Arsenal 2 Tottenham 2: tactical analysis

This early-season north London derby was billed as a test of Tottenham’s progress under Ange Postecoglou. For the Australian head coach, it was a test that he certainly did not fail, even if it couldn’t be marked as a pass with flying colours. Given Arsenal’s growth under Mikel Arteta and Tottenham’s poor record away in the derby, a draw in the manner it was earned was a confidence boost for the visitors. After all, Tottenham had won only one of their last 30 Premier League away games against Arsenal.

The home side were never behind in this 194th edition of the derby, and were left to rue what might have been. They took the lead after 26 minutes, when Cristian Romero deflected Bukayo Saka’s shot into his own goal. Six minutes later Gabriel Jesus dispossessed James Maddison, only to miss a great chance to double the lead. Tottenham made him pay, when Son Heung-min equalised just before half-time, finishing off after a spell of concerted pressure.

The Gunners took the lead again on 54 minutes, when Saka dispatched a penalty after Romero was penalised for a handball. This time, the lead lasted only a minute. Son again finished coolly, after Jorginho had been dispossessed. Both teams had chances to win it, but had to settle for a point.

How the managers saw it

“We feel like we lost two points,” said Arteta. “It’s true that there was quite a lot of interchange in dominance in the game, but especially when we had more control and more dominance in the game and scored the goal, they scored straight away. And it was at 1-0, we had the huge chance for Gabi. They were big moments for us.”

“I thought, performance-wise, we had to show a bit of everything we've got,” said Postecoglou. “They're a good, top team, and we had to defend at times. But I thought we showed real courage and bravery just to keep playing our football. We certainly pressed aggressively.”

Below, our coaching experts highlight the key tactical points from a pulsating Arsenal v Tottenham derby…

Saka v Udogie

Playing in their familiar 4-3-3 structure, Arsenal provided more threat down their right in the first half. Bukayo Saka had regular 1v1 moments against left-back Destiny Udogie, and caused the young Tottenham left-back plenty of problems. Udogie was booked in the 15th minute for a challenge on Saka, who then took the opportunity to drive at him more.

Arsenal’s right-sided number eight, Martin Ødegaard, provided runs inside, especially when Udogie committed to press out to Saka (below). Ødegaard's runs, along with Eddie Nketiah’s positioning as the central forward, meant Tottenham were initially unable to double up on Saka. Without additional defensive support, Udogie found it tough going against the England attacker. A deflected effort from Saka gave the hosts a 1-0 lead, adding to his confidence in getting at the Spurs back line.

Arsenal’s left side slowly got into the game, especially through switches of play from the right. Gabriel Jesus started on the left wing, but began to rotate with Nketiah in the central-forward position (below). Left-sided eight Fábio Vieira moved wide left to accompany these rotations and provide attacking width. Maintaining width on this side was also important, given that left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko inverted. Having Vieira in the wide-left channel allowed Arsenal to attack around both sides of Tottenham’s back line.

With Zinchenko inverting and Arsenal focused more on their right side, Spurs’ counter-attacks were most efficient through Dejan Kulusevski. The right winger had space to break into while Zinchenko recovered back (below). By contrast, on Tottenham’s left, Brennan Johnson was forced to work back more due to Saka’s threat.

Tottenham’s right-sided combinations

Tottenham’s chances mostly came from combinations between Kulusevski and dropping centre-forward Son (above). These two combined well to set up Johnson on 39 minutes, who was denied by a superb save from David Raya. With their tails up, Postecoglou’s team began to play in behind earlier and build pressure. Three minutes later, Maddison kept an attack alive after Arsenal had failed to clear, then crossed from the left for Son to equalise.

After the teams exchanged goals in two second-half minutes, the game became more transitional. Tottenham’s counter-attacks continued to threaten, however. They worked the ball to their right side where possible, with Maddison dropping deeper to connect the midfield into Kulusevski or Son. The latter’s movements at centre-forward were consistently well-timed, providing a threat in behind.

Arsenal pivot Declan Rice had gone off injured at half-time, to be replaced by Jorginho. Rice’s absence was certainly noticeable in the second half. The hosts’ back four had less protection, especially in the left inside channel, which Spurs looked to exploit from their right (below). 

With momentum shifting toward the visitors, Tottenham began to progress the ball forward through a deeper build-up, as much as they did through transitions. Pape Matar Sarr dropped from his position on the right of the double pivot, allowing right-back Pedro Porro to move inside. This often worked to drag an Arsenal centre-back – usually Gabriel (below) – well out of line .

Maddison also dropped deep to get involved, which pulled Jorginho out (above). This exacerbated the absence of Rice’s screening and protection. Tottenham then had access into Kulusevski, whose combinations with Son and Porro through the inside channel forced Arsenal back.

Kulusevski operated on the last line, looking to get behind Zinchenko, as Porro took advantage of the cover provided by Sarr (below). The right-back provided inside-channel runs as Zinchenko began to mark Kulusevski more tightly. Richarlison replaced Son in the 79th minute, which denied Spurs the latter’s penetrative runs and finishing presence. Richarlison dropped (below), which left his side lacking any significant threat around Arsenal’s centre-backs.

Despite ending with more possession, Tottenham couldn’t work a final chance to secure what would have been a rare win at the Emirates. For the first time in the Premier League era, both teams had gone into the derby unbeaten in the league campaign. That both teams ended the game unbeaten was a fitting conclusion to a pulsating encounter.

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