Harry Kane goal was cancelled out by Kieran Gibbs, as Arsenal held Tottenham to a 1-1 draw in the North London derby on Remembrance Sunday.
With Arsenal winning their last five in the league and Tottenham unbeaten in 10 league games, the derby was all set to be a cracker just days after Bonfire Night. But perhaps predictably, both sides ended up with a point apiece, although Mauricio Pochettino will be slightly disappointed they didn’t leave the Emirates with a win.
An incredibly open start showed that neither side would be happy with sitting back. Alexis Sanchez created the first real chance after five minutes, but his searching pass couldn’t be gathered by Joel Campbell who had scampered into the box.
The hosts certainly started the better and with Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Sanchez all buzzing in and around Tottenham’s half, it was very much a containing job for the first portion of the game, with the young axis of Dele and Dier initially struggling to prevent the trio’s intricate play.
After 20 minutes, with Arsenal unable to build on their pressure, Spurs started to get a hold of themselves and generated the first scoring opportunity. Christian Eriksen’s free kick met the head of Eric Dier at the far post, but couldn’t trouble the imposing Petr Cech.
From a frantic start, Spurs soon began to dominate the half. The Spurs backline were comfortable. For all of Arsenal’s flair, none of it was on show in the first half.
For all of Arsenal’s early pressure, they failed to register a shot of any note in the first 30 minutes, let alone a shot on target.
But Spurs’ first shot on target resulted in the game’s first goal.
Danny Rose’s wonderful pass from the left sprung the offside trap for Harry Kane and clear through on goal, lifted the ball calmly over Cech to send the away side into the lead.
The Kane from a month ago maybe would have lashed at that and panicked. This time around, there was no panicking. As cool as you like, his first appearance at the Emirates came with it his sixth goal in four games.
For a game like this, it was a relief to see Mousa Dembele’s strength; being able to occasionally break through Arsenal’s midfield and expel some pressure away from the Spurs backline.
Dele Alli was giving Santi Cazorla a horrendous time; nullifying the silky Spaniard’s ability to move the ball forward and pressuring him at every turn. Cazorla was sacrificed at halftime for Mathieu Flamini in a bid to add steel to the midfield by Arsene Wenger.
It was no guess that Arsenal had to come fast out of the blocks second half and Campbell produced a fine shot from the edge of the area which Hugo Lloris had to tip wide just two minutes after the restart.
It was then Tottenham who had the chance to make it two. Lovely interplay between Eriksen and Kane sent the former away down the right, before his angled shot deflected off Flamini agonisingly wide of Cech’s far post.
A rare moment of clumsiness from Dembele gave an Arsenal a free kick and an in-swinging cross was met with a free header from Olivier Giroud, who from five yards should have scored and not hit the bar.
And just before the hour mark from Ozil’s corner, Giroud should have scored again from a header, but yet again it was a glorious chance gone begging.
Arsenal were looking more dangerous as Spurs were playing fast and loose by giving away too many silly fouls and losing too many aerial battles. But Arsenal looked tired and in uncharacteristic fashion, kept making sloppy mistakes in possession.
Even Cech was lackadaisical, venturing out of his penalty area, only to be fortunate that Erik Lamela’s tackle didn’t result in a catastrophic second for the visitors.
Spurs were pushing for a second and if Cech hadn’t saved smartly from Toby Alderweireld’s header, it would have been game over with 20 minutes to go.
As Arsenal fans’ anxiety grew louder, so did the frequency in which they continued to be sloppy. With the cautioned Lamela treading a fine line, as he has done all season, Heung-Min Son returned to Premier League action for the first time in a month, after recovering from a foot injury.
But in cruel and undeserved twist of fate, Kieran Gibbs, sent on further forward, bundled home Ozil’s superb whipped cross, which Lloris failed to keep out. It was a huge blow to Tottenham who defended so well, yet, had struggled to deal with Arsenal’s crossing all game.
With just over 10 minutes to go, the Arsenal faithful roared into life and for the first time in the game, Spurs found themselves struggling against the tide.
Every ball that Arsenal and indeed Ozil proceeded to cross into the box, they won. It was unusual for Arsenal to be so dominant in the air when they’ve been used to being so dominant on the ground. But just as Bayern Munich had come unstuck at the Emirates, the same tactics deployed against Spurs were a frequent source of nuisance.
With chances spurned from either side, it was a case of neither side doing enough to force the issue, but Arsene Wenger will certainly be the happier of two managers for the way his side dug deep to level the game.
For Tottenham, their young side continues to grow from strength to strength and with Dele Alli once again at the heart of everything positive from Spurs, they’ve raised a fair few eyebrows this season with their unity as a squad clearly paying dividends.
There’s no limit to what Pochettino’s young Spurs side can achieve this season and with 11 matches unbeaten in the Premier League, Tottenham are becoming more than just contenders to finish in the top four this season.
