Son Heung-min has defended Antonio Conte's principles following recent criticism aimed the Tottenham head coach's way for recent results.

After seeing out a 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the group stages of the Champions League, Spurs are now without a win in their past four away matches in all competitions. 

Despite starting the season well, Conte has been questioned for the way he has approached recent fixtures, including a 3-1 defeat to fierce rivals Arsenal in the Premier League. 

However, Son does not see this as an issue and stated the importance of sticking with Conte and his ideas.

He said: "We saw last season that nobody believed we would be here right now. Last season nobody believed we'd be in the Champions League. 

"The gaffer always wants more, more, more and as [a player] I want to follow his way, or you know what's coming. If we don't follow him then you know you struggle.

"We have to follow, there is no option because he's a winner and I think this is what we do – sacrifice and do the hard things."

Spurs find themselves in second place of Champions League Group D, with their next European fixture coming against Marseille on November 1. 

Antonio Conte has urged Tottenham to be "more clinical" after they were held to a goalless draw by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.

Despite registering 11 shots on goal, Spurs failed to score in successive group games in the competition for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Conte's side subsequently missed the chance to move top of Group D, but the Italian praised the intensity and personality demonstrated by his players on the back of a 3-1 North London derby defeat at Arsenal.

"We played a match with great intensity; we didn't allow them to play their football or press a lot in every area of the pitch," he told BT Sport.

"At the same time, we have to be more clinical. We created many chances to score. At the end, we are talking about a draw. It is a good draw because it is not easy to play away with the atmosphere. We played a good game but if you don't score, you don't win.

"There are moments you are more clinical, there are moments like in the game against Arsenal and today; you create chances, but make a mistake with the last pass.

"It is important to create chances; the game was good for us and we played with a great personality."

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was left disappointed by his team-mates' failure to turn positive build-up play into a breakthrough, but the midfielder highlighted the maturity on display as they ended a run of three successive away defeats in the Champions League.

"We are not 100 per cent happy, I thought we prepared until the penalty area well," Hojbjerg said. "We tried to get in behind them, but the opportunities we had, we didn't use them. It's disappointing. The last bite needed a bit.

"I thought we took the game well, we tried to be dominant. We tried to find the spaces and tried to overcome the first pressure.

"If you cannot win, you don't lose the game. The team presented themselves as very mature. We are here, we are competing and every game, we want to win."

Spurs are second in Group D, two points behind Sporting CP and level on points with Eintracht.

Tottenham missed the chance to move top of Group D in the Champions League after being held to a goalless draw by Eintracht Frankfurt.

It proved to be a wasteful day for Antonio Conte's side, who registered just two shots on target from 11 attempts in Germany.

Harry Kane and Heung-min Son went closest for Spurs, but they have now failed to find the net in successive Champions League group games for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

Both sides remain on four points after three matches, and two behind Group D leaders Sporting CP following the Portuguese giants' 4-1 thrashing by Marseille.

Emerson Royal fired a volley over after six minutes, while Kane was whiskers away from applying the finishing touch to a wonderful move as he narrowly avoided connecting with Son's inviting cross.

Kane whipped a fierce 20-yard strike narrowly wide in the 28th minute. The England captain then turned provider with a neat flick that released Son, whose curling shot was also off target, before Ivan Perisic's deflected effort spun inches wide.

Frankfurt almost took the lead in spectacular fashion five minutes after the restart; Ansgar Knauff springing the offside trap before his acrobatic effort was blocked by Hugo Lloris.

Evan Ndicka produced a magnificent last-ditch intervention to deny Kane at the other end, while Son whipped an 18-yard strike wide.

Jesper Lindstrom fired a glorious opportunity to snatch the win over after Spurs were caught in possession on the edge of their penalty area, as the spoils were shared at Deutsche Bank Park.

Liverpool face Rangers in a battle of Britain and Barcelona will attempt to apply more pressure on Inter boss Simone Inzaghi with a Champions League victory on Tuesday.

An army of Gers fans will travel south of the border to descend on Merseyside for a Group A clash that will give them another opportunity to secure a first point, with the Reds in second spot behind Napoli.

Barca moved top of La Liga last weekend and Xavi's side will start their third Group C game level on points with out-of-sorts Inter after losing 2-0 to leaders Bayern Munich last month.

Bayern will be expected to maintain their 100 per cent record at the expense of Viktoria Plzen, and Serie A table-toppers Napoli travel to Ajax looking to continue their brilliant start to the season.

Ahead of another mouthwatering set of matches, Stats Perform trawls through the Opta data to highlight the most noteworthy facts for each contest.

Liverpool v Rangers

This will be the first European meeting between Liverpool and the Glasgow giants in a European competition.

The Gers have only won one of their seven away games in England, that being a 2-1 Champions League victory at Leeds United in November 1992 courtesy of goals from Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist. They have suffered six defeats and drawn twice.

Liverpool's last meeting with Scottish opponents in the European Cup was back in the 1980-81 campaign, winning 5-0 on aggregate against Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen (1-0 away, 4-0 home). The Reds went on to win the competition that year.

Jurgen Klopp's side have won 13 of their past 15 home Champions League group stage matches (D1 L1), scoring 36 goals in process. Their solitary defeat was against Atalanta in November 2020

Rangers have failed to score in their two group games so far. Indeed, only Plzen (2) and Sevilla (3) have had fewer shots on target than the Scottish club (4) in this season's first two matchdays.

Inter v Barcelona

Inter have won just two of their 14 European matches against Barcelona (D4 L8), a 2-1 victory in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in January 1970 and 3-1 Champions League triumph in April 2010.

Barca's two away wins against the Nerazzurri came 60 years apart, winning 4-2 in the Fairs Cup in September 1959 and 2-1 in the Champions League in December 2019.

Inter have lost six UEFA Champions League matches against the Catalan giants, their most against a single opponent. Barca have only beaten Celtic (8) more times in the competition.

Barca have lost three of their past four away Champions League group stage matches (W1), as many as in their previous 25 matches on their travels in the competition (W15 D7). Xavi is only the second manager to lose his first two away Champions League matches in charge of Barcelona, along with Louis van Gaal in 1997.

Inter have lost their past two Champions League games at San Siro (0-2 v Liverpool and Bayern). Only once previously have they suffered three consecutive home defeats in the European Cup/UEFA Champions League (a run of three between February-September 2011).

Bayern Munich v Viktoria Plzen

Bayern have won all four of their European matches against Plzen, beating them twice in the 1971-72 Cup Winners' Cup and the Champions League in 2013-14.

Plzen's two away European matches against Bayern have seen them concede at least five goals on each occasion, losing 6-1 in September 1971 in the Cup Winners' Cup and 5-0 in the Champions League nine years ago.

Bayern are out to record three wins at the start of a Champions League campaign for a fourth consecutive season. In their opening three games in the previous three seasons and their two games this year, they have won all 11 matches by an aggregate score of 41-7.

Plzen have conceded seven goals in their two Champions League games this season and only kept one clean sheet in their 20 matches in the competition.

Leroy Sane has been directly involved in 14 goals in his past 11 Champions League starts for Bayern (8 goals, 6 assists). The winger could become only the second player to score in Bayern's first three Champions League games in a season, with Robert Lewandowski (in 2019-20 and 2021-22) being the other.

Ajax v Napoli

Napoli have never won away from home in the Netherlands (D2 L3) in any European competition.

Ajax have failed to win any of their past 11 home European matches against Italian opposition (D6 L5) since winning 2-1 against Roma in this competition in December 2002.

Napoli will be looking to win their first three Champions League group stage games for the first time. They are unbeaten in eight matches in the group stage of the competition (W5 D3).

Ajax have won their past four home games in the group stage of the Champions League, scoring four goals in each of the previous three (4-0 v Borussia Dortmund, 4-2 v Sporting CP and 4-0 v Rangers).

Napoli are the top scoring side in the Champions League this season with seven goals. Luciano Spalletti's side have had more shots (43) and shots on target (19) than any other team.

Other fixtures:

Marseille v Sporting CP

6 - Marseille have lost six of their eight European Cup/Champions League matches against Portuguese opponents (W1 D1).

16 - Marseille have lost 16 of their past 17 Champions League matches (W1), failing to score in 11 matches in this run, including both games this season.

Porto v Bayer Leverkusen

7 - Porto have won seven of their eight home Champions League games against German opposition (D1), winning five in a row.

2 - Leverkusen have only won two of their past 13 away matches in the Champions League (D5 L6), with three of the previous four ending in defeats without scoring.

Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid

3 - Brugge are unbeaten in all three home meetings with Atleti in European competition (W2 D1).

7 - Atleti have never won a European match against a Belgium club in seven attempts (five away, two neutral). They have played more major European games on Belgian soil without winning than in any other country.

Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham

4 - Tottenham have lost their past four Champions League matches against German opposition by an aggregate score of 14-3, losing twice to Bayern Munich (2-7 and 1-3) and twice to RB Leipzig (0-1 and 0-3).

3 - Eintracht have won three consecutive European games against English teams (one versus Arsenal, two v West Ham), as many as in their first 14.

Antonio Conte has told Tottenham fans "I'm not stupid" and "I can teach football to many people" in a strong defence of his decision to overlook Djed Spence.

Spence has made only one very brief substitute appearance for Spurs following his move from Middlesbrough in July.

Some Tottenham fans called for the right-back to be given his chance after Emerson Royal was sent off for a reckless challenge on Gabriel Martinelli during a 3-1 north London derby defeat to fierce rivals Arsenal on Saturday.

But Conte made it crystal clear he is not impressed with questions being asked about his approach ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Spurs head coach said: "If we were able to exploit the situation, especially last passes, we would have been able to score many goals against Arsenal.

"Instead, we made really bad mistakes for the last passes because we had the opportunity to go one-to-one, but every team has to think and understand the way to play different games.

"Last season we won 3-0 [against Arsenal], and when you win, the opponent has to explain, but for me it's important to have a plan, to put my players in the best possible situation to exploit their characteristics.

"Otherwise it can happen that you can concede six, seven or eight goals – in England, that happens a lot of times.

"In my career, it never, never happened because I don't like to play open, concede a lot of space and concede six, seven or eight goals. I won in England, I won in my past and I think I can teach football to many people."

He said of Spence: "The fans have to be fans. They can think anything, but I see every day the training sessions. If I don't decide to pick a player, it's because maybe he's not ready.

"We are talking about a young player with a good prospect, but I try to pick the best team. I'm not stupid, I don't want to lose.

"I try to pick the best team. If they trust me it's okay, if they don't trust me then I'm the coach and I need to take the best decision for Tottenham."

Arsenal defender William Saliba has revealed he is in talks over a new contract at the Emirates Stadium after making a fine start to the season.

Having returned from a loan spell at Marseille ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, Saliba has started all eight of Arsenal's Premier League games this season, seven of which have ended in victory.

Saliba has formed a fearsome defensive partnership with Gabriel Magalhaes during Arsenal's best start to a Premier League campaign since 2007-08 – when they went on to finish third after taking 22 points from their first eight matches.

The France international's current deal runs until 2024, and he is hopeful of reaching an agreement to extend his stay.

Asked whether he could agree fresh terms after impressing in Saturday's 3-1 derby win over Tottenham, Saliba said: "Yeah, we will see. They [the club and his representatives] talk a little bit."

Saliba believes Arsenal are growing in confidence with each victory, adding: "You have to wait every time and I waited a long time for my first North London Derby. I enjoyed it from the first minute to the end, and now I am so happy. 

"We are so happy to win at home against Tottenham. It was a hard game, but we were focused all the game. We deserve this win.

"We play against the best players in the world. It is good for young players like me, and I learn a lot.

"The more we win, the more we are confident. We want every week to win, to win, to win — and that's it."

Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has watched Saliba's development from close quarters in the season's early weeks, and has described him as a "Rolls-Royce" of a defender. 

"He has fit in really well," Ramsdale said. "It is a credit to him that he has been put straight into the team. He is a bit of a Rolls-Royce with the way he moves, and he has never seemed fazed.

"He is still a young boy so still makes mistakes, so at the minute it is either Ben [White], myself, Gabriel or Thomas Partey digging him out and he is digging other people out as well.

"That is the main thing at the minute, our mistakes aren't leading to too many things and that is the sign of a team who have good characters in and around that back five."

Manchester United have already conceded 14 goals in seven Premier League games this season.

United boss Erik ten Hag is weighing up his goalkeeping options, having stuck with long-term number one David de Gea since taking over.

Reports have emerged that United and De Gea are set for talks on his future, with the 31-year-old's deal to expire in 2023.

TOP STORY – MAN UTD EYE COSTA AS DE GEA REPLACEMENT

Manchester United's goalkeeper situation is in flux, with the club interested in Porto custodian Diogo Costa, according to Metro.

United have sent scouts to watch the 23-year-old goalkeeper, who has seven caps for Portugal.

The Red Devils are looking for De Gea's successor, with the Spaniard seemingly not suiting Ten Hag's possession-based style.

United also have 25-year-old England international Dean Henderson out on loan at Nottingham Forest.

ROUND-UP

– O Jogo claims former Olympiacos manager Pedro Martins could be the latest Portuguese coach to take over at Wolves, following Bruno Lage's dismissal on Sunday. The Telegraph reports that under-fire Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui may be considered and Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has also been discussed.

– Juventus and Real Madrid will rival Liverpool in the race to sign Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans from Leicester City, claims Calciomercato.

– LaLiga pair Sevilla and Valencia are both interested in Manchester United forward Anthony Martial, reports Todofichajes.

– Tottenham and Juventus target Nicolo Zaniolo is set to pen a new deal with Roma, re-committing on a €4million per-year deal until 2027, according to Calciomercato.

– Everton's Venezuela international striker Salomon Rondon has interest from UAE club Sharjah FC but is likely to stay with the Toffees, reports Liverpool Echo.

Gabriel Jesus is setting the standard that is driving Arsenal's early-season charge at the top of the Premier League, and he came up trumps in his first north London derby.

Arsenal's win over Tottenham came in Saturday's early game and was followed by plenty of drama later, as Liverpool were held by Brighton and Hove Albion in a rip-roaring match at Anfield featuring a Leandro Trossard hat-trick.

Newcastle United earned a second win of the season, brushing off Fulham at Craven Cottage, while Graham Potter's Chelsea had substitute Conor Gallagher to thank for their late winner at Crystal Palace.

With goals and drama in abundance, here Stats Perform unpacks the pick of the data.

Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Ton up for Kane, but it's Partey time for Arsenal after derby win

Harry Kane became the first Premier League player to reach 100 away goals in the competition, but that was scant consolation for Tottenham after this derby defeat.

Arsenal were able to celebrate a third successive home league win over Spurs – the first time that has happened since 2013 – and they are unbeaten at home in this fixture for 12 games now (W8 D4).

It was a win to savour for Arsenal, with Thomas Partey's opening goal rounding off a 21-pass move, going down as the Gunner's sixth goal since December 26, 2019 to have come from a sequence of 20 or more passes. Only Liverpool and Manchester City have had more in that time. 

Jesus restored the Gunners' lead after Kane's penalty brought Spurs level, with Arsenal's close-season signing from City having managed five goals and three assists already in the Premier League. Only Erling Haaland (12) has had more goal involvements in the early weeks of this season.

It fell to Granit Xhaka to put the seal on the win, after Emerson Royal was sent off. The Arsenal midfielder grabbed his second Premier League goal of the season, with this the first campaign where he has managed more than one league strike since he netted four times in the 2018-19 season.

Liverpool 3-3 Brighton and Hove Albion: Trossard heroics stun Reds

Leandro Trossard became just the third opposing player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Anfield, joining former Coventry City winger Peter Ndlovu and ex-Arsenal forward Andrey Arshavin in that curious club. Arshavin famously hit four in a 4-4 draw in April 2009, the highest-scoring Premier League draw at Liverpool's home ground.

Saturday's feat meant Belgium international Trossard became the first Brighton player to score a Premier League hat-trick, and it left Liverpool four points behind the Seagulls after seven games each, with this game quite the baptism for new boss Roberto De Zerbi.

Liverpool have just two wins from seven games, and they were thankful for Roberto Firmino's sharp finishing as he scored twice, taking his tally for the season to five Premier League goals, all coming at Anfield. He scored five across the 2021-22 season, all away from home.

Mohamed Salah remains stuck on two goals in this campaign but he marked his 200th Premier League appearance with a 50th assist when he set up Firmino to trim Brighton's lead to 2-1 in the first half. Salah becomes just the third African player to reach 50 assists in the competition, after Didier Drogba (55) and Riyad Mahrez (51).

Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea: Gallagher returns to rock Eagles

Conor Gallagher came off the bench to deliver a 90th-minute knockout blow with Chelsea's winner against the side they loaned him to last season.

It meant Crystal Palace's losing run against Chelsea extended to 10 Premier League matches, and also boosted the Blues' record to nine wins in their last 10 away London derbies against all teams.

New Chelsea boss Graham Potter watched on in his first Premier League game since joining from Brighton, and he saw former Barcelona and Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang mark his league debut for the visitors with a first-half equaliser. Aubameyang also scored in his first game for Arsenal (against Everton in February 2018).

Odsonne Edouard's opener in the seventh minute was the earliest goal Chelsea have conceded in a Premier League away game since January 2021, when Wilfred Ndidi scored for Leicester City in the sixth minute.

Fulham 1-4 Newcastle United: Magpies take flight thanks to Almiron's capital double

Miguel Almiron had been Newcastle's home boy of late, with his last seven Premier League goals coming at St James' Park, so Saturday's double at Craven Cottage bucked a trend.

A fine volley followed by a close-range finish from the Paraguayan helped Newcastle to their joint-biggest victory under Eddie Howe in the Premier League (also 3-0 vs Norwich City in April), and a biggest league win in London since beating Fulham 4-0 in May 2019.

Almiron last scored away from home in the Premier League in another 4-1 win for Newcastle – against Howe's Bournemouth in July 2020.

Fulham were hindered by a red card for Nathaniel Chalobah after seven minutes and 26 seconds, the earliest a player has been sent off for the club in the Premier League since Ian Pearce against Palace in October 2004 (sixth minute).

Antonio Conte complained Tottenham let Arsenal off the hook in the north London derby as their dismal run at Emirates Stadium was extended.

The Spurs boss said his team lacked precision in the final third and spurned a host of opportunities to trouble Arsenal before half-time in a game that got away from them after the break.

Goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka gave Premier League leaders Arsenal a satisfying 3-1 victory, with Harry Kane's first-half penalty all that Spurs could muster.

That spot-kick brought the visitors briefly level, but Jesus scored early in the second half to restore Arsenal's lead, and a red card for Tottenham's Emerson Royal was followed by Xhaka putting the seal on victory.

Tottenham have now failed to win any of their last 12 Premier League visits to Arsenal (D4 L8), their longest ongoing such run in the competition.

Conte told BT Sport: "I think the first half was in the balance. I think in the first half we had many chances to score. We made a big mistake in the last pass because we had really, really great space and good chances to score.

"In the second half, we conceded early a second goal, and we could do much better in this situation.

"Then with the red card, the game [went]. We tried to play from the back, but it was a really difficult game for us and for the characteristics of our players. I don't want to comment on the referee's decision."

The red card was the fifth Tottenham have received at Emirates Stadium in the Premier League, their most at an away ground in the competition. They also had three previously at Highbury, Arsenal's former home.

Conte's team rarely turned attacking forays into clear chances and had just seven shots, compared to 22 by the home side.

"We had the opportunity to exploit much better in the first half," Conte said. "Instead, we kept the game in the balance, and I repeat that I think we made big mistakes in the last pass and also with easy passes."

The result meant Tottenham missed a chance to overtake their rivals at the top of the table, with Conte saying the lack of preparation time, after the international break, had made his planning difficult.

The same would have been the case for opposite number Mikel Arteta, though.

"Now we have to move on," Conte said. "We lost against Arsenal, but we know which is our role in this league, and we have to try to do our best and try to stay close with the other teams and stay at the top."

Mikel Arteta saluted Gabriel Jesus for taking Arsenal "to a different level" after the Brazilian scored in Saturday's 3-1 derby win over Tottenham.

Jesus seized on Hugo Lloris' mistake to hand Arsenal a 2-1 second-half lead at the Emirates Stadium, before Granit Xhaka made the points safe with an excellent low finish.

Only Erling Haaland (12) has been involved in more Premier League goals than Jesus (eight) in the Premier League this season.

Meanwhile, only Andrey Arshavin (nine) has recorded more goal contributions in his first eight Premier League appearances for Arsenal.

Speaking to BT Sport after the win, manager Arteta said the drive that Jesus has brought since joining from Manchester City has improved his young team this season.

"It's his winning mentality," Arteta said. "The way he trains every day, it brings confidence to the team, and he has taken us to a different level."

Table-topping Arsenal ended Tottenham's unbeaten start to the Premier League season with their convincing win, and Arteta described the Gunners' performance as "phenomenal".

"We went for it, and we created great energy in the stadium and deserved to win the game," Arteta said.

"With our way of playing, we can attack in different ways. They [Tottenham] don't need much, and you have the feeling that they can create. You have to live with that.

"But we didn't have that in the back of our mind. We were free, courageous and brave, and this is what we demand from the players. It gives us a lot of encouragement and confidence to believe that we can play at this level."

Arteta is just the third manager in Arsenal's history to win each of his first three home games against Tottenham, after George Morrell between 1909 and 1911 and Terry Neill between 1977 and 1979. He feels delighted by the bond between his side and the fans.

"We have connected with our supporters and when that happens it is a really powerful thing," Arteta added when speaking to BBC Sport.

"We had a really meaningful opportunity to give a lot of people happiness on a beautiful day, and we have delivered that, and it is a really great feeling.

"We are focusing on what we are doing. This is a sign that we are going in the right direction. We need to maintain that now and go for it.

"You feel the desire and humility – they haven't won anything yet and that is important to have that humility, which is a big driver for us."

Arsenal were deserved winners against rivals Tottenham in Saturday's north London derby, so say goalscorers Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka.

The Gunners moved four points clear of Spurs at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-1 win at Emirates Stadium, dealing Antonio Conte's team their first top-flight defeat of the campaign in the process.

Thomas Partey joined Jesus and Xhaka on the scoresheet as Arsenal posted a third successive home Premier League win over Spurs – the first time they have done so since September 2013.

Only once have they put together a longer such run in the competition, beating their fierce rivals in a sixth consecutive match at home in April 2005.

Jesus – whose tally of eight goal contributions is only bettered by his replacement at Manchester City, Erling Haaland (12), in the Premier League this season – is convinced Arsenal were the better team from the off.

"It's the second time I scored in a derby game, the first was against Argentina [for Brazil]," he told BT Sport. 

"I'm very happy, of course I want to score in every game, but also the way the team played, from the first minute, we showed what we wanted in the game.

"We won the game, that's the main thing. First half we were playing better [than Tottenham], in my opinion. We deserved to win today because we wanted to play the game, make passes, create chances.

"How many chances did we create today? The spirit of the team is amazing."

Jesus has been an instant hit at Arsenal since his move from City in July, and is relishing his role under Mikel Arteta.

He added: "I'm feeling at home. The staff, the club, they help me feel at home and that helps the players that join the club. I'm really happy here."

Xhaka, who put Arsenal back in front after Harry Kane's penalty had restored parity, echoed Jesus' sentiment. 

"Absolutely. We didn't have a lot of weeks to prepare the game because of the international break, but we saw yesterday in training that we were ready," he said.

"We saw exactly what we want and how Gabi said, from the first second we were the better team.

"After the goal we conceded we were struggling, but this is football. After, in the second half we were much better.

"My first derby goal in England, I'm more than happy to help the team. The most important thing is the team, and I'm so happy to help the team and win."

Xhaka has scored twice in the Premier League this season, making the current campaign the first in which he has scored more than once since 2018-19 (four).

The midfielder also has three assists this term, giving him a total of five direct goal contributions – only in 2017-18 (eight) and 2018-19 (six) has he registered more goal involvements in a Premier League season.

"Every defeat has a scar," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta ahead of the north London derby against Tottenham. Some of those scars, one would imagine, are bigger than others.

Saturday's reunion with Spurs would have evoked particularly painful memories for Arsenal players and fans.

The last time the sides had met, in May, Arsenal missed the chance to secure Champions League qualification as they lost 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. When the Gunners then lost again in their next match at Newcastle United, Tottenham stole in to finish fourth.

Of course, the entire collapse played out before the Amazon cameras for Arsenal's All or Nothing documentary series.

Antonio Conte, the Tottenham coach, is yet to finish the series – although he plans to – but did confirm this week he had watched "that episode".

However, Arteta's team, Conte added, are "better" than in 2021-22 – "not only the quality but also the mentality of Arsenal".

Indeed, Arsenal suffered another damaging 3-0 defeat late last season at Crystal Palace but won 2-0 on their return to Selhurst Park on the opening day of this season. Before the international break, there was a 3-0 win at Brentford that Arsenal players were not quiet in celebrating, having also been humiliated there on their previous visit.

So, the revenge tour rolled on to Tottenham, with Arteta determined to use that May reverse "in the right way", suggesting Arsenal were not just better but better specifically because of that setback.

And for almost 30 minutes at Emirates Stadium, just about everything went to plan.

Arsenal – top of the Premier League table heading into a game against Spurs for the first time since 2007 – played as they had done all season.

The Gunners dominated possession and penned Tottenham in. When Thomas Partey curled in a brilliant opener from 25 yards after 20 minutes, Kane was the only Spurs player ahead of the ball.

It was the fourth time Arsenal had scored this season following a sequence of 10 or more passes – matching Manchester City's league high – and the third in their past two fixtures alone.

An eighth Arsenal goal in the opening half an hour of matches this season represented another Premier League benchmark, but their familiar frailties were also on show before that period was out.

While forcing Spurs back suited Arteta's game plan, it also played into the visitors' hands.

Tottenham lead the league in direct attacks in 2022-23, and the first in a series of rapid counters ended with a rash challenge from Gabriel on Richarlison and a Spurs penalty.

No fixture in Premier League history has seen more spot-kicks, and when Harry Kane coolly converted, it marked his fourth consecutive goal from the spot at Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal were suddenly struggling, with only the imperious William Saliba stemming the tide, and in need of the mentality Conte had lauded.

Yet the Spurs coach had also identified the cause of this shift, citing the importance of Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus – "two players who are used to winning" – arriving from City.

Zinchenko was fit to start, while Jesus was refreshed after missing out on the Brazil squad and vowing to "improve" in a bid to earn a World Cup recall.

Arsenal's number nine attempted a game-high four shots – all of them after Spurs had equalised – and there was no surprise when he was the man on hand to prod in a vital second after Hugo Lloris twice failed to gather in front of his goal line.

With Arsenal this time determined not to shoot themselves in the foot, it was Tottenham's turn to lose their composure, seeing Emerson Royal sent off for a poor challenge on Gabriel Martinelli and failing to track the rejuvenated Granit Xhaka as he ran through to add the clinching third.

Coasting thereafter, a partying Emirates crowd welcomed Arsenal's first win against 'big six' opposition this season – key, surely, to hopes to turn a strong start into a genuine title challenge.

Maybe success against City or Liverpool – teams Arteta has beaten only once in 10 combined attempts – will be required to turn the doubters into believers, for the Arsenal manager has now won each of his first three league matches at home to Spurs and had not until now looked like leading a team into contention.

But given the manner in which last season ended, given the self-inflicted adversity before half-time, this 3-1 Arsenal victory could not been as anything other than a significant step forward.

"It's the nicest game of the season by a mile," Arteta said on Friday. Little over 24 hours later, unlike in May, it felt like it.

Second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka fired Premier League leaders Arsenal to a 3-1 win over 10-man Tottenham in an entertaining North London Derby on Saturday.

Arsenal were rewarded for a bright start when Thomas Partey produced a stunning long-range finish after 20 minutes, but Harry Kane swiftly levelled with a penalty.

The impressive Gunners hit the front again when Jesus bundled home following Hugo Lloris' mistake, and Tottenham's hopes of a comeback were dashed when Emerson Royal was sent off. 

Xhaka then drilled into the bottom-right corner as Mikel Arteta's rampant side moved four points clear of Manchester City and consigned their fierce rivals to a first Premier League defeat of the season.

Both goalkeepers were called into action during a lively start, with Lloris tipping Gabriel Martinelli's fierce volley onto his right-hand post before Aaron Ramsdale clawed Richarlison's effort away from the bottom-right corner.

Arsenal enjoyed the better of the early exchanges and took a deserved lead when Partey curled an excellent first-time strike into the top-right corner from outside the area.

But the Gunners contrived to gift Tottenham an equaliser after 31 minutes, with Kane stroking home his 44th London derby goal from the penalty spot after Gabriel Magalhaes clumsily felled Richarlison.

Arsenal required just four minutes of the second half to move back into the lead, as Lloris pushed Bukayo Saka's tame shot straight to Jesus, who gratefully prodded home.

Jesus missed a good chance to extend Arsenal's lead when he failed to convert a header three minutes later, but Spurs' task was made far more difficult when Emerson saw red for a reckless challenge on Martinelli.

Emerson's dismissal allowed Arsenal to push forward in search of a third goal, and they made the points safe when Xhaka fired a low finish beyond Lloris from inside the box.

Harry Kane surpassed Thierry Henry to become the leading scorer in Premier League London derbies by converting a penalty against Arsenal on Saturday.

Tottenham striker Kane fired straight down the middle to equalise after Richarlison was upended by Gabriel Magalhaes 31 minutes in, scoring his 44th Premier League goal against a London rival.

The England captain moved one goal clear of Gunners legend Henry, and has now scored 14 Premier League goals against Arsenal – only against Leicester City (18) has he scored more in the competition.

Kane was already the highest-scoring player in Premier League North London Derbies, and has now converted seven penalties against the Gunners in league action.

Only Alan Shearer, who scored seven spot-kicks against Everton, has scored as many penalties against a single opponent in the history of the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Kane's goal also made him the first player to bring up a century of away goals in the competition.

Mikel Arteta expects Arsenal to benefit from Gabriel Jesus' absence from the Brazil squad as he hopes to show Tite what he is missing before the World Cup.

Arsenal are top of the Premier League ahead of the north London derby against Tottenham on Saturday, but none of their three senior Brazilian stars were called up by the Selecao last month.

Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Jesus had all been part of Tite's squad during the previous international window in June.

Yet they now face a race against time to prove themselves before Qatar 2022, which kicks off next month.

Jesus was a particularly surprising omission, having scored four goals and assisted another three in seven league appearances since joining Arsenal in July.

But Arteta revealed a determined response from his number nine, telling reporters of Jesus: "He's incredibly humble.

"He accepted the decision and the way he trained, it was just: 'Okay, I need to improve. I need to get better. I need to do more. I really want to be there [at the World Cup], it's a big aspiration for me, it's an incredible opportunity. And I'm in the right place to do that.'

"So, I think we will see that on the pitch again."

At international level, Jesus appears to be in direct competition with Spurs striker Richarlison, who has hit form at the right time with seven goals in his past six outings for Brazil.

Jesus is set to come up against him this weekend, but Arteta says his striker cannot be concerned by how others fare.

"He can only control what he can do. He cannot control what other players do," the Arsenal manager said. "And he's only focusing on that.

"So, he has ambition. We know that he plays with incredible commitment. And [on Saturday] he will play that way."