Here’s Jose Mourinho
“I think the game was close. It was more tactical than anything. Mikel has found a way for them to play, and they have improved, so we felt that we should adapt slightly to them. I think we did it very well. We controlled Tierney and Bellerin, and even in the first period of the second half when they had more of the ball, we were quite comfortable in that situation. And then we found our chances.
“Great spirit. It was really hot, Arsenal had 48 hours more rest than us. So it was hard, but our performance came from the heart and even at the end we had zero problems. Everything was under control. We are happy because we can still qualify for the Europa League.”
That’s a big win for Spurs and Mourinho, and they fully deserved it. They did a number on Arsenal in the second half, luring them in and picking them off on the counter-attack. Arsenal wil be really frustrated because they looked superior for large parts of the game. But that was a crafty performance from Spurs - not quite a Mourinho masterclass™ of old, but a tactical triumph nonetheless.
Full time: Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
Peep peep! Spurs have come from behind to win Jose Mourinho’s first North London derby - and move above Arsenal in the table.
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90+3 min A timewasting substitution. Erik Lamela on, the outstanding Son off.
90+2 min There’s another save from Martinez, albeit a comfortable one from Kane’s optimistic shot.
90+2 min This would be a deserved win for Spurs. For all Arsenal’s possession and promise, Emi Martinez has had a lot more to do than Hugo Lloris.
90+1 min Four minutes of added time.
90 min Saka is booked for throwing the ball away. Arsenal look beaten.
88 min “Arteta’s remedial hypnosis of Mustafi wore off some time in the second half and he’s back in the present,” says Charles Antaki. “Worse - 2018.”
87 min Son leads a Spurs counter-attack, running 60 yards before his shot is blocked by David Luiz.
86 min Bergwijn is booked for a cynical foul on Willock.
86 min Aurier wins a corner off Saka. Spurs have been much the better team since the drinks break.
84 min A triple change for Arsenal: Cedric, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock replace Tierney, Kolasinac and Bellerin.
84 min Oliver Skipp replaces Lo Celso in the Spurs midfield.
83 min Martinez makes yet another fine save to deny Kane, plunging to his left to block a sidefooted shot. The loose ball eventually falls to Lo Celso, whose sizzling shot just clears the bar.
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83 min Spurs make a change, with Steven Bergwijn replacing the excellent Lucas Moura.
82 min Son curled the corner towards the near post, where Alderweireld got above Tierney and flicked a good header past Martinez. That’s a huge goal for Spurs and Jose Mourinho.
GOAL! Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal (Alderweireld 81)
Tottenham score from the corner!
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81 min: Another good save from Martinez! Lucas Moura, who has had a fine game, slid a lovely pass infield towards Kane, who ran behind Mustafi and clipped a first-time shot towards goal. Martinez was quickly off his line to block.
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79 min Aubameyang’s curling half-volley from 15 yards is tipped round by the diving Lloris. That was a lovely first-time effort after Bellerin’s blocked shot was deflected across the area, and a decent save as well.
76 min Winks, who should have been booked earlier, is actually booked for pulling back Lacazette.
74 min Spurs are starting to look more dangerous on the counter-attack. Lucas Moura breaks into space down the left and crosses just in front of Son.
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73 min Matt Dony wins the email of the match award.
“...and, as David Luiz walks away from the Emirates, having spent the last 90 minutes convincing everyone that he was a small player in the seedy underworld of Defending, he slowly loses his limp, thus subtly revealing himself to be the mastermind behind ALL appalling defending all along. Leaving everyone else to deal with the repercussions, he gets away safely. And signs yet another lucrative contract.”
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70 min: Martinez saves from Son! A long clearance was collected by Kane on the left wing. He skinned Mustafi, who committed himself too early, moved into the area and poked the ball towards the late-arriving Son. It looked a certain goal, with Son only eight yards out, but Martinez threw himself at the ball and smothered Son’s shot. Actually I’m not even sure it was a shot; I think Son tried to dummy Martinez and run the ball into the net. Either way, it was superb goalkeeping.
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70 min An Arsenal substitution. Bukayo Saka comes on to replace Nicolas Pepe.
68 min Time for the drinks break. The second half has been a bit of a non-event.
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65 min Arsenal continue to dominate, though Spurs aren’t exactly on the ropes. The pace of the game is fairly slow, presumably because of the heat.
61 min Pepe is booked for a foul on Lucas Moura.
60 min “Spoilers,” says Martin McKeefry. “Arsenal defensive mayhem imminent. Also Bruce Willis is a ghost.”
59 min: Aubameyang hits the post! That was so close. There was a bit of a scramble 25 yards from goal before Lacazette picked up the loose ball and angled a nice pass to Aubameyang. He took it in his stride and smacked a left-footed shot that beat Lloris and thumped off the near post. I think the ball took a slight touch off Aubameyang’s standing foot before he shot, without which it would have gone on target.
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57 min Aurier’s cross-shot is blocked by Kolasinac.
55 min Mustafi’s speculative, looping overhead kick from the edge of the area is comfortably saved by the backpedalling Lloris. Arsenal have been well on top since half-time.
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54 min Xhaka plays a terrific angled pass into the area to find Bellerin, whose slightly heavy first touch allows Lucas Moura to get back and put the ball behind for a corner.
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52 min When Ceballos’s free-kick is half cleared, Kolasinac hits a snapshot wide under pressure from Winks.
51 min Winks is somehow not booked for deliberately pulling back Ceballos.
50 min Lucas Moura runs at Mustafi in the area, shifts the ball onto his left foot that is excellently blocked by Mustafi.
49 min Plenty of Arsenal possession at the start of the second half.
46 min Peep peep! Arsenal begin the second half.
“Please can you not tell us what’s happening in the blimmin’ cricket when we’re looking at a football blog????!” says Jack. “I was looking forward to watching the cricket highlights on the BBC for the first time in about a gazillion years later, and now you’ve just gone and basically ruined it! PS. This email is significantly more restrained than it ought to be.”
It’s her head in the box btw.
Half-time reading
Half time: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Arsenal
Peep peep! The scoreline is about right after an enjoyable if imperfect half of football. Alexandre Lacazette and Son scored well-taken goals - Lacazette’s was a screamer - although both stemmed from defensive mistakes. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
Meantime, West Indies are closing in on an immense victory at the Ageas Bowl.
45+2 min Davies is booked for a foul on Pepe.
45 min Lacazette is booked for fouling Lo Celso.
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44 min Spurs win a corner on the left. Son curls it in and Mustafi heads clear.
42 min Pepe’s low shot from 16 yards is comfortably held by Lloris.
40 min Aubameyang’s excellent, wobbling free-kick flashes just wide of the far post. Lloris’s desperate dive across goal betrayed how close it was.
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39 min Davies fouls Pepe 25 yards from goal slightly to the left of centre.
37 min A quiet spell in the game.
34 min Aurier is booked for pulling back Lacazette.
32 min Pepe runs at the defence and shapes a left-footed curler that drifts a few yards wide of the far post. Lloris had it covered.
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31 min: Davies hits the bar! That was a spectacular attempt. He was miles out, at least 30 yards and a fair way to the left of centre, but he hit a vicious shot that clattered off the crossbar. Replays confirm that Martinez got a slight touch on the shot as he leapt to his right. That is a seriously good save.
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30 min Corner to Spurs on the right. Lo Celso swings it in and Mustafi heads away.
28 min “Everyone, as always, should be watching Ben Stokes instead,” says Mac Millings.
I’d much prefer to be doing this tbf.
27 min “And somewhere in the Great TV Panel in the Sky, Jack Charlton is effin’ and blindin’ about why defenders today have to faff about at the back, when there are vast empty stands to clear ball into,” says Justin Kavanagh. “The daft buggers!”
It’s an immutable truth that an attacker cannot score from row Z. And they can’t score if the ball’s in row Z either.
24 min Time for a drinks break.
21 min Aurier’s cross isn’t cleared properly by Mustafi and almost falls for Sissoko on the six-yard line. It’s a good game, this.
21 min In other news, Lo Celso was apparently booked for that incident with Dani Ceballos just before Lacazette’s goal.
Kolasinac played a hideous pass towards David Luiz, who was wrongfooted and beaten to the ball by Son. He moved away from David Luiz, drew Martinez and chipped the ball gently over him with his left foot. It was a cool finish from Son, and a desperate mistake by Kolasinac.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-1 Arsenal (Son 19)
Whatever Aurier can do, Sead Kolasinac can do better.
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That was a savage strike from Lacazette. It came from a slight mistake by Serge Aurier, who overran the ball and then lost a 50/50 with Xhaka. The ball ran to Lacazette, 25 yards from goal, and he lashed a rising drive past the diving Lloris.
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GOAL! Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal (Lacazette 16)
Pick that out.
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15 min There’s a VAR check against Lo Celso after an off-the-ball incident with Dani Ceballos. There was nothing much in it. Lo Celso puts his arm on Ceballos’s chest to block him, and Ceballos went down as if maimed.
13 min: Chance for Arsenal! Bellerin scoots down the right, holds off Winks and crosses low towards Aubameyang near the penalty spot. He makes a mess of a relatively straightforward volley and the ball runs onto Tierney, who rifles it well wide of the far post.
10 min: Good save from Martinez! Lucas Moura wandered infield from the left and flipped a superb pass around David Luiz to put Kane through on goal. He tried to cushion a lob over Martinez, who was close enough to stretch and make an excellent block. That was very good goalkeeping, not just the save but also the anticipation.
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9 min The corner is headed miles over by Mustafi at the near post.
8 min At the other end, Tierney’s cross is headed behind by Alderweireld, who did very well to get in front of Lacazette at the near post.
7 min Sissoko’s cross is well claimed by the stretching Martinez. He’s kept goal with impressive authority since replacing the injured Bernd Leno.
6 min It’s been a decent start from Spurs, who have had most of the ball and look reasonably sharp.
3 min Arsenal have made a sloppy start at the back. Martinez plays a loose pass towards David Luiz that is nicked by Son. His cross is headed away.
2 min Spurs are playing 4-4-2. Son and Kane are up front with Lucas Moura is on the left wing and Sissoko slightly tucked in on the other side.
17 secs Lucas Moura has an early pop from 25 yards, and Martinez flies to his left to make a camera-friendly save. It was comfortable enough.
1 min Peep peep! Harry Winks kicks off the first North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The players emerge on a lovely, sunny afternoon in north London - perfect cricket weather.
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Aston Villa 2-0 Crystal Palace was the final score at Villa Park, which gives Villa a soupçon of hope that they might avoid relegation.
“Among the many things to like about Arteta’s reign so far is the apparently miraculous redemption of Shkodran Mustafi,” says Charles Antaki. “Perhaps Arteta has used some kind of mesmerism to take him back to 2014 and winning the World Cup, something that Mustafi himself seemed to have completely forgotten, along with the skills that went with it.”
Team news
There’s a bit of a surprise in the Arsenal team, with Bukayo Saka only on the bench. That aside, the two teams are pretty much as expected.
Tottenham (4-4-2) Lloris; Aurier, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Davies; Sissoko, Winks, Lo Celso, Lucas Moura; Kane, Son.
Substitutes: Gazzaniga, Vertonghen, Tanganga, Lamela, Sessegnon, Ndombele, Fernandes, Skipp, Bergwijn.
Arsenal (3-4-3) Martinez; Mustafi, David Luiz, Kolasinac; Bellerin, Ceballos, Xhaka, Tierney; Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Substitutes: Macey, Sokratis, Holding, Cedric, Saka, Torreira, Maitland-Niles, Nelson, Willock.
Referee Michael Oliver.
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Preamble
Hello. Arsenal and Spurs are only a point apart in the Premier League table, but the mood around the clubs could barely be more different. Arsenal are high on Bukayo Saka and four wins and a draw in the last five games; Spurs, whether they deserve it or not, have regained their old status as a renewable source of banter.
Much of the negativity around the club comes from the media, which loves a Jose Mourinho bad-news story, and Spurs have been desperately unlucky with VAR in the last few weeks. But Mourinho doesn’t help himself at times, and the contrast with the demeanour, style of play and – at this stage - results of Mauricio Pochettino does not flatter him. On match days, Mourinho displays the kind of joie de vivre and enthusiasm last seen when Livia Soprano was given a new CD player.
Spurs need a win today for all kinds of reasons: to move above Arsenal, to stay in contention for a Europa League place, to keep the media and the banterati quiet for a while - and to change a negative mood which threatens to ruin next season, never mind this one.
Most of all, they just want to beat Arsenal for the sake of it. Modern football is egregiously volatile, and if Spurs win all will be well with the world. Until the next game, at least.
Kick off 4.30pm.
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Rob will be here shortly. While you wait, have a read of Jonathan Wilson on Spurs and what is going wrong for Mourinho.
Meanwhile, David Hytner has written on Giovani Lo Celso.
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