Arsenal weathers pressure to beat Tottenham 1-0 in feisty north London derby

LONDON (AP) — Arsenal is leaving archrival Tottenham’s stadium with a win for the third season in a row after Gabriel Magalhaes' second-half header settled a feisty and physical north London derby in the Premier League on Sunday.

Tottenham had Arsenal pegged back for much of the game but couldn’t make its chances count as the visitors weathered the pressure before Gabriel secured a 1-0 win by scoring in the 64th minute. The Brazilian center back lost his marker and met a corner from Bukayo Saka with a thumping header from the middle of the box.

“It is a big derby and we are so happy to win here," said Gabriel, who celebrated boisterously in front of the away fans after the final whistle. “Let’s enjoy it now.”

The goal came largely against the run of play but secured a vital victory for Arsenal, which is already two points behind defending champion Manchester City and could ill afford to drop more points ahead of a trip to the Etihad Stadium next weekend.

The visitors were slightly fortunate not to be trailing early, though, as Tottenham took full advantage of Arsenal’s weakened midfield to boss proceedings for much of the opening hour.

Without the suspended Declan Rice and the injured Martin Odegaard, Arsenal never looked comfortable against Tottenham’s press and struggled to establish anything resembling its normal passing game.

But Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya made two good early saves to keep Tottenham at bay, while Spurs striker Dominic Solanke failed to make the most of a couple of decent chances.

“We had to work really hard as you saw, we knew it was going to be a difficult game," said Arsenal midfielder Jorginho, who captained Arsenal in Odegaard's absence. "We had key players missing but we are a total team, the whole squad. We know that whoever comes on will be ready to help the team.”

It was a very different game compared to last year’s fixture, when Arsenal went 3-0 up before holding off a late fightback to win 3-2. But it had its usual share of physical tackles and temper flare-ups, with seven bookings handed out in the first half alone.

And Arsenal had to hang on in the final minutes again, although Tottenham’s only half chances for an equalizer came when Solanke sent a header straight at Raya in the 88th and Dejan Kulusevski sent his long-range shot over the bar in injury time.

Arsenal only had three senior outfield players available on the bench, including transfer deadline-day signing Raheem Sterling who came on for his Gunners debut in the 80th minute.

In Sunday’s only other Premier League game, Wolves hosted Newscastle in the later kickoff.

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Arsenal's Jurrien Timber and Tottenham's goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario square-up to each other during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Tottenham's James Maddison is pulled back by Arsenal's Jorginho during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Gabriel scores the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Gabriel, foreground, celebrates with teammate William Saliba after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

Arsenal's Gabriel, right, celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal's Gabriel, foreground, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal in London, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (John Walton/PA via AP)

The path for the NFL's Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital is clear after an on-again, off-again saga in Congress ended early Saturday with a postmidnight reprieve.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution to transfer the land including old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed by voice vote at roughly 1:15 a.m. after more than a year of lobbying and support from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., district Mayor Muriel Bowser, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington, D.C., the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK Stadium site," Harris said. "This bill will create an equal playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”

The RFK Stadium land provision was part of Congress’ initial short-term spending bill Tuesday before it was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of whom amplified misinformation about the site on his social media platform X. Two versions of the House's slimmed-down bill, including the one that passed Friday night to avoid a government shutdown, did not include it.

Giving the local government control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and surrounding entertainment options at the franchise's former home.

Bowser called it “a win for D.C., for our region and for America.”

“Everybody loves a good comeback story — and that’s D.C.’s story,” she said.

All that awaits is President Joe Biden's signature to become law. Comer went as far as saying that Senate passage of the bill is “a historic moment for our nation's capital.”

“If Congress failed to act today, this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune to maintain,” he said. “Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been a top economic priority for the city, and I am proud to have partnered with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and to the president’s desk. This bipartisan success is a testament to the House Oversight Committee’s unwavering effort to protect taxpayers and our full commitment to ensuring a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come.”

Playing in Washington again is no sure thing. The Commanders are considering places in the district, Maryland and Virginia to build a stadium in the coming years.

Their lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

The team played at RFK Stadium 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) east of the Capitol from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91.

Part of the way the provision got into the bill initially involved an agreement between the team and Maryland to tear down the current stadium in a timely fashion and redevelop the site with a project of equal economic impact, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press earlier this week on condition of anonymity because the deal was not being publicized.

After the Senate greenlit the RFK Stadium land transfer, Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, said they continued to believe their state's partnership with the team should continue long into the future.

“After working to level the financial playing field, and receiving assurances that should the team move they will redevelop the existing site in a manner that meets the needs of the community, tonight we supported the proposed land transfer legislation,” Cardin and Van Hollen said. "We have always supported the District’s effort to control its own land, and through regional discussions and cooperation, our concerns with this proposal have been addressed.”

The team has played games in Maryland since 1997 and practices in Ashburn, Virginia, not far from Dulles International Airport.

A return to the district would be another victory for Bowser, who on Thursday celebrated the start of an $800 million downtown arena renovation that is keeping the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals in town. At that news conference, she took aim at Musk for sharing incorrect information on X, formerly Twitter, about taxpayers footing the bill for a new stadium.

“It was stated that the (continuing resolution) contains $3 billion for a stadium,” Bowser said. "All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK, and in fact the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium. We’re talking about how the District can invest in removing blight.”

Musk reshared an inaccurate post saying: “Buried in the 1,547-page omnibus bill is a provision to facilitate a $3 billion NFL stadium in Washington, D.C." with the message, “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!”

The bill specifically prohibits the use of federal funds for a stadium on the site, “including training facilities, offices, and other structures necessary to support a stadium.”

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FILE - A vehicle pushes up pikes of snow after trucks dump their loads of snow in the parking lots of RFK Stadium in Washington, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)