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Mikel Arteta's men were missing several key figures due to injuries and suspensions, but managed to come away with all three points and maintain their unbeaten start to the season after their Brazilian centre-back rose to head the ball past Guglielmo Vicario from a set piece in the second half.
The goal was enough to see off Spurs and keep Arsenal firmly on Manchester City's trail at the top of the Premier League, but according to Merson and Ferdinand, the Gunners are rather fortunate it was allowed to stand.
arsenal win tottenham
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Gabriel Apparently Fouled Romero in the Build Up
Merson and Ferdinand think it should have been ruled out as a result
gabriel magalhaes
One of Tottenham's biggest weaknesses under Ange Postecoglou is defending set-pieces and that was on full display again as Arsenal capitalised on one with Gabriel heading the ball home. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the effort and there were no suggestions that it should have been ruled out.
Speaking in the Sky Sports studio after the fact, though, Merson and Ferdinand both revealed that they thought it should have been disallowed and accused the Brazilian of shoving Romero shortly before he got his head on the ball. Working as pundits, they both agreed that the incident was a foul and Merson went on to admit he would have been angry if he didn't win a foul for that back in his playing days.
"I'd be disappointed if I didn't get a foul. He's in the wrong position, everything is wrong about his defending. He's a centre half international, even I know and I don't even play at the back you got to be side on. You got to see the ball and your player.
"To start off you have to be a hand length away and he's standing with him. I'd expect a foul."
Ferdinand admitted he thought Romero should have done better and needed to be stronger when marking his opposition in the box, but still thought the shove was a foul, saying: "I think if a centre forward does that, the referee gives a foul against him. They don't even look at it . He does need to be stronger. It's poor defending but he does get a shove in his back."
Merson Also Thinks Timber Should Have Been Shown a Red Card
The defender was booked for a rash tackle
Jurrien Timber and Guglielmo Vicario
Despite being a former Arsenal player, Merson wasn't afraid to admit that he thought his old team was on the right side of more than one questionable decision during the north London derby. As well as Gabriel's goal being allowed to stand, the pundit also thought that Jurrien Timber should have been shown a red card for his rash tackle on Pedro Porro in the first half.
"Looking at it, he is (lucky). Naturally when you put your foot on the ball it's always going to roll that way, it's never going to put it on and bounce back it's going to go that way.
"He's fortunate especially away from home and the way this referee has given out yellow cards like ice creams, he's very fortunate."
Merson's comments will leave many Arsenal fans unhappy, but they will take some solace in the fact that they picked up all three points and are still unbeaten after four games while their local rivals have started the 2024/25 campaign very slowly, with just four points out of a possible 12 so far.
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