Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal Player Ratings: Gabriel’s goal hands defeat to Spurs in North London Derby

Mikel Arteta led Arsenal to secure a slender 1-0 victory over their city rivals Tottenham Hotspurs in high stakes North London Derby at the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium. With this win, the Gunners are now moved onto the second place in the Premier League 2024-25 points table only behind Manchester City. Meanwhile, Spurs are standing in 13th place following the second league defeat of the season at the hands of their local rivals Arsenal at home.

As neither the teams were not clinical enough to break the deadlock anytime soon, it was Arsenal Brazilian’s centre-back, Gabriel Magalhaes who perfectly timed a header to Bukayo Saka’s precise delivery from the corner to score the solo goal of the match. It subsequently proved to be the difference maker between the two North London clubs.

Tottenham Hotspur Player Ratings vs Arsenal

Goalkeeper

Guglielmo Vicario – 7: Overal remained solid with a series of saves but eventually conceded from the corner failing to react on time up against the header. Got booked for a confrontation with Timber over a foul.

Defender

Pedro Porro – 6.5: Defensively solid and did well to stop the likes of Martinelli and Timber from creating problems, however, Porro needs to work on his accuracy of crosses.

Cristian Romero – 7: Maintained the defensive structure at the back, and moved up front to press the opposition during possession played 14 passes into the final third.

Micky van de Ven – 7: Bought physicality at the back along with his pace created problems for Arsenal attackers and made 10 clearances to clear the threats.

Destiny Udogie – 7.5: A perfect defensive show from Udogie while operating on the left flank he consistently moved upward to cause problems for the opposition.

Midfielder

Dejan Kulusevski – 6: The Swedish midfielder was not effective despite mostly operating on the wide right and into half space. Took a couple of shots on target.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 6: He made some accurate passes and registered 10 passes into the opposition’s final third in his 68 minutes of outing but overall could not have much impact.

James Maddison – 7.5: The Englishman’s playmaking was the only highlight of Spur’s midfield with two chances, fine crosses, long balls and successful dribbles.

Forwards

Brennan Johnson – 5.5: A dull performance from Wales International, could not utilise the spaces on the channels apart from single chances creation he had no major contribution.

Dominic Solanke – 5: Surely a debut to forget, Solanke made his first-ever appearance for the Lilywhites in the Premier League after missing three games due to injury.

Son Heung-min – 7: Son tried hard to inspire his side to make a comeback with his efforts on the left wing but was not enough, had to play more deeper in midfield due to Solanke in the centre of attack.

Substitutes

Pepe Sarr – 6.5

Wilson Odobert – 6

Timo Werner – 6

Manager

Ange Postecoglou – 6.5: Postecoglou’s side has endured to difficult start to the season, with another loss against Arsenal they are now down further on the table. Even though they dominated the game, Spurs were unable to break Arsenal’s rock-solid backline despite trailing behind a goal looked off in team coordination.

Arsenal Player Ratings vs Tottenham Hotspur

Goalkeeper

David Raya – 8: The Spaniard shot-stopper continues to display excellence in goal, denied the hosts making five key saves and was equally good with his feet and passes.

Defenders

Ben White – 7: A decent outing from the English defender, as he managed to keep Spurs captain Son away from making any severe problems on the left-hand side of the pitch.

William Saliba – 7.5: Concrete in defence, Saliba was impressive with his passing skills and accurate long balls from the back and was fine in duels.

Gabriel Magalhaes – 8: He was actively involved in clearing the danger and scored the only goal of the match to secure victory for his side through a leaping header

Jurrien Timber – 7: Played the entire 90 minutes which is positive for the player who has recovered from long-term injury. He was lively on the left flank fulfilling both attacking as well defensive duties.

Midfielders

Thomas Partey – 7: He dominated the duel battles on both the ground and as well in the air with a 100% success rate, along with ball recoveries and clearances.

Jorginho – 6.5: An average performance form the Italian midfielder, who was tasked with the captainship role did commendable job in keeping his team together as the leader.

Gabriel Martinelli -7.5: An all-round performance from the winger, operated on the wings created a chance, and was on target once. He was precise in sliding passes and through balls.

Forwards

Bukayo Saka – 7: Provided a quality ball from the corner to find Gabriel’s head inside the box who headed the ball into the back of the net. Was subbed off due to an injury in the 86th minute.

Kai Havaretz – 7: Showed some excellent hold-up plays, dragging his teammates to join the attack, played as a playmaker behind Trossard and had two shots on target

Leandro Trossard -6.5: The Belgian failed to impress with his start did not prove to be much threat and only created two chances. Got was subbed off to make way for Gabriel Jesus.

Substitutes

Gabriel Jesus – 6

Raheem Sterling – 5.5

Ethan Nwaneri – N/A

Manager

Mikel Arteta – 8: Another tactical masterclass from Arteta, did not go all out against the hosts, instead, the Gunners were sitting back and waiting for the opportunities to arrive. Set-pieces played a pivotal part in snatching the win. They look determined to compete for the Premier League title this season again.