Postecoglou makes "dominant" admission as Arsenal prepare for Brentford trip

26 September 2023 , 03:00

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After Arsenal's 2-2 draw against Tottenham in the north London derby, they have a quick turnaround before their next outing - a trip to Brentford in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

The Gunners twice led at the Emirates against their arch rivals, with Cristian Romero's own-goal and Bukayo Saka's second-half penalty handing them the advantage either side of a Son Heung-min strike. However, Tottenham pegged them back with Son netting his second of the match to earn a share of the spoils.

Mikel Arteta's side will now be looking to bounce back against Thomas Frank's Bees in the third-round of the Carabao Cup. This will be the Gunners' first game of the competition this season as the eight English European sides enter this stage of the tournament.

Here is the latest news from Arsenal.

Postecoglou claim

Ange Postecoglou believes Destiny Udogie ended up as the most "dominant" player on Tottenham's left-hand side and Arsenal's right during the north London derby.

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That is despite struggling in the first-half and being ran ragged by Saka, who was in fine form for the Gunners. Udogie picked up a yellow card in the 15th minute for a foul on Saka and then allowed the England international to come inside leading up to Arsenal's opening goal.

But Postecoglou does not think that phased the Italian. "I thought both our full-backs had difficult jobs today. Arsenal have outstanding wide players, that’s where their threats are.

"Destiny picked up a yellow card and it could have made him nervous but I felt he dealt with it well and ended up as the dominant player on that side of the pitch."

Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Tottenham's Destiny Udogie (Getty Images)

Rice's career first

Declan Rice was taken off during a game through injury for the first time his career during the north London derby.

The 24-year-old was forced off at half-time to be replaced by Italian midfielder Jorginho with the scores locked at 1-1 against Tottenham at the Emirates. Speaking after the game, Arteta revealed that Rice was suffering from a back problem, which was enough to force the England international off.

Arteta said: "Yeah he had some discomfort in his back and he was telling us during the first half he wasn’t comfortable and when we assessed him at half time he couldn’t continue."

Asked if whether the issue could keep Rice out, Arteta said: "Hopefully not. We have to assess him because it’s strange that a player like him asks to come off because he wasn’t comfortable so hopefully not but let’s see."

Rice's most notable long-term injury came towards the end of the 2020/21 season when he missed six Premier League matches with a knee problem. But this was the first time Rice has come off mid-game and Arteta will be hoping Rice will be able to make his side's trip to Brentford.

Wright on killer finishing

Ian Wright is concerned about Arsenal's lack of clinical edge to finish off matches and believes it could cost them in the race for the Premier League title.

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The Gunners are already four points behind Manchester City in the title race following their 2-2 draw with Tottenham, as Pep Guardiola's City have won six from six this season.

In contrast, Arsenal have won four and drawn two from six league matches, but it could be a whole lot different if the Gunners had taken their best opportunities. Arteta's side have missed eight of which Opta call 13 'big' chances so far this term, with Gabriel Jesus squandering a huge opening against Tottenham.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Wright said: "It is, yeah. Because if you are going to try and chase down City, if you are going to try and stay in that top four and try and win the league then the chances you’re creating from good play – from good closing down that they’ve done there – then you have to take those chances.

"Those are the margins. If that’s what you’re doing it for then you’ve got to take the chance." Asked if Arsenal therefore need to sign another No9, he replied: "We’re talking about the margins now and you do need to score those goals – 2-0 makes that a different game. We’d probably have seen a different kind of Spurs because 2-0 down in the derby is different to 1-0."