Arsenal breathed fresh life into their Premier League title chase with a 2-1 comeback win against Tottenham in an electric north London derby.
Following consecutive home cup defeats to Newcastle and Manchester United, Arsenal fell behind at the Emirates after Son Heung-min’s 25th-minute opener for Spurs.
But they were back on level terms with 40 minutes gone when Gabriel’s header from a corner rebounded off Dominic Solanke before Leandro Trossard put them ahead on the stroke of half-time.
Arsenal saw out the second half to move back into second place and within four points of leaders Liverpool, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.
For Tottenham, it marked a fourth defeat from their last five league matches to leave them 13th in the table, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
In a week where a first-leg Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Newcastle was followed by a third-round FA Cup exit to Manchester United, this felt like a win-or-bust fixture for Arsenal’s season.
On the eve of the derby, manager Mikel Arteta demanded the greatest atmosphere the Emirates had ever seen, and the home supporters answered his call with a raucous welcome for their arch-rivals.
And the players delivered, too, with a high-tempo opening 20 minutes where the Gunners had Spurs firmly on the ropes.
Trossard and Thomas Partey both had shots blocked before Kai Havertz charged down Antonin Kinsky’s clearance only for the Spurs stopper to rescue his own blunder.
However, for all their possession, Arsenal failed to create a clear-cut opening, and midway through the first half, Gabriel was required to poke the ball off Solanke’s toes with the former Bournemouth man poised to pull the trigger.
From the ensuing corner, David Raya forked out a fine reaction save to deny Dejan Kulusevski but the warning signs were there, and, less than a minute later, the visitors were ahead.
Arsenal failed to clear their lines and Son, hovering on the edge of the penalty area, guided a side-footed volley – with the help of a deflection off William Saliba and through Partey’s legs – into the Arsenal net. Raya had no chance and Ange Postecoglou held his left arm aloft in celebration.
Arteta would have been desperate for a response before the interval and, crucially for the Spaniard, it arrived with five minutes of the first half left.
Kinsky had dealt with all of Arsenal’s previous six corners but, at the seventh time of asking, he couldn’t get near Declan Rice’s delivery. Gabriel got the better of Radu Dragusin at the back post to get his head on the cross, hitting Solanke’s stomach en route to the back of the net. Gabriel led the celebrations but it went down as a Solanke own goal.
Spurs were rightly furious because it should not have been a corner in the first place – Trossard’s cross clearly ricocheting back off the Belgian.
The Emirates crowd did not care and four minutes later Arsenal were ahead. Partey robbed Yves Bissouma on the half-way line, with Martin Odegaard switching the play to Trossard on Arsenal’s left. Trossard drove at the Spurs goal before unleashing his effort on target.
A diving Kinsky got his left glove to the ball but the Tottenham goalkeeper did not do enough and Trossard’s stinging strike flew in.
James Maddison was introduced by Postecoglou to perform a rescue act. Raheem Sterling might have provided daylight but for an air kick on the hour mark and Solanke then saw his shot blocked by Gabriel before Rice slammed his effort at Kinsky’s chest. It remained a breathless affair.
Arsenal were desperate to kill the game but Spurs remained in the contest and, when Gabriel thwarted an attack with 10 minutes left, he celebrated it like his equaliser, beating his chest and conducting the crowd to respond.
Odegaard should have put the game to bed with six minutes left but another opportunity passed by when he shot wide.
Five minutes of injury time were signalled and Pedro Porro’s shot nearly caught Raya off guard when it thudded off his post.
Whistles reverberated round the Emirates before referee Simon Hooper called time on a pulsating fixture that keeps Arsenal in the Premier League hunt.
