Winners and Losers: Spurs (h)

What a day. What a glorious, glorious day. In perhaps one of the best Arsenal performances during Mikel Arteta’s time at the helm, Spurs came to the Emirates and got their clocks cleaned in the first North London Derby of the season. Within 35 minutes, Arsenal had raced to a 3-0 lead, courtesy of goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Bukayo Saka. A consolation goal for Heung-min Son spoiled the joy of a clean sheet, but did very little to spare Spurs’ blushes. While every Arsenal fan is a winner today, below are five more Winners and a few Losers from a supremely successful derby day.

Winners

Bukayo Saka

It has been a rather slow start to the season for Arsenal’s starboy. Between an expected hangover from his involvement in the Euros and being deployed on the left flank for his first few matches of the campaign, Saka at times has not looked like himself on the pitch. But on the right wing against Spurs, he was as electric as we have come to expect him to be. The young Englishman assisted Smith Rowe’s opener before grabbing a goal for himself. In the most important match of Arsenal’s season so far, Saka showed up in a big way. He has once again proven that he should be the starter at right wing.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Entering the match, Aubameyang sported four goals in all competitions on the season. But three of those scores came against a weak West Brom side in the Carabao Cup, while the fourth was scrambled into an empty net against Norwich. You can only beat who’s in front of you, but Aubameyang had yet to really demonstrate that he was back to his smiling, free-scoring self. However, with some stars etched into the side of his head, the Gabonese forward let the world know that he is still a star himself, expertly slotting Arsenal’s second goal past Hugo Lloris. He terrorized Spurs’ back line, making terrific runs that ran them ragged and at times providing some decent hold-up play during counterattacks. Aubameyang is leading from the front like a true captain should, and he looks like the striker Arsenal deemed worthy of a bumper contract.

Gabriel

For years, Arsenal have cried out for a dominant center-back. It looks they might have finally found one. Since he returned from his knee injury, Gabriel has been absolutely colossal at the back, bullying even the most robust forwards he has encountered so far and playing out from the back quite well too. On Sunday, he once again pocketed Harry Kane, silencing the prolific striker outside of a couple threatening moments. He has been the rock of Arsenal’s defense to start this campaign, and his emphatic performance against Spurs shows that he intends to continue.

Granit Xhaka

Xhaka’s immediate return to Arteta’s starting lineup after missing three games through suspension elicited mixed reactions from the Arsenal faithful. Some thought he brought balance to a burgeoning attack-minded team. Others thought he would be the weak link and extend an infuriating lifeline to Spurs. However, Xhaka acquitted himself with aplomb in the North London Derby, initiating Arsenal’s first two goals and continuously disrupting Spurs’ attacks throughout the match. Alongside Thomas Partey, Xhaka once again demonstrated why the manager has so much faith in him. As limited a player as he can be, the Swiss man certainly did not let his team down today.

Arsenal Football Club

Sunday’s North London Derby win indicates that something special is brewing at Arsenal. The club’s six new arrivals, particularly the ones who started today, have changed the team. They bring more talent to the side. They connect more with each other and with the fans. They just seem to get what being an Arsenal player is about, and what the North London Derby means. With three wins on the bounce in the Premier League and this massive victory among them, the club appear to be far from in crisis mode. Arsenal are perhaps in a better place than we all thought. Arteta’s project may just be showing green shoots of progress, and the fans are seeing that as well.

Losers

Granit Xhaka

Yes, Xhaka is both a Winner and a Loser here. Despite a terrific performance that served up some humble pie for his doubters, Xhaka unfortunately exited the match with a knee injury that looks significant. According to Dr. Rajpal Brar, it appears to be an injury sustained to the midfielder’s MCL or ACL. This will likely keep Xhaka out for at least a few matches. This is especially unfortunate for the Swiss captain, because during his three-match absence, Arteta experimented with a midfield trio of Partey, Smith Rowe, and Martin Odegaard. If Xhaka is out for more time, he risks returning to an Arsenal team that has completed a long-suspected transition to a 4-3-3 and therefore moved away from needing his services. It would be a heck of a reward for the great performance he put in against Spurs.

Nicolas Pepe

With Xhaka back in the starting lineup, one of Arsenal’s attacking players had to be relegated to the bench. Unfortunately, that player was Pepe. As magical as he can be at times, he was forced to watch as Arteta’s decision to sit him was proved correct. Saka, Odegaard, and Smith Rowe behind Aubameyang looks to be the way forward after the success that front four found today. Arsenal’s record signing has once again lost his preferred spot on the right wing, and it begs the question of whether his days at the club are numbered.

Spurs

The start to this season was awful for two reasons. Not only did Arsenal lose their first three matches in a row, but Spurs began their campaign with three 1-0 wins against City, Wolves, and Watford. As a result, Spurs sat in first after three games, while Arsenal found themselves dead last. Spurs fans and seemingly the rest of the footballing world took tremendous pleasure in mocking Arsenal with that fact. But well, well, well, how the turn tables. After being thoroughly embarrassed in the first North London Derby of the season, Spurs are now below Arsenal in the league table, having conceded three goals in their last three PL games. It confirms what many of us have known for some time: Spurs are not good. Not even close. Outside of Kane and Son, their players are fine, but nothing more. Their current manager was their fifth choice, and for good reason, it looks like. Kane is playing like someone who wanted to go to City but was prevented from doing so. While Arsenal are taking their first steps toward rebuilding, the noisy north London neighbors have all the hallmarks of a team on a downward trend. Because at the end of the day, no matter how good the pundits or college student running ESPNFC’s Twitter account think they are… lads, it’s Tottenham. It’s a good thing their stadium looks like a toilet bowl, because for the foreseeable future, Spurs might be exactly what we think of them.

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