Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur: 5 Talking Points, Premier League 2018-19
At the end of what was a very electric display of both football and game spirit, Arsenal beat North London rivals Tottenham in a hotly contested tie at the Emirates stadium. Unai Emery's men put up a clinical display, especially in the second half, to come in from a goal deficit to overcome Spurs by a scoreline of 4-2. The local rivals played out a heated derby that saw the Gunners moving ahead of their neighbours into the Premier League top-four.
Aubameyang started the goal-fest by scoring off the spot for Arsenal early on in the game, but Eric Dier's header off a free-kick and a subsequently converted penalty by Harry Kane soon tilted the balance to the Spurs' side. The scoreline stayed 2-1 in favour of Tottenham as both sides vacated the pitch for half-time.
Later on in the second half, quickfire goals from Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, with Lucas Torreira scoring close to the end, settled the contest 4-2 in favour of Arsenal. The win helped them jump above Spurs towards the fourth place, with 30 points from 14 games, edging the latter out by means of goal difference.
Here are the main talking points from the game that concluded:
#1 Emery made the right choices
As the match started, Tottenham's 4-1-2-1-2 formation held well against Arsenal's initial setup of 3-4-3, which was evident from how likes of Son and Kane made a few good runs into the attacking third. It was such a move that also resulted in Son being tackled in the foot by Holding, which in turn made referee Mike Dean point to spot, from where Kane brought the visitors a goal lead, as they advanced into the second half.
With Arsenal now trailing as opposed to their initial status, manager Unai Emery made some substitutions, such as Aaron Ramsey coming in for Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette turning up in Alex Iwobi's place. With Ramsey choosing to stick behind Lacazette and Aubameyang, the formation shifted to 3-4-1-2, and Arsenal started connecting better, as proven by the Gabonese's goal that set the game's scales at level for a second time.
The progress completed successfully when an injured Mustafi was taken out, with midfielder Guendouzi replacing him. The formation now changed to 4-1-2-1-2, and suddenly Pochettino's men looked lost as Arsenal used that to their advantage to score two more goals and gather the win.
Emery is clearly not a man to be trifled with, as he proves with each game these days.