The North London Derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal on Sunday was marked by the sight of Mikel Arteta jostling for space with Dejan Kolarov, as the Spurs striker sought to gain possession on the wing. Both sides entered the match with 13 points between them, with Arsenal having been the better-performing team in the initial five league games. Nevertheless, many pundits predicted that Arsenal would take their fierce rivals to the cleaners and emerge with a comfortable victory.

Mikel Arteta appears to try and put Kulusevski off

On Sunday, Tottenham Hotspur provided a stark contrast to Arsenal, who had strengthened their squad in the summer to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title. Spurs, however, showed that they are not afraid to go head-to-head with their rivals, and passed their initial major test with flying colours. This result may give Spurs supporters hope for the season ahead, but it also suggests that Arsenal’s manager, Arteta, has some dark arts up his sleeve.

Near the end of regulation, Arteta backed away from his technical area as the Spurs forward tried to break away on the right wing. Arteta appears to have jockeyed the ball toward the Spurs forward and forced the ball into a no-man’s-land situation. We don’t know if Arteta forced the ball into the no-man’s land or not, but it certainly looked weird and is against the rules.

 

It’s too early to say how Spurs or any other team will fare this season. I don’t think it’s worth looking at the table until at least 10 games in.

But there’s plenty to be positive about, not just in the results they’ve achieved, but also in the character they’ve shown.

Mike Phelan: Arteta needs to chill on the touchline
This isn’t the first time he’s gone out of his way to get in the way. Remember that video of Pierre-Emile Hjbjerg?