4 Things We Learned From Arsenal’s Victory Over Tottenham

As Arsenal edged a tense north London derby 1-0 at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, Gunner333 gives us 4 things we can learn from the game.

The game began at high intensity and it seemed like we were in for another open end-to-end game. Both teams were creating chances before the breakthrough came just before the hour mark when Giroud finished off Walcott’s pull-back. It was the Frenchman’s fourth in five as his red hot form continued.

Quality defending in the final 45 minutes prevented a repeat of Arsenal’s high-scoring victories [5-2] in the past two seasons. The return of Koscielny played a key part in our good work at the back.

With the game reaching it’s end, it was clear to see Tottenham’s big spending had not benefited the club in this well-fought affair. We hung on and now sit fourth – level on points and goal-difference with Tottenham.

Here I highlight 4 things I feel we can learn from this game.

1. We Can See Out A Game

Sunday was a prime example of how we’ve changed. As the clock ticked down, we were not concerned about going for another goal and instead used our newly improved defensive abilities to stay in control….just! To repeat this in future big clashes could prove to be vital. We seem to have learned how to see out a game and not panic at the back when under pressure.

2. Squad Depth Clearly An Issue

Despite the victory, few Gooners would be ignorant enough to see the lack of quality on the subs bench. Both Gnabry and Gedion Zelalem were among the subs, proving we still do not have that experience needed on the bench to change games. To join the elite group of teams across Europe such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, we must spend to add to our ranks before the window closes.

3. Final Ball Was Poor At Times

Our passing in the final third and that killer final ball were poor at times. We had opportunities on the break to kill the game off only for the final pass to let us down. We did play some wonderful stuff at times as well, particularly when Walcott was put through in the first half only for Lloris to make an excellent last ditch tackle, but on the whole our final ball needs to improve.

4. Wenger the ‘Economist’ To Finally Spend?

Wenger’s prudent approach in the window is well known and his reluctance to spend over his ‘valuation’ has seen us miss out on a number of players in the past. The Spurs game showed we can grind out a result but the players were out on their feet at the final whistle and we need reinforcement.

The boss is under pressure to spend on deadline day and while we’re being linked with the likes of Mesut Ozil, I hope we don’t see a re-occurrence of two years ago when we panic bought three players in 24 hours, including a certain Andre Santos for £6.8m.

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below!