Premier League: Arsenal stay top with derby win as Spurs self-destruct

London: Arsenal meted out their usual punishment to north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at The Emirates with Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka all on target in a 3-1 win to stay top of the Premier League on Saturday.

Spurs' Emerson Royal only added to the visitors' misery when he was sent off in the second half for a reckless tackle on Gabriel Martinelli.

Harry Kane's first-half equaliser for Tottenham saw him set yet more scoring records, but his side self-destructed after halftime as their 12-year wait for a league win in the fixture continued.

Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have now won seven of their opening eight games and lead the standings by four points with second-placed Manchester City facing Man Utd on Sunday.

An absorbing derby with top-spot up for grabs was evenly poised after Partey's sublime 20th minute opener was cancelled out by Kane's penalty just past the half-hour mark -- making him the first player to score 100 away goals in the Premier League.

But Arsenal were gifted back the lead in the 49th minute when a dreadful mix-up between Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris and defender Cristian Romero allowed Jesus the easiest of tap-ins.

Royal was then red-carded in the 62nd minute for a needless kick out at Martinelli deep in Arsenal's half, and five minutes later Xhaka swept in Arsenal's third to leave Tottenham reeling.

There was a celebratory mood around the stadium after that as Arsenal moved to 21 points.

Previously unbeaten Tottenham could have gone top with a win but have now managed only one victory in their last 30 league visits to Arsenal. They are third with 17 points.

Tottenham will complain about the harsh decision to send off Royal, but they can have no complaints about the result as they again underperformed away at their fierce rivals.

They have lost five of their last six league matches away to Arsenal despite finishing above them for the past six seasons.

"From the first second I think we were the better team," Xhaka said. "After we conceded we were struggling a little bit, but in the second half we were much better, and I am so happy to score my first derby goal and help the team to win."

A typically frantic start to the game saw Gabriel Martinelli hit the outside of the post for Arsenal while at the other end fellow Brazilian Richarlison was denied by Aaron Ramsdale.

Partey was an injury doubt ahead of the game but produced a moment of stunning quality to put his side in front.

Ben White rolled the ball across to him outside the area and the Ghana midfielder curled a right-footer beyond Lloris's dive.

Tottenham looked dangerous on the counter-attack and Ivan Perisic lashed a good chance wide shortly before Richarlison was fouled in the area by Gabriel.

From the penalty spot, Kane calmly beat Ramsdale down the middle for a record-extending 15th goal in the north London derby and 44th in London derbies overall, taking him past Thierry Henry's record of 43.

For a while Arsenal were rattled and Tottenham looked increasingly confident, but everything changed after the interval.

Tottenham began the second half in sloppy fashion, and when Bukayo Saka fired in a shot, Lloris parried it out to Romero who bundled the ball back towards his keeper, only for it to squirm out of the Frenchman's grasp just enough for Jesus to convert.

It was a sweet moment for the Brazilian, whose fifth goal of the season sent a reminder to his national side's manager Tite, who left him out of the squad last month.

Tottenham then imploded after Royal's sending off, and Arsenal's Xhaka, back in his home crowd's favour again, beat Lloris with a low shot after a Martinelli dribble, persuading a trickle of Tottenham fans to begin heading home early.

 

Gallagher breaks Palace hearts to earn Chelsea 2-1 win
Conor Gallagher sealed a last-gasp comeback 2-1 win for Chelsea at Crystal Palace on Saturday, sinking the club he excelled for on loan last season with a glorious curling shot in coach Graham Potter's first Premier League game in charge of the Blues.

Gallagher -- applauded loudly by the home fans in the pre-match warm-up -- received a ball from fellow substitute Christian Pulisic, created a yard of space for himself and then bent the ball around Vicente Guaita for his first Chelsea goal.

Earlier, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had seized on a headed pass by Thiago Silva to level the match with his first goal for Chelsea in the 38th minute.

The Brazilian nodded down towards Aubameyang who let the ball cross him before swivelling and shooting to open his account for the Londoners following his move from Barcelona.

Palace were incensed that referee Chris Kavanagh had given Silva only a yellow card for denying Jordan Ayew a run on goal by handling the ball a few minutes before he set up Aubameyang.

Palace defender Nathaniel Clyne was injured as he challenged Silva and manager Patrick Vieira was shown a yellow card for remonstrating with Kavanagh over his decision, backed up by VAR, not to give Silva a red card.

Odsonne Edouard had given the Eagles the lead in the seventh minute when the French striker seized on a loose pass by Wesley Fofana, fed Ayew on the right and stabbed home the cross as it came back to him.

The result kept Potter's men eight points adrift of league leaders Arsenal, underscoring the challenge he faces after replacing Thomas Tuchel a month ago, although the Blues have a game in hand over the Gunners.

"We had to survive moments as they are a good side with dangerous players. To be a goal down and come away with three points is fantastic, so credit to the players," Potter told the BBC.

"There's character, that's for sure. They could've felt sorry for themselves after conceding the goal but the players stood up all the way through."

Before Chelsea's late winner, Palace had the best opportunity of the second half when Wilfried Zaha connected with a cross from the fleet-footed Michael Olise but his first-time shot was saved by Kepa Arrizabalaga.