Granit Xhaka adds gloss after Royal sees red as Arsenal sink Tottenham

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New season, same scoreline, tantalising prospects. Just over a year ago Arsenal blew Tottenham away here and, while the outcome was in doubt for slightly longer this time, they were no less worth the margin of victory in doing it all again. They remain top, and entirely worthy of that position; goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka saw to that, making light of an equaliser from the spot by Harry Kane that briefly threatened an almighty ding-dong. Emerson Royal’s dismissal shortly before Xhaka’s expertly taken goal ensured Tottenham had no way back but they had been inferior for long periods with a full complement.

If one of Spurs’ initial aims had been to avoid the kind of first-half capitulation that sent them packing in September 2021, they would have reached the interval contentedly. Kane’s penalty, dispatched down the middle as Aaron Ramsdale dived right, came at a time when a repeat of last season’s three-goal deficit did not look inconceivable. Arsenal had roared out of the blocks, just as they did back then, moving the ball with a purpose Tottenham could not match and looking fine value for their 20th-minute lead.

It was given to them by a swish of the right boot from Partey, who found the top corner with a first-time curler from outside the D after Bukayo Saka and Ben White had worked possession infield. Moments earlier Spurs had allowed Xhaka to drill wide from similar range; it was inevitable they would spend long periods sitting deep but an inability to relieve the waves of pressure piled upon them was always likely to bite.

The early tone had been set within three minutes when, after Tottenham had untidily defended two set pieces, Gabriel Martinelli volleyed against the near post via a faint touch from Hugo Lloris. Spurs were penned in, often flailing and unable to establish any meaningful patterns of play. They threatened once before the opener when Richarlison, jabbing towards goal after Eric Dier helped a free-kick into his path, forced Ramsdale into a scrambling save but Arsenal’s menace was by far the more insistent and cohesive.

Under Antonio Conte, though, Spurs tend to find a way. Conceding a second goal would probably have killed them but they had begun to sow seeds of doubt before levelling, Ivan Perisic blasting off target after surging into the box from the left. They had belatedly roused themselves and made their awakening tell before the half-hour. The odds on Richarlison coaxing a penalty concession here cannot have been long: it was entirely legitimate, though, and there were few genuine complaints after a sharp break led to Gabriel Magalh?es taking his compatriot’s legs away. Kane made light of the pre-penalty fuss and did the rest.

For a quarter of an hour this became the game neutrals might have hoped for: conforming to type but all the better for that. Tottenham’s counters became more frequent and incisive, Richarlison seeing a centre cut out with Kane waiting before the striker headed at Ramsdale from a Perisic cross. Arsenal, no longer as dominant but still brimming with danger, could have regained the lead when Lloris stood firm at the end of a mesmerising Jesus run.

The Frenchman fared significantly less well on their next encounter. Spurs had begun the second half enterprisingly, Cristian Romero causing flutters with a run into home territory. But when Saka shifted the ball to his left foot before shooting from the right side of a crowded penalty area, Lloris could only half-parry straight in front of him. Romero could not react in time as it ran free, instead sending it squirming back under his keeper, and Jesus was able to bundle in from close to the line. It was a mess of a goal, and Arsenal did not care one bit.

Almost immediately Jesus squandered a presentable chance to settle the issue when he headed White’s cross wide. Spurs were once again struggling to stay in the game but flickered when Pierre-Emile H?jbjerg, in the same area from which Partey had converted, displayed none of his counterpart’s accuracy.

The afternoon had contained everything bar a genuine flashpoint, but that was quickly remedied. When Emerson, pursuing Martinelli as the forward tidied up deep inside his own half, conceded a cheap foul the instinctive reaction was that he should be booked. But the referee, Anthony Taylor, had noticed the dangerous planting of Emerson’s studs plum on the ankle of Martinelli: he showed a straight red and it appeared reasonable. Spurs raged but the challenge looked messier with each viewing.

Arsenal knew they could go for the kill and did so within five minutes. Xhaka’s emergence as an attacking force took on new proportions as he took the ball from Martinelli, whose run had been halted, and arrowed accurately past Lloris from 15 yards. Conte quickly made five substitutions with the clear intention of limiting damage, but in truth it had already been done.