LONDON — Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
[ RECAP: Arsenal, Spurs share the spoils ]
Harry Kane‘s first half strike was canceled out by Kieran Gibbs‘ late leveler, as two Londoners were on the scoresheet, and the honors were even in an end-to-end derby between two bitter rivals.
Here’s three things we learned from an enthralling derby at the Emirates.
COOL KANE RED-HOT
Time seemed to stand still as Danny Rose‘s clipped ball over the top skipped off the perfect surface at the Emirates and Kane had nobody around him. Spurs’ main man was through on goal. The lad from north London had a glorious chance to put his team ahead and, unlike earlier this season when his confidence in front of goal evaded him, he took it with aplomb. With Per Mertesacker dropping off and Laurent Koscielny stepping up, Arsenal’s defense was at sixes and sevens and Kane took advantage of it. The England international, 22, has now scored five goals in his last three Premier League games which comes after a run of just one in his opening nine games of the campaign. Slowly but surely the PFA Young Player of the Year who scored 31 times last season in all competitions has reemerged. Kane’s confidence is sky-high.
We know that Spurs are solid at the back and Mauricio Pochettino has built a side capable of pressing high, not allowing other teams to dictate the tempo. That will keep them in most games this season and Kane’s goals will win them plenty. With Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela buzzing in around Kane, Spurs’ solid defensive unit has plenty of targets to hit when they get on the ball. As for Kane, he’s back to his best and hitting the target and scoring goals. Arsenal’s late show denied him being the hero in a north London derby for a second-straight season.
SPURS PERSONAL DUELS
Spurs’ came so close to winning the north London derby not solely because of Kane’s cool finish but because they won personal duels all over the pitch. In midfield the trio of Mousa Dembele (who was magnificent), Dele Alli and Eric Dier dominated Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin with the former being subbed out at half time by Arsene Wenger, such was his subdued first half. In central defense the Belgian duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen marshaled Olivier Giroud in open play, even though the Frenchman hit the bar and came inches away from scoring with another header from set pieces in the second half. That’s an area they must work on. In the first half a flash-point arrived as Giroud first fell to the ground when tussling with Vertonghen and the French striker got to his feet before flailing an arm which caught Vertonghen in the face, who also hit the floor. Spurs’ high energy antagonized Arsenal all game long and until Gibbs’ late equalizer, Spurs could have easily extended their lead with Kane, Eriksen and Alderweireld all being denied by Petr Cech and Arsenal’s defenders who threw themselves at everything. Pochettino has got his team well-organized and they look dangerous in the final third. Only five points off the top, Spurs can perhaps dream of more than a top four finish this season.
ARSENAL RALLY DESPITE SHAKY DEFENSE
Substitute Gibbs grabbed Arsenal a point — just 181 seconds after replacing the hard-working but ineffective Joel Campbell — and in truth, it was probably what they deserved after a second half where they dug deep and peppered the Spurs box with high-crosses and teasing passes. After a week which has seen them first beat Swansea City away and then take a midweek pasting at Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League, it was an admirable fightback after a subdued first half performance. Throughout the game there were numerous defensive mistakes from the Gunners. We’ve already highlighted Koscielny and Mertesacker’s miscommunication for Kane’s goal and in recent games the Gunners center backs have suffered from stepping up and leaving a forward in acres of space (see: Gabriel pushing up to let in Lewandowski).
Then in the 57th minute a monumental mistake from Cech almost let Lamela and Spurs in to make it 2-0. Arsenal’s goalkeeper, who saved superbly from Eriksen and Alderweireld in the second half, tried to dribbled out of the back after a miscommunication with his defenders. If Arsenal are genuine title contenders, and their overall play and grit to rally late on against a top six team proves they are, they have to cut out silly defensive mistakes which will cost them dear in the long run. As it is, Mesut Ozil’s sublime cross to the back post picked out Gibbs and the Gunners sit joint-top in the PL after almost a third of the season gone.