Arsenal were forced to come from behind after Erik Lamela’s spectacular rabona opener for Tottenham.
Martin Odegaard equalised for the Gunners with a deflected shot on the stroke of half-time, before Alexandre Lacazette won a penalty which he converted in the 64th minute.
Lamela, who came on as a first-half substitute after Son Heung-Min injured his hamstring, would be sent off in the 76th minute for a second bookable offence.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said: “Hopefully it will increase the level of confidence in the team and the belief that we can play really well against any opponent, that we can beat big teams as well, and to maintain this together with the same belief.
“We know that we have to put together four or five wins in a row to give ourselves any chance of looking up in the table but we are ready for a fight.”
The result was slightly overshadowed by Arteta’s decision to drop captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang which has been reported was due to a disciplinary breach.
“I made what I thought was the right decision,” Arteta said. “We draw a line there. Now let’s move on again.
“We know how important Auba is for us, for the club. That’s it. That’s been dealt with so let’s move on.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United solidified their grip on second spot with a 1-0 win over West Ham United, while Leicester City also firmed up third with a 5-0 thrashing of bottom club Sheffield United.
Brighton boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win away to south coast neighbours Southampton who are in freefall.