Arsenal moved to within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with victory over Tottenham in the north London derby at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, who have played a game more than Liverpool, were desperate to return to winning ways after losing at home to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and then going out to Manchester United on penalties in the FA Cup third round.
Arsenal suffered another setback when, totally against the run of play, Son Heung-min’s shot was deflected off William Saliba past keeper David Raya after 25 minutes.
The response came from a familiar route, Gabriel rising to meet Declan Rice’s corner at the far post five minutes before the interval after Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky failed to collect, the last touch coming off Dominic Solanke for an own goal.
Arsenal were ahead four minutes later when Leandro Trossard’s bobbling low shot beat Kinsky, who should have done much better.
Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the second half, but once again lacked the cutting edge to completely put the game to bed.
And although they closed out the win to keep themselves firmly in the title race, they were almost caught right at the end when Pedro Porro hit the outside of the post from a tight angle.
