Arsenal are not slowing down in their Premier League title bid this season. The Gunners saw off Tottenham Hotspur in a five-goal thriller at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to maintain their grip on the Premier League title race.
Two first-half goals by Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, including an own goal by Tottenham Hotspur’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, saw the Gunners race into a three-goal lead at the break.
Kai Havertz had opened the scoring for the away side in the 13th minute after latching on an assist from skipper Martin Odegaard. Picking a threaded pass from the Norwegian sensation, Havertz made no mistake, firing into the bottom corner past Tottenham goalkeeper Vicario but the goal was chalked off with Odegaard deemed offside.
Two minutes after the doomed goal celebrations, Arsenal finally got a legitimate goal, thanks to a blunder by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg after Arsenal’s corner.
Bukayo had took the corner, delivering an inswinger. Tomiyasu missed it narrowly but Hojbjerg mistakenly headed it into his own net to give Arsenal the lead.
It was a nightmare start for the Lilywhites but enough to set the Gunners en route to a crucial victory.
Tottenham thought they had found an equaliser nine minutes after Hojbjerg’s own goal. Arsenal had failed to clear the lines after James Maddison’s corner. And the ball fell for Micky van de Ven, who fired into the back of the net past David Raya.
The goal was called for VAR review and was chalked off with Arsenal regaining their 1-0 lead.
Three minutes after the disallowed goal, Bukayo Saka doubled the lead for the Gunners. The England prolific right-winger got his name on the scoresheet in the 27th minute after a quick Arsenal counter.
In the 38th minute, Kai Havertz completed the first-half rout for the visitors after he scored a thumping header from Declan Rice’s clinical assist to make it 3-0.
Going down by three goals at the break, Spurs needed more of a magical feat to overturn the game, and they nearly got it done before running out of time.
Cristian Romero opened the scoring for Spurs in the 64th minute. The Argentine intercepted a poor pass from David Raya before firing a low shot past the goalkeeper.
Six minutes before regulation time, Spurs got a lifeline to continue their brave attempt for a comeback. Declan Rice had clipped Davies down in the box. The referee previously refused to award the penalty before changing his decision after VAR review.
Spur’s captain, Son Heung-Min, made no mistake as he fired into the top-left corner to bring Tottenham Hotspur to just a goal away from pegging Arsenal to a 3-3 draw.
Son’s penalty goal plunged the game into a nervy final minutes. Arsenal battled to clear the lines as the hosts doubled down on attempts for an equaliser.
It finally ended 3-2 with Arsenal securing victory to maintain their grip on top of the Premier League table. The Gunners have opened a four-point gap on top of the table with the victory but have played two games more than challengers Man City.
