Derby spoils shared

Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham

There was a great feeling of disappointment on Saturday evening as the final whistle was blown at the Emirates Stadium. For those dressed in red and white, a final score line of 1-1 felt more like a defeat, while in the bottom far corner of the stadium, Tottenham supporters celebrated as if they had just won the league. The vast difference between the two clubs was perfectly encapsulated in this moment.

Tottenham had made the short trip across North London with one aim in mind; to secure a point. Their plan was clear for all to see, as even in the first half, with the score still 0-0; Hugo Lloris began wasting as much time as possible. It was as if the game had entered the last few minutes of injury time and the visitors were ahead. Tottenham showed absolutely no ambition whatsoever. Adebayor was said to have been extremely fired up for the game against his former club, but was hardly in the match. Rarely has Szczesny been so underworked in what should be one of the biggest games of the season.

Arsenal on the other hand were enjoying plenty of possession, as much as 70% at times, but during the first half in particular, were struggling to open up the Tottenham defence. It is a problem which has affected the Gunners time and time again this season and must cause Wenger a great deal of concern. On paper, Arsenal possess one of the most potent attacking midfield departments in the entire league, yet they cannot consistently create goal scoring opportunities. This problem was more pronounced on Saturday as Tottenham didn’t really press the ball, they sat back giving the Gunners plenty of time and space to pick out their passes. With Danny Welbeck, a willing runner in attack, Arsenal’s midfield should be able to pick out his runs with clever through balls, but rarely do so. On Saturday, Welbeck performed well in the first half, but unfortunately seemed to go missing during the second period as his hold up play and first touch let him down.

Yet Arsenal’s build up play was also painfully slow at times. When Mertesacker had the ball at his feet, time seemed to stand still as the German took an eternity to pick out what was more often than not a very simple and straightforward pass. As a result Tottenham had plenty of time to get men behind the ball and restricted the Gunners to mainly shots from distance which tended to be straight at the goalkeeper.

Any momentum the home side had built up was also disrupted by injuries suffered to both Arteta and Ramsey, forcing the midfielders out of the game in the first half. As a result, Arsenal were now rather hamstrung as Wenger was extremely restricted when considering how to change the game with his one and only remaining substitution, a situation which would cost the Gunners late in the game.

The Gunners raced out of the blocks right from the start of the second half as they piled on the pressure in search of the opener. Kaboul was forced into a last ditch clearance from a Cazorla shot, Ozil forced Lloris into a save before Kaboul made another clearance, this time from a Kieran Gibbs cross. It was all Arsenal and it seemed just a matter of time before the deadlock would be broken as the Gunners launched wave after wave of attack.

In the 56^th minute the breakthrough was made but completely against the run of play, it was Tottenham who opened the scoring. Arsenal only had themselves to blame as it was an entirely self-inflicted wound. Chambers played a pass back to Mertesacker, who was under pressure, but rather than clear the ball up field, the German decided to pass to Flamini, who himself was being closed down by Eriksen. The Frenchman was duly dispossessed and before the Gunners could react, Chadli was through on goal and slotting the ball into the net. Gibbs had pushed up when the ball was still with Mertesacker and therefore was out of position when Chadli was played through. Wenger should advise his full backs to hold station until the ball is in the midfield as they tend to get caught out far too often.

Arsenal had to dig deep and respond. It would have been easy for the Gunners to feel sorry for themselves having dominated the game, but Wenger’s side simply picked up from where they had left off before the goal. In fact two minutes after going behind, the home team could have been on level terms once again, as Mertesacker’s header forced Lloris into a desperate save, only just managing to claw the ball off the line at the second attempt. Shortly afterwards, Calum Chambers unleashed a sweet volley which agonisingly sailed just over the bar.

Tottenham’s players were wasting time at every opportunity, highlighting their lack of ambition and the fact this is undoubtedly just a small club. But Arsenal kept on going and got their just reward with only 15 minutes left. Sanchez, who had replaced Wilshere, saw a shot come cross, cause panic in the Tottenham defence. Welbeck took a swing at the ball and missed it completely, but Oxlade-Chamberlain was on hand to slam a shot into the top corner, sending the home crowd into wild celebration.

Had Wenger not been forced into two early substitutions, this would have been the perfect opportunity to bring on some fresh legs and really press home the advantage. Unfortunately despite completely dominating the final stages, the Gunners just could not force home the winner. Corner after corner after corner came and went as Arsenal frustratingly failed to find the right delivery time and time again, something which must be worked on in the training.

In similar fashion to the recent match against Manchester City, the home side had to settle for a point in the end from a game they had richly deserved to win. The Gunners must find a way to secure victory in such situations as these are the points that can win or lose you league titles. Injuries are now mounting up too and it is difficult to see Arsenal getting anything from their next league game away to Chelsea.