Arsenal were not on a strong run of results heading into the second north London derby of the 2025/26 season. Seven points dropped in January and back-to-back draws in their last two Premier League games meant that the title race had gone from being theirs to lose to being wide open. In theory, a trip to their local rivals was not the ideal game for them at this moment in time, but then and again, perhaps Mikel Arteta would have copied the famous Sir Alex Ferguson pre-match team talk.
Fergie famously once told his players, “Lads, it’s Tottenham”, believing that was enough given Spurs’ “Spursiness” and the record his club had against them. Arteta’s men may well have felt the same, and whatever the pre-match words were, they certainly worked, with the PL table toppers romping to a very easy 4-1 victory over their historic rivals.
That was the same score as the reverse fixture at the Emirates, and means the Gunners have now won five in a row against Tottenham. Indeed, they have won nine of the last 11 north London derbies, losing just one of those. This was a big win for Arteta and co though, and sets them up for their next clash, another big London derby, at home against Chelsea. If they can secure another three points in that one, their fans may just start to believe again.
Man City had beaten Newcastle on Saturday night to close the gap at the top to just two points. Had the Gunners lost, or even drawn, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Pep Guardiola’s men would have had the chance to move top of the table next Saturday, with Arsenal not playing until Sunday. That could have been a huge psychological blow and Arsenal may have struggled to come back from it with the pressure then very much on them against Chelsea.
Eze the Hero Again
As it is, they have a five-point cushion and move into the game against the Blues full of confidence. Arsenal were the better side from start to finish, though the game remained 0-0 for over half an hour. When the breakthrough came, it was Eberechi Eze who got it, an Arsenal supporter who came close to joining Spurs before the Gunners made their interest clear.
It is safe to say that Spurs fans will be sick of the sight of the former QPR and Palace attacker. Eze netted a hat-trick in the clash between the rivals back in November, and he got another two here. Five goals in two derbies is a pretty good way to endear yourself to fans and Viktor Gyokeres also bagged a brace to give Arsenal a real statement win when they needed it.
Spurs had equalised almost instantly after Eze’s first goal, Kolo Muani doing well after slack play from Declan Rice, who was not at his best all game. The home faithful might have thought it was game on at that point but early in the second half, a nice finish from Gyokeres restored the away team’s lead and they went from strength to strength after that.
The Gunners fully deserved their win and the margin wasn’t overly generous to them on the balance of play. There were some encouraging signs for Spurs in Igor Tudor’s first game in charge, but there is no doubt about it, Tottenham are in a relegation battle. They finished 17th last term, albeit 13 points clear of the drop. After Sunday’s defeat, they are 16th, but just four points better off than West Ham, who are currently 18th.
Could Spurs go Down?
Spurs are one of the six Premier League ever presents and have been there since the first campaign back in 1992/93. Of those six clubs, only Everton have ever really been involved in a serious relegation battle (on more than one occasion), even though Spurs and Man United finished 17th and 15th respectively last term.
It is almost unthinkable that Tottenham, who were one of the clubs involved in the proposed European Super League just a few years ago, could go down, but the table tells its own story. Only seven clubs have been in the top tier of English football longer than Spurs and only Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Man United have a longer unbroken streak than them.
Tottenham last played in the second tier back in 1977/78, and yet they are in real danger of the drop this term. They have a tough run of games ahead, including a trip to Fulham next, before another London derby against Palace and then a trip to Anfield. They then host Nottingham Forest, currently just two points behind them, and given their dreadful home record, few of their fans would be overly confident of getting a result.
The club has so many players out injured, and with a Champions League campaign to contend with as well, they could get really stretched in the final months of the campaign. Their current league form is abysmal, and they haven’t yet won a Premier League game in 2026. This year, they have drawn four and lost five. That is relegation form without a shadow of a doubt, and Tottenham fans are right to be very worried with just 11 games of the Premier League season to go.