Saka had the perfect response to Spurs fans after Hojbjerg’s own goal (Picture: Getty)
Bukayo Saka couldn’t resist getting his own back after a small section of Tottenham fans taunted the forward with cries of ‘you let your country down’ in Arsenal’s dramatic north London derby victory.
Arsenal appeared to be cruising towards a comfortable win over their bitter rivals as Saka and Kai Havertz both hit the target after Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s 15th-minute own goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Cristian Romero capitalised on a moment of madness from David Raya to give the hosts a glimmer of hope with half an hour remaining and Son Heung-min made no mistake from the spot to set up a nervy finish for Arsenal.
But the Premier League leaders preserved their narrow advantage to keep the pressure on reigning champions Manchester City, who came away from Nottingham Forest with maximum points later in the day.
Sunday’s results mean City now trail the Gunners by one point in the table, though Pep Guardiola’s side have a game in hand over their title rivals ahead of their clash with Wolves next weekend.
Saka took his tally for the top-flight campaign to 15 with his strike in the 27th minute and Ben Davies had an afternoon to forget against the attacker, who proved a constant threat down the right flank.
It appeared Saka needed no extra motivation to light up the derby but Tottenham supporters gave the England international just that as they aimed chants of ‘you let your country down’ in his direction – referring to his penalty miss in the final of Euro 2020.
But Saka would have the last laugh, with footage from the stands showing the Arsenal star cupping his ears towards the source of the chanting after Hojbjerg directed his corner past Vicario to break the deadlock in north London.
Speaking shortly after the final whistle, a beaming Saka said he was ‘proud’ of the way Arsenal ‘fought to the end’ to hold off Ange Postecoglou’s resurgent Tottenham.
‘We know it is a big derby and they don’t want to just lost 3-0 at home so once they got one, the crowd was up, they were up and the momentum shifted their way,’ Saka told Sky Sports.
‘But I’m proud of all the boys, we fought to the end and we got the three points.
‘I think we showed our level heads at the end and I’m proud of everyone to get the win.’
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Asked whether Arsenal may need to win all their remaining games to stay in the title race, Saka replied: ‘Yeah, there’s not much room for error.
‘They showed that last year, the years before. We’ve got experience now, we’ve learned our lessons.
‘We’re ready for the last three games.’
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