Arsenal v Tottenham player ratings – Gabriel shines in north London derby return

Tottenham Hotspur’s 25th-minute goal gave Spurs hope of a north London derby, but the final score looked as expected as Arsenal won 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium against their historic rivals and hampered by injuries.

Not that Arsenal aren’t short of players, as Bukayo Saka’s absence has been keenly felt in the red side of north London.

( MORE: Recap, highlights of Arsenal 2-1 Spurs )

But Leandro Trossard got the job done and Raheem Sterling was also brilliant playing less than 90 minutes each at the Emirates.

( MORE: Reaction from Mikel Arteta | Reaction from Ange Postecoglou )

For Spurs, two of their three midfielders were poor in the first half and that could well be the story of the final score. Ange Postecoglou shot at the two players in question at the break.

Here are our player ratings from a truculent and random 115-yard game in north London.

Arsenal player ratings against Tottenham out of 10

David Raya: 6 — I didn’t need to do much. He dropped a cross but it didn’t bite him.

Myles Lewis-Skelly (excluding 87′): 8 — Good with the ball and aggressive when the game came to him, the teenager won 4 out of 5 duels.

Gabriel Magalhaes: 9 — Not an easy header from that angle at the far post to put Arsenal level – it resulted in a Solanke own goal – and it came minutes after his terrible denial of a Djed Spence cross intended for a finish from Dominic Solanke.

William Saliba: 8 — He had his best game with Virgil van Dijk, spraying long balls with style and defying challengers to the other side of the pitch (where Gabriel was more than ready for them).

Jurrien Wood: 7.5 — Super strong in every way.

Thomas Partey: 7 — He kept the ball and won 5 out of 7 duels.

Declan Rice (Off 87′): 7.5 — His corner serve continues to garner rave reviews, but it appears a 7.5 rating is his baseline. An elite gaming dictator.

Martin Odegaard: 8 — Just your ho-hum game with four chances created and 85% passing despite operating in congested areas of the pitch.

Léandro Trossard (Except 77′): 8 — One of his calmest plays on the ball, scoring a superb goal and taking 10 touches in the Spurs box.

Raheem Sterling (excluding 61′): 7.5 — In a one-hour fight with Djed Spence, ready to take on the challenge. Sterling was stuck in 14 challenges during his 61 minutes.

Kai Havertz: 6.5 — An inconclusive 90. Plenty of effort but we could have expected more from the centre-forward in this one.

Submarines
Gabriel Martinelli (in the 61st): 6 — Ineffective, missed an opportunity to score.
Kieran Tierney (at 77′): 6.5 — There wasn’t much to do.
Mikel Merino (on 87′): — N/A
Oleksandr Zinchenko (at 87′): — N/A

Tottenham to Arsenal player ratings out of 10

Antonin Kinsky: 6 — Blocked to reach Rice’s corner on Gabriel’s goal.

Djed Spence: 7 — His fight with Sterling was excellent, as was his outside-of-the-boot cross to Solanke which was denied by Gabriel.

Radu Dragusin: 5 — You want better from him with the ball, and you certainly want to mark Gabriel better on his own goal. To be honest, he plays every minute, every game, alongside a teenage midfielder.

Archie Gray: 6 — Difficult to give him too many points given that he is always not a central defender.

Pedro Porro: 6 — Busy moving forward and hit the post late on but was sloppy with the last ball.

Yves Bissouma (excluding tax): 5 — Gave the ball away on Trossard’s goal and struggled overall.

Pape Sarr (Off HT): 4.5 — He could have done a lot more to help his defenders after Bissouma’s gift on Trossard’s goal.

Lucas Bergvall: 7.5 — Perhaps the bright light of the team, and showed fire during the clash with Lewis-Skelly.

Dejan Kulusevski: 6.5 — Hungry for the ball and lost the lion’s share of his duels. A rare day off.

Heung-min Son (Off 79′): 7 — You have a decent deflection for his goal but you can’t score if you don’t shoot.

Dominique Solanke: 6 — Twenty-four touches in 90 minutes, when he was deprived of the ball and was the provider of the own goal.

Submarines
James Maddison (On HT): 7 — Pretty good off the bench but must wonder why he’s there in the first place,
Brennan Johnson (On HT): 6 — Calm
Richarlison (at 79′): — N/A