With a 2-0 derby victory at Tottenham, Arsenal extended their lead over Tottenham to eight points atop the Premier League. Hugo Lloris's own goal and Martin Odegaard's 25-yard screamer were the two goals scored by Mikel Arteta's team in the opening period.
Leaders Arsenal took advantage of the fact that defending champions Manchester City lost at Old Trafford on Saturday by defeating their North London rivals twice for the first time since 2014, giving them even more reason to believe they can win the championship for the first time in 19 years.
Arsenal's next opponent is the hotly tipped Manchester United, and they will now look to Antonio Conte's team for assistance as they travel to City on Thursday trying to stay in the top four competition and with Harry Kane still needing one goal to tie Jimmy Greaves' club scoring record.
Before Arteta could lead his side out to celebrate with their own fans, there were unpleasant scenes at the end of the game, with Aaron Ramsdale seeming to be booted by a Tottenham supporter who jumped onto the advertising hoarding behind the goal of the South Stand.
Both clubs were concerned about injuries going into the game, but only Spurs' Dejan Kulusevski returned, while Rodrigo Bentancur was unable to play and Bukayo Saka was able to recover from a minor hamstring injury.
The significance of the game was increased by other results this weekend, and it didn't take long for the leaders to settle in after in-form Eddie Nketiah was denied by Lloris in the seventh minute. The opportunity was created by Lloris' hesitation while in possession, and following another error, his next participation led to the first goal.
By the byline, Saka found some space, and his cross tricked Lloris, who could only parry the ball into his own net after it took a tiny deflection from Ryan Sessegnon.
Spurs nearly equalized right away when Sessegnon found Son Heung-min inside the area, but Ramsdale made a superb low stop. It was not the captain's first major error this season.
Conte's team briefly showed aggressive intent, but they swiftly found themselves back in control. Soon after, Lloris was shielded from Odegaard before Thomas Partey's attempt at another North London miracle was foiled by the woodwork.
After playing pinball in the Spurs area, Partey unleashed a thunderous 25-yard volley that crashed against the base of the post. Partey had previously scored a beautiful curled effort in the 3-1 victory in October.
It seemed inevitable that Arsenal would score again, and eight minutes before halftime, it did. First, William Saliba won the ball, then Partey and Saka worked together to find space for Odegaard, who then fired from a distance into the bottom corner for his eighth goal of the year.
It was entirely merited for the visitors, and even though Spurs made a comeback and Kane was stopped by Ramsdale, the score remained 2-0 at halftime.
After the break, the usual second-half team kept their word, with Kulusevski missing the target before Kane was stopped by yet another outstanding Ramsdale save. Even better came from the Arsenal goalkeeper who, following a deft one-two with Kane, stretched out a boot to deflect a Sessegnon shot wide.
When Richarlison, a substitute, exchanged words with Gabriel Martinelli, a teammate from Brazil, and Kulusevski collided with Arteta in the technical area, tensions began to rise. However, such confrontations and a wave of cautions only served to lessen the impact of Spurs' improbable comeback.
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