Mikel Arteta reveals Tottenham weakness that Arsenal ‘spotted’ and exposed
After Arsenal defeated Tottenham 3-2 in the north London derby, Mikel Arteta declared himself “very thrilled” and explained how his team had taken advantage of Tottenham’s weaknesses in the defense.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg glanced the ball into his own net from a corner, and within 30 minutes, Bukayo Saka scored to give the Premier League leaders a two-goal lead. Arsenal appeared to be coasting to an easy victory.
Arsenal fans may have believed the match was over at the half at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Kai Havertz headed home in the 38th minute as the visitors once again wrecked havoc from a corner.
However, it was Cristian Romero who took advantage of an astonishing error made by Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, and Son Heung-min’s penalty kick goal set up an entertaining conclusion.
Arteta’s team, nevertheless, managed to hold onto their slim lead to win, moving them four points clear of Manchester City before the champions play Nottingham Forest this evening.
The first and third goals scored by Arsenal came from set pieces, their 20th and 21st goals of the season. The team’s set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, has drawn a lot of plaudits for the team’s performance this season from corners and free kicks.
‘It’s been the same Arsenal set-up all year and it’s been good all year,’ former Manchester United and England right-back Gary Neville said on Sky Sports’ commentary of the game.
‘He’s a little nuisance that set-piece coach, but he’s damn good!’
In his post-match interview with Sky Sports, Arteta revealed that Arsenal had ‘spotted’ Tottenham’s weakness at defending their near post from corners before the match had even kicked off.
Asked whether he had Arsenal had targeted Spurs in that area, a grinning Arteta replied: ‘I’m not going to tell you that!’
Pressed for an answer, the Spaniard responded: ‘Obviously every team has certain spaces in open play that we want to attack and the one that we scored is one that we spotted.
‘Yeah, we have our weakness as well and we’re trying not to highlight them too much.’
Arteta admitted his side rode their luck at times in the second half but insisted it was ‘a day to be proud’ for Arsenal supporters.
‘It is a really tough place to come. Unbelievable atmosphere, great team,’ he added
‘We were superb, really well organised, efficient, especially in the first half. We started the second half really well, we were in control of the game.
‘We could have scored the fourth one and then we made an error, we conceded a goal and it’s game on.
