Dean Ashton has claimed that Arsenal played like a newly promoted side at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and it worked.
Mikel Arteta took his Arsenal side to play their north London rivals in a big Premier League clash and the Gunners came up trumps with a 1-0 win thanks to a Gabriel goal in the second half.
Spurs bossed possession, but could not find the finishing touch and were forced to settle for defeat on home turf.
Former top flight striker Ashton acknowledged that Arteta’s game plan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium worked for Arsenal.
He insists though that the Gunners set up like a newly promoted team desperate to avoid giving Tottenham any chances.
Ashton claimed that if Spurs had just been a little more street smart then they would not have lost the game.
“[Arsenal] played like a promoted side”, Ashton said on talkSPORT’s Sunday Session post match.
“They did.
“They sat and played like a team who want to nick a goal and win.
“Look, it worked, but if Tottenham were a little bit cuter today then they would have easily scored one or two goals in that first half.”
Arsenal had to tackle Tottenham without two key players in the shape of Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard.
Arteta will now plan for Arsenal’s first Champions League clash of the season, away against Italian side Atalanta.