London: Olivier Giroud settled the first north London derby of the season on Sunday as Arsenal asserted its supremacy over Tottenham on the pitch with a 1-0 victory despite months of lavish spending by its neighbor.
Giroud turned the ball into the net from Theo Walcott's cross in the 23rd minute, showing that goals are the only currency that counts in the Premier League.
While Arsenal has only signed free agents in the summer transfer window, Tottenham has spent around 100 million pounds ($155 million) strengthening the squad ahead of Gareth Bale's impending exit to Real Madrid.
The expensive new recruits were frustrated in their route to the net, although goalkeeper Hugo Lloris restricted Arsenal to a single goal after 5-2 losses on the last two visits to the Emirates Stadium.
