The north London derby of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur in recent years has been one of the marquee matches in the English Premier League. Both clubs have looked strong in the 2009-10 season and Saturday’s match took place at the Emirates. Here’s a recap of the EPL matches from Saturday, October 31, 2009 along with video highlights.

Arsenal crushes Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 – Video Highlights

The first half seemed like it was going to be scoreless as Tottenham was able to hold off the Arsenal attack early. It remained 0-0 until the 42nd minute when Arsenal would take control of the match. A cross sent into the box by Sagna was volley into the back of the net by Robin van Persie. It was poor goalkeeping from Tottenham goalkeeper Gomes who got a hand on it but couldn’t save it.

After playing a decent first half for 42 minutes, Tottenham were down and it would only get worse. A minute later, Cesc Fabregas made a great run with the ball past several defenders and then beat Gomes with a shot to the left lower corner. It was a spectacular play from Fabregas and poor defending from Spurs. After appearing to keep Arsenal off the scoreline, Tottenham were down 0-2 after 45 minutes.

The second half was a continuation of Arsenal’s momentum as they would extend their lead early. Sagna sent a cross into the box as it fell to van Persie who scored to make it 3-0. There was some confusion as some players thought the play stopped because of a foul but the referee signaled to continue play. Tottenham were outplayed and outclassed by an in-form Arsenal side. It may have taken 40 or so minutes to get going but when they did, the Gunners were too much for Tottenham.

It could have easily been 4-0 or 5-0 as Eduardo had two breakaway chances that he should have converted but missed. Possession was dominated by Arsenal who are looking like real contenders to challenge for the EPL trophy. Tottenham didn’t have many great chances and usually forced to play defensive with Arsenal controlling the midfield after taking the lead.

Neither team would score in the final minutes and Arsenal won 3-0 with goals from Fabregas and van Persie.