3 things we learned from Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Tottenham in the League Cup

This edition of the North London Derby didn’t disappoint, with a closely-fought battle at White Hart Lane ending in a 2-1 win for Arsenal thanks to unlikely hero Mathieu Flamini’s brace,

The first half was almost all Arsenal, with the Gunners dominating possession and mostly keeping Tottenham at bay when Spurs managed to get forward. There weren’t a ton of opportunities for either side early on, but Arsenal managed to strike first when a gorgeous shot from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could only be parried away by Michel Vorm, and who else but much-derided Arsenal midfielder Mathieu Flamini would come charging up from midfield to fire home the rebound.

The goal seemed to put Tottenham into a state of shock, and Arsenal started putting together more scoring chances. Poor finishing and some solid defending -- especially from Tottenham’s fullbacks -- kept the Gunners from adding a second, and by the end of the half, the momentum was slowly starting to swing back into Tottenham’s favor.

It was little surprise, then, when the second half opened up with Spurs in command of the pitch, running all over a beleaguered Arsenal midfield and back line, with right back Mathieu Debuchy especially struggling for Arsenal. In fact, it was Debuchy who would ultimately be at fault for Tottenham’s equalizer -- while Nacer Chadli’s cross deflected off an unfortunate Callum Chambers and in for an own goal, it was terribly poor defending from Debuchy that allowed the ball to reach Chadli in the first place, then did nothing to so much as inconvenience the Belgian attacker as he set up to put the ball in front of goal.

Tottenham rode their momentum for awhile searching for a second goal, but eventually the match started to fring to a halt. Tottenham were absolutely dominating possession, but couldn’t do much with it that was actually effective, especially with Harry Kane seemingly cursed in front of goal in this match. The young English striker was consistently just a hair off this match, be it in his finishing, passing, or even his positioning when it came to offsides decisions. Not having their best player on form hurt Tottenham in crucial moments.

What hurt more, though, was Mathieu Flamini coming up with another goal in the 78th minute. Just as it was looking like both sides were settling in for extra time, here pops up Flamini, charging forward out of midfield again and striking the ball on the half-volley to beat a stunned Michel Vorm. It was a stunning moment, and one that Arsenal fans will savor for some time, as it cemented a big win over their hated rivals in the League Cup.

Tottenham were probably better on a whole today, but a poor day from Kane in front of goal and Flamini’s shocking heroics meant that they lose on home soil to their fiercest rivals, and are out of the cup competition they were most likely to win if they gave it a real effort. Arsene Wenger may not be happy with a few individual performances from this match, but he’ll take that win for Arsenal every day of the week.

Goals: Chambers O.G. (56’)

Goals: Flamini (26’, 78’)

Mathieu Flamini may have scored the crucial brace, but that was the standout highlight for either team’s midfield pivot in an otherwise dire performance for the four players. Flamini and his partner Mikel Arteta in Arsenal’s midfield pairing were both booked for stupid fouls in the first half, and were shaky more often than not otherwise. The same can be said of Tommy Carroll and Eric Dier, who were too easily bypassed by Arsenal too many times during the match. Now, neither of these pairing are the “ideal” starters for Arsenal or Tottenham, but both Arsene Wenger and Mauricio Pochettino would likely want to have a lot more faith in these men than was earned on Wednesday.

The Colombian may be the backup to Petr Cech, but he deserves to be starting somewhere. Ospina has shown his talent every time he’s started for Arsenal, but he was in incredible form in this match. What few Tottenham chances were generated in the first half were actually quite dangerous, but Ospina did well to keep their shots at bay. Even early in the second half when Spurs were running rampant to find an equalizer, Ospina saved a difficult shot from Kane with ease, and it took an unfortunate deflection for an own goal to beat him. Someone is going to pay a lot of money to get their hands on Ospina, either this winter or next summer.

Campbell has been “that prospect” for Arsenal seemingly forever now, but despite a few solid loan spells he’s still finding playing time with the Gunners hard to come by. This was just his second appearance of the season and his first start for Arsenal on the campaign, but he may have earned himself more playing time with his performance in this match. Not everything was excellent -- Campbell clearly had some rust to shake off at times -- but the young Costa Rican showed off his pace, his work rate, and his ability to contribute in the final third. Arsenal need options in attack right now, and he’s increasingly looking like a good one for them.