The latest edition of the North London derby was a tale of two halves, albeit tales that favored one side in both.
It was also a tale of two goalkeepers, but we’ll get to that later.
Arsenal dominated the first half of their 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and then showed how tough they can be to breakdown with a stalwart defensive display when Spurs attacked in the second 45.
[ MORE: Tottenham vs Arsenal recap, as it happened ]
That second frame is going to keep Spurs seething for some time, as Antonio Conte pushed buttons that allowed Tottenham to show its quality.
The ensuing enjoyable display also served to be frustrating, as Spurs’ first half was abject.
So who delivered those performances? Read on for Tottenham vs Arsenal player ratings, out of 10.
Tottenham player ratings out of 10 vs Arsenal
Hugo Lloris: 3 --Dreadful mistake on Bukayo Saka shot goes down as own goal opener. He’s not the same player this year
Ryan Sessegnon (Off 76'): 5 -- Pretty good going forward but gave Saka too much room to operate on the Lloris own goal.
Clement Lenglet: 6 -- Quietly effective, especially in possession.
Eric Dier: 5 -- Cast the appearances of sound and fury, but very rarely did that reach meaning.
Cristian Romero: 6 -- A bit sloppy in the duel but certainly delivered derby defending.
Matt Doherty (Off 71'): 6 -- Industrious and far from at fault.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 7 -- Two shots, two chances created, and three fouls drawn. Played his part well enough.
Pape Sarr (Off 76'): 6.5 -- Seven recoveries and stuck into double-digit duels.
Heung-min Son: 5 -- Did almost nothing until the final 10 minutes of the game. Not good enough.
Dejan Kulusevski: 6 -- A busy boy but busy doesn’t have to mean good. Still bright enough to warrant a decent rating
Harry Kane: 6.5 -- He’s gotta score, right? if you’re this player on this team in this game. That’s what knocks him down from a 7 or better, because the 4-shot Kane was one of Spurs’ only positive factors in both halves.
Substitutions
Richarlison (On 71'): 5.5 -- Disgraceful behavior at the end of the game.
Ivan Perisic (On 76'): 6
Yves Bissouma (On 76'): 7 -- Bright.
Bryan Gil (On 88'): N/A
Ivan Perisic (On 88'): N/A
Arsenal player ratings out of 10 at Tottenham
Aaron Ramsdale: 9 -- Seven saves including two early in the second half when Spurs were really feeling optimistic of a comeback. A day he won’t soon forget.
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 7 -- One of his better two-way games in an Arsenal shirt.
William Saliba: 8 -- There are days when Gabriel outshines him but today wasn’t one. Strong.
Gabriel Magalhaes: 7 -- Solid. Calm.
Ben White: 7 -- Seventeen of his 71 touches were passes into the Tottenham final third.
Granit Xhaka: 7 -- Seven recoveries. What a turn in fortune from the Unai Emery days.
Thomas Partey: 8 -- Nearly scored the goal of the year while also doing all the ugly and unwanted things he does on a weekly basis.
Martin Odegaard: 8 -- What a goal. He’ll go down as Martin the Maestro of a title run if Arsenal does indeed go on to lift the Premier League Trophy.
Gabriel Martinelli: 7 -- Credited with four chances created, also picking up a yellow card.
Bukayo Saka: 7 -- An assist on the Odegaard goal and the shot that Lloris flubbed into his own goal. Saying that he was otherwise quiet feels unfair.
Eddie Nketiah: 5.5 -- On another day, it’s 0-0 and we’re discussing how he was stopped early by Lloris and how five chances weren’t enough to get one past the goalkeeper. Imagine if Gabriel Jesus was healthy today (though Spurs fans are saying the same about Rodrigo Betancur).
Substitutions
Kieran Tierney (On 79'): -- 6.5
Takehiro Tomiyasu (On 86'): N/A
Emile Smith Rowe (On 90'): N/A
Fabio Vieira (On 90'): N/A