, seem to have jeopardised their top four hopes with a tough set of fixtures remaining.
Below are the Arsenal players rated from the fixture.
Petr Cech: 7
The veteran custodian pulled off massive saves throughout the game to keep his side in contention. Saved Christian Eriksen’s strike but could not deal with the rebound converted by Dele Alli from close range.
Gabriel: 4.5
Struggled throughout the game in front of Heung-min Son and conceded a penalty due to his poor-timed tackle inside the box which was converted by Harry Kane to double the lead. Was taken off to be replaced by Hector Bellerin.
Laurent Koscielny: 6
Tried his best to maintain the shape of a three-man backline from the middle and pulled off a few crucial blocks and clearances.
Nacho Monreal: 5
Struggled against Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen. Was clumsy while tackling at times.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5
The Englishman had a difficult evening as he lost possession several times that created unnecessary pressure on his backline. Failed to make any noteworthy attacking contribution and had to defend deep due to Spurs dominance.
Aaron Ramsey: 6
Tried to link up with the attackers and tested Lloris with a decent strike in the first half. Struggled to build the play up from the middle of the park and get into the game since conceding twice in quick succession.
Granit Xhaka: 5.5
Tried to keep hold of possession in midfield and engage the attackers in creating goal-bound threats. Was reckless at times and taken off to be replaced by Danny Welbeck minutes after conceding.
Kieran Gibbs: 5.5
Started the game in a left wing-back role and linked up well initially with Alexis Sanchez down the left-hand flank.
Alexis Sanchez: 5.5
Started the game brightly with a few good movements down the left, but was well contained by Kieran Trippier and failed to make any notable contribution to alter the scoreline.
Mesut Ozil: 5
Failed to create threats in Spurs goal. Linked up well with Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud on a few occasions, however, the German mostly looked a passenger throughout the game and his low work-rate will be under scrutiny and criticism once again.
Olivier Giroud: 5
Tried to create aerial threats in Spurs back-line, but they stood firm and contained him well before being taken off towards the end.
Substitutes
Danny Welbeck: 6
Looked lively since entering the pitch, made a few decent movements upfront, but failed to do anything spectacular to constitute a comeback.
Hector Bellerin: 5.5
Made a few decent runs down the right-hand flank, but his final pass needs improvement.
Theo Walcott: 5
Came late in place of Olivier Giroud. Had a decent opportunity towards the end but his first-time strike was poor that sailed straight into the hands of Lloris in the middle of the goal.
