Arsenal stay top following 3-2 win in the North London Derby

Three first half goals proved enough -- as Spurs got to within a goal -- for Arsenal to come out on the winning side, 3-2, in the North London Derby.

The win kept the Gunners atop the Premier League table while at the same time putting more distance between themselves and Liverpool who were only able to manage a 2-2 draw against West Ham.

Pierre-Emile Højbjerg put the ball in the back of his own net for the Arsenal opener just 15 minutes into the match. Bukayo Saka capped off a brilliant counter in the 27th minute to put his side up two. The lead-up to that counter was full of controversy as Tottenham felt they had two shouts for a penalty that weren't given.

Kai Havertz then capped a brilliant first half by scoring with a header off a corner to give Arsenal a commanding 3-0 advantage before the half.

"I don't think in the football part we are worse than Arsenal," Mickey van de Ven said after the match. "I wouldn't say we have that problem. But you see their goals and they were ruthless. They took every chance that they had and that makes the difference."

Having pulled one back in the 64th minute via Cristian Romero, Tottenham made the final ten minutes or so even more interesting after Spurs were awarded a penalty in the 87th minute. Son Heung-min converted and Spurs were suddenly only a goal down.

In contrast to previous seasons, Arsenal were able to hold firm and see out the final minutes of the game.

"I was praying at the end. It was a really emotional game," Mikel Arteta said. "This is a tough place to come and a great team to play against. We had to dig in and suffer."

Suffering is something Arsenal have been much better about doing this season. It's likely they'll have to suffer from here on out until the end of the season if they want to be crowned Premier League champions.

Arsenal may be in for another round of suffering as they host Bournemouth next weekend. A Bournemouth side who have played well under Andoni Iraola and will be coming off a resounding win over Brighton.