In the key game of the Premier League title, Arsenal visited Tottenham in the north London derby, there was no room to lose points, the two sides had just started the game and threatened each other, Arsenal relied on Tottenham player Pierre Hojbeg to open the scoring, when Tottenham equalized with Mitch van der Ven's goal, but was overturned by VAR. After failing to win a penalty in an attacking attack, they were beaten back to make it 2-0 by Bukayo Saka, and were two goals down on 27 minutes, before Kai Havertz's goal left Tottenham 3-0 down at half-time. In the second half, Arsenal gave a series of "gifts" and was chased twice by Tottenham, but still won 3-2.
A series of unfortunate Tottenham incidents
The north London derby, the atmosphere is first-class, the home team Tottenham Hotspur is unbeaten in the first round of this season against Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, the three title contenders, this game against the recent morale of Arsenal, no fear, just started the game has been attacking each other. Tottenham's home Postecoglou deliberately sent Pierre Hojbjbegg, who had lost his start this season, to start, but in the 15th minute, Arsenal had a corner kick opportunity, Pierre Hojbjergge and Tomiyasu Kenhiro fought for their own goal, and Arsenal opened the scoring.
Tottenham stepped up the pressure from behind, winning corners and penalties in quick succession, with centre-back Christian Romero just barely hitting the goal with a header, one hitting the post and the other missing, and another corner in the 22nd minute when another centre-back Mitch van der Ven fired into the Arsenal goal, but the video assistant referee (VAR) pointed out that he was slightly offside and overturned the goal.
Two players fell to the ground in the penalty area and failed to win a penalty but conceded another goal
Tottenham's unfortunate game was followed by a series of unfortunate incidents, shortly after the "equaliser" goal was overturned, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison fell to the ground with an all-out attack into the box, and the referee did not indicate it, Arsenal grabbed the ball and counter-attacked, Kai Havertz found Bukayo Saka with a precise long pass, and the young England winger scored 2-0 in 27 minutes.
VAR turned a blind eye to Tottenham's protests afterwards, and Arsenal's goal was valid, and the goal came back and forth, and Tottenham equalized again and lost another goal, which was a heavy blow and could be a turning point in the game. On 31 minutes, Tottenham had striker Timo Werner injured.
Both sides were very threatening from corners and set-pieces, but Arsenal were the only ones who could put the ball in the back of the net, and on 38 minutes Declan Rice drove in a corner and Kai Havertz headed in from close range to extend the score to 3-0 for Arsenal on 38 minutes. Tottenham are a rare home half-time trail of three goals in a derby.
Arsenal goalkeeper suddenly "gifted"
Postecoglou changed his formation for Tottenham at half-time, with Pep Sarr coming in for Rodrigo Bentancur in midfield. Seeing that there was little improvement in the early stages of the second half, Richarlison replaced James Maddison and Yves Bissouma in the 63rd minute to replace Pierre Hojbjberg.
Unexpectedly, one minute later, Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya "gifted" the ball to his opponent Cristian Romero, the most dangerous central defender in Arsenal's frontfield this day, calmly scored to make it 1-3 for Tottenham. After that, the game was a bit chaotic, with Declan Rice bringing down Ben Davies in the box on 85 minutes, and the referee awarded a penalty after a VAR review, and Son Heung-min hit the ball to make it 2-3.
In 6 minutes of stoppage time, can Arsenal keep the three points? Tottenham Hotspur attacked with all their might, Arsenal retreated, and finally Arsenal successfully survived a wave of attacks to defeat Tottenham 3-2 and take all three points. After the game, Arsenal continued to top the table with 80 points from 35 games, Manchester City was second with 4 points but two games less, Liverpool ranked third with 75 points, and the final stage of the Premier League title competition was only left between Arsenal and Manchester City.