WORK OF ART TURNS TO FARCE

Kamikaze Gunners get a vital win and huge lesson

- John Cross

IN THE end it was nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat torture for Arsenal.

But to win the big prizes you have to survive high-pressure moments - even when they are self-inflicted.

Arsenal were 3-0 up at halftime, cruising and in complete control when they did their best to self-destruct.

Goalkeeper David Raya gifted Tottenham a way back, it got really tense after VAR gave a penalty against Declan Rice and yet they held on.

It ended up being a huge win for Arsenal as the North London derby was arguably the hardest game of their run-in.

But making it hard for yourself was revealing about Arsenal's lack of experience and game management. However, this was a valuable lesson learnt. And, at the final whistle, the raucous away end had forgotten what had gone before because they were too busy celebrating.

Ultimately, fans Arsenal do not care.

They are still fighting for the title and it was noticeable that Mikel Arteta went straight over to Raya to comfort the goalkeeper who has been reliable SO this season. The fightback by Tottenham turned a humiliating defeat into a gallant one. Heung-Min Son, Dejan Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero never gave up.