Arsenal took all three points from Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, but they gave us all heart attacks as they did.

Arsenal's Brazilian defender #06 Gabriel Magalhaes (C) celebrates with teammates at the end of during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on April 28, 2024. Arsenal wins 3 - 2 against Tottenham Hotspur. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s Brazilian defender #06 Gabriel Magalhaes (C) celebrates with teammates at the end of during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on April 28, 2024. Arsenal wins 3 – 2 against Tottenham Hotspur. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

The North London Derby was a rollercoaster from start to finish

Arsenal looked nervous, lucky not to be punished for sloppy errors, but it was Mikel Arteta’s men who struck first.

A moment of luck went The Gunners’ way when Pierre-Emile Højbjerg deflected a corner into his own net, but who was complaining? Tottenham immediately tried to get back into the game, VAR saving the Gunners when a potential equaliser was ruled offside.

A brilliant pass then found Bukayo Saka, who cut inside and curled a beautiful shot into the far corner. The onslaught continued as Kai Havertz headed in a third before halftime. It was dreamland.

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Still we were all nervous, and, it seems, with good reason.

Arsenal's German midfielder #29 Kai Havertz (rear C) celebrates with teammates after scoring his team third goal during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on April 28, 2024. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s German midfielder #29 Kai Havertz (rear C) celebrates with teammates after scoring his team third goal during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on April 28, 2024. (Photo by BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Spurs came out fighting in the second half but initially lacked the finishing touch until they were giving two large helping hands. A routine backpass turned into a nightmare as David Raya’s miskick gifted Cristian Romero an easy tap-in.

The momentum completely shifted. Spurs sensed blood, and they earned a lifeline when Declan Rice kicked Ben Davies in the box. Son Heung-min stepped up and buried the penalty, setting up a nerve-wracking final 10 minutes. It was 10 minutes which should have seen Richarlison sent off, but, for the third game in a row, a red card ‘challenge’ wasn’t even punished with a yellow.

Arsenal, exhausted after a relentless fixture schedule while Spurs sat with their feet up for two weeks, clung on. Despite late scares, they held firm, sealing a dramatic win and making a real statement in the title race.

Happy St Totteringham’s Day!

Tottenham v Arsenal – The Goals

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 28: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 28, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 28: Bukayo Saka of Arsenal celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 28, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1

Tottenham 0 Arsenal 2

Tottenham 0 Arsenal 3

Tottenham 1 Arsenal 3

Tottenham 2 Arsenal 3

“The last 20 minutes weren’t nice,” said Bukayo Saka after the game, in the understatement of the season. “But it was worth it.

“We know it’s a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home so once they got one, the crowd was up, they was up, and the momentum shifted their way. But, I’m proud of all the boys who fought to their end, and we got the three points.

“We just need to be calm. Obviously, everything’s quite frantic. I think we showed our level heads at the end and I’m proud of everyone to get the win.”

When asked about celebrating with the away fans, Saka said, “Yeah, very nice moment. We know what it means to the fans and what it means to us, so yeah, we’re delighted.

“[This win] It means everything and we know this is a massive win for us and we’ve got three to go and we’re going to give it everything and see where it leads us.

“There’s not much room for error, they’ve showed that last year and the years before. We’ve got experience now, we learned our lessons last year and we’re ready for the last few games.”

Tottenham v Arsenal standout stats

  • Arsenal have scored 17 headed goals this season equalling their Premier League highest tally set in 2016-17 [Orbinho]
  • Kai Havertz is the first Arsenal player to both score and assist a goal in the first half of an away game against Spurs since Patrick Vieira – 20 years and 3 days ago [Tom Ede]
  • Tottenham are the first team in Premier League history to score an own goal in three consecutive games against Arsenal
    ◎ Hugo Lloris (January 2023)
    ◎ Cristian Romero (September 2023)
    ◉ Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (April 2024) [Harvey Downes]
  • There have been more penalties in the Arsenal v Spurs match up than any other fixture in Premier League history (26) [Orbinho]
  • Arsenal have won back to back away games at Tottenham for the first time since the 1988-89 season [Orbinho]
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