It was a brilliant win for Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, who beat their bitter rivals Tottenham 2-0 in their own home ground on Sunday night. It was a completely dominating performance after Bukayo Saka's deflected cross ricocheted off Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and into the goals, after which skipper Martin Odegaard continued his fine form with a brilliant goal from outside the box.
However, the match took a turn for the worse after the full-time whistle, with a fan of Tottenham kicking his leg out at Arsenal goalkeeper and man of the match Aaron Ramsdale, irking the Arsenal players who retaliated to the same by fighting with the Spurs players.
While Arteta was celebrating a much-needed win, having lost a transfer battle for Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea just a day earlier, the former Gunners skippers took two minutes out of his joy to calm his team leader and in-form midfielder Granit Xhaka down and keep him from going ballistic on the Tottenham fans and players.
The win continued Arsenal's unbeaten run to 12 matches, with 10 wins and two draws to the Premier League leader's name. It was also the first time in nine years that the Gunners had won at the local rival's home stadium. While Ramsdale himself is known to instigate the opponent fans from time to time, Xhaka himself is considered a hot-headed presence in the Arsenal midfielder, occasionally putting himself on the line to protect his teammates.
The incident was condemned by all parties, with Tottenham releasing a statement that read, "The club has reviewed its CCTV footage to identify the supporter and will be working with the Met Police, Arsenal and Aaron Ramsdale to take the strongest possible action, including an immediate ban from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium."
Even the English FA took note of the issue, and are working with local authorities to find the culprit. "We strongly condemn the incident involving a spectator that followed today's Premier League fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. This is wholly unacceptable behaviour and we will work together with the police, the relevant authorities and the clubs to ensure the appropriate action is taken," their statement read.
