Arsenal vs Tottenham result: Player ratings as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe impress

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Arsenal destroyed local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby to go above their rivals in the Premier League table.

From the first whistle the Gunners were quicker, sharper and more creative in their play and it didn’t take long until they made their dominance count, with Emile Smith Rowe shuffling a finish home after good work from Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side.

Another two goals followed before the half hour with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang converting a Smith Rowe cut-back before Saka put his name onto the scoresheet after Harry Kane lost the ball and failed to retrieve it with a sliding tackle.

The second-half was a much slower affair and the Gunners settled into a game management rhythm, before Son Heung-min poked home to give Spurs faint hope with ten minutes left to play - but Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners.

Here are the player ratings from the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening.

Arsenal

Ramsdale 5/10 - Had previous little to do at any point in the match but should have got a stronger hand to the shot from Son which went in. Made a great save from Lucas Moura’s deflected, lopping effort in stoppage-time. A mixed bag, and whether he’s an upgrade on Bernd Leno remains to be seen.

Tomiyasu 8/10 - Defended extremely well all afternoon and provided great support to Saka on the overlap. On this evidence looks a strong signing at right-back and is popular with fans already.

Gabriel 7/10 - Dealt with the threat of Kane confidently throughout the match and distributed the ball nicely from the back.

White 6/10 - Played well for the majority of the afternoon but should have been more aware of Son’s run to his left-hand side for the consolation goal.

Tierney 7/10 - Plenty of forays into the final third. Final ball not quite up to scratch but threatened and pulled Spurs defenders over to his side, creating space in the middle for his team-mates.

Xhaka 7/10 - Made three tackles in a strong performance in which he protected the defence well and didn’t allow his opposite numbers a minute’s peace. Looks a totally different player to the man who was booed off here just a couple of years ago.

Partey 7/10 - Showed a strong range of long-passing throughout the match and covered passing lanes extremely well when Tottenham tried to move the ball forward quickly.

Saka 8/10 - Beat Reguilon with a smart stepover to create the Smith-Rowe goal and showed superb reactions to score the third. Possesses a dynamism in attack which the Spurs full-back just couldn’t hack all afternoon.

Odegaard 7/10 - Drove directly at the heart of the Tottenham defence on a number of occasions, creating space and angles for Saka and Smith Rowe either side of him. A danger all afternoon.

Smith Rowe 9/10 - Great movement in the penalty area for his goal, not only reading where the space was but also following Saka’s skill to perfection. Superb cut-back for Aubameyang’s goal too after a strong run.

Aubameyang 7/10 - Finished off a lovely counter-attack with a composed finish to give the Gunners control of the game. Seems to enjoy playing with the younger lads behind him and allowed them to express themselves without demanding the ball.

Substitutes

Sambi Lokonga n/a - Helped see the game out when replacing Xhaka with ten minutes to play.

Maitland-Niles n/a - Came on with just a few minutes to play.

Tavares n/a - Only played the final few minutes.

Tottenham

Lloris 6/10 - Lloris now conceded three in his past three matches but in truth could do nothing about any of the goals here. Will be concerned that he has lived similar runs of poor form like this at this club before.

Tanganga 4/10 - Caught way too far up the pitch for the second Arsenal goal and offered precious little going forward before being subbed at the break.

Sanchez 4/10 - Was flat-footed for the first two goals and looked nervous when Arsenal’s young players were running at him.

Dier 3/10 - Needs to take more responsibility for communication and leadership as the senior player in the heart of the defence. Spurs were totally organised at the back all afternoon and he was far too quiet rather than sorting it.

Reguilon 5/10 - Looked terrified of Saka all afternoon and didn’t link with the midfield well. Failed to stop the cross from Saka which led to the first goal. Found Son with the cross for the goal but that was too little, too late.

Ndombele 5/10 - Sat far too deep in the first-half, caught in purgatory where he offered precious little protection for the defence while having zero link-up with the attack.

Hojbjerg 5/10 - Usually full of tackles and interceptions in midfield but looked slow compared to his rivals here, and wasn’t able to offer the kind of passing range which could have helped his side move up the pitch and into the Arsenal half more often.

Alli 4/10 - Went off at half-time with a suspected injury but had barely touched the ball beforehand. Tried to find space between the midfield and attack to operate in but the game just passed him by.

Lucas Moura 6/10 - Worked hard in attack but ultimately had no significant influence on the game at all. Spent much of the second-half coming deep, trying to pick up the ball and make something happen, to no avail.

Kane 4/10 - Hardly ever in the game from an attacking point-of-view aside from an uncharacteristic one-on-one miss and made two significant errors defensively for the Saka goal. Very poor afternoon all around.

Son 7/10 - Scored the goal which gave Spurs faint hope and looked the only player in white likely to do something of any use.

Substitutes

Skipp 5/10 - Came on for Alli at the break and struggled to get into the game, picking up a booking in the process.

Royal 5/10 - Replaced Tanganga at half-time and offered more going forward but still failed to impress.

Gil 7/10 - Won the ball back well on the slide before slipping in Reguilon to find Son for the goal, offering more in 20 minutes than most did in 90.