'The door is ajar for Arsenal - this must be their catalyst'

Mikel Arteta pumped his fists to the stands portion Gabriel threw his garment into the assemblage successful solemnisation arsenic a play of abject misery for Arsenal came to a victorious decision against Tottenham.

The stakes are ever precocious successful the northbound London derby, but overmuch was riding connected this 1 for Arteta and his team, arsenic a play that started with truthful overmuch optimism and anticipation threatened to flounder.

Arsenal came into the gathering with Spurs connected the backmost of damaging location defeats by Newcastle United successful the Carabao Cup, and by Manchester United successful the FA Cup.

The scenes astatine the extremity of this triumph implicit Spurs were wild, noisy and laced with alleviation arsenic overmuch arsenic celebration. Arsenal had known thing little than triumph implicit their arch-rivals would enactment a superior dent successful their rubric pursuit.

It demonstrated conscionable however overmuch this 2-1 triumph meant. Arsenal are present 4 points down Liverpool, having played a crippled more, but this indispensable present beryllium the catalyst for enactment connected and disconnected the pitch.

Arsenal, arsenic is their habit, made a precise ample repast of beating a mediocre Spurs, struck down by injuries but inactive good abbreviated of the standards expected.

The informing signals flashed for Arsenal when, aft astir full domination of possession, Spurs took the pb done Son Heung-min aft 25 minutes.

Arsenal managed to crook their fortunes astir to assertion 3 captious points and are now, for each their caller failings, close backmost successful the rubric race.

The doorway is ajar for Arsenal and Arteta, but they volition conflict to unfastened it immoderate further unless they bash what seems plainly evident and motion a striker to springiness them a cutting edge.

In a solid half-full assessment, midfielder Declan Rice told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We're astir apt unlucky we didn't people 10 tonight."

Not strictly true. No luck involved.

Arsenal had 14 shots with lone 4 connected target, their equaliser coming from Dominic Solanke's ain goal, resulting from a 40th infinitesimal country that should not person been fixed - arsenic the last interaction earlier the shot went retired of play had travel disconnected Leandro Trossard alternatively than Pedro Porro.

Trossard past compounded the agony for Spurs with a victor 4 minutes aboriginal with a debased thrust that should person been saved by keeper Antonin Kinsky.

This is not to suggest Arsenal did not merit their victory. It was afloat merited but lone served to exemplify erstwhile much however the Gunners indispensable motion a striker earlier the January transportation model closes.

It is not excessively beardown to accidental Arteta and Arsenal's chances of occurrence beryllium connected it, particularly with the show of Bukayo Saka connected crutches connected the sidelines aft hamstring country and striker Gabriel Jesus retired for the agelong word arsenic helium awaits an cognition connected a superior genu injury.

Arsenal's fans groaned successful vexation astatine excessively overmuch over-elaboration astir the punishment area.

Rice and Martin Odegaard wasted chances, portion Kai Havertz headed tamely astatine Kinsky, squandering the accidental to emphasise the superiority they intelligibly had implicit Spurs.

Arteta, arsenic helium indispensable be, is alert of the problems, saying: "We are actively looking and we volition effort to bash something. Let's spot what we tin get."

The Gunners needed to respond erstwhile they were successful occupation aft the Son setback, and the biggest effect came from 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, who gave a magnificent display, afloat meriting the lasting ovation helium received erstwhile helium was taken disconnected 3 minutes from time.

Lewis-Skelly belied his younker to look arsenic a cardinal driving unit and inspiration, completing 30 retired of 32 passes, taking work erstwhile Arsenal needed him most, with his manager describing his show arsenic "amazing".

Arteta said: "He was phenomenal. He is simply a existent personality. He has truthful overmuch spot successful himself. He has that cognition astir him. He had to play against Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski portion managing the occasion. It is not casual but helium was top."

And Rice added: "The young lad was unbelievable. To beryllium playing the mode helium is astatine conscionable 18 is conscionable ridiculous. No fear. Four oregon 5 times successful the 2nd half, helium utilized his assemblage to get distant from someone."

If Arteta has been looking for signs that helium has reserves of endowment to guarantee Arsenal tin spell heavy into this play successful hunt of trophies, past Lewis-Skelly, 1 of his emerging young stars, provided them.

Arteta told BBC Sport: "The cognition we played with, not feeling atrocious for ourselves, was phenomenal. We played 120 minutes 3 days ago.

"We had immoderate large chances and large situations. At the end, we had to endure much than we wanted. When you person the opportunities, you person to instrumentality them. We are connected a truly accordant tally successful the Premier League.

"It is present astir recovery, past Aston Villa connected Saturday, going and going."

And helium added: "We cognize however important this crippled was and is. It's a acquisition with which we tin marque retired supporters happy."

Now helium needs to present an adjacent bigger acquisition successful the signifier of a objective finisher who tin guarantee this triumph is not a mendacious dawn successful Arsenal's Premier League rubric challenge.