Arsenal produced a stunning comeback to come away with a 2-2 draw in what was a whirlwind North London derby at the Emirates. A calamitous start for the gunners had fans fearing the worst, but Emery’s men showed admirable character to steady the ship as the 199th meeting of the sides ended with honours even.
As it happened
Before kick-off Arsenal fans were salivating at the thought of Aubameyang, Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe finally lining up together in a flat 4-3-3. Indeed, early signs were positive as the gunners enjoyed plenty of the ball, with Aubameyang giving makeshift right-back Davinson Sanchez the runaround on the left wing. Christian Eriksen’s goal however, coming after 10 minutes, would be a damning illustration of how the first half would play out.
It was a story of schoolboy positioning; a long ball into the middle drew in the Arsenal defence before the ball broke to Heung Min Son who could not believe his luck as he charged towards the gunners back line. A simple run ahead of him by Erik Lamela lead to a somewhat tame shot on goal, Leno could only parry straight into the path of Christian Eriksen who made no mistake in giving Spurs the lead. As easy as that, Sokratis and David Luiz in no man’s land as Unai Emery was left pulling the first of many tortured facial expressions during a torrid first 45 minutes.
The home fans inside the Emirates feared the worst as, like clockwork, one line-breaking pass or one successful dribble would simply bypass Arsenal’s midfield three and leave Eriksen, Lamela, Son and Kane driving at Arsenal’s wayward back four. Arsenal’s possession counted for very little with Leno the much busier keeper, making an unbelievable save from Son as he cut in from the left, the kind of shot Premier League fans have been accustomed to seeing fly into the top corner.
It was not long before the threat materialised into Spurs’ second goal as a characteristically clumsy tackle from Granit Xhaka left Martin Atkinson with no choice but to point to the spot. You’d be a brave man to bet against Kane from 12 yards, and true enough he was typically deadly in dispatching the spot kick low and left into the side netting for his 10th goal in 10 North London derbies. Leno no chance, 0-2 Spurs.
Tottenham’s threat on the counter-attack persisted but Arsenal finally got their crucial goal just before half-time. Winger Nicolas Pepe saw a gap from out wide to pass it into the feet of Lacazette before the Frenchman showed impeccable close control in the box, creating the space to lash the ball past Hugo Lloris on his left foot. He stopped and stared at the crowd behind the goal as he knew he had just delivered a dagger to the stomach of Pocchetino’s men.
The momentum shift was evident going into the second half, but the game remained end to end as both sides had notable chances early on. The sublime Matteo Guendouzi forced a low save from Lloris, whilst at the other end Kane unleashed a fierce strike against the post after a neat one-two with Christian Eriksen.
Arsenal were beginning to enjoy their best spell of the game as they reverted back to their more familiar 4-2-3-1 formation with crowd pleaser Dani Ceballos entering the fray and Aubameyang as the new spearhead. Finally, after 71 minutes the Emirates descended into euphoria as Aubameyang latched onto Guendouzi’s ball in to poke home. It was a goal of pure striking instinct from a player who’s goalscoring rate ranks right up there amongst the Premier League’s best.
The raucous crowd were right behind Arsenal as a winner seemed inevitable, however Spurs rode the storm until the final whistle. Moussa Sissoko had a golden opportunity to snatch the three points right at the death, but his poor form in front of goal continued as he blazed his chance well over the bar.
What did we learn?
It was the starting line-up that Gooners around the country had been crying out for, but defensively Arsenal were simply getting torn apart in the first half. What would normally be considered a stable midfield three of Torreira, Xhaka and Guendouzi were being bypassed far, far too easily by slick Spurs counter-attacks. Couple this with a central defensive pairing of David Luiz and Sokratis, two similarly physical but reckless ball winners, and Arsenal were essentially left in a state of defensive anarchy. It became evident rather quickly that against teams capable of slick passing, Arsenal’s central defence is going to need a more solid, calming influence to maintain positioning and break down attacks. In Luiz they have signed a very capable defender, but perhaps not of the kind they needed.
Elsewhere, the signing of Matteo Guendouzi seems to look more and more ingenious with each passing game. The midfielder, still just 20 years of age, truly began to stamp his authority on the centre of the park the more the game wore on. In a rollercoaster game where the tension was palpable, the youngster who signed in 2018 from the French second division was courageous throughout whilst his manager was visibly struggling to hold his nerve. Guendouzi showed once again what a fantastic signing he is for £7m, putting on a man of the match performance.
Spurs meanwhile should not feel too disheartened at the result. Pocchetino’s side were set up with a clear and obvious game plan, to counter-attack at pace and isolate the gunners’ back four, and for large spells of the game it worked perfectly. A large part of this was Heung Min Son, now into his fifth season in North London the South Korean is a notorious goal threat and his accurate shots from in and around the box could have been the difference barring Leno heroics. In the end Tottenham had to settle for a point, but with the momentum shift in the second half many of them may have been glad to see the game out.
Both teams now have two weeks to recover from a breathless encounter, with Spurs next hosting Crystal Palace, and Arsenal travelling to face Watford.
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