Arsenal beats 10-man Tottenham to stay atop EPL table

LONDON (AP) — Gabriel Jesus marked his first north London derby with a goal as Arsenal beat 10-man Tottenham 3-1 on Saturday to strengthen its grip on first place in the Premier League.

Jesus took advantage of a defensive blunder to make it 2-1 early in the second half and Tottenham’s chances of a comeback were then ruined by Emerson Royal earning a straight red card for a needless studs-up challenge on Gabriel Martinelli in the 62nd minute.

Granit Xhaka quickly capitalized on the man-advantage by adding the third goal five minutes later as Arsenal built a four-point gap to Spurs and Manchester City atop the table. Tottenham would have climbed above Arsenal into first with a win, but instead saw its 13-game unbeaten run in the league stretching back to last season come to an end.

City can climb back within one point of Arsenal with a win over crosstown rival Manchester United on Sunday.

Jesus scored 95 goals in six seasons at Man City — but never netted in the Manchester derby.

“To be honest it’s the second time I scored in a derby. The first was for Brazil against Argentina," Jesus told BT Sport. “We deserved to win, I don’t know how many chances we created.”

Arsenal took the lead at the Emirates Stadium through a spectacular strike from midfielder Thomas Partey, who curled in a long-distance shot past Hugo Lloris in the 20th following a strong start by the hosts. Arsenal largely dominated possession in the first half as Tottenham was content to sit back and wait for counter-attacking opportunities. That strategy paid off on the half-hour mark when Bukayo Saka turned the ball over and the visitors launched a quick counter that ended with Arsenal giving away a penalty as defender Gabriel lunged in to trip Richarlison