Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal Player Ratings: Spurs secure north London bragging rights

 

Alexandre Lacazette may have scored the best goal in the North London Derby, but it was Tottenham who came away the happier sides as Son Heung-Min and Toby Alderweireld struck either side of half time and it saw Spurs beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

 

Tottenham - 6.81 

 

Hugo Lloris - 6.32: Could do nothing to deny compatriot Alexandre Lacazette from opening the scoring with a thumping effort a quarter of an hour into the North London Derby. Made a smart stop to turn Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's half volley behind for a corner shortly before Toby Alderweireld's winning goal. 

 

Serge Aurier - 6.43: Booked 10 minutes before the break for hauling down Alexandre Lacazette after being caught in possession by the Arsenal forward. Got forward well as is to be expected, yet his final ball was poor.

 

Toby Alderweireld - 7.58: Made a vital block on Hector Bellerin after the Arsenal wing-back had cut inside and gone for goal from 20 yards. Was vital at the other end of the pitch as he headed in the winner from Son Heung-Min's corner 10 minutes from time. 

 

Davinson Sanchez - 6.32: Brought in for Jan Vertonghen from the side that drew 0-0 with Bournemouth as Jose Mourinho looked to nullify the speed of the Arsenal left flank. Hardly an inspiring showing, but made three clearances. 

 

Ben Davies - 6.67: Forced Emiliano Martinez into a stunning fingertip stop as he let fly from 30 yards. However, he struggled with both Hector Bellerin and Nicolas Pepe down the Arsenal right in the opening 45 minutes, epitomised in his yellow cards at the end of the first half for a foul on Nicolas Pepe. Improved after the break.

 

Moussa Sissoko - 6.55: Deployed out on the right wing to provide additional protection for Serge Aurier to help limit the attacking impact of Kieran Tierney and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang down the Arsenal left. Didn't stand out, but was solid, making two tackles and one interception. 

 

Harry Winks - 6.68: Beaten too early by Hector Bellerin down the Arsenal right and was fortunate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang mishit the Spaniard's low cross. On the ball, though, he was tidy, as he found a teammate with 96.1% of his 51 attempted passes.  

 

Giovani Lo Celso - 6.57: Booked shortly before Arsenal's opening goal for an off-the-ball incident involving Dani Ceballos. Tried and failed to bag his first Premier League goal in the latter exchanges of the North London Derby as he got too much under the ball, curling a shot over the bar after being teed up by Steven Bergwijn. 

 

Lucas Moura - 8.51: Came racing out of the blocks and forced Emiliano Martinez into a solid stop with just seconds on the clock. Almost turned provider for Harry Kane having picked out his teammate with a wonderful lofted ball. Jose Mourinho likes the Brazilian for his hard work off the ball and while he offered Ben Davies little protection, the winger still did plenty out of possession as he made 10 tackles to pressure the Arsenal backline before his late withdrawal.  

 

Harry Kane - 7.77: Latched onto a fine Lucas Moura pass as he sought his 11th North London Derby goal, but was denied well by Emiliano Martinez. Got the better of Shkodran Mustafi in the second half as Tottenham pushed for a second as Martinez snuffed out the danger after the Spurs frontman picked out Son Heung-Min. Much improved from the England captain after a couple of sub-par showings.

 

Son Heung-Min - 7.99: Bagged his first goal since Premier League action resumed to draw Tottenham level as he capitalised on a mix up between Sead Kolasinac and David Luiz to hit the back of the net. Turned provider for the winner as his corner found Toby Alderweireld and he could have had a second assist with a little more composure as Spurs pushed for a third.  

 

Subs: Steven Bergwijn - 5.96, Erik Lamela - 5.93, Oliver Skipp - 6.00 

 

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal Player Ratings: Spurs secure north London bragging rights

 

Arsenal - 6.53 

 

Emiliano Martinez - 7.79: Equal to an early Lucas Moura effort and did well to deny Harry Kane an 11th North London Derby goal after 10 minutes. Could do nothing to prevent Son Heung-Min from bagging an equaliser, but made a stunning fingertip save to turn a rocketing Ben Davies shot onto the bar. All in all, made seven saves and was Arsenal's best rated player. The defeat would have been worse without the Argentine between the sticks as he continues to impress in Bernd Leno's absence. 

 

Shkodran Mustafi - 7.24: Beaten far too easily by Harry Kane with a hopeful punt over the top with 20 minutes remaining and was fortunately bailed out by Emiliano Martinez. That said, overall he was the best performer of all Arsenal defenders, making five clearances, three tackles and two interceptions. Even managed a bicycle kick for good measure having been picked out by Nicolas Pepe. 

 

David Luiz - 6.14: Sold short by Sead Kolasinac that resulted in Son Heung-Min's equaliser in the first half. Made a key block to prevent the Tottenham forward from notching his second with three minutes of the game remaining.  

 

Sead Kolasinac - 5.52: Put David Luiz in danger with a poor pass that ultimately led to Son Heung-Min's equaliser. Played out from the back well enough, but didn't inspire off the ball as Tottenham targetted the defender in the final third.  

 

Hector Bellerin - 6.70: Got the better of Harry Winks down the right and picked out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in ample space, but the Arsenal captain couldn't capitalise. Completed more dribbles (3) than Tottenham (2) in the first half as the 25-year-old routinely had the better of Ben Davies. Failed to really build on that in the second half before coming off with five minutes to play. 

 

Dani Ceballos - 6.81: Read the action well to help instigate an Arsenal counter-attack after a Tottenham corner a couple minutes before the interval as the ball seemed set to fall nicely for Harry Winks. While the counter led to nothing, the Spaniard's reading of the game ensured Winks was unable to forge a chance for himself or his teammates. A neat backhell for Nicolas Pepe forged a goalscoring chance shortly after the break. 

 

Granit Xhaka - 6.50: Played his role in Alexandre Lacazette's goal, blocking off Moussa Sissoko and that allowed the Arsenal striker to hit the back of the net. Picked out Hector Bellerin 10 minutes after the restart that resulted in a Gunners corner, which Tottenham eventually dealt with. 

 

Kieran Tierney - 5.85: A poor performance by his recent standards as he failed to complete a dribble, create a chance or make a tackle. Dealt with easily enough by the Spurs right flank. 

 

Nicolas Pepe - 6.44: Did well to draw a foul in a dangerous position five minutes before half time as he cut in from the right, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's resulting free kick went just wide. Tried his luck shortly after, yet his low shot was easy for Hugo Lloris. 

 

Alexandre Lacazette - 7.62: Broke the deadlock with a quarter of an hour on the clock with a thumping effort from distance, finding the top corner to score his second goal in as many away league outings. Received a booking seconds before the break for a foul on Giovani Lo Celso. Robbed of an assist after finding Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang well in space, but the Arsenal captain found the woodwork when he should have scored.  

 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 6.61: Should have done better with Hector Bellerin's pull back with 12 minutes on the clock as he fluffed his lines in the 18-yard box. Skimmed the far post with a well taken free-kick five minutes from the break and, 15 minutes into the second half, rattled the woodwork when he perhaps should have scored. 

 

Subs: Bukayo Saka - 6.01, Reiss Nelson - 6.01, Cedric Soares - 6.45, Joe Willock - 6.22

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal Player Ratings: Spurs secure north London bragging rights