Mikel Arteta's prayers answered as Arsenal emerge victorious from thrilling North London derby at Spurs

A 3-0 lead nearly evaporated at Tottenham, but the Gunners held on to remain firmly in the Premier League title race

LONDON -- Given everything that had occurred in the previous hour and a half, could you really blame Mikel Arteta for hoping that the gods might have some plan for his Arsenal side? So ludicrous had this game been it seemed only logical to assume that someone up there had plans fair or foul.

With one of their worst halves of football in the Premier League this year, Arsenal somehow romped into a 3-0 lead. Arteta's league leaders stepped their game up significantly in the second half. Their reward? The most terrifying nine minutes of their season, Heung-min Son's penalty following on from the moment where it seemed their entire title charge might fall apart, David Raya so spooked by the sight of Cristian Romero pressing him that he concluded the safest response was to give him the ball.

This is a game that defies much in the way of rational analysis, let alone coaching intervention. Arteta found himself powerless as Spurs lined up the siege weapons.