Arsenal restores title hopes with derby win

Arsenal beats Tottenham in the North London Derby to strengthen title hopes. Man City falters again, while Spurs struggle again. Title race heats up

Leandro Trossard celebrates after firing Arsenal to a big derby win over Tottenham on Wednesday. The Gunners won 2-1. (Photo credit: Bein)

The title race can be said to be blown wide open after Arsenal’s win over Tottenham on Wednesday at the Emirates, a game that reflects all the challenges of the two North London clubs.

Walking backwards a little bit, Manchester City confirmed they will not be throwing their hats into the title conversation ring with yet another draw at Brentford on Tuesday, while Chelsea confirmed what most people thought at the start of the season with yet another dropped point against Bournemouth.

Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against high-flying Nottingham Forest meant both sides invited Arsenal into a position of strength, which the Gunners took with both hands on Wednesday. You’ll still be tempted to hand the entire advantage to Liverpool, who has a game in hand against Everton.

Arsenal needs a striker; this can’t be overemphasised, as Kai Havertz fluffed his lines way more than he did at the weekend in the cup loss to Manchester United. You wonder what more Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal board need to see to know this.

If the title means anything to them, they will have to spend whatever they plan to spend in the summer now; they can’t bank on Raheem Sterling and Havertz after what both showed against Tottenham in the latest North London derby on Wednesday.

Arsenal won 2-1, but it could have been by a wider margin. Chances kept passing Arsenal by, and they could have suffered another sucker punch had Pedro Porro’s late effort gone in at the near post. The next move belongs to the Arsenal transfer team; they can’t fail their fans here.

For Tottenham, they’re certainly out of the top 4 equation. The loss kept them in 13th on the log, and they’re in danger of missing out on the top ten altogether, which would be their lowest in decades. Ange Postecoglou couldn’t hide his disgust after the game.

"It was not good enough—especially the first half," Postecoglou said. "[We were] way too passive; we let Arsenal take control of the game. Really disappointed with the way we were without the ball, we allowed them to dictate the tempo, and we paid the price.

"We just didn't play anywhere near our identity. We are aggressive with and without the ball, but tonight in that first 45 we were too passive. That's unacceptable." Tottenham will definitely focus on cup games from here as they’re in the semifinals of the Carabao and through to the fourth round of the FA Cup, as well as their continued participation in the Europa League.