Arsenal win battle of derby narratives

It was a derby but it was also a clash of emerging narratives, a confusing, if thrilling, moment for the great soap opera of the Premier League. In the end Tottenham’s haplessness prevailed over the idea that Arsenal might be inveterate bottlers, fated to let another title race get away from them.

There was, though, a time in the first half when it seemed like it might be a close-run thing. It shouldn’t have been. Arsenal are better than Spurs: they outplayed Tottenham for long periods, had 20 chances to Spurs’ six, won 4-1 and could easily have won by more.

Yet the fact they were level at half‑time was hard to explain as, for the third league game in a row, and fourth in the past six, they conceded within 10 minutes of scoring. Football is rooted in such anxieties. As Declan Rice went in the space of two minutes from pointing at his temples to encourage his teammates after taking the lead, to waving his hands in apology after giving the ball away as Spurs equalised, it was possible to think there could be a stumble.

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