Arsenal 2 Tottenham 0 LIVE reaction: Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino on the Premier League north London derby result

Wenger gets the better of Pochettino
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James Benge18 November 2017

Arsenal 2 Tottenham 0 | North London derby | Premier League | Emirates Stadium | 12:30pm | Saturday, 18 November 2017

First-half goals from Shkodran Mustafi and Alexis Sanchez were enough to guide Arsene Wenger to a first Premier League triumph over Mauricio Pochettino and, the Arsenal manager will hope, breathe new life into a stuttering season.

Spurs were immediately spooked by an Arsenal frontline that pressed them with pace and purpose and were fortunate that a string of early errors were not converted by Alexandre Lacazette and company.

It took Mustafi’s head to hand Arsenal the lead on 36 minutes, converting Mesut Ozil’s free-kick after Davinson Sanchez had fouled his Gunners namesake.

Five minutes later Arsenal’s lead was doubled as Hector Bellerin released Lacazette down the right. The French striker cut across goal for Sanchez to hammer a powerful effort over Hugo Lloris.

In the driving rain of the second half both sides struggled to replicate the intensity of the first period as Arsenal held Spurs at arms’ length to secure a convincing derby day victory.

Follow LIVE reaction with James Olley and James Benge below...

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Team news and starting line-ups

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

Arsenal XI: Cech, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal, Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac, Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette

Subs: Mertesacker, Wilshere, Ospina, Iwobi, Welbeck, Maitland-Niles, Coquelin

Tottenham XI: Lloris, Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen, Trippier, Sissoko, Dembele, Davies, Eriksen, Dele Alli, Kane

Subs: Son, Vorm, Llorente, Foyth, Aurier, Winks, Walker-Peters

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

18 November 2017

No surprises from Wenger, though the return of Shkodran Mustafi will be a welcome boost for Arsenal. Spurs will, you would assume, match shapes with their opposition and play Eric Dier in the centre of defence. But I wonder if we might see the England captain push further forward to give Tottenham control of the centre of the park.

Surely Dier, Dembele and Sissoko would have the run of the Emirates against Xhaka and Ramsey.

18 November 2017

Here are the confirmed lineups for both sides:

Arsenal XI: Cech; Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Bellerin, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette

Substitutes: Ospina, Mertesacker, Coquelin, Maitland-Niles, Wilshere, Iwobi, Welbeck

Tottenham XI: Lloris; Sanchez, Dier, Vertonghen; Trippier, Sissoko, Dembele, Davies; Eriksen, Alli, Kane

Substitutes: Vorm, Foyth, Aurier, Walker-Peters, Winks, Son, Llorente

18 November 2017

With Manchester City running away with the league it might not be this season but Arsenal great Lee Dixon expects Mauricio Pochettino to lead Tottenham to the title sooner rather than later.

18 November 2017

Exciting team news - just not for this game! Erik Lamela is back in action for Spurs, starting in an Under-23 side to take on Chelsea at Hotspur Way this afternoon. It'll be a first appearance since October 25, 2016, for the Argentine star.

We'll have lineups from the Emirates in less than 15 minutes by the way.

18 November 2017

Betting odds

Arsenal to win is priced at 11/8

The draw is priced at 13/5

Tottenham to win is priced at 21/10

Head to Betfair’s website for all the latest odds and specials.

18 November 2017

Fighting talk from Mauricio Pochettino pre-match. He is once more dismissive of the suggestion that winning any trophy should be Tottenham's aim this season and says that he would not swap Wenger's three FA Cups in four years for his achievements at Spurs.

I admire what Arsene Wenger did at Arsenal but we are at a different stage in the project.

"The pressure to win only cups is not useful for us. If we can win the FA Cup, Carabao Cup, fantastic, but the principal option is to win the Premier League and put Tottenham in a position to win the Champions League."

18 November 2017
18 November 2017

A new king of north London? Arsenal fans would argue Harry Kane has quite a way to go to match the feats of Thierry Henry, but the data above would suggest he's on the right path.

18 November 2017

As far as football in London goes it doesn't get bigger than this. Well at least not until these two meet in a few months at Wembley. Arsenal vs Tottenham at the Emirates, and there is an awful lot riding on this.

Can Tottenham reassert their superiority over their north London rivals? Or will Arsenal prove there is life yet at this end of the Seven Sisters Road? We'll have team news for you in an hour.

18 November 2017

Welcome to Standard Sport's coverage of the north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham!

We will have live coverage of the derby from 10:30am on Saturday, 18 November, with updates and analysis from our experts at the Emirates Stadium.

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