Harry Kane’s contested penalty put Spurs level with 16 minutes left after Aaron Ramsey’s coolly taken 16th-minute goal threatened to inflict a third successive league defeat on boss Mauricio Pochettino for the first time in his reign.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw a last-minute penalty saved by Hugo Lloris to cost Arsenal victory and ensure Tottenham retained a crucial advantage over their arch-rivals in the battle for a top-four place after a dramatic north London derby at Wembley.
Arsenal were then handed a golden opportunity to close to within one point of Spurs after Davinson Sanchez fouled Aubameyang, but the striker’s tame penalty was easily saved low to his right by the diving Lloris.
And to add to the late chaos, Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira was sent off for a reckless challenge on Danny Rose in the closing seconds.
After Ramsey’s strike, keeper Bernd Leno kept Arsenal on level terms with a miraculous double save from Christian Eriksen and Moussa Sissoko but the Gunners paid a heavy price for a glaring second-half miss from striker Alexandre Lacazette before Aubamayeng’s wayward spot-kick.
Lacazette failed to hit the target from eight yards and Spurs took advantage, Kane scoring from the spot to equalise after referee Anthony Taylor adjudged he was fouled by Shkodran Mustafi.
Arsenal were also angry as they believed offside should have been given in the build-up but Kane stayed calm amid the chaos to send Leno the wrong way from the spot for his ninth goal in this fixture and keep Spurs four points ahead of Unai Emery’s side.
The Gunners, however, have only themselves to blame after wasting that late chance to seal a league double over Spurs.
Spurs show grit but little inspiration
Spurs proved once again they possess real resilience as they battled to earn this point – but there is no escaping that this has been an indifferent week for Pochettino’s side.
Seven days ago, Tottenham still harboured outside hopes of the Premier League title but a return of one point from away games at Burnley and Chelsea and this Wembley derby against Arsenal have snuffed out those aspirations.
And in the end, they will be grateful to Arsenal’s wastefulness for a draw that maintains their four-point gap over their local rivals in fourth, and six over Manchester United in fifth.
There were pluses for Spurs in the outstanding performance of Moussa Sissoko but they currently look a side short on spark, summed up by Kieran Trippier’s lack of confidence, the defender who was an England hero when they reached the World Cup semi-final in the summer feeling the full fury of his own fans for one wayward second-half cross.
Tottenham can at least look at that important advantage over Arsenal but they looked short of energy and inspiration here as they take a 3-0 lead to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Arsenal’s self-inflicted wounds
Arsenal manager Emery will have seen plenty to please him in this eventful encounter – but he will know his side missed a huge chance to turn up the pressure on Spurs in the race for a top-four place.
Emery’s initial team selection, which saw Aubameyang, Torreira and Mesut Ozil on the bench, raised eyebrows but it almost resulted in a win that would have put them within one point of Spurs, only for Arsenal to suffer from self-inflicted wounds.
Lacazette was a major culprit having been given the nod ahead of Aubameyang, wasting an early chance then repeating his mistake in the second half, skewing wide from close range after superb build-up play from Alex Iwobi and Nacho Monreal.
It would have given Arsenal a two-goal cushion and only increased the tension mounting around Wembley at that time.
Arsenal were aggrieved with the penalty decision, claiming for offside and believing Mustafi’s push on Kane was a soft one, although the defender allowed himself to get in a poor position.
The final anguish was Aubameyang’s lackadaisical penalty after he was fouled by Davinson Sanchez, showing no urgency or intent and giving Lloris a relative easy save.
This was a result that could have been much better – and Arsenal may yet look back on it as a very damaging one in their pursuit of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Man of the match – Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham)
We are doing it our way’ – what they said
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: “I am so happy because we didn’t deserve to lose the game – we were better than them so it would be a shame to lose the game in that way.
“I am happy with the performance, it was a tough game and difficult to play Arsenal but I am happy after two defeats to take a positive result to build confidence for Tuesday, to go to Borussia Dortmund and go through to the next stage of the Champions League.”
Arsenal manager Unai Emery: “We are fine in our way, being competitive and adapting our performance. It demanded a lot of transition for us and it is good, not the result because we can win, but we can be stronger in our mentality after this match going forward.
“We are thinking each match for three points, to continue in our way, our target is clear. We can be proud of everybody in our work. We showed everybody we are creating and doing it our way.”
Spurs finally draw a game – the stats
- The result ends Tottenham’s run of 28 Premier League games without a draw – the third longest run ever without a draw from the start of a top-flight season.
- Arsenal remain the only side in the Premier League yet to register an away clean sheet this season.
- Meetings between Spurs and Arsenal in the Premier League have seen both sides score on 36 occasions – more than any other fixture in the competition.
- No fixture in Premier League history has seen more goals from penalties than the 18 between these two clubs.
- Aaron Ramsey has been directly involved in three of Arsenal’s last four Premier League goals against Tottenham.
- Arsenal’s Alexandre Lacazette has registered a goal involvement in four consecutive Premier League games for the first time ever.
- And Lacazette has now been directly involved in 36 goals in the Premier League for Arsenal since his debut in August 2017, more than any other player.
- Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored nine goals in nine Premier League north London derbies, eclipsing the eight scored by Emmanuel Adebayor.
- Kane has scored nine of Tottenham’s last 12 Premier League goals against Arsenal.
What’s next?
Tottenham take a 3-0 lead into the second-leg of their Champions League last-16 tie away to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday (20:00 GMT), while Arsenal travel to Rennes for the first leg of their last-16 meeting on Thursday (17:55 GMT).
Source: BBC News
