Hungry and humble. That was how Mikel Arteta described Arsenal after October's north London derby victory at Emirates Stadium.
Tottenham have been less humble, more humbled, by their meetings with the Gunners this season, and Sunday's 2-0 home defeat made Spurs the victims of a first Gunners double in the north London derby since 2013-14.
With Arteta, Arsenal have a manager who understands his players, who draws the very best from them, and who might be just about halfway to a remarkable Premier League title.
In return, Arsenal's players get all the praise under the sun, but they are asked to stay focused, and duly they obey their Spanish leader.
When Arteta and captain Martin Odegaard demanded the players walk away from a post-match disturbance, away they went, to celebrate in front of their own supporters at the other end of the pitch.
This was Arsenal's first victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, they lead the Premier League by eight points after 18 games, and they have an awful lot to celebrate before putting on their next game face.
A fan in a Tottenham section appeared to aim a kick at Arsenal goalkeeper Ramsdale seconds after the full-time whistle, climbing on pitchside railings to do so before scampering away pathetically, oblivious to the existence of television cameras.
That buffoon will doubtless get his comeuppance and Spurs themselves may face FA sanctions. It was a sorry and needless way for the game to end from a Tottenham perspective, and it had already been plenty grim enough.
Ramsdale played his own brilliant role in a fine Arsenal victory, while opposite number Hugo Lloris had a nightmare, with his own goal setting the visitors on their way.
Arsenal won 3-1 at home in October to consolidate their early hold on top spot, when a fumble from Lloris in the first game allowed Gabriel Jesus to put the hosts 2-1 ahead.
Arteta said after that game: "It is a really hungry and humble team, believe me. We know where we are. There is nothing that we have done yet, and there are still a lot of things to improve, and that's the direction that we are taking."
His message still stands. The title is a long way off, but Arsenal do not look like a team about to implode.
Here, Arsenal nudged their way ahead in the 14th minute, with Bukayo Saka's cross from the right taking an inconvenient nick off Ryan Sessegnon before former France captain Lloris juggled it over the line in shambolic fashion.
Son Heung-min probably should have put Spurs level three minutes later, but Ramsdale made himself big to block the South Korean's shot after Sessegnon's clever pass.
A stunning volley from Thomas Partey left the right post shaking in the 25th minute as Arsenal moved in for the kill, and Odegaard was lethal from 25 yards in the 36th minute, sending a scorching low shot inside the right post as Lloris – him again – failed to get across to the skidding ball.
Arsenal looked light years ahead of their hosts in terms of their use of the ball, slowly strangling all life out of Tottenham.
Grant Xhaka completed all 32 passes he played in the first half. Often simple, each time those passes kept Tottenham off the ball.
Curiously, Tottenham's 43.82 per cent share of the ball in the first half was their highest in a Premier League home game this season, but they were rarely hurting Arsenal.
Odegaard's goal took him to eight for the season, making the Norwegian midfielder the team's leading scorer. He is fulfilling the captain's brief to lead by example quite marvellously.
Ramsdale saved well from Harry Kane's header just before the break, with Kane one away from matching Jimmy Greaves' Tottenham goals record.
Kane will have to wait for that moment. He would have recognised Arsenal's superiority here, and it would have hurt him as much as anyone. Will Kane ever win a trophy at Spurs? It feels increasingly doubtful.
If there was any consolation in their bleak position at half-time, Tottenham may have been aware 16 of their last 17 Premier League goals had been scored in the second half of games, including their last night.
So what did they have left?
The early signs were bright. Dejan Kulusevski, coming in off the left, whipped a shot just over the bar, before Ramsdale saved brilliantly from Sessegnon as the former Fulham player looked sure to score.
But this was a tale of two keepers, and Ramsdale was rock solid.
For Arsenal, Xhaka thrashed a free-kick over, while Nketiah was twice denied by Lloris.
Then at the other end, Spurs substitute Richarlison fluffed a late chance as he allowed Ramsdale to make a comfortable claim.
Tottenham's eight-game home unbeaten streak against Arsenal in the league is over. Though they sit fifth in the table, they are five points behind fourth spot, and 14 points now adrift of Arsenal, having played one more game than Arteta's team.
London life is proving sweet for the men in red, with this a seventh win in seven capital city derbies this season, and a fourth away clean sheet out of four.
Arsenal had not won seven consecutive London derbies since the 2007-08 season. They have not been champions of England since 2003-04.
This is a season of change. A championship beckons. Such is their position of strength, we are getting close to the point where they would have to blow it. But this team are hungry and humble, guided by great leaders. Tottenham, and Antonio Conte, must feel pig sick.
St. Louis City v LA Galaxy: Reus sets sights on silverware after dream start
Marco Reus is desperate to bring silverware to the LA Galaxy after making a flying start to his time in MLS, with St. Louis City the destination for his first road game on Sunday.
Reus registered a goal and an assist on debut last week as the Galaxy beat Atlanta United 2-0, maintaining their grip on top spot in the Western Conference.
The Galaxy are five points clear of local rivals Los Angeles FC at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's trip to St. Louis, who are 13th and 10 points adrift of the playoff picture.
Reus' arrival in Los Angeles has caused plenty of fanfare, but he is focused solely on the team's collective aims.
"It's not about me, it's about the team," he said. "We want to be champions. So we take it game by game.
"Besides the traffic, it's really amazing. The people are so friendly. The weather, it's really nice. When you wake up in the morning and the sun is shining, you start the day differently.
"So I'm really, really happy every morning I come into the dressing room. I'm just happy and excited."
St. Louis played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with the Portland Timbers last week, twice throwing away a two-goal lead to leave interim coach John Hackworth bewildered.
"Really don't know what to say," Hackworth said. "It's hard to imagine coming to a place like this and scoring four goals, being up, and then just losing one-versus-one defensive battles.
"Sometimes, the number of goals you give up, or the number of goals you score, can hide a lot of the transition moments.
"An easy way to prevent some of these defensive miscues from happening is to just be better with the ball."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Eduard Lowen
Lowen scored his fourth goal of the MLS season last time out, converting from the penalty spot as St. Louis drew 4-4 with the Timbers.
Only Joao Klauss, with five goals, has outscored him for St. Louis this term.
LA Galaxy – Marco Reus
Reus is one of 20 players in MLS history to record a goal and an assist on his regular-season debut.
He is also the fifth Galaxy player to do so, after Steven Gerrard, Andreas Herzog, Giovani dos Santos and Sasha Victorine. No other team have had more than two players achieve the feat.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
The Galaxy have won 10 of their last 13 regular-season matches, the first time they have done so in a single season since 2011. LA have not recorded 11 wins in a span of 14 matches within a single regular season in the post-shootout era (since 2000).
It would be no surprise to see the points shared in this one, though. All three meetings between St. Louis and the Galaxy have ended level, all with different scorelines (1-1, 2-2, 3-3).
St. Louis have only won one of the last six matches in which they have held the lead in regular-season play dating back to the beginning of June (four draws, one defeat).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 35.8%
LA Galaxy – 38.1%
Draw – 26.1%
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
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