Tottenham 0-2 Arsenal: Gunners blast Spurs in first half to get rid of Man City eight times

Arsenal are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League after a convincing 2-0 victory against rivals Tottenham on Sunday night.

Mikel Arteta's side did the damage in the first half with Hugo Lloris crossing his own net before Gunners captain Martin Odegaard headed home from 25 yards out.

A first brace against their north London rivals since 2014 allowed Arsenal leaders to capitalize on defending champions Manchester City's defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday to give even more hope of winning the league again. title for the first time in 19 years.

In-form Manchester United are Arsenal's next opponents and they are now hoping for a favor from Antonio Conte's side, who travel to City on Thursday struggling to stay in the top four and with Harry Kane still at stake a club-record Jimmy Greaves goal.

There were some disreputable full-time scenes with Aaron Ramsdale appearing to be hit by a Tottenham fan who jumped on the billboard behind the South Stand goal before Arteta could take his players out to celebrate with their own fans.

Both teams struggled with injury before the game and while Dejan Kulusevski returned for Spurs, Rodrigo Bentancur missed out and Bukayo Saka was able to shake off his minor hamstring problem to start for the visitors .

Results elsewhere at the weekend only heightened the importance of the game and it didn't take long for the leaders to get into their stride with in-form Eddie Nketiah denied by Lloris in the seventh minute.

Lloris' hesitation in possession was the catalyst for the chance and his next involvement produced the opener after another error.

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Saka created space through the boundary line and his cross, which slightly deflected Ryan Sessegnon, deceived Lloris, who could only parry the ball into his own net.

It wasn't the Spurs captain's first mistake in a big game this season, but Tottenham nearly equalized instantly when Sessegnon found Son Heung-min inside the box, only for Ramsdale to make a nice low stop with his legs.

It was a fleeting moment of attacking intent from Conte who quickly found himself on the ropes.

Lloris saved from Odegaard shortly after before Thomas Partey was denied another North London stunner by the woodwork.

Partey, who scored a superb curling effort in the 3-1 win in October, fired a 25-yard volley that thundered against the base of the post after a pinball into the Spurs area.

A second goal for Arsenal seemed inevitable and it arrived eight minutes before the break.

William Saliba won the opening ball before Partey and Saka combined to free Odegaard into space and the Gunners captain fired into the bottom corner from distance for his eighth goal of the season.

It was fully deserved for the visitors and while Spurs improved, with Kane denied by Ramsdale, it remained 2-0 at the break.

The traditional second-half side kept their word after the restart, with Kulusevski firing over before Kane was denied by another fine save from Ramsdale.

It was even better to follow the Arsenal keeper, who pulled out a boot to deflect an effort from Sessegnon after a brace with Kane.

Things began to boil when substitute Richarlison had words with Brazilian teammate Gabriel Martinelli and Kulusevski collided with Arteta in the technical area.

Yet these incidents and a flurry of yellow cards only dampened Spurs' comeback bid.

Nketiah squandered the chance to seal the points with 21 minutes left when Lloris rushed in quickly to save his effort after Granit Xhaka's pass to keep Tottenham's faint hopes alive.

Although Richarlison and Ivan Perisic arrived and Kulusevski tested the excellent Ramsdale late in the game, Arsenal felt comfortable in the final exchanges to take a 14-point lead over their rivals.< /p>

However, there were some nasty scenes after the final whistle.

After an apparent exchange of words with Richarlison, Ramsdale was kicked by a supporter. Xhaka looked frustrated with the developments, with Arteta stepping in and the Arsenal contingent moving to the other end of the stadium to celebrate with their fans.

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