Arsenal overpower Tottenham 3-1
Jimenez strikes as Wolves sink Southampton
LONDON: Arsenal struck three times inside 35 minutes to beat Tottenham 3-1 yesterday and move above their north London rivals in the Premier League table. Just three weeks ago Spurs sat top and Arsenal bottom after their worst start to a league season for 67 years. However, the Gunners have been rejuvenated by six summer signings and the return to fitness of a number of key players.
Emile Smith Rowe opened the floodgates by taking advantage of some awful Tottenham defending on 12 minutes. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang then rounded off a brilliant team move before Bukayo Saka rolled home the third 11 minutes before halftime. Son Heung-min pulled a goal back for the visitors 11 minutes from time, but it was too little, too late for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men. Arsenal climb to 10th ahead of Spurs on goal difference with both sides on nine points from six games.
However, they are going in opposite directions with Tottenham losing their last three league games by a combined score of 9-1. The last time north London derby took place in front of a full crowd, Unai Emery and Mauricio Pochettino were still in charge of the sides. Both clubs have had little reason to celebrate in the two years since. But there are encouraging signs for Arsenal that the decision to invest heavily in youth during the transfer window is beginning to pay off.
The Gunners spent more than any other Premier League club over the summer, investing £150 million in players aged between 21 and 23, despite failing to qualify for European football for the first time in 25 years. Four of the new faces started with all 11 of the starting line-up either signed in the two years since Mikel Arteta was appointed or handed a contract extension in that time. Saka and Smith Rowe are two of those to have committed their long-term future to the club where they came through the ranks and were the stars of a first 45 minutes that sent the Emirates into raptures.
Smith Rowe was allowed a huge amount of space to amble into the box and slot home Saka’s cross. The hosts rampaged through Spurs with ease for a brilliant second goal in a move reminiscent of Arsenal’s glory days under Arsene Wenger. Tottenham claimed in vain for a foul on PierreEmile Hojbjerg as Granit Xhaka turned onto Aaron Ramsdale’s pass out from the back. Aubameyang then flicked the ball through for Smith Rowe to charge in on the Spurs goal before having the presence to turn back and pick out his captain for a cool finish.
The Tottenham Hotspur stadium played host to Anthony Joshua losing his world heavyweight boxing titles to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday. And Nuno’s men were dealt a knockout blow before the
break. Harry Kane found himself back in his own box trying to make a tackle, but the ball broke kindly for Saka to sweep the ball past Lloris. Kane’s frustrating day continued into the second-half as he prodded wide with just Ramsdale to beat before seeing strong appeals for a penalty waived away for a challenge by Ben White.
Wolves sink Southampton
In another development, Raul Jimenez scored an emotional first goal since his horrific head injury in November as Wolves earned a 1-0 win over Southampton yesterday. Jimenez feared he would never play again after suffering a fractured skull in a clash with David Luiz at Arsenal last year. The Mexico striker only returned to action at the start of this season and had gone without a goal in his first five games. Jimenez had shown signs of frustration with the supportive headband he now wears to protect himself, even angrily removing it after a missing a headed chance against Brentford last weekend.
But the 30-year-old enjoyed a cathartic moment as his superb second half strike fired Bruno Lage’s men to their second Premier League win this season. Jimenez had never gone six Premier League games without a goal since he arrived at Molineux in 2018. In the 61st minute, he danced through the Southampton defense, twice eluding Jan Bednarek and leaving Mohammed Salisu bewildered on the turf, before calmly slotting past Alex McCarthy. The end of Jimenez’s 336-day wait to score sparked a joyous celebration with his team-mates.
He was also embraced by the club’s travelling fans in one corner of St Mary’s after the final whistle. “I was thinking ‘when will the goal come?’. I was fighting for it, working for it and all the team deserve it,” Jimenez said. “I knew it was coming eventually. It felt really good. Four of our five games have been incredible. We need to keep going like this.” Dedicating the win to Jimenez, Lage said: “This three points and this goal go straight to Raul. It was a special goal for Raul. “I saw since the first day that he was a guy with a big ambition and hungry to come back to play to score goals for us.
“Raul is a good example, you can be a top player and a top man. “Every time he’s there working to do everything, to understand our way, to press, to help our team.” The uplifting scenes that greeted Jimenez’s decisive contribution were a stark contrast to the mood among Southampton supporters. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side remain winless after six league matches and were booed off at full-time. The scoreline could have been even worse for listless Southampton if McCarthy had not denied Jimenez a second goal with a fine save in stoppage-time.