What we learned: Flexible Arteta draws on Arsenal's past to nullify Spurs

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta after the final whistle of the win over Tottenham. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire. 

Arteta shows he can be flexible 

Without his midfield anchor Declan Rice and chief creator Martin Odegaard, Mikel Arteta stepped back into Arsenal’s past and deployed a 4-4-2 formation which flummoxed Tottenham all game. Denying the home side space to exploit, Arteta’s side were content to see the hosts funnel the ball out to the flanks and then dealt magnificently with a stream of high balls into the area.