Match ends, Tottenham Hotspur 0, Arsenal 1.
Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Arsenal
- From the section Premier League
Arsenal kept themselves in strong contention for the Premier League title as Tomas Rosicky's early goal secured victory at rivals Tottenham.
Rosicky rifled in a sublime angled drive just minutes into the game after leading a swift break for the visitors.
Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor flicked a shot just wide in the first half, and they dominated after the break.
Nacer Chadli's low shot was blocked on the line and Adebayor headed narrowly off target, but Arsenal held on.
The win means Arsenal are third in the standings but crucially now just four points off leaders Chelsea, who lost 1-0 to Aston Villa on Saturday.
Arsenal, who head to Chelsea next Saturday in manager Arsene Wenger's 1,000th game in charge, have a game in hand on the table toppers.
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Tottenham remain in fifth but the defeat dented their chances of finishing in the top four this season. They trail fourth-placed Manchester City by seven points.
Spurs manager Tim Sherwood struggled to contain his emotions on the sidelines at times, as the result added to what has been a testing week.
They lost 4-0 to Chelsea last weekend, prompting Sherwood to accuse his players of "lacking guts and character" before suffering a damaging 3-1 loss at home to Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday.
Arsenal, though, were not without their own troubles heading into the game. They were looking to avoid back-to-back Premier League defeats and are also having to deal with a lengthy injury list, which was added to by Mesut Ozil's hamstring injury in the 1-1 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich in midweek.
With midfielders Ozil, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey on the sidelines along with forward Theo Walcott, Arsenal fans might have been concerned about where their creativity would come from, but those fears were allayed just two minutes into this game.
The Gunners broke down the right, Rosicky found Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and, although the England international mis-controlled the ball just inside the area, it squirmed out to Rosicky, whose sweetly struck first-time effort flew into the far corner.
A decent spell of Tottenham possession ensued, but their high defensive line left them exposed to Arsenal counter attacks.
That proved the case midway through the half when Oxlade-Chamberlain skipped away from Nabil Bentaleb's attempted challenge on the halfway line but he flicked his shot wide with just Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris to beat.
Former Gunner Adebayor was largely isolated in the first half but his first sight of goal almost resulted in the equaliser when Andros Townsend and Kyle Naughton combined on the right and the latter crossed for the striker inside the area, but his first-time shot flew just wide of the far post.
The home side were presented a golden chance to equalise soon after the restart when Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny pawed at a cross, pushing it on to Chadli, who was unable to find a way past defender Laurent Koscielny, who had positioned himself on the line.
It was a chance that should have been finished but it sparked another spell of dominance for the home side.
A Chadli shot flew wide of goal as Tottenham pressed, before Adebayor headed wide and then saw a long-range strike held by Szczesny as Arsenal defended well to take the three points.
Tottenham reaction:
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:
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"Tottenham played very well. We had an early lead and we were juggling between protecting the lead and finishing the game off. We absorbed a lot of pressure from Tottenham, they gave everything and we needed a special resilience and good defensive performance.
"It was an unbelievable start with Tomas Rosicky's goal coming from nowhere. Tottenham put the effort in and had the quality to go forward but I don't feel they had a lot of clear-cut chances.
"It was a must-win game. We maintained the focus to not make the mistake that would cost us."
Line-ups
Tottenham
- 25Lloris
- 16Naughton
- 3RoseBooked at 90mins
- 30Guimarães CordeiroBooked at 48minsSubstituted forPaulinhoat 68'minutes
- 4Kaboul
- 5VertonghenBooked at 76mins
- 17Townsend
- 42Bentaleb
- 10Adebayor
- 21ChadliBooked at 33minsSubstituted forG Sigurdssonat 69'minutes
- 23EriksenSubstituted forSoldadoat 82'minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 2Walker
- 7Lennon
- 8Paulinho
- 9Soldado
- 22G Sigurdsson
- 24Friedel
- 37Kane
Arsenal
- 1Szczesny
- 3SagnaBooked at 22mins
- 28GibbsBooked at 45mins
- 8Arteta
- 4Mertesacker
- 6Koscielny
- 7RosickySubstituted forFlaminiat 69'minutesBooked at 80mins
- 15Oxlade-ChamberlainSubstituted forVermaelenat 85'minutes
- 12Giroud
- 19Cazorla
- 9PodolskiSubstituted forMonrealat 77'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Vermaelen
- 17Monreal
- 20Flamini
- 21Fabianski
- 22Sanogo
- 25Jenkinson
- 44Gnabry
- Referee:
- Mike Dean
- Attendance:
- 35,711
Match Stats
Home TeamTottenhamAway TeamArsenal
- Possession
- Home59%
- Away41%
- Shots
- Home17
- Away7
- Shots on Target
- Home2
- Away3
- Corners
- Home5
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home18
- Away11
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Tottenham Hotspur 0, Arsenal 1.
Booking
Roberto Soldado (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Roberto Soldado (Tottenham Hotspur).
Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Younes Kaboul (Tottenham Hotspur).
Nacho Monreal (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Olivier Giroud (Arsenal).
Booking
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur).
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner, Tottenham Hotspur. Conceded by Mathieu Flamini.
Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Olivier Giroud (Arsenal).
Foul by Paulinho (Tottenham Hotspur).
Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Foul by Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham Hotspur).
Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham Hotspur).
Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Gylfi Sigurdsson (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Thomas Vermaelen replaces Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Substitution
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Roberto Soldado replaces Christian Eriksen.
Booking
Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Mathieu Flamini (Arsenal).
Foul by Gylfi Sigurdsson (Tottenham Hotspur).
Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt saved. Per Mertesacker (Arsenal) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Laurent Koscielny.
Foul by Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur).
Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Nacho Monreal replaces Lukas Podolski.
Booking
Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur).
Bacary Sagna (Arsenal) wins a free kick on the right wing.
