Arsenal player ratings: 'Dominant' 9/10 shines as 'blunt' forward gets 3/10 in scrappy Tottenham win

Arsenal came out on top in the first North London derby of the season, taking three points home from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to Gabriel Magalhaes’ second-half header from Bukayo Saka’s corner.

In an ultra-scrappy - and for the most part open - game, it took a set-piece to decide it, and Spurs keeper Vicario will feel he should have shown more dominance in the air, with Gabriel heading home from inside the six-yard box. As many as eight yellow cards were shown in a physical derby clash, although Jarred Gillett certainly could have been more patient with his cards.

Arsenal, missing Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, struggled to create going forward and left their centre-backs exposed much more than they would have liked, but Gabriel and William Saliba were up to the challenge, and the former even managed to win it with a goal at the other end. Here we rate the players from the North London derby.

David Raya - 7

With his centre-backs performing well, Raya had to be alert but was largely saved from doing anything beyond the routine.

Jurrien Timber - 7

Looked uncomfortable defensively at times, defending very narrowly and giving Pedro Porro and others space to run at him. Did enough defensively, though, and was hard to beat, which is what Arteta will have wanted from him here, well aware that his side were not going to be as creative with the injuries they had.

Gabriel Magalhaes - 9

Made a number of last-minute challenges that saved his side, along with Saliba. With poor protection ahead of the back-line, Arsenal’s centre-backs were particularly busy. Topped off a dominant performance with a superb header to put Arsenal in front in the 64th minute.

William Saliba - 9

Produced a goal-saving challenge in the 27th minute while already on the floor, with Tottenham outnumbering Arsenal on the attack. That was the theme of the afternoon in an open game, with Saliba, much like Gabriel, putting in a monstrous performance in the middle. The pair’s best performance of the season so far.

Ben White - 7

Controlled his wing well, with Spurs regularly playing down the other side, perhaps as a result. Solid.

Thomas Partey - 5

Made some good tackles but struggled to impart dominance in the midfield, with Tottenham catching Arsenal on the break regularly from very early on.

Jorginho - 5

The same applies here. Jorginho and Partey struggled to keep up with Tottenham’s legs, with too many spare men in the middle too often, but did just enough to get through. Spurs will be disappointed they couldn’t do more with the space they were afforded at times.

Gabriel Martinelli (Off at 79’) - 3

Fluffed a huge chance with 18 minutes on the clock, marching through on loan before dispatching a shot that was caught comfortably by the keeper. Lost a handful of duels and rarely looked confident on the attack. All too blunt from the Brazilian.

Bukayo Saka (Off at 86’)- 6

A good cross from the corner to set up the opener. Vicario arguably should have come for it, but he didn’t and Saka got the assist as a result. Saka was withdrawn with an injury that did not look too significant with four minutes remaining, and he gave way having struggled to create much, but he did provide the all-important assist.

Leandro Trossard (Off at 79’) - 4

Rarely managed to get on the ball in any decent positions and didn’t add much to Arsenal’s overall performance, He rotated inside and out but rarely caused the Spurs back-lines any issues.

Kai Havertz - 6

Unlucky not to score with a strong header 17 minutes in. Made some positive runs with and without the ball but the midfield’s performance behind him meant any sort of service was few and far between. Without Odegaard, Havertz will have known he was in for a long day here, but he kept his energy up, and Arteta will be pleased with that.

Substitutes

Raheem Sterling (on at 79’) - 6

Had one standout run down the left-side that ultimately ended in him losing the ball, but he couldn’t really impact the game with Arsenal fully concentrated on defending in the late stages.

Gabriel Jesus (On at 79’) - 6

Similar to the above, Jesus was never going to have a big say given the focus at the end of the game.

Ethan Nwaneri (On at 86’) - 6

Very little time to impact the game, coming on with four minutes remaining.