Arsenal's dominant derby win over Spurs shows it's time to take them seriously

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Arsenal's 3-1 win over Tottenham in Saturday's north London derby sees the impressive Gunners stay top of the Premier League

Arsenal players celebrate Thomas Partey's goal in the 3-1 win over Tottenham.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Arsenal's strong start to the season continued on Saturday with a dominant display in the north London derby and a deserved 3-1 win over Tottenham.

It was the Gunners' seventh win in eight games in the Premier League this season and Mikel Arteta's side stay on top of the table. They are starting to look like the real deal.

After victories over Crystal Palace, Leicester, Bournemouth, Fulham and Aston Villa in their first five fixtures, many were quick to point out that Arsenal "hadn't played anyone good yet".

A 3-1 defeat away to Manchester United in their next game was seen as confirmation by many that Arsenal still have a soft centre, but the Gunners have followed up that loss with a comprehensive 3-0 win at Brentford and now a morale-boosting victory over Tottenham.

Saturday's win at the Emirates Stadium came courtesy of goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka, with Harry Kane on target for Spurs from the penalty spot.

Arsenal were helped by a mistake by Hugo Lloris in their second goal and then a moment of madness from Emerson Royal, with the Brazilian sent off at 2-1 for a needless studs-upo challenge on Gabriel Martinelli.

But in truth, the Gunners were by far the better team and on this evidence, Arteta's side have come on massively since missing out on the Champions League last season.

Title challengers? Time will tell. But Arsenal keep winning, the Gunners have beaten one of the best teams in the country and it is definitely time to take them seriously.

Ben Hayward
Ben Hayward
Weekend editor

Ben Hayward is a European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.