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Arsenal and Tottenham fought out a 2-2 draw in a pulsating North London Derby.
Arsenal broke the deadlock in the 26th minute as Bukayo Saka’s shot was deflected in by defender Cristian Romero. Saka cut inside and his curled effort was sent looping past Guglielmo Vicario by the Spurs vice-captain.
Tottenham equalised three minutes before half-time when Son Heung-min slotted home after James Maddison picked him out from the byline. A few seconds earlier, David Raya had flapped at a cross and Arsenal failed to get it clear.
In between the goals, Gabriel Jesus blazed over the bar after dispossessing Maddison on the edge of his own box – and it proved to be a crucial moment. Arsenal were awarded a penalty straight after half-time when Romero blocked Ben White’s shot with his hand.
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It was initially not given but VAR asked referee Robert Jones to take a look at the incident on the pitchside monitor and he pointed to the spot. Saka cheekily chipped home the penalty to restore his side’s lead.
However, the lead lasted a matter of seconds thanks to an awful blunder from Jorginho – a half-time replacement for the injured Declan Rice – who lost the ball to Maddison. He slipped in Son, who passed the ball beyond Raya.
Both sides could have won it thereafter. A draw was a fair result but Spurs left the Emirates the happier side. Daily Star Sport picks out four things Gunners boss Mikel Arteta got wrong…
Not signing a top-class centre-forward
They may have scored twice but Arsenal’s lack of a top-class striker was obvious as they took the game to Spurs in the closing stages. Despite his recent England call-up, Eddie Nketiah isn’t that man.
He’s a good but not a great ‘number nine’. Too often, when the ball was in the danger area, he wasn’t sniffing around the chance like some of his legendary predecessors – Ian Wright springs to mind – would have been. The Gunners have plenty of talented attacking players, but no one like Haaland, Kane or Salah. That was made abundantly obvious in the derby.
Sending Havertz on
While one of Arsenal’s half-time changes, Jorginho for the injured Declan Rice, was enforced, it seems Kai Havertz for Fabio Vieira was optional. It was a surprise as Vieira had a decent first half, one which Arsenal dominated for 35 minutes, remember. Did the Gunners need a personnel change or just kick up the backside and a reminder of why they’d been so dominant?
You have to feel for the much-maligned Havertz, who continually looks short of confidence. But the decision to bring him on so early, especially when there were other options, looks flawed.
Letting Maddison into the game
Maddison has been superb since arriving from Leicester, slotting into his new surroundings seamlessly. It doesn’t take a tactical mastermind to work out that giving the playmaker time and space is a cardinal sin – and Gunners barely gave him an inch in the first half-hour. They stifled him at every opportunity, forcing him to drop deeper and deeper.
At one point in the first half, after collecting the ball on the edge of his own box, he was robbed by Jesus, who should have made the net bulge. He was given a huge let-off as the Brazilian blazed over with just Vicario to beat.
That miss seemed to galvanise Spurs, who enjoyed their best spell of the game straight after. Maddison was central to the recovery, setting up both of Son’s goals as Arsenal’s early approach of getting bodies around him ASAP him fell by the wayside.
Not targeting Tottenham’s left enough
Arsenal had great success exploiting Tottenham’s left in the first half when Destiny Udogie, who picked up an early booking, was run ragged. That’s how the opening goal came as Saka raced forward before his curling shot was sliced into his own net by Romero.
In his defence, Udogie received little in the way of support from youngster Brennan Johnson, who was thrown into the side by Ange Postecoglou. But it was an area Arsenal failed to exploit nearly enough as Tottenham grew in confidence and took a foothold in the game.
- Premier League
- Arsenal FC
- Tottenham Hotspur FC
- Mikel Arteta
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