Plan coming together for Arteta as Gunners claim local bragging rights

Arsenal sealed a big win against Spurs on Saturday. 

RED ALL OVER: Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale after the derby win over Spurs. Pic: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire.

The previous north London derby before Saturday’s, a 3-0 home victory for Tottenham Hotspur in May, was a damaging one for Arsenal when a win would have sealed Champions League qualification. Tottenham, of course, went on to edge the Gunners out of the top four.

Saturday lunchtime’s 3-1 home win for Arsenal may not prove as decisive – although it prevented Spurs leapfrogging them into first place in the Premier League – but it felt like payback to their fans. And beyond the boundaries of Goonerdom it may be read as a warning to their rivals both inside and outside London that Mikel Arteta’s team has got last season’s disappointments out of its collective system and has more than local supremacy in its sights.