Share of spoils a fair results at the Emirates
Only the fans who did not watch the game will have ended up feeling underwhelmed with the 1-1 score line of today’s North London derby.
The story behind the score line is far more different though and here are our 5 conclusions from the match to help you get the full scope of proceedings at the Emirates stadium:
Fair Result
At first glance it might sound a bit disappointing knowing that the great North London derby was solved through an own-goal and a penalty kick, but the Sunday’s encounter between Arsenal and Tottenham lacked no passion whatsoever.
Arsenal exerted great pressure straight from the off and their pressure paid off after 42 minutes when Kevin Wimmer headed Mesut Ozil’s free-kick into his own net. In all fairness, Laurent Koscielny and Alexis Sanchez would have done it themselves if the Tottenham defender failed to get to the ball first.
Tottenham got back in the game at the opening stages of the second half when Laurent Koscielny was harshly penalised for a foul on Mousa Dembele in the box. Harry Kane converted the spot-kick on his return.
Result did not change until the end despite both sides putting a lot of good effort to get their foot up front.
Arsenal’s wait continues
Gunners will have been disappointed not to win against Tottenham.
A point against Spurs puts them in third place in the standings for the time being, and instead of going top of the league, Gunners could be demoted to fourth if Liverpool win their game against Watford.
Arsene Wenger’s men headed into the Sunday’s clash on the back of a wonderful run of fifteen games without defeat in all competitions and were feeling quite optimistic regarding their chances against Mauricio Pochettino’s men.
And even though they managed to extend the purple patch, Arsenal have failed to beat Tottenham in the league at home once more, adding another game to their run dating until 2013. This run is the first time since Arsene Wenger took over that Arsenal have gone 5 Premier League games without a win over Spurs.
Harry Kane’s return a timely impetus
Spurs fans’ desperation was ended upon the confirmation that Harry Kane would start for Tottenham in the north London derby against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.
England international striker spent seven weeks on the sidelines leaving his team struggling to find their footing of late.
Tottenham were on a run of six games without a win, a disappointing stretch which now runs to seven after the 1-1 stalemate at the Emirates.
Harry Kane’s return was a timely boost for the Spurs as the England international striker went on to score the only goal for his team. Kane sent the ball home from the confident penalty shot after 50 minutes, thus scoring his 5th North London derby goal.
Today’s goal puts Kane in the company with Gareth Bale and legendary Arsenal striker Thierry Henry when it comes to best-ever scorers in this fiercely rivalled game.
Kane enjoys playing against Arsenal as the Tottenham striker scored five of his team’s last six goals against Arsenal, with Toby Alderweireld sandwiching one in between.
Gunners lacked a cutting edge
Free-scoring Arsenal fired fifteen goals in their last 5 matches in all competitions and the fans were hopeful that Gunners would continue their exploits against their archenemies.
Tottenham’s in-form defence line managed to prevent Arsenal from continuing their scoring form with incredible display at the back. Spurs were confined to their own half for the good part of the game and were forced to work hard in front of Hugo Lloris’ goal, but Arsenal will have more than Tottenham’s defence to blame for lack of goals today.
Walcott, Ozil, Iwobi and Sanchez created great number of goal chances attempting to score on even 15 occasions, but have failed to beat the Spurs goalkeeper.
Technically speaking, Arsenal did not score a single goal on Sunday as it was Wimmer who put the ball in his own net which is another detail to confirm that Arsenal lacked a cutting blade up front during the Sunday’s North London derby.
Mousa Dembele put in a Man of the Match performance
Dele Alli’s injury update prior to the game at the Emirates came as a huge blow to Tottenham’s chances, but it at the same time allowed one particular player to shine against Arsenal.
The 29-year-old Belgium international midfielder took the responsibility of filling the shoes of his more attack-oriented teammate and putting in the Man of the Match display.
Dembele came off injured during Tottenham’s Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen at Wembley after just half an hour, but the knock allowed him to get back in time for the Sunday’s duel.
His brave, hands-on approach to the game allowed Dembele to complete treble the amount of take-ons Arsenal’s entire team managed to do, which is only one detail illustrating his impact against Arsenal.
Dembele was commanding the centre of the part at the Emirates, deservedly earning wide-spread praise for his overall performance – 6 take-ons, 3 tackles won, 3 blocks and 2 interceptions.
ARSENAL: Cech 6.5 – Bellerin 6.5, Mustafi 7.5, Koscielny 7.5, Monreal 7.5 – Coquelin 6 (Ramsey 6), Xhaka 7 – Walcott 7 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 6), Ozil 7, Iwobi 6.5 (Giroud 6) – Sanchez 6.5
Unused subs: Elneny, Gibbs, Ospina, Gabriel
TOTTENHAM: Lloris 7 – Dier 7, Wimmer 6, Verthongen 7 – Walker 6.5 (Trippier 6.5), Wanyama 7, Dembele 8, Rose 7 – Eriksen 7, Son 6.5 (Winks 6) – Kane 7 (Janssen 6.5)
Unused subs: Carter-Vickers, N’Koudou, Onomah, Vorm
REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg
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