Arsenal overcome late shakes to beat Tottenham and take North London Derby spoils

The Gunners raced into a 3-0 half-time lead, but things almost got away from them in the second half

Arsenal will end the weekend at the top of the Premier League table again, taking three massive points away from their short trip across North London for their derby against Tottenham. The Gunners won 3-2.

It was a game of real importance for both sides, with Arsenal still in the title race and going up against Manchester City while Spurs are still hoping to qualify for the Champions League.

The Gunners were firing early on and blew Spurs apart in the opening half, taking a 3-0 lead in at the break.

The hosts got off to a nightmare start when Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg turned a corner into his own goal, and Bukayo Saka doubled Arsenal's lead just before the half-hour mark to finish a lethal counterattack moments after Spurs had penalty appeals waved away at the other end.

Kai Havertz then nodded in a corner to score what proved to be the match-winning goal, but at the time it had looked as though it would just be the third of an even higher number for the Gunners.

Tottenham were gifted a lifeline with about 30 minutes still to play. David Raya in the away goal passed the ball out to Cristian Romero, and the wandering centre-back took it down before slotting home like a seasoned striker.

Son Heung-min converted a late penalty to make it 3-2 with three minutes of the 90 remaining, but the Gunners were able to see things out and get over the line with a win.