LONDON – On Sunday, a close and heated north London derby took place at Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium, with Arsenal beating Spurs 1-0, making a big statement early in the season.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal were missing a number of key players and Gabriel’s header secured a big win that takes them to 10 points from four games. It was a determined, professional performance from the Gunners.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham created plenty of chances, dominated possession for large parts of the game and feel they could have taken all three points. They will be pleased with their performance but unhappy with their second consecutive defeat, having taken just four points from their first four games of the season.

Here’s a look at what we learned from Tottenham vs Arsenal.

Gunners squad much stronger than expected

Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney were all missing from Arsenal’s squad on Sunday but they found a way to secure an impressive derby win. They were not at their best, with the duo of Odegaard and Rice massively missing in central midfield, but Arteta’s players were pragmatic as the manager studied his squad closely and adjusted his playing style accordingly when they lost the ball. Players such as Jorginho, Martinelli, Timber, Trossard and Partey, who can all be considered substitutes in a fully fit squad, did a good job of covering for the absences. Arsenal’s bench was full of teenagers but Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling came off the bench late to get the win over the line. With a difficult test at Atalanta on Thursday and a big trip to Manchester City next Sunday, Arteta’s squad will be stretched to the limit this week. It’s not ideal, but this injury crisis earlier in the season has shown that Arsenal’s squad is a lot stronger than we originally thought. That will be very pleasing for Arteta as they still have a long battle ahead of them as they chase Manchester City.

The pressure on Solanke is growing

Dominic Solanke played like a player who knows he cost $85 million this summer. He has yet to hit the mark at Tottenham and two moments highlighted his immobility as Spurs’ goalscoring problems continue. In the first half, Spurs won the ball back on the edge of the box and Solanke was right in the thick of it. He had a free shot on goal in the box. But he had his head down, couldn’t line up his feet properly and Arsenal cleared before he could get his shot off. Late in the second half, Maddison nudged it in but Solanke again couldn’t line up his feet properly and the chance went to waste. Loud groans echoed around Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium on both occasions and there will be more as Solanke continues to look like he’s walking through treacle. High expectations already seem to be on him and that is spreading to the entire Spurs attack as both Heung-min Son and James Maddison looked leggy and simply off the mark. Things were going pretty well for Spurs until the final third, but the lack of precision is becoming a worrying trend at the start of this season.

Wood is ideal for The Arsenal team

Jurrien Timber is exactly the kind of character that Mikel Arteta wants in The Arsenal team. He is perfect and has what it takes to become their spirit animal. Timber is solid, reliable, fiery and plays right on the edge of what is acceptable. His tackle on Pedro Porro was worth a yellow card, nothing more. His reaction in the ensuing scuffle to grab the towering Vicario and pull himself up proved he is ready for battle. After missing pretty much an entire season in 2023/24 due to injury, Timber is hungry and making up for lost time. His ability to put the team first, play seamlessly in multiple positions and maintain his focus will be crucial for Arsenal, especially in the coming weeks when they will have to deal with key injuries in areas where Timber thrives. The Dutch defender’s personality and spirit are a perfect fit for Arteta and the other key players in this Arsenal team. At the end of this season, Timber will likely receive tons of praise for his adaptability, aggressiveness and determination.