Saka on Smith Rowe connection and beating Spurs
Bukayo Saka revealed he and Emile Smith Rowe spoke about scoring against Spurs over breakfast before the 3-1 victory. Check out what the England international had to say.
Arsenal secured bragging rights in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon after beating Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
From the beginning of the match, it was clear that this was going to be Arsenal’s day, as they completely overwhelmed Tottenham and managed to take the lead 12 minutes into the match. Martin Odegaard sent a pass out to Saka, who created some space on the right before pulling the ball back for Smith Rowe to guide his shot into the back of the net from 10 yards out.
The dominance of Mikel Arteta’s side continued in the aftermath of that goal, and they doubled their advantage 15 minutes later. An excellent Arsenal counter-attack saw Kieran Tierney find Aubameyang, who flicked the ball around the corner for Smith Rowe to run on to. The 21-year-old then carried it forward and picked out Aubameyang, who fired into the far corner. Tottenham’s first-half collapse was compounded in the 34th minute, as Saka got his name on the scoresheet.
Kane gave the ball away just outside Arsenal’s area and that led to another quick counter-attack by the Gunners. Smith Rowe found Saka on the right of Spurs’ box, which led to 20-year-old taking on Eric Dier. Kane attempted to make a tackle that actually aided Saka, as the ball fell into the Arsenal winger’s path, and he then took a touch before firing a shot across Hugo Lloris to give the Gunners a 3-0 lead.
Nuno Espirito Santo and Spurs looked out of ideas in the latter part of the first half, and in an attempt to turn things around at the break, the Portuguese manager brought off Japhet Tanganga and Dele Alli and introduced Emerson Royal and Oliver Skipp.
There were not so many clear-cut chances created in the second half, but as the game began to reach its final stages, Tottenham grabbed a goal back through Son Heung-min. Sergio Reguilon’s cross from the left looked like it was meant for Harry Kane, but Son came onto the ball and fired a first-time shot past Aaron Ramsdale to make it 3-1 in the 79th minute.
Arsenal were able to breathe a sigh of relief after hearing the final whistle, as they record their third straight win in the Premier League. For Tottenham, though, they have now lost their last three Premier League games and have conceded nine goals in the process, scoring just once. What’s more, this result sees the Gunners move above Spurs in the table, albeit they are level on points.
Smith Rowe (12′), Aubameyang (27′), Saka (34′), Son (79′)
