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Aaron Ramsdale was left with a “sour taste” after being kicked by a Tottenham fan but insisted Arsenal will celebrate a memorable 2-0 victory on Sunday.
A costly Hugo Lloris own goal and Martin Odegaard’s fizzing first-half strike sent Arsenal eight points clear at the Premier League summit after their first victory at Tottenham since 2014.
The win was somewhat marred by unsavoury scenes after the full-time whistle when Ramsdale – who had just been confronted by Richarlison – was kicked by a fan standing on the hoardings behind the goal.
The Arsenal goalkeeper acknowledged he was involved in some light-hearted exchanges with some Spurs fans but labelled the post-match incident as a “shame” after the bizarre incident.
He told Sky Sports: “The Spurs fans gave me some throughout the game. I was giving some back. The people I did give it to greeted it sportsmanlike but one fan tried to give me a little punch on the back.
“It is a shame as it is just a game of football at the end of the day. Both sets of players tried to bring me away but thankfully nothing too drastic happened.
“It is a sour taste but I’m sure we will enjoy it when we go back into the dressing room.”
Tottenham defender Eric Dier echoed Ramsdale’s sentiment, telling Sky Sports: “I didn’t see it but obviously it is unacceptable and it shouldn’t have happened. There’s nothing more I can say.”
Arsenal dominated throughout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, though Ramsdale still made seven saves, including two fine stops either side of half-time against Son Heung-min and Harry Kane.
“We deserved the two-goal lead and maybe deserved more. We played the way we wanted to play in the first half and got the deserved lead,” Ramsdale added.
“That’s what I’m there to do. The manager also mentioned that in the last few north London derbies we haven’t kept a clean sheet, so that spurred me on a bit.”
Mikel Arteta’s side completed their first league double over their fierce rivals since the 2013-14 season and ended Spurs’ eight-game Premier League unbeaten run at home against Arsenal.
Asked about halting Tottenham’s impressive derby record, Odegaard told Sky Sports: “It is about time. It felt amazing. We remembered what happened here last time.
“We wanted to play a better game and show a different side to us. We enjoyed the game.”
Arsenal host in-form Manchester United on January 22, with Erik ten Hag’s side trailing the leaders by nine points after derby victory over City on Saturday.
“We are in a good position, there is no doubt about that. We’ve got to stay humble and keep working hard,” Odegaard continued.
“You saw the difference in the first and second half today so we have things to improve. We have to keep going.”
