Yahoo Sports Tottenham player ratings vs Arsenal: Guglielmo Vicario exposed again in controversial derby
Arsenal moved four points clear at the top of the table after a 3-2 win over Tottenham in an entertaining and controversial north London derby.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg headed Bukayo Saka’s corner into his own net before the England winger doubled the visitors’ lead with a brilliant finish - moments after Dejan Kulusevski appeared to have been fouled in the Arsenal box.
Mikel Arteta’s side exploited Spurs’ weaknesses at set-pieces again before half-time, Kai Havertz heading home Declan Rice’s corner to leave them in complete control at the interval.
Spurs pulled a goal back when Cristian Romero finished coolly following a mistake by David Raya and set up a tense finale when Heung-min Son converted from the penalty spot after Rice’s foul on Ben Davies.
Here’s how we rated the Spurs players…
Made a brilliant save with his feet to deny Saka a fourth but his reluctance to come for corners was exposed again.
Dealt well with Arsenal’s threat down the left and created a chance for Son with a raking pass in the first half.
Cristian Romero 7
Had all of Spurs’ best chances, with three headed efforts before he pulled one back with a canny finish. Robust defensively.
Micky van de Ven 8
The closest play to Havertz for Arsenal’s third goal. Unlucky to have an equaliser ruled out for a fractional offside at 1-0 and his pace was so important at covering behind in the second half.
Ben Davies 6
Bamboozled by Saka for Arsenal’s second goal but won the penalty with his last act of the game.
Unfortunate to head into his own net to open the scoring. His quality at playing out was exposed by Arsenal’s excellent press.
Struggled to make an impact on the game and replaced by Sarr at half-time with Spurs trailing 3-0.
Got into some good positions in the first half but not at his free-flowing best.
Dejan Kulusevski 8
Perhaps unlucky to be denied a penalty moments before Arsenal’s second goal. Played well, helping Spurs to hold up the ball and delivering some dangerous crosses.
Forced off after 30 minutes with a suspected muscle injury without making a significant impact.
Heung-min Son 7
Dispatched his penalty well to give Spurs hope of a comeback. Blazed his only opening from open play over the bar in the first half and generally well-shackled by Arsenal’s defence.
Subs
Brennan Johnson (Werner 30’) 6
His directness caused Takehiro Tomiyasu problems in the second half but his final ball was lacking.
Richarlison (Maddison 63’) 7
Spurs improved when he went through the middle, the Brazilian providing them with a focal point and a physical presence.
Yves Bissouma (Hojbjerg 63’) 7
Swept up nicely around the half-way line as Spurs pushed forward in the second half.
Giovani Lo Celso (Davies 87’) 6
Not enough time to impact the gameNot used: Austin, Dragusin, Gil, Emerson, Lo Celso, Sarr.
