Arsenal condemned arch-rivals Tottenham to more derby day misery with a 1-0 victory in a wild north London scrap.
Gabriel Magalhaes’ thumping header after 64 minutes sealed three points for the Gunners on enemy turf with Spurs again undone by a set piece.
Without Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice in midfield, Arsenal made it three wins on the bounce against the old enemy to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to two points with the two sides meeting at the Etihad next weekend.
A bad-tempered first-half saw seven yellow cards handed out – a new Premier League record – with Jurrien Timber’s challenge on Pedro Porro sparking a brief melee involving players from both sides.
Arsenal’s 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last April came after they relentlessly exposed Spurs’ weaknesses on corner kicks.
The same old problems persisted on Sunday afternoon with Arsenal fans in the away end sensing history could repeat itself.
Bukayo Saka’s wicked delivery left the Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario flapping with Gabriel easing away from Cristian Romero to drill his header home and silence the home crowd.
Tottenham laboured after going behind with an effort from range from Dejan Kulusevski the best they could muster as they chased the equaliser.
It never came, with Arsenal staying right on the shoulder of defending champions City in the early weeks of the season.
MORE : Why Jurrien Timber was not sent off as Tottenham and Arsenal players brawl in derby
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