Another North London Derby win for Mikel Arteta as Arsenal boss. This is the 5th time in a row. After wasting 2 points against Wolves last Wednesday, this win brings a happy flavour for the Gunners. They can now breathe a little easier with 5 points clear from the closest threat, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Tottenham’s horrible record at their own home ground remains the same even under the new manager. In the first half, Eberechi Eze scored in the 32nd min and gave Arsenal the lead. But that lead stands for 42 seconds after the restart of the game, only before Randal Kolo Muani converted the mistake of Arsenal’s most dependable player, Declan Rice. Just out of his own box, Declan Rice allowed him to be pressed by the French striker of the host, who then cut into the box and scored his first North London Derby goal with a thunderous strike. Arsenal was taking as many as 12 shots in the first half, but the scoreline remained the same. After the break, it takes only 2 minutes of play for Gunners to get the lead, and this time Viktor Gyökeres has scored to restore the lead for the visitors.
Just crossed the hour mark, the new nemesis of Tottenham in the North London Derby, Eberechi Eze, has scored his second goal at 61st min. This time, João Palhinha’s back-heel clearance found thankful Eze in front of the net, without the goalkeeper, as Vicario was already out of his position while blocking Bukayo Saka’s attempt. Eze has earned his 5th goal in the North London Derby this season. Randal Kolo Muani has almost brought the score to level terms at the 54th min, but his goal was disallowed due to a foul on Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães during the process of winning the cross right before the shot was taken. That was the last notable action from the host in terms of attacking threat at David Raya’s goal, after which Arsenal kept the press on and the game was mostly played in Spur’s half. Viktor Gyökeres has completed his brace in this North London Derby by scoring the final goal in the 94th min. 3 important away points before another London Derby at the start of the next month will be a great joy for fans and relief for the Spanish boss of Arsenal.
Arteta was part of Pep Guardiola’s core coaching staff as his right-hand man at Manchester City from July 2016 to December 2019, before becoming Arsenal’s head coach. There are many impacts of Pep’s coaching manual on Arteta’s coaching style. Inverted full backs, focus on players who are good with the ball, and prioritize a concrete defensive shape are some such examples. However, there are still enough to take from the veteran about how to win championships, especially when you have been chased vigorously. Arteta’s side has yet to manage the balance between pressing and dropping into defensive shape.
Against Newcastle at the Etihad, Manchester City had 62% possession in the first half, taking 8 shots and scoring 2 goals. Arsenal today in the North London derby has taken 12 shots in the 1st half, of which only 3 were on target, and 1 goal was scored. Capitalizing on the chances after creating pressure is an important part of football, and Arteta’s men have to learn and implement it soon. Having led 2-1 at the break, Pep Guardiola’s side has held the game in the middle third to stop Newcastle’s counterattack with Anthony Elanga and Anthony Gordon’s run. This was the reason Newcastle had 52% ball possession in the 2nd half, more than City, yet still couldn’t create any big chances. In both City’s goals, Nico O’Reilly’s run into the box has given them an extra shooting option and allowed them to score despite their main marksman, Erling Haaland, being under police-man marking by Dan Burn.
On the other hand, none of Arteta’s number 10 has done this throughout the season. In the final third, Arsenal players are more concerned with the ball run than creating chances for such crosses or a final through ball. And Arteta’s defensive approach has also come back to them time and again. Against Wolves on Wednesday, Arteta brought his troops into defensive shape immediately after Hincapié scored the 2nd goal at the 56th min. This caused Arsenal no shots on target afterwards and invited pressure. The same mistake was made against Sunderland on 8th November at Stadium of Light, where Arsenal sat deep right after Leandro Trossard’s goal at 74th min, which allowed Sunderland to come at them with 26 final-third entries in the 2nd half, just 2 short of the mighty Arsenal. Finally, Brobbey has equalized at the 94th min. Against 10-man Chelsea, Arsenal had 2 shots on target in the entire 2nd half, which led to a draw for the Gunners despite their numerical advantage after Moisés Caicedo’s red card. The same mistake was repeated at Villa Park on 6th of December. In the first half, Arsenal had 30 entries into the final third, compared to Villa’s 23 attempts. But as the game progressed after Trossard’s 52nd-min equalizer, Arsenal sat deep and looked to go away with 1 point. But Aston Villa used that offered spaces with 30 entries in the final third at 2nd half, 7 more than their 1st half’s attempts which resulted in Emiliano Buendia winner at 95th min.
To secure a lead or sometimes 1 point, Arteta had gone deep in his defence, which allows opponents to come at them and hurt. The Spanish manager has to take one more leaf from the Man City boss Pep Guardiola’s coaching manual to manage these situations. With a 2-point lead, Arteta can’t afford any mistakes, especially when the Gunners are looking to win the Premier League title after coming 2nd for 3 consecutive years. Only Pep’s manual can save Arteta from another 2nd place finish in the 4 years on a trot.