Why Arsenal's Challenge Now Is to Maintain Their Fighting Spirit After Painting North London Red

It's been a fantastic day for the red side of north London, as Arsenal beat rivals Tottenham 2-0 in a display that every home fan was hoping to see from their team. 

They had heart, desire and determination; characteristics people have been saying the Gunners had been lacking in certain games.

Arsenal dominated the game for large periods and deserved the win overall. Though yes, there may have been some fortune on both goals. The free kick given to Arsenal just before the first goal was perhaps soft and Arsenal's Shkodran Mustafi may have been marginally offside as Mesut Ozil crossed in the ball from the set piece. 

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Likewise, during the Gunners' second goal, Alexandre Lacazette may have been fractionally offside in the build-up. But Arsenal had more chances to score, and it could have been a lot worse for Tottenham. 

Spurs did have some chances, Eric Dier and Harry Kane came close with headers that were both denied by Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, Christian Eriksen hit the post and Heung-min Son blazed a chance over the bar. But overall, Arsenal seemed to deserve the win on the balance of play. 

Now that Arsenal have got this win over their big north London rivals, what they must do now is continue this type of display in every match they play. 

They won't always have the sharp quality they possessed in this one for every game, but they need to maintain the desire and determination they showcased. They had the 'cojones' that Watford's Troy Deeney said they lacked after their 2-1 defeat to the Hornets in October. 

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The thing is, Arsenal have put in these kinds of performances over the last few seasons. In the 2015/16 season the Gunners swept aside Manchester United at home 3-0 but failed to sustain a title challenge. Last season, they again hammered eventually champions Chelsea at home 3-0, but faded away later in the season. 

On Saturday, they did it again. They've comfortably beaten a rival side at home with another great display. We know they have the ability to play at this level but what they must do now is find a way to bring that desire into every match from now on. 

The Arsenal players must go into every game ready to fight.

Arsenal great Thierry Henry spoke about the same thing after the game, that Arsenal need to back up that performance now. Speaking on Sky Sports, he said "first and foremost you win the north London derby and it's great. But the performance they put in today, they've got to back it up now. You have to make sure you play like that all the time."

Arsenal must learn from this game and use it as a blueprint of how to mentally approach future games.