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Glenn Hoddle slammed Guglielmo Vicario’s inability to command his penalty area after Gabriel Magalhaes’ header secured a 1-0 win for Arsenal against Tottenham on Sunday.

Despite going into the north London derby without key duo Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice, Arsenal dug deep to secure a vital win away from home.

The winner came courtesy of centre-back whose thumping second-half header secured the Gunners’ third successive win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It also continued Spurs’ sorry defensive record at set pieces, with only Nottingham Forest conceding more goals from dead-ball situations than Ange Postecoglou’s side since the Australian’s arrival.

Hoddle was quick to point the blame at Spurs’ keeper Vicario who he insisted remains lacklustre when trying to deal with set pieces.

‘The goalkeeper has an Achilles heel,’ the former Tottenham manager told Premier League Productions. ‘Other clubs have seen it – it’s any ball in that inswinging area into that six-yard box

‘His instinct is to go backwards. He’s never looking to come out. He’s involved in the battle up but he’s got to detach himself away from that and think to himself: ‘Where is my intent?”

‘His body is always going backwards – he’s got to come and punch some of those balls,’ Hoddle continued.

‘Arsenal have played that corner because time and time again he’s conceded from that situation. He flapped at one in the first half, he wasn’t convincing.

‘He’s a good shotstopper but he has got to come and make himself more physical, come and get more balls and punch more balls.

‘He’s not got to catch it there but clear the area. And until he does, they are going to concede even more goals.’

Postecoglou, meanwhile, sought to defend his training methods as he continues to come under fire for their leaky record from set pieces.

‘I know, for some reason, people think I don’t care about set pieces and it’s a narrative that you can keep going on for ages and ages. I understand that,’ he said.

‘Like I said, we work on them all the time like we do for every other team. You know that they’re a threat, as I said, for the most part, we handled them really well today, but we switched off for one and we paid the price and you learn from that and you move on.’

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A tense north London derby on Sunday was narrowly won by Arsenal, with Gabriel’s headed effort the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win for the away side at Tottenham.

The Gunners overcame the absence of key players Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to battle to the huge victory, their third on the spin away at Spurs.

It was a tetchy game, mostly in the first half as seven yellow cards were shown before the break, although things calmed down a little after the interval.

It was more frustration than anything in the air in the second stanza, with Arsenal producing a steadfastly solid display and holding Tottenham at bay.

Mikel Arteta’s side were not wonderfully expansive or easy on the eye, but a set-piece winner did it for them as the game plan came off.

Here’s how the players performed…

Tottenham

Guglielmo Vicario – 5

Not always the most composed, flapping at crosses and shown a yellow card for getting in the face of Timber. A better goalkeeper at dealing with crosses may well have cut out Arsenal’s opening goal.

Destiny Udogie – 7

A booking for a late challenge on Saka within the first 30 minutes left him walking a tightrope at left-back. Kept Saka quiet for most of the game, which is no easy task.

Micky Van de Ven – 7

One of the string of players to be booked in the first half (seven!), scything down Leandro Trossard just before the break. A threat going forward as he saw a header stopped by Raya after the break. His pace is quite incredible, with forwards regularly disappointed when they think they have eluded him.

Cristian Romero – 6

Looks a really brilliant defender at times, particularly in quick succession early in the second half as he cut off Martinelli and then Timber down Arsenal’s left. However, this was undone as he lost his man and allowed Gabriel to head in the Gunners’ goal. Ventured to play up top late on.

Pedro Porro – 6

Always a threat going forward but a bit shaky at right-back, with Gabriel Martinelli looking likely to worry him at all times. Arsenal got in behind him a number of times although known of those opportunities led to anything.

Rodrigo Bentancur – 7

Harshly booked for a clumsy challenge on Kai Havertz in the first half which didn’t look like a yellow card at all. Given that he was left with a lot of work to do on his own in midfield he did it admirably, if unspectacularly.

James Maddison – 5

Tasked with unlocking the door for Tottenham and couldn’t manage it. Misplaced a few final balls and could not find his way through the stubborn Arsenal defence.

Dejan Kulusevski – 5

Had a good chance in the first few minutes which was well saved by Raya. Booked just before the interval for felling Jorginho. Didn’t offer a great deal in the second half.

Son Heung-min – 5

Looked good early on as Spurs started impressively, but could not produce much threat at all late on when his side needed to find an equaliser. As frustrated as anyone in a white shirt.

Brennan Johnson – 5

Gets into plenty of dangerous positions and looks threatening with his pace but didn’t look very convincing either in shooting or playing the final ball.

Dominic Solanke – 6

A real handful for centre-backs to deal with but wasted a good chance in the early exchanges by taking far too long to get a shot off. Saw a deft header float just wide of the post from a Maddison cross and saw another header deflected wide after the break.

Arsenal

David Raya – 7

Two sharp saves in the opening 15 minutes as Spurs started brightly. Didn’t really have a lot to do thanks to the work of his defence and midfield in the second half, but kept hold of his clean sheet.

Ben White – 7

Always solid enough at right-back, not offering much going forward, but was an important cog in the very sturdy Arsenal defensive performance.

Gabriel – 8

Scored the winning goal as he powered a towering header past Vicario, losing his marker impressively to get there. The Brazilian also defended well on a good day out for him.

William Saliba – 7

Booked early on, just 16 minutes into the game, for delaying a restart, possibly showing frustration after losing some early physical battles with Solanke. Didn’t let that get to him, though, and remained disciplined from there on in.

Jurrien Timber – 6

A concerning moment when a challenge on Porro in the first half briefly looked like it could have been a red card but was rightly only a yellow. Tottenham looked more dangerous down his flank than the other.

Thomas Partey – 7

Tottenham’s aggressive set-up looked worrying for Partey and Jorginho in the middle of the pitch, but they did their job well. Absolutely nothing spectacular was asked of Partey but he stuck to his task and completed it.

Jorginho – 7

One of the yellow cards that was unquestionably deserved was Jorginho’s for hauling down Maddison early in the second half. Having not played a minute of football this season, he performed a tough task in the middle of the pitch pretty well.

Gabriel Martinelli – 5

Spurned a good chance inside the first 20 minutes as he was in on goal but shot tamely at the goalkeeper. With rapid pace and with Porro often exposed, he should have been dangerous but never really proved to be.

Leandro Trossard – 6

Worked very hard in the middle as he and Havertz tried to lead a press and work in both midfield and on the front line. Never really provided much of an attacking threat, though.

Bukayo Saka – 6

Not his best game, but it was a day in which forward players struggled to shine. So often Arsenal’s attack is focussed through Saka but it didn’t feel like that on Sunday. Worked incredibly hard, as always, helping out the full-back behind him.

Kai Havertz – 6

It was a lot of hard work for the German, couldn’t create much or pose much of a threat but put in a lot of running for his manager.

Substitutes

Tottenham

Pape Matar Sarr – 5/10

Wilson Odobert – 5/10

Timo Werner – 5/10

Arsenal

Gabriel Jesus – 5/10

Raheem Sterling – 5/10

Ethan Nwaneri – 5/10

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Arsenal condemned arch-rivals Tottenham to more derby day misery with a 1-0 victory in a wild north London scrap.

Gabriel Magalhaes’ thumping header after 64 minutes sealed three points for the Gunners on enemy turf with Spurs again undone by a set piece.

Without Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice in midfield, Arsenal stood strong as Spurs failed to build on a bright start to the contest.

Arsenal made it three wins on the bounce against the old enemy to close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to two points with the two sides meeting at the Etihad next weekend.

A bad-tempered first-half saw seven yellow cards handed out – a new Premier League record – with Jurrien Timber’s challenge on Pedro Porro sparking a brief melee involving players from both sides.

Arsenal’s 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last April came after they relentlessly exposed Spurs’ weaknesses on corner kicks.

Much to the frustration of Ange Postecoglou, the same old problems persisted on Sunday afternoon with Arsenal fans in the away end sensing history could repeat itself.

Bukayo Saka’s wicked delivery left the Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario flapping with Gabriel easing away from Cristian Romero to drill his header home and silence the home crowd.

Tottenham laboured after going behind with an effort from range from Dejan Kulusevski the best they could muster as they chased the equaliser.

It never came, with Arsenal staying right on the shoulder of defending champions City in the early weeks of the season.

The Gunners have now won three of their opening four games of the season with the 1-1 draw against Brighton prior to the international break their only blemish.

Spurs sit in 13th having won just one of their opening four.

Arsenal star Jurrien Timber was not shown a red card in the north London derby against Tottenham because his challenge on Pedro Porro was not deemed ‘serious foul play’.

In a fierce first-half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, referee Jarrad Gillett dished out seven yellow cards – a new Premier League record.

Timber was shown one of those on 35 minutes but Tottenham players felt it should have been more for his challenge on Porro.

The Netherlands international planted his foot on the top of the ball as he made the challenge, catching Porro in the process. The foul sparked a brief melee among the two sides with Timber seeing squaring up with Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario before things calmed down.

Timber’s challenge on Porro was reviewed by VAR – but the on-field decision of a yellow card stood.

Sky Sports reported at half-time the VAR review decided the challenge was ‘reckless’ but ‘not serious foul play’.

Gary Neville meanwhile noted during the game: ‘Just hearing what has been fed into the VAR at Stockley Park. They said Timber puts his foot on the ball and it doesn’t roll over, which is what saved it from being a red card.’

Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp felt Timber, starting his third game in a row at left-back, was lucky to stay on the pitch, feeling he could have easily been shown a straight red.

It also drew comparisons with an incident at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last season where Liverpool’s Curtis Jones was given his marching orders for a challenge on Yves Bissouma in similar circumstances.

‘He definitely goes over the ball,’ Redknapp said. ‘Usually you come with your side foot. His foot bounces on the ball.

‘There was a tackle here last year with Curtis Jones and Bissouma and Curtis Jones ended up getting sent off.

‘They are very similar. he is very lucky. Has he gone gone with excessive force to ‘do him’ like the old days? No, I don’t think so.

‘But he has given the ref a massive decision to make and I think he is incredibly lucky because other referees might send him off. He doesn’t need to go in like that. Has he caught him badly? No, but I think he is very lucky.’

Richarlison may have given a hint that Dominic Solanke will be lining up for Tottenham against Arsenal on Sunday through an Instagram comment.

Spurs host the north London derby this weekend and Solanke is hoping to return from an ankle injury that has slowed down his start to life at the club.

The £65m summer signing from Bournemouth made his debut against Leicester on the opening day of the season but has not been seen since,

However, the England international looks set to return in the huge game on Sunday and Richarlison has even made a prediction for him.

Solanke wrote on Instagram on his 27th birthday on Saturday: ‘Thank you Lord for another year. Thanks for all the love and messages.’

In reply, the Brazilian forward tipped Son Heung-min to provide an assist for Solanke on his return to the team, posting: ‘Sonny will give you a gift tomorrow bro.’

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou gave an update on Solanke’s fitness at his pre-match press conference on Friday, but while he confirmed Micky van de Ven was ready to return from injury, he wasn’t quite so clear on the striker.

‘Micky’s good, he’s trained all the way through the international break and it was good for him to stay with us to build him back up so he’s ready to go,’ said the Australian.

‘Dom’s improved as well and trained the back half of this week. We still have two days to go with those guys so hopefully they get through training ok and are available.’

Postecoglou also had a doubt over midfielder Yves Bissouma, who returned from the international break with a minor injury.

‘Everyone’s reporting all well except for Biss,’ Postecoglou said on Friday. ‘He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.

‘It’s not serious, but he’s getting treatment today. We’ll see how it goes.’

Richarlison is the only other injury problem for Spurs, with the Brazilian sidelined due to an unspecified injury picked up in training.

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Rafael van der Vaart is backing his old side Tottenham to do a job on an injury-hit Arsenal in today’s north London derby.

After winning their opening two games of the new Premier League season, the Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw with Brighton on a wild afternoon at the Emirates where Declan Rice was given a controversial red card.

The England international misses the derby as a result, along with Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard who was helped off the pitch with an ankle injury while playing for Norway during the international break.

Mikel Arteta is also without the services of new signing Mikel Merino, who suffered a fractured shoulder in his very first training session with the club that is likely to keep him sidelined until October.

Those setbacks have ravaged the club’s midfield option with Thomas Partey, who has played every minute of the season so far, the last man standing. Jorginho is expected to come into the side this afternoon with Arteta facing a dilemma over who to bring in to join the pair in the middle of the park.

Van der Vaart spent just two years at Tottenham between 2010 and 2012. But his derby day exploits made him a cult hero among Spurs fans, scoring four times in his three starts against the Gunners – registering a goal and two assists in their famous 3-2 fightback at the Emirates in 2010.

With Arsenal missing the ‘heartbeat of their team’ in Odegaard, the Dutchman is backing his old side to get the victory.

‘For Tottenham it is great news,’ van der Vaart told Metro.co.uk.

‘Odegaard is the heartbeat. How he has developed the last few years, it is fantastic. Also he has the right coach for that. But Tottenham now have a big chance with the whole midfield gone, the heartbeat is gone. If they were ever to have a chance, it is now.

‘They’ve started the season well, they have played nice football, have good players and they are difficult to beat. It will be a nice season for Tottenham, that is my feeling.

‘I am going for a Tottenham win. It will be a good day for them. They are strong at the minute, especially in midfield where Arsenal are missing all those players. My feeling is they win.’

Van der Vaart gives verdict on Dominic Solanke transfer

Tottenham will hope to have Dominic Solanke fit and ready having suffered an ankle injury against Leicester City in their opening game of the season.

The England striker, who scored 21 times for Bournemouth last season, made the move to the capital in a £65million deal – an ‘unbelievable’ fee for a player van der Vaart believes will struggle to justify that price tag.

‘I have a lot of problems with the money these days especially in England,’ he said. ‘For really, really normal players, you guys pay 50, 60 million pounds. It is unbelievable.

‘So when I see a transfer for that money, I already think it is unwise. Because I don’t believe Solanke gets 40 goals. For that money that is what you should be looking for. It is too much for a normal player.

‘Players in England playing for smaller teams going to bigger teams for crazy money is not wise. But it is what happens and we have to wait and see how they perform.

‘I also know Dominic when he played for Vitesse [on loan from Chelsea during the 2015-16 season]. I thought “ok, good player but nothing special”.

He did well in England and of course naturally the next step is somewhere like Tottenham. But not for that amount of money.’

Rafael van der Vaart was speaking on behalf of BetMGM. Play the new £1million Golden Goals game this season by predicting Premier League scores at https://www.betmgm.co.uk. BeGambleAware 18+

Mikel Arteta has some huge selections to make when Arsenal take on Tottenham in the north London derby this afternoon.

Declan Rice misses out after his red card against Brighton and Arteta’s problems only got worse during the international break.

New signing Mikel Merino is also unavailable after the Spain international injured in his very first training session with the club after a collision with Gabriel Magalhaes.

Merino has suffered a fractured shoulder with Arsenal expecting him to be unavailable until after the next international break in mid-October.

There was more misery for Arsenal with club captain Odegaard forced off during Norway’s clash with Austria on Monday night.

Early indications were the skipper has suffered a sprained ankle after leaving the pitch in agony. While reports have suggested Odegaard is facing three weeks out, Arteta refused to rule the midfielder out of this afternoon’s showdown at the Totttenham Hotspur Stadium.

It leaves the Arsenal manager with the midfield options of Thomas Partey and Jorginho. With numbers desperately short, Arteta may consider dropping Kai Havertz back into a midfield role, moving Jurrien Timber further up the pitch, or even hand a role to 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.

Raheem Sterling is pushing to make his debut with a week of training with his new side under his belt. Gabriel Martinelli has struggled to make an impact so far this season with Leandro Trossard’s best work to date coming off the bench.

Arteta has been eager for his deadline day signing to get involved ‘as soon as possible’ and will hope he can have some role to play this weekend.

Arsenal have been without injured duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney for the start of the season with Gabriel Jesus joining the absentee list, missing the games against Aston Villa and Brighton with a groin injury.

There was good news on Jesus on Friday with Arteta confirming the forward is back in training and ‘if everything goes well, will be in the squad today.

The Gunners boss was also left sweating during the international break with Riccardo Calafiori involved in a nasty collision with France’s Ousmane Dembele on Friday.

The Italy international was being assessed over the weekend but is in contention to make the squad today.

Tottenham meanwhile received a double boost this week with both Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke available today.

The Netherlands international started the first two games of the season but missed the defeat at Newcastle United after being deemed ‘not quite 100 per cent’ by Ange Postecoglou, missing Nations League games as a result.

The Spurs boss insisted the knock was ‘nothing serious’, a precautionary measure perhaps given the packed fixture list over the next few weeks.

Solanke suffered an ankle injury on his debut against Leicester City has seen him miss the last two games. Poestecoglou however did suggest his £65million signing was close to being fit for the Newcastle game and will have a role to play this afternoon.

There was concern for Yves Bissouma after he picked up a knock playing for Mali during the international break but Ange Postecoglou hopeful he can recover in time.

‘We had the last of the boys in late yesterday so we’ll have a look at them today and everyone’s reporting all well except for Biss,’ the Spurs boss said on Friday.

‘He’s got a bit of an issue, but we’ll have a look at him over the next couple of days and see how it settles.’

Richarlison meanwhile remains sidelined.

Predicted Tottenham XI to face Arsenal

Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Sarr, Bentancur, Maddison, Kulusevski, Solanke, Son

Predicted Arsenal XI to face Tottenham

Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel. Timber, Jorginho, Partey, Havertz, Saka, Trossard, Sterling

Where to watch Man Utd vs Liverpool? Kick-off time and TV channel

Tottenham vs Arsenal kicks off at 2pm on Sunday 15 September.

Live coverage is available on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with a live stream available on Sky Go.

Arsenal have been forced to wear their black away kit for the north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s side would typically play in their red home kit in their away game against Spurs.

However, the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and the Premier League deem there to be too much white on Arsenal’s home shirt, which would cause a potential clash with Spurs’ home strip.

Therefore, Arsenal have been ordered to play in their black away kit, which made its successful debut in the 2-0 win against Aston Villa last month.

When asked about the enforced change, Arteta said: ‘It’s not ideal.

‘We wanted to play with our home kit and colours but we will adapt. We did it against Villa and we won. Hopefully it will bring good luck as well.’

‘This season’s north London derbies will have a similar feel to them with the usual excitement and passion, however they will have a different look than seasons gone by,’ a statement from Arsenal read.

‘That’s because both teams will be wearing their away strips in the fixtures this campaign, after the PGMOL and Premier League ruled that our 2024/25 home kit features too much white, thus clashing with Tottenham’s traditional colours, even with the option of red shorts and socks for us, which was also discussed.

‘As a result, for the first time in recent ‘NLD’ history, we’ll be wearing our changed colours, with our black adidas away kit being donned at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where we’ll aim to clinch a third-straight victory at the venue.

‘Our adidas away strip for this season has already got off to a winning start when we wore it for the first time in competitive action against Aston Villa last month.

‘It has been designed to celebrate the rich and well-established connection that our club has to the African diaspora in North London and beyond.

‘Designed in collaboration with adidas and distinguished British African heritage brand, Labrum London, it celebrates our players and supporters of African heritage, who are an instrumental part of our club.

‘The decision by the PGMOL and Premier League will also mean Tottenham will wear different colours when they visit Emirates Stadium in January.’

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Ange Postecoglou has warned his Tottenham players against thinking that Arsenal are a weakened team for the north London derby.

Mikel Arteta will be without Declan Rice due to suspension, while Martin Odegaard is a major doubt after suffering an ankle injury whilst on international duty with Norway this week.

Arsenal have made a positive start to the new campaign with two wins and a draw in their opening three games, while Spurs are looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat away to Newcastle before the international break.

Spurs host Arsenal in the first north London derby of the season on Sunday but Postecoglou has dismissed suggestions that Arteta’s side will be less of a threat without Rice and Odegaard.

‘God, that’s a hell of a trap to fall into, if you think they [Arsenal] are reliant on two players,’ Postecoglou said.

‘Two important players, but we were missing key players last year as well and we still managed to give significant performances.

‘A team like Arsenal have been very, very consistent over the last two years and can fill whatever gaps they have. They have quality in their squad. The key for us is to focus on our performance.

‘When we’ve played well, and we certainly have played well in the first three games, if we are] a little more clear-headed in both boxes, we’re a match for any team. That’s what we’ve got to think about at the weekend.

‘If we go in there thinking they’re somehow weakened, we’re going to get punished.

‘f we go into it thinking they’re going to be very strong, which I think they will be, then we’ve got to be at our best. We know, at our best and playing the football that we can, we can match them.’

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Rafael van der Vaart believes Arsenal have a ‘special player’ on their hands in Jurrien Timber, but has urged Mikel Arteta not to throw the Dutchman into a midfield role against Tottenham.

Timber joined the Gunners from Ajax last summer but saw his first season in England derailed by a an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered on his Premier League debut.

The Netherlands star is now fully recovered from that setback and has earned a place in Mikel Arteta’s starting XI, slotting in at left-back having started in his side’s last two games against Aston Villa and Brighton.

Arsenal take on Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday with the club reeling from a series of huge setbacks that have ravaged their options in midfield.

Martin Odegaard will miss the derby after suffering an ankle injury on international duty with Norway this week with Declan Rice suspended after his controversial red card against Brighton last time out.

Mikel Merino, a summer signing from Real Sociedad, is also unavailable after suffering a fractured shoulder in his first training session in the club.

It leaves Arteta with the options of Thomas Partey and Jorginho in the middle of the park, with Kai Havertz now thriving in his role further up the pitch.

Arteta suggested last month he could utilise Timber in a midfield role this season, an option the Arsenal boss could ponder ahead of Sunday’s trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While van der Vaart sees Timber becoming a key player in the side capable of playing in a number of roles, he is not convinced now is the time to push him further up the pitch.

Van der Vaart told Metro.co.uk: ‘I think he [Timber] can play everywhere. He played in a midfield role for Ajax in the youth teams, on the right and left. That’s the good thing about having him because you can put him in so many different positions on the pitch.

‘He is a great, great player. It was such a pity he got injured but now is the time Arsenal fans and England will see how good he is. He is so annoying to play against, he is quick, good with the ball, good without it, he is not that tall but he can jump like hell, he is a really special player.’

But asked if he could be a midfield solution against his former club Spurs,van der Vaart said: ‘I don’t think so. He has started the season well but he hasn’t played there in a long, long time.’

Timber featured for Netherlands in games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany during the international break, joined by his twin brother Quinten as the pair became the first Dutch brothers to share the pitch since Frank and Ronald de Boer in 2003.

The Feyenoord midfielder is another of Dutch football’s rising stars with van der Vaart believing he will soon be snapped up by a Premier League side.

‘His brother plays for Feyenoord and came on for Netherlands. Quinten is more of a midfielder but they are both so strong on the ball, like little pit bulls. I would advise him to move to the Premier League. You would be spending tour money wisely.’

Rafael van der Vaart was speaking on behalf of BetMGM. Play the new £1million Golden Goals game this season by predicting Premier League scores at https://www.betmgm.co.uk. BeGambleAware 18+