Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur (2023-24)

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Arsenal v Tottenham (2023–24)

Arsenal Tottenham 2 2
HT:1–1 Report
Event	Premier League 2023-24
Date	Sunday 24 September 2023
Venue	Emirates Stadium, London
Player of the Match	Bukayo Saka
Referee	Robert Jones
Attendance	60,156
Weather	20 °C (68 °F)
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Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur was a match which took place at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday 24 September 2023.

Team News

Arsenal

Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli will be assessed after a hamstring injury forced him off at Everton last weekend.

Thomas Partey remains out with a groin issue while Jurriën Timber is the only long-term absentee.

Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham's Ivan Perišić suffered a serious knee injury in training and will miss the majority of the season.

Ange Postecoglou otherwise has no new injury concerns, with Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil and Rodrigo Bentancur all a few weeks away from a return.

Match Report

Tottenham came from behind twice to secure a hard-earned point in the north London derby against Arsenal in a thriller at Emirates Stadium.

In a relentless encounter, Arsenal took the lead after 26 minutes when Bukayo Saka's shot was deflected into his own goal by Spurs defender Cristian Romero.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had made the big decision by keeping David Raya in of goal ahead of Aaron Ramsdale and he justified that faith with two fine saves from Brennan Johson as Spurs went in pursuit of an equaliser.

Raya should have done better, however, when Spurs levelled three minutes before half-time. He could only claw away a cross allowing an attack to continue, ending with James Maddison crossing for Son Heung-min to equalise with a deft finish.

Arsenal restored their lead after 54 minutes when Romero was penalised for handball following the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee, Saka scoring from the spot.

Spurs, illustrating their new positive approach under manager Ange Postecoglou in his first north London derby, were back on terms almost instantly when Jorginho, as a half-time substitute for the injured Declan Rice, lost possession to Maddison, who played in Son for another cool finish.

The headline news before kick-off was Mikel Arteta's decision to stay with Raya in goal, a move that surely ends the debate about who is Arsenal's number one keeper, the Spaniard getting the nod ahead of England's Ramsdale.

It was a mixed afternoon for Raya, who made two important interventions but was also culpable for Spurs' first equaliser when he should have held a cross, allowing Spurs to maintain pressure and score.

For Arsenal, there will be real frustration in being held to a point and one of the key moments came when they were leading 1-0 and Gabriel Jesus caught James Maddison in possession, only to shoot wildly over the top with just Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario to beat.

Arsenal were never at their most fluent, not helped by losing Rice to injury at half-time, and paid the price when his replacement Jorginho was robbed by Maddison for Spurs' second goal.

The Gunners staged a late show to beat Manchester United but there was no repeat here, even in 10 minutes of added time, and Arteta's side had to settle for a point against their great rivals.

Asked afterwards about Rice's withdrawal, Arteta claimed it was due to a back injury. He said: "Yeah he had some discomfort in his back. He was telling us during the first half that he was uncomfortable. When we assessed him at half time he could not continue so we had to change him."The Spaniard added: "Hopefully not [long-term]. It's strange that a player like him has to come off. So we'll see."

Tottenham's positive and entertaining start to the season under new manager Postecoglou has sparked real optimism but this was the biggest test of the post-Harry Kane era so far.

The upbeat mood will certainly be maintained after the manner in which Spurs not only approached this game, determined not to simply sit back, but also the way in which they responded after going behind twice to come back and earn a point.

Spurs had to suffer under pressure, which was inevitable, but they never buckled and were always prepared to take the opportunity to attack when the opportunity arose.

With the great talisman Kane now at Bayern Munich, Spurs had to look to other areas of creation, other partnerships that could somehow compensate for the absence of the guaranteed goal supply from the England captain.

And they appear to have found it with Maddison and Son, who were at the heart of both Spurs goals - with Maddison the creator and Son the scorer.

The pair seemed tuned into the same wavelength and Spurs were the grateful beneficiaries.

Spurs were equally impressive when Arsenal tried to mount one of their late trademark rallies, resilient at the back but also ready to spring forward even in those added 10 minutes.

There was no doubt which set of supporters were happier as Postecoglou clenched his fists and applauded the Spurs fans banked in a corner of Emirates Stadium after the final whistle.

Match

Details

24 September 2023 14:00 BST	Arsenal	2–2	Tottenham	Emirates Stadium, London Attendance: 60,156 Referee: Robert Jones
	Romero  26' (og) Saka  54' (Pen)	HT:1–1 Report	Son Heung-min  42', 55'

Arsenal

Tottenham

22 David Raya 04 Ben White 02 William Saliba 06 Gabriel 35 Oleksandr Zinchenko 08 Martin Ødegaard 41 Declan Rice 45' 21 Fábio Vieira 45' 07 Bukayo Saka 90+7' 14 Eddie Nketiah 09 Gabriel Jesus 77' Substitutes: 01 Aaron Ramsdale 10 Emile Smith-Rowe 90+7' 15 Jakub Kiwior 17 Cédric Soares 18 Takehiro Tomiyasu 20 Jorginho 45' 24 Reiss Nelson 77' 25 Mohamed Elneny 29 Kai Havertz 45' Manager: Mikel Arteta

13 Guglielmo Vicario 23 Pedro Porro 88' 37 Micky van de Ven 17 Cristian Romero 38 Destiny Udogie 29 Pape Matar Sarr 08 Yves Bissouma 21 Dejan Kulusevski 10 James Maddison 78' 22 Brennan Johnson 63' 07 Son Heung-min 79' Substitutes: 04 Oliver Skipp 05 Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 78' 09 Richarlison 79' 12 Emerson Royal 15 Eric Dier 20 Fraser Forster 27 Manor Solomon 63' 33 Ben Davies 36 Alejo Véliz Manager: Ange Postecoglou

Man of the Match: Bukayo Saka Assistant referees: Lee Betts Wade Smith Fourth official: Michael Salisbury

Match rules 90 minutes, no extra time or penalties. Three points awarded to winner, none to loser. One point awarded to each in the event of a draw. Nine named substitutes Maximum of five substitutions

Match Stats

• Match Stats

Overall	Arsenal	Tottenham Hotspur
Goals scored	2	2
Total shots	13	13
Shots on target	6	5
Ball possession	47%	53%
Corner kicks	11	4
Fouls committed	12	19

See also

• 2023–24 Premier League: Match day 6

External links

• Match report at BBC.co.uk
• Match report at Premier League.com