Jacob Steinberg was the Guardian’s man at the Emirates and here’s his on-the-whistle report on an impressive Arsenal win.

When asked if there’s a problem between him and Danny Rose, he laughs. “Problem? What problem?” he asks. He goes on to somewhat fudge his answer, saying it’s “boring” to talk about players “who aren’t here”.

He is very disappointed and makes it clear who he’s blaming for Tottenham’s defeat in his post-match interview with Sky: “I think it was an even game in terms of shots on target, in terms of possession but I am disappointed because the small details were against us,” he says. “When the small details are against us it’s difficult to win. I feel very proud of the team and thought it was a fine performance.”

When asked to clarify his comments: “I think it’s so obvious what happened I don’t need to say. It’s not easy to accept because we lose the game. But I think everyone who was here knows what happened.” He goes on to say that Arsenal’s first goal was offside and they scored from a free-kick they should not have been awarded.

They’ll lose, won’t they? Arsenal being Arsenal, after this excellent performance you’d be tempted to put your house on it.

The match in summary: Tottenham Hotspur were never at the races in a match that was nevertheless settled by two contentious goals. The first, a free header from a fractionally offside Shkodran Mustafi, came from a free-kick that should never have been awarded for a Davinson Sanchez “foul” on namesake Alexis.

It was Arsenal’s Sanchez who provided the second one, taking advantage of some questionable goalkeeping to smash the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle after being teed up by Alexandre Lacazette. Sanchez too looked fractionally offside as he ran on to Lacazette’s pass. But make no mistake - Tottenham were weirdly awful today and deserved to lose.

Mesut Ozil, without question. He was outstanding in a match in which all 11 of his side’s players seemed to click.

Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over at the Emirates, where Tottenham Hotspur have had their pants pulled down by an Arsenal team that has just won its 11th straight Premier League game at home. Spurs stay in third, level on points with Manchester United and eight points behind leaders Manchester City. Arsenal move up to fifth, one point behind their neighbours and lagging behind Chelsea on goal difference.

90+3 min: The siege on the Spurs goal continues: Iwobi pulls a shot wide of the upright moments after Alexis Sanchez had found himself through on goal only to be put off his stride by a last-ditch challenge from Davinson Sanchez. I suspect if he’d gone to ground there, he might have got a penalty. Of course he might also have got a yellow card for diving, which would have been his second booking of the game.

90+1 min: We’re into the first of four recommended minutes of added time. Arsenal have been so impressive today, a state of affairs that will inevitably prompt howls of dissatisfaction from their supporters and critics that these excellent performances are so few and far between.

90 min: Arsenal remain camped in and around the Spurs penalty area and win a free-kick about 30 yards from goal. Xhaka appeals for a corner as his low drive sails wide, but none is forthcoming.

88 min: Now Sanchez tees up Bellerin with a pass across the face of the Tottenham penalty area. He’s crowded off the ball before he can unleash a shot.

87 min: Sanchez tees up Iwobi in the Tottenham penalty area, but the substitute has his shot blocked.

86 min: Leaning back as he attacks a Fernando Llorente knock-down, Son fires a wild shot high over the bar. Arsenal substitution: Alex Iwobi on for Mesut Ozil.

83 min: Tottenham win a corner after a low, drilled cross from Ben Davies is put out of play. With Spurs forward in neighbours, Arsenal break in numbers. Ozil is on the ball with Ramsey, Sanchez and Bellerin up in support. Ozil’s cross is poor and but picks out Bellerin, whose shot from outside the area is blocked.

81 min: Tottenham win a corner, which Christian Eriksen plays short to Harry Winks. His cross from the right is only half-cleared and Cech is forced to save smartly from an Eric Dier cross-come-shot off his head. Arsenal break down the field, with Sanchez chasing a long ball from the back. Hugo Lloris charges off his line and out of his penalty area to clear the ball with a diving header.

79 min: Arsenal break on the counter, with Sanchez and Ozil combining well once again in midfield to get the ball forward as quickly as possible. Spurs scramble back in time to clear their lines.

77 min: It’s Lloris to the rescue as Alexis Sanchez jinks and shimmies his way into the Tottenham penalty area and forces the goalkeeper off his line to save before he can unleash a particularly venomous shot.

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76 min: I say promise - Alli is an established international, but it’s easy to forget he’s still young and has had a poor season thus far.

75 min: Tottenham double-substitution: Harry Kane and Dele ALli off, Fernando Llorente and Son Heung-min on. Harry Kane has looked off the pace all day, possibly still hampered by his tight hamstring. For all his promise, Dele Alli has had a game to forget.

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73 min: Arsenal substitution: Francois Coquelin on for Alexandre Lacazette.

73 min: Dele Alli is still on the pitch but has contributed little or nothing. We’re reminded of his existence when Nacho Monreal upends him to concede a free-kick and earn himself a yellow card.

70 min: Spurs clear the corner, but Arsenal retain the ball. On the left, Sanchez cuts inside Trippier and unleashes a curling shot that zips over the bar. Moments later, Sanchez fails to test Lloris properly after being picked out on the edge of the Spurs penalty area by Mesut Ozil. Arsenal are in complete control.

69 min: Kieran Trippier is penalised for a foul on Alexis Sanchez wide on the left and seems lucky to avoid a yellow card. With Spurs playing a very high defensive line, the ball’s sent into the penalty area, where Mustafi’s shot is put out for a corner. Mesut Ozil is in no great rush to take it.

67 min: Arsenal get forward in numbers on the counter-attack and the ball finds its way to Alexis Sanchez on the inside left. He flicks it into the penalty area, where it’s cleared.

65 min: Sky pundits Gary Neville and Thierry Henry are slavering over Mesut Ozil’s performance, but making the point that he should work this hard in every match, not just big ones against Spurs. He has been very impressive today - looking great creatively, while putting in his fair share of the grunt work when it comes to tracking back and putting various Spurs players under pressure.

63 min: Christian Eriksen tries his luck from the edge of the Arsenal penalty area but fires high over the bar. It’s a shame he wasn’t that wasteful against Ireland during the week. Then we’d have only lost 2-1. Grrrr ...

62 min: Tottenham substitution: Mousa Dembele off, Harry Winks on.

60 min: Arsenal win a corner after good work down the inside right from Mesut Ozil. The ball’s swung into the mixer and one unconvincing flap by Hugo Lloris later, ends up going out for a throw-in near the corner flag on the other side of the pitch. Spurs clear their lines.

58 min: Harry Kane looks to be limping and slightly off the pace, but is still dangerous. At first he has a penalty shout turned down after being challenged by Xhaka, then has a good shot blocked down by Mustafi on the edge of the Arsenal six-yard box.

55 min: An Arsenal counter-attack ends with Alexis Sanchez threading a through-ball into the Tottenham penalty area for Mesut Ozil to chase. There’s a mite too much pace on the ball and Hugo Lloris is quick off his line to beat the German international to the ball.

53 min: Lacazette beats the grass in frustration after having an appeal for a penalty turned down. I’d need to see it again to know for sure whether he has grounds for his frustration.

52 min: Arsenal win a corner. The ball’s cleared as far as Bellerin a few yards outside the penalty area, where Bellerin floats it towards the far post. There’s a mix-up between Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny and a good chance goes a begging.

50 min: Now Kane is booked for diving in on Granit Xhaka as the Arsenal midfielder attempted to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick. He was never going to get to it and has his name taken. I think Mike Dean was going to let that one slide, so to speak, but produced the yellow card after a chat with his linesman.

49 min: Mousa Dembele sends in a cross for Harry Kane, but it’s a mite too high and the Spurs striker can only head the ball straight up in the air. Moments previously, Shkodran Mustafi was booked for clattering through the back of Harry Kane.

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An email from Nick: “Poor Spurs performance, two offside goals, the first one created by a free kick that wasn’t - so why are the Sky commentators slurping all over Arsenal?” he asks. Because they’ve been really good and are well worth their lead?

Arsenal get the ball rolling for the second half, with a two goal lead to protect.

Mauricio Pochettino’s assistant Jesus Perez, who is a genuinely lovely fellow, was not at his friendliest as the teams went off for half-time. He waited at the mouth of the tunnel to give refewree Mike Dean both barrels as the ref walked off for half-time. As we wait for the resumption of the second half, Pochettino is deep in conversation with fourth official Kevin Friend. The pair do have every right to be upset with the free-kick that led to Arsenal’s first - there was no foul by Tottenham’s Sanchez on his Arsenal namesake.

Marginal offside for both Arsenal goals: Replays show that both Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez were a fraction offside for their goals, but we’re talking millimetres here. Any Tottenham Hotspur fans looking to blame the match officials for the current pickle in which they find themselves are clutching at straws. They’ve been woeful today and can probably consider themselves lucky to be to be no more than two goals down.

In other news, a replay of Arsenal’s second shows that Hugo Lloris was caught flat-footed as the ball was crossed to Sanchez and therefore couldn’t dash off his line when the ball clunked off Sanchez’s thigh. This afforded the Chilean a second bite of the cherry and he smashed the ball into the roof of the net from a very tight angle as the Spurs goalkeeper was caught off balance while trying to adjust his feet. Lloris may be one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now, but that’s one he won’t want to see again: he looked like he’d put his boots on the wrong feet.

Arsenal go in for the interval with a two-goal lead that is no more than they deserve. Spurs have been uncharacteristically awful: off the pace, poor in possession, woeful in defence and showing little up front either. Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli have offered little or nothing, while Harry Kane is attempting to feed off scraps.

45+2 min: “They have been bullied here,” says Sky Sports co-comms man Gary Neville of Tottenham as the first half enters its knockings.

43 min: Well, this is turn-up for the books ... or is it? Arsenal are battering Tottenham here and Mauricio Pochettino looks furious with his team’s performance. Lacazette got in behind down the right and played the low ball into the Tottenham penalty area, where Sanchez was waiting in acres of space. He made a mess of his first touch, but Lloris remained anchored to his line and allowed the Chilean to recover and rifle the ball between goalkeeper and near post from a ridiculously tight angle.

Alexis Sanchez bundles the ball home with his second bite of the cherry after getting on the end of a low cross from Alexandre Lacazette.

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40 min: Alexis Sanchez and Davinson Sanchez get involved in another skirmish that results in the Arsenal man going in the book.

37 min: Tottenham have every right to feel aggrieved about that free-kick, but their making at the subsequent set piece was atrocious. The ball was floated into the penalty area by Mesut Ozil, where the unmarked Mustafi leapt highest (from what looked a suspiciously offside position) at the far post and steered a fine header across the face of goal and inside the upright. Arsenal lead, Tottenham will complain but it’s no more than the home side deserve on the balance of play.

And they only go and score from it! Shkodran Mustafi guides a wonderful header just inside the upright.

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36 min: Davinson Sanchez is penalised – somewhat unfairly in my opinion – for a foul on Alexis Sanchez and Tottenham have a free-kick in a good position.

34 min: Tottenham attempt to find their way back into the game with two chances in quick succession. Eriksen clips an upright with a curled effort, then Cech is forced to save a header from Harry Kane.

33 min: Granit Xhaka picks up the first booking of the game for a needless late challenge on Dele Alli.

31 min: Alexis Sanchez adds fuel to the fire surrounding his complete non-relationship with Aaron Ramsey by going berserk after the Welshman refused to play the ball long to him from a free-kick after the Chilean had made a darting run into a promising position. Instead, Ramsey plays it short to another team-mate, prompting a mini-tantrum from Sanchez.

29 min: Arsenal win a corner after more poor defending from Spurs. Ozil is played in behind the defence and plays a pull-back into the area. Eric Dier concedes the corner, from which nothing comes.

28 min: Hmmm ... in what looks a second example of possible cowardice from Alexandre Lacazette this afternoon, the Arsenal striker looks to bottle a challenge with Hugo Lloris after being played through on the Spurs goal.

27 min: Ben Davies sends in a splendid cross from the left and in the Arsenal penalty area, Harry Kane leaps. He’s beaten in the air by Nacho Monreal, who averts the danger for Arsenal.

25 min: The camera cuts to Mauricio Pochettino in his technical area and he does not look at all happy. His team are second best here and have been giving away possession with alarming frequency.