Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal: Which Spurs star ‘didn’t deserve to lose’? An Arsenal star oozes quality… but which defender struggled and scored 5.5?

Arsenal edged a heated north London derby on Sunday afternoon thanks to a second half header from Gabriel.

In what was a heated first half that saw the most yellow cards shown in the opening 45 minutes of any Premier League game ever, the players clashed after Jurrien Timber narrowly avoided a red card.

It was tight in the second half too, with Gabriel heading in Bukayo Saka‘s corner for the only goal of the game.

Arsenal went second with the win, while Tottenham remain in the bottom half after a difficult start to the campaign. 

Mail Sport’s SAMI MOKBEL and ISAAN KHAN give their ratings from north London.

The defender, alongside William Saliba (right) helped his side to yet another clean sheet too

Mikel Arteta (pictured) has now won three north London derbies away from home in a row – a feat Arsene Wenger failed to achieve

Tottenham (4-3-3)

Guglielmo Vicario – 6 

Question marks over Arsenal’s winner. Could have come out to claim Saka’s corner. Good save from Havertz in the first half. Booked. 6

Pedro Porro – 6.5 

Had issues with his footing early on but grew into the game and provided am outlet down the right. 

Cristian Romero – 6

Bullied by Gabriel Magalhaes for Arsenal’s winner. Was strong up until that costly moment. 

Micky van de Ven – 7

His speed is such an important facet of the way Postecoglou wants to play. Didn’t deserve to lose. Booked. 

Destiny Udogie – 6.5 

Did well to keep Saka’s impact down to a minimum. Supplemented Tottenham’’s attack on occasion. Booked.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 5.5

Efficient and industrious in central midfield but no more than that. Substituted as Spurs chased a leveller. Booked. 

James Maddison – 6.5

Showed some promising signs after a patchy start to the season. Still some way of his best. 

Dejan Kulusevski – 6 

Popped up in dangerous areas but couldn’t supply final product on a frustrating afternoon. Gave the ball away too often. Booked. 

Brennan Johnson – 6 

Provided Timber with some difficulties down Spurs’ right but couldn’t unlock the door. Subbed. 

Dominic Solanke – 6 

Brought some physical presence to Spurs’ forward line, but dwelled too long with a first-half chance. 

Heung-min Son – 6.5 

Caused White issues, particularly in the first half. The skipper was a threat but has more profitable afternoons. 

Subs: Sarr 6 (Bentancur 68); Odobert 6 (Johnson 68); Werner (Maddison 80)

Ange Postecoglou – 6 

Will feel hard done by, but his team only have themselves to blame. Another set piece conceded to boot. 

ARSENAL (4-3-3)

DAVID RAYA – 7

Imposed himself in the air, with Dominic Solanke constantly wading in, and distributed well. Made two good saves in the opening 10 minutes which set the tone for his side.

BEN WHITE – 5.5

Struggled against Son Heung-min but was helped by Bukayo Saka’s tracking back. Lucky his errant pass, which found its way to Solanke after 14 minutes, didn’t amount to more.

WILLIAM SALIBA – 7

Got outmuscled in some duels with Solanke, but kept coming back for more. Showed resilience in that aspect.

GABRIEL – 8

Solid at the back and scored Arsenal’s winner with a powerful header from a corner-kick. A vital goal indeed.

JURRIEN TIMBER – 7

Involved in important phases of play both in attack and defence. Lucky to only receive a yellow for his excessive challenge on Pedro Porro, in light of referee Jarred Gillett’s handling of cautions.

JORGINHO – 6.5

Had not played this season but stepped in at ease. The Italian’s quality allows him to come in for big matches without rust.

THOMAS PARTEY – 6.5

Was not exposed in the middle without Rice alongside him and put in some good tackles.

LEANDRO TROSSARD -6.5

Filled into a midfield role he does not usually play. Marked out by his work off the ball and settling for not being the man in attack.

BUKAYO SAKA – 6.5

Provided the corner-kick resulting in the Arsenal winner. His best work was not in attack but defence, selflessly helping out White on the right flank.

KAI HAVERTZ – 6.5

Worked really hard off the ball and looked to provide an aerial route both in and outside the area. Had two first-half headers saved, one of which required a real stretch from Vicario.

GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 6.5

Should have done much better in the one-v-one chance he had against Guglielmo Vicario End, his product lacking. Though did track back and effectively helped out in defending.

Substitutes

Jesus on for Trossard (80 mins)

Sterling on for Martinelli (80 mins)

Nwaneri on for Saka (86 mins)

Manager: MIKEL ARTETA – 7.5

Squeezed out a win with a makeshift midfield missing key players like Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino. His ploy to keep Havertz upfront worked out. He will be chuffed.

Referee: JARRED GILETT – 5

Was very trigger happy in issuing yellow cards — there were seven in the first half, a joint-Premier League record — which affected the match. The bar for a caution was too low.