TOTTENHAM ON THEIR WAY UP GREASY PREMIER POLE A EMILE HIGH SPURS BOSS IS MAKING NO’ EXCUSE
Arsenal tore into them from every angle.
Aubameyang set the tone, pressing Davinson Sanchez like a madman right in front of the Tottenham fans.
But it was the youngsters who combined to fire Arsenal in front.
Odegaard played Saka in down the right and Smith Rowe arrived late to meet his low cross.
It was criminally poor defending from Spurs but Arteta didn’t care – jumping into the air to punch the sky in delight.
Rattled, the visitors started making mistakes, with one error from Sergio Reguilon resulting in Thomas Partey testing Hugo Lloris from long range.
Only then did Spurs threaten, with Son skinning Partey at the other end and forcing Aaron Ramsdale into a top save at his near post
But Smith Rowe finished off a sweeping passing move by cutting the ball back for Aubameyang to slot home first time.
Help
Spurs already looked beyond help when Saka then made it three with 12 minutes of the first half still to go.
Odegaard and Smith Rowe were again involved in the fast-break build-up, and when Harry Kane’s sl ide tackle bounced back to him, Saka fired home.
Referee Craig Pawson waved away Spurs appeals for a penalty when Kane went down under clumsy tackle from Ben White.
Kane was then denied by Ramsdale and fired a one-onone wide before the ever-lively Son briefly gave Tottenham hope by turning in a Reguilon cross.
But when Ramsdale tipped a heavily deflected Lucas Moura shot off the crossbar, the game was up for Spurs.
In truth, neither of these sides are where they want to be at present, but only one looks ready to make the climb right now.
The manner of this one-sided encounter created a clear sense that Arsenal are looking to the future while hapless Tottenham continue to cling to the past concede three goals in each of the last three league games you cannot hide the problems. But we are professional. There is a long way to go. We need to stay calm.”
Nuno (pictured) was also not mincing his words.
“The performance was not good,” he said.
“The game plan was not good. The decisions were not good. It was not a good day for us. Definitely not a good day.
“I’m going to be honest.
When you have a game plan you have to make the right decisions in terms of who you want on the pitch to develop that game plan.
“I won’t name individuals who didn’t play the game plan right but the game plan was not right according to the players who were on the pitch.”
Different
The mood in the Arsenal camp was understandably different.
“This win is for the fans,” said manager Arteta.
“They were there when we needed their support.
“In life you have to show gratitude. These people have stood by this club and these players. This win is for them.
“When you are trying to rebuild and trying to do the right things you have to stay by your values. Now we are creating the connection with our supporters.
Example
“It’s a special day. Today is one example of what we want to do. But we have to be consistent.”
Man of the match Emile Smith Rowe added: “It’s probably the best day of my life. To have my family here as well, it’s a special feeling.
“The fans have done so much for us today and we want to thank them as much as we can.
“I feel like we’ve worked so hard. We had a tough start to the season. I feel like it’s going really well at the moment but we need to keep our heads down.”
Arsenal are just the third side to reach 600 wins in the Premier League, after Chelsea (601) and Manchester United (691).
SUBSTITUTES
Lokonga for Xhaka (82), MaitlandNiles for Saka (87), Tavares for Smith Rowe (88).
Not Used: Leno, Holding, Soares, Pepe, Martinelli,
SUBSTITUTES
Skipp 6 for Alli, Emerson 6 for Tanganga (46), Matic for Fred (88), Gil for Ndombele (70)
Not Used: Gollini, Davies, Romero, Rodon, Lo Celso, Scarlett
REFEREE: Craig Pawson 6
EMILE SMITH ROWE
DELE ALLI