Arsenal do not have a goalscorer as prolific as Erling Haaland and are fighting with his weapons in the title race with Manchester City and Liverpool. Mikel Arteta’s Gunners can count on a remarkable collective and, when they are without their two leaders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, they can also make the difference from set pieces. This was again the case in the North London Derby played at Tottenham’s home on Sunday afternoon, which ended in a 1-0 victory for the visitors.
Spurs unfortunately failed to translate their slight dominance in the game into the scoreboard, as Arsenal opened the scoring from a corner on the hour mark (64th minute). Buyako Saka crossed the ball just in front of Guglielmo Vicario’s goal, the Italian keeper was blocked by a pack of players in front of him and Gabriel Magalhães broke free to score with a powerful header. 1-0, victory for Arsenal on Matchday 4 of the Premier League.
No defender does better than Gabriel
Gabriel is definitely an XXL weapon for Arsenal on set pieces. Since arriving in London in 2020, the Brazilian defender recruited from Losc has scored 15 goals and no one else does better in the five major European leagues. In PL, Kurt Zouma has scored eleven goals in the last four years, Ben Mee and Lewis Dunk 10 times.
Arsenal did well to win their derby as they face Manchester City next Sunday! The Gunners have 10 points and are second to Pep Guardiola’s team, who have made it ‘4 in a row’. William Saliba and his teammates travel to Bergamo on Wednesday in the Champions League. Son Heung-Min’s Tottenham have already recorded their second defeat.
