A couple of confidence-sapping cup defeats against Newcastle United and Manchester United respectively has done little to change the narrative surrounding Arsenal as perennial bridesmaids in the battle for major trophies, and they came into this clash looking to get their flailing PL title challenge back on track.
Ange Postecoglou could only dream of having such bold ambitions, with his Spurs side 16 points adrift of their bitter rivals heading into this clash.
They had to ride out an early spell of pressure from the hosts, as Radu Drăgușin made a fine block to keep out Leandro Trossard's effort, while Antonín Kinský almost had a nightmare moment on his PL debut when Kai Havertz intercepted his clearance before the Czech reclaimed the ball.
Tottenham grew in confidence though, and David Raya was called into action to parry away Dejan Kulusevski’s shot.
That served as a warning for what was to come, and Son Heung-min silenced the Emirates when a corner was headed into the path of the Spurs skipper to fire home a deflected strike past Raya.
But the Gunners were deservedly level when Gabriel Magalhaes powered his way into the box to meet Declan Rice’s corner, and saw his header take a huge deflection off Dominic Solanke before beating Kinsky at his near post.
Trossard completed an impressive turnaround before half-time when the Belgian’s angled strike squirmed through Kinský’s grasp before nestling in the far corner.
Havertz spurned a golden opportunity to extend Arsenal’s lead after the break, heading wide from Martin Ødegaard’s corner before firing straight at Kinský. Spurs were porous at the back, and Declan Rice nearly made them pay after carving through their defence before shooting straight at Kinský.
Kieran Tierney then played in Odegaard, but the Norwegian agonisingly failed to find the target from deep inside the box.
Ultimately, Arsenal had done enough to claim a narrow victory and three points which takes them to within four of league-leaders Liverpool - albeit having played a game more than Arne Slot’s side.
The win will be even sweeter given this was the Gunners’ third consecutive top-flight north London derby win - a feat not achieved since a run of five between 1987 and 1989.
Meanwhile, Spurs slump down to 13th after only one win in their last nine league games.