Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Gunners inflict convincing defeat on Nuno Espírito Santo's side

Three first-half goals gave Arsenal a comfortable 3-1 win over a dreadful Spurs side on Sunday in the Premier League.

Arsenal were looking to catch up to their north London rivals after their dreadful start to the season while Spurs could have gone as high as seventh had they won.

Mikel Arteta gave the nod to a young trio of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe to support Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and he was reawarded.

Smith Rowe put Arsenal ahead with a close-range finish with a Saka assist, with Smith Rowe then teeing up Aubameyang for a second, and Saka got his first Premier League goal since January when Harry Kane lost possession close to the Arsenal box.

In the second half, Craig Pawson rejected what looked like a serious penalty appeal after Ben White clearly caught Kane early on, with no intervention from VAR. Kane then had a decent strike beaten away by Aaron Ramsdale as Spurs rallied.

Saka had one of only a few second-half chances for Arsenal, forcing Hugo Lloris to beat an effort away, but they were happy to play within themselves to make sure they were not stretched.

Heung-Min Son was able to add a late consolation for Spurs but Nuno’s side failed to put the pressure on.

Granit Xhaka left the pitch with what looked to be a painful knee injury. If it’s only a couple of weeks that should be no great concern, but right now Arsenal’s renaissance is flimsy and fragile, like the club have been for the past decade. He connected the dots between the various parts of the team and pitch against Spurs, and it would be difficult to find an effective replacement.

Like most of the Arsenal team, once he’d made his first-half contribution it meant that he did not need to do much for the second. His goal was nice and tidy, but the assist for Aubameyang was a little more impressive given the speed and control that was needed. To think, there was a moment when Aston Villa believed they could have secured him in the summer.

Arsenal: Ramsdale 7, Tomiyasu 7, White 6, Gabriel 7, Tierney 6, Partey 6, Xhaka 7, Saka 7, Odegaard 6, Smith Rowe 7, Aubameyang 6. Subs: Tavares 6, Lokonga 6, Maitland-Niles 6.

Tottenham: Lloris 6, Tanganga 5, Dier 5, Sanchez 5, Reguilon 6, Hojbjerg 5, Alli 4, Ndombele 5, Lucas 6, Son 6, Kane 5. Subs: Royal 6, Skipp 5, Gil 5.

12’ - GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham. Smith Rowe scores - Odegaard finds Saka on the inside right of the box. The winger looks up, clocks Smith Rowe's run towards the six-yard box and he side-foots a shot past Lloris who had barely any chance to react.

27’ - GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Tottenham. Aubameyang scores - Smith Rowe is released down the inside left with a great pass around the corner from the striker, and he strides forward into space and then into the area. He squares the ball for Aubameyang, who had kept pace with his teammate and he slots home.

34’ - GOAL! Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham. Saka scores - Kane, who's struggling today, shifts the ball from under his feet and falls over as he does so... Arsenal race up the other end of the pitch and while it seems as if the danger has passed when he slides in to tackle Saka in the box, the ball stays with the youngster, and he takes a touch and clips it into the far corner.

56’ - PENALTY APPEAL - That looks very silly from Craig Pawson. Kane looks to be caught by White in the box and he waves the appeals away. I mean, if it isn't reviewed then VAR might as well be abolished for all the good it does.

61’ - KANE SHOT - Ramsdale beats away an early strike from Kane, and he gets it away in time for it to be cleared for a corner.

79’ - GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham. Son scores - Kane waits for a cross on the left from Reguilon, but Son gets there first and sends a shot that Ramsdale can only palm into the net.