The Brazilian defender struck in the 62nd minute.
A weakened Arsenal side defeated Tottenham 1-0 thanks to Gabriel's header in the second half, maintaining pressure on Manchester City in the Premier League title chase. After a home draw against Brighton before the international break, Arsenal's match against their rival, City, was already being referred to as a make-or-break match in their quest to become champions. They will play their rivals on the road in seven days.
However, without stars Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard, Gabriel's goal in the 64th minute gave the Gunners all three points, securing their title credentials and leaving Spurs with just one win so far this season. Rice and Odegaard were not present in Arsenal's midfield; the latter was suspended after receiving a red card against Brighton, while the former was out due to an ankle injury. Rice gave way to Jorginho, while Leandro Trossard assumed Odegaard's position as the team's conductor.
After missing two matches due to an ankle injury, Dominic Solanke, a summer acquisition, led Tottenham's assault while Micky van de Ven recovered from his injury. As soon as the former Bournemouth player broke free in the Arsenal penalty area, he found Son Heung-min, whose pull-back to Dejan Kulusevski forced a superb stop from David Raya.
Raya was once again required to intervene as Kulusevski's cross on the opposite end of the pitch split the Arsenal defence. Spurs were ahead, and Ben White, who, because of a kit clash, was wearing black along with his Arsenal teammates for the first time in nearly forty years when the Gunners played a north London derby instead of red, had his blushes saved after fifteen minutes.
Son, who had seen Solanke nearby, jumped on White, but the England international was slow to react. When it came to dispossessing him, William Saliba didn't want a second invitation; Solanke ought to have performed better. Saliba then discovered his name in referee Jarred Gillett's book a little while later for Solanke's foul and his inability to retrieve the ball. It was the first of a very competitive first period's seven bookings.
The hosts were the first to reach their marks quickly, but Arsenal entered the game as the half went on. Guglielmo Vicario made a great stop to deny Kai Havertz's header from Gabriel Martinelli's cross just before the Brazilian had a chance to put the Gunners ahead. Martinelli and Vicario had a one-on-one opportunity thanks to Trossard's beautiful through-ball, but the winger's feeble attempt was easily stopped by the Spurs keeper. On the touchline, Mikel Arteta became enraged.
Vicario and the Arsenal defender engaged in a melee on the touchline after Jurrien Timber challenged Pedro Porro. After a VAR check, Timber avoided receiving a red card despite both men receiving bookings for going over the top of the ball. Honours up until the interval.
The only genuine opportunity of the second half until that moment came from Van van Ven's header at the hour mark, which went straight down Raya's throat after a cross from James Maddison.
Martinelli and Havertz combined to allow Bukayo Saka through, and Arsenal looked dangerous on the counterattack. After Porro deflected his shot behind, the breakthrough came from the next corner.
After Gabriel eluded Cristian Romero and Vicario was obstructed, the Brazilian scored unnoticed from a little distance away. More than any other team in the league, Arsenal has scored 23 goals from set pieces since the beginning of the previous campaign.
Despite their positive efforts, Spurs seemed taken aback by Gabriel's goal, and the dissatisfaction of the home supporters began to manifest.
But Spurs, under Ange Postecoglou, have been masters of late goals in front of their fans. With eight minutes left, Gabriel grabbed the ball off Solanke, and they called for a penalty, but Gillett dismissed their demands.
After Pape Sarr miscued his attempt wide, Arteta's team was content to absorb the pressure as Raheem Sterling made his debut off the bench. Kulusevski nearly equalized, but his long-range shot fizzed agonisingly over the bar as Arsenal survived five minutes of added time to win the Tottenham Derby three times in a row for the first time since 1988.
