Injustice. A costly suspension. Injuries. Erling Haaland. The game plan. Arsenal had seen the obstacles looming before them and they knew what everyone was thinking: aspiring championship teams find a way to deal with them. To the delight of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have done it.

After the lost points against Brighton, the draw marked and unsettled by the controversial red card of Declan Rice and the injury-related absence of Martin Ødegaard on international duty, the provisional line-up had to give everything on this day so that the collective determination could shine through.

This was epitomised by the toughness of centre-backs Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba; they led an intimidating final line as Arsenal regularly placed men around the ball, suffocating a Tottenham team that started brightly but ran out of ideas towards the end.

Manchester City won again on Saturday. Haaland scored the goals against Brentford. But Arsenal responded with long and loud celebrations after the final whistle after their third consecutive victory in their arch-rivals’ backyard.

The decisive moment had familiar features. Two of Arsenal’s goals in last season’s 3-2 win here came from corners; one of 22 goals came from set pieces, the highest in the Premier League. And when Bukayo Saka fired a corner over the bar in the second half, Tottenham had a worrying sense of déjà vu. Guglielmo Vicario was surrounded, Arsenal’s physicality was once again on display and Gabriel was there to head home the goal. The win was the perfect start to a difficult week for Arsenal. After a Champions League away game at Atalanta on Thursday, they travel to City on Sunday.

There was only frustration at Spurs. Ange Postecoglou is not a man for compromise. Everyone knew how the Spurs manager would play and his starting eleven reinforced that message: James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in attacking midfield tried to get behind the three strikers. With Yves Bissouma injured, Rodrigo Bentancur was number 6. His team just couldn’t manage it.

It was clear that it was going to be an afternoon that would test the depth of Arteta’s squad. His move was to pair Jorginho with Thomas Partey in midfield, with Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard operating as centre-forwards in front of them. It was Jorginho’s first start of the season and only the second time he had started a game with Partey. On the previous two occasions, Partey had played at right-back.

Arsenal had to learn from the start and Spurs were in the mood to cause them problems from the start. It was fast and furious, passions were running high in the stands but also on the pitch. The first half flew by, the tempo was high, some of the transitions were dizzying. The aggressiveness was of course a big part of it too.

Spurs were furious when Jurrien Timber collided with Pedro Porro. It looked as though he had touched the ball with his foot before rolling into the Spurs full-back. A confrontation between Timber and an irate Vicario ensued, which led to a brawl. Timber received a yellow card for the tackle, which was not a big deal. It was not enough for a red card.

Vicario received a yellow card for his reaction, one of five cautions given to Spurs in the first half. Substitutes chosen included Destiny Udogie for Saka and Micky van de Ven for Trossard.

Spurs almost made an early breakthrough. Kulusevski fired in a Son Heung-min backpass for David Raya, who almost capitalised when he flicked an inside cross from the right into a crowded box. Raya must have seen it late, which made the full-stretched clearance even more impressive. Spurs were frustrated when they forced Ben White into a loose pass and Dominic Solanke had a clear shot. He didn’t fire quickly enough and Saliba was able to block.

Arsenal steadied themselves. They came back and were agonisingly close to breaking through. Arteta was furious when Gabriel Martinelli gave a weak pass to Vicario after Trossard had set him free on the left, the Spurs goalkeeper having just saved a Havertz header. Martinelli took the chance after a quick shot. Arsenal looked to be able to get through at the back, their movements sharp.

Amid the physical confrontations before half-time, there were other moments of real football. Maddison crossed low for Dominic Solanke, who headed the ball just wide of the far post. Kulusevski won the ball in the scrum and passed it to Brennan Johnson, who shot high.

The contest was one that could be followed by the challenges won; the home crowd roared its approval of the commitment of its players, Cristian Romero being an obvious example. But could we have a moment of quality to break the deadlock?

Solanke was tackled early in the second half when he headed the ball; Van de Ven fired another ball straight at Raya from the resulting corner. Arsenal took the lead from a corner at the other end. Of course they did.

Arsenal won after a nifty counterattack, sparked by Trossard’s volley, and marked by a good save from Havertz and a blocked shot from Saka. As Saka finished the shot, it was impossible to ignore the mass of bodies surrounding Vicario. He couldn’t get to the ball, which Saka dropped into the perfect area. Gabriel applied a little gentle pressure to Romero’s back, and as he rose, everyone knew what was about to happen.

What was left for Spurs? Very little. Postecoglou swapped Maddison for Timo Werner and let Son take on a more central role, but the die was cast. Arsenal could no longer be broken through.