'You wouldn't see that in an under 12s game': Paul Merson SLAMS Tottenham's defending for Arsenal's opening goal as his former side triumphed 3-2 in the North London derby

Paul Merson offered a scathing assessment of Tottenham's defending after Ange Postecoglou's side were defeated 3-2 in the North London derby.

Arsenal took the lead just 15 minutes into the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg put the ball into his own net from a Bukayo Saka corner.

With an early lead secured Mikel Arteta's side were quick to seize the initiative in Sunday's clash, with goals from Saka and Kai Havertz seeing the visitors take a 3-0 lead going into the interval.

As the game passed the hour mark Arsenal appeared set to secure three points against their bitter rivals with minimal disruption.

That is until an errant pass from David Raya allowed Cristian Romero to score, before Son Heung-Min ramped up the pressure by adding a second for the hosts from the penalty spot.

Ultimately Arsenal hung on to secure three points, but speaking on Sky Sports Merson insisted it could have been a different story if Tottenham's defending hadn't been so poor in the early going.

'If you look every Arsenal player is behind. The Tottenham players are all watching, it's the worst thing you could ever do as a defender.' The pundit said of the set piece that led to the opener.

'I wasn't a defender, but I know the game. You can't let those players get goal side of you, and every one of them virtually ends up on the other side of the player. 

'They end up being in behind them. It's, unbelievable. You wouldn't see this happen in an under-12 football match. Look at every one of them's behind them now they're all goal side. It's unbelievable.'

Victory for the Gunners meant they retained their place at the top of the table, but Manchester City remain hot on their heels in second, trailing by just one point behind while having a game in hand.

Speaking following City's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, Merson added the sustained dominance of the champions makes it harder to put Arteta's successes into perspective.

'I know people go, "Yeah, but he hasn't won the league." It's about timings.' He continued. 

'If you're a heavyweight challenger, and Mike Tyson's about, you're not winning the world title, and it's a bit like that. 

'You're just bang unlucky. You got to accept that you were the second best at the time, and if, if they weren't about, they would have won and that's how it works. It's just timings. They're bang unlucky.'