Despite the odds and the numbers being against Arsenal they managed to execute the perfect plan at Tottenham to win the North London Derby and continue their fight for the Premier League title. The win was Mikel Arteta’s third straight win at his side’s rivals’ ground, something not seen in the Premier League era.

The win secures the first of three must-win games in seven days. Next to come is the first UEFA Champions League match of the newly revamped league phase as the Gunners travel to Italy to face Atalanta on Thursday before just a two-day break ahead of the clash at the Etihad Stadium.

There is however plenty of positives coming out in the wake of the win over Tottenham. With that in mind, football.london rounds up all the benefits that Arteta has to contend with in the coming days as he looks to solidify his side’s title ambitions.

Bukayo Saka update

The big worry from the end of the North London Derby was the apparent issue that Bukayo Saka suffered. He had to be replaced despite both Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling already on the field and therefore 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri made his debut in the derby and performed well in the closing moments.

“I made two changes with the front players and suddenly he’s down,” Arteta said in his post-match press conference. “So I looked at the bench and the options that we had, so we had to adapt. I don’t know exactly what it is, but he could not continue.”

Thankfully, there is a feeling post-match that all the England international suffered was cramp having worked tirelessly alongside his teammates. This means that there is an expectation Saka will indeed be available for the games against Atalanta and Manchester City.

 

Declan Rice returns

Declan Rice missed the derby due to a controversial suspension created by the second yellow card in the 1-1 draw with Brighton. Despite the sense of injustice, Rice accepted the card as did Arsenal and they dealt with the changes.

Arteta however was dealt even more bad news over the international break with injuries to both Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard. The manager spoke in his post-match press conference regarding how his plans had to change in the days leading up to the derby.

“I didn’t enjoy it because I didn’t sleep much. I looked at Spurs for four or five days. I had a super clear plan, how to do it,” the Spaniard said.

“I prepared everything, the session, the meeting, etc, and then one news, we lose a player. Another news, we lose another player. Another news, we lose a player. So I had to completely change it. I liked the plan for the players that we had available, so it was a great challenge.”

Rice will of course be back for the game with Atalanta and Man City giving Arteta plenty of time to check what he wants to do with his selections. Odegaard and Calafiori remain unknown variables as specificities of the injuries are yet to be revealed.

Opening gauntlet

Arsenal have come through the first four matches of an extremely tough opening five-game run unbeaten and having won at both Aston Villa and Tottenham. Manchester City are indeed up next with a chance to overtake them in the league should they manage to secure victory.

However, once this game with City is over, it means that Arsenal have already, after just five games managed to get past three of their toughest games before September is over. It opens up the rest of the campaign and the chance to build a considerable run of form ahead of other tough trips to Anfield and Old Trafford.