Ian Wright incredibly impressed by ‘fantastic’ Arsenal star in 1-0 win over Tottenham

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Without Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal were still able to bring home three points from N17, delivering a remarkable defensive performance.

Arsenal won the North London derby at the back, Mikel Arteta’s well-crafted defence once again proved their credentials away from home. 

Before Sunday’s affair, there was a lot of talk of Arsenal settling for a draw, after all, Arteta was missing two crucial leaders from the same area of his team.

But in their absence, the likes of Jorginho and Thomas Partey coped well, even if they both have limitations to their game at this stage of their careers.

However, there’s no doubt that both were made to look better because of the back four behind them, a quartet who Arteta wanted to begin with last season.

Ian Wright heaps praise on Gabriel Magalhaes after North London derby winner

Along with the likes of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, Jurrien Timber was also immense – three players praised after the game by Ian Wright.

Speaking via the Premier League, Wright was left blown away by all four defenders, and in particular he singled out Gabriel – who cost the Gunners £23m.

READ MORE: I saw ‘incredible’ £23m Arsenal player deliver his best performance yet against Tottenham

Ben White perhaps wasn’t quite at his best on this occasion, possibly why Wright didn’t mention his name specifically, but he was still part of an impressive unit.

That being said, Wright praised him alongside his three counterparts, a quartet good enough to win trophies.

Wright said: “Massive goal, fantastic performance from him [Gabriel]. In fact, all the back-four.

“Jurrien Timber was fantastic, same with Saliba. I thought Tottenham almost played into their hands a bit.”

Jurrien Timber showed what Arsenal have been missing vs Tottenham

After his frustrating season last term, Timber has now featured in all four of Arsenal’s league games this campaign, starting the last three.

And there’s certainly no doubt that the 23-year-old Dutchman was crucial against Spurs, commanding the game on the left.

Brennan Johnson was eventually replaced by Tottenham after being frustrated, and Timber then did the same to Wilson Odobert.

Gabriel Martinelli wasn’t at his best offensively for Arsenal, but was doing a stellar job of tracking his runner ahead of Timber.

And all in all, Arsenal were a slick machine – they knew their chance to win the game would come eventually, just as it did against Aston Villa.

Two similar performances, and two that bode well for ending the season with a trophy in May.