Tottenham Vs Arsenal: Tactical Breakdown, Relegation Alarm and Derby Narratives After 4-1 Win
The north London derby ended 4-1 as Arsenal's superior quality and clever exploitation of Tottenham's tactical vulnerabilities decided the game. Tottenham Vs Arsenal underlined both a convincing Arsenal performance and acute problems at Spurs — tactical hesitation, a deep injury list and a league run that has left the club perilously close to the relegation zone.
How Arsenal exploited Spurs' 3-5-2 and why it mattered
Spurs set up in a 3-5-2 under new boss Igor Tudor and, by not simply sitting in, left forward areas exposed. Arsenal found the most attacking joy down their right-hand side, where Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were dominant. Timber often had time on the ball to pick his passes; he mixed his runs — sometimes supporting, sometimes overlapping, sometimes making runs inside — and was left free on the right to find Viktor Gyokeres for Arsenal's second goal.
The visitors produced moments of quality or skill in attack when it mattered and looked back to levels seen for so long this season, delivering a performance judged as great rather than merely a brilliant result. That combination of individual intelligence and coordinated movement made it hard for Spurs to respond.
Defensive breakdowns and the roles of Sarr, Simons and van de Ven
Tottenham's system saw Xavi Simons, nominally a second striker, forced to run back into left-back positions to help cope with Arsenal's right-sided pressure. Pape Matar Sarr swung over from midfield on other occasions, or Micky van de Ven covered from centre-half. At one key moment Sarr (the blue white circle on the far right) was left to deal with Saka in the left-back position and could not stop the cross that led to Arsenal's first goal.
The pattern left a mixture of players not used to defending in those areas and uncertainty over who was responsible for what and when — a structure that is not ideal against a team creating so many attacking moments.
Tottenham's league position, form and growing relegation risk
Tottenham sit 16th and are just four points above the Premier League relegation zone after the heavy home defeat. With 11 games to go they are described as being at crisis point: they have not won any of their last nine top-flight games and have the worst recent form in the division across the past dozen matches. During that spell Spurs have taken just seven points, with a win at Crystal Palace and a comeback draw against Manchester City the only positives.
Nottingham Forest and West Ham, the sides immediately below Tottenham, recorded 12 points each across the same period, closing the gap by five points. If those trajectories continue, Tottenham's final two fixtures — a trip to Chelsea and a home game with Everton — could prove to be must-win encounters.
Injury crisis, suspensions and squad strain
The club is missing more players than any other side right now, with 11 players unavailable. Captain Cristian Romero was suspended for the derby. Long-term absences for Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have contributed to an underwhelming attacking output; Mohammed Kudus and Wilson Odobert are now missing too. The squad is seriously stretched and will have to juggle a Champions League knockout bid alongside a fast-developing relegation battle.
Last season the squad was managed by focusing fully on Europe and allowing league form to slide; Igor Tudor has no such luxury this time around.
Mindset, rhetoric and the derby's wider narratives
After the loss to Arsenal Tudor said, "There were too many bad habits in the past, " reflecting a club mindset that has been criticised by recent managers Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank. Commentary around the match framed the result as a clash of narratives: Tottenham's haplessness prevailed over the idea that Arsenal might be inveterate bottlers. Arsenal outplayed Spurs for long periods, creating 20 chances to Spurs' six and could easily have won by more.
There were anxious flashes for Arsenal too: they were level at half-time despite a pattern — in the third league game running and the fourth in the past six — of conceding within 10 minutes of scoring. Declan Rice moved from a display of rallying leadership to an apologetic gesture after a giveaway that allowed Spurs to equalise, moments that underline both high quality and lingering fragility in the title challenger's campaign. It is suggested Rice might yet win player of the season, but there is also a chance the campaign is defined by images of him shaking his head sadly.
Culture, atmosphere and awkward contrasts
Pre-match building and on-pitch announcements stoked home optimism: the club's on-pitch announcer Paul Coyte urged fans to transform "a small flame" into "a roaring fire, " which drew a strong reaction and helped create a raucous early atmosphere. Yet that energy met the reality of a side described as still carrying Tottenham's historical quirks and foibles, with moments of profound carelessness as worrying as spells when the team struggled to withstand waves of Arsenal attacks.
Fans still admired the stadium's splendour — the seats have been so highly regarded that when River Plate refurbished El Monumental during lockdown they imported the same specification from British suppliers — and there was plenty of opportunity to admire that splendour as home fans poured out after Viktor Gyokeres had made it 4-1.
Related match commentary and unresolved fragments
Other lines in the wider coverage noted themes such as: Arsenal pass derby test of nerve as title race looks set to go to wire; "Who's going to get this fine?" - Arteta on derby technology delays; Eze 'wanted to prove something' as he torments Spurs again; Premier League Review: Do City smell Arsenal blood despite derby win? The provided material ends with an incomplete sentence ("For much of th") — unclear in the provided context.
