I was praying: Arteta relieved as Arsenal beat Spurs to stay top of Premier League

Sunday 28 April 2024 6:27 pm

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 28: Gabriel of Arsenal celebrates with the fans after the team’s victory during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 28, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Arsenal survived a late scare from Tottenham Hotspur yesterday in the North London derby to maintain their one-point advantage over Manchester City in the Premier League title race.

An early own goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg followed by successful first-half attempts from Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz gave the Gunners a 3-0 lead at the break.

But an opportunistic goal after a David Raya error saw Cristian Romero claw one back for the home team before Son Heung-min converted from the penalty spot to reduce the deficit further after Declan Rice fouled Ben Davies in the box.

Arsenal hung on though, despite a late barrage from Spurs, to maintain their position at top of the Premier League.

Arsenal doubts

“I was praying at the end. It was a really emotional game. This is a tough place to come and a great team to play against,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

“We had to dig in and suffer. I do have a lot of faith in my players. In the last few minutes, I was doubting a little.

“Yesterday I had to stop them in training because they wanted more. That was a good sign.

“We have to go again against Bournemouth [in the Premier League]. It’s another tough game.”

Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou said: “It is disappointing. It’s not acceptable at this level and we paid the price for it against a very good team.

“We showed resilience and fought back but we had to because we had no other choice.

“We’re still not as resilient as we can be, particularly in those kinds of moments [in the first half] where there are transitions or set-pieces.”

The run-in

Manchester City’s victory over Nottingham Forest closed what was a four-point gap at kick-off to just one, but Pep Guardiola’s side still have a game in hand.

Arsenal host Bournemouth and Everton with a trip to Old Trafford sandwiched between the two in their final three games.

Manchester City host Wolves, travel to Fulham and Tottenham, and finish the season at the Etihad versus West Ham.

Elsewhere on Sunday Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert netted for Bournemouth as they beat Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 at the Vitality Stadium to move into the top half of the Premier League table, level on points with Chelsea.

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