PREMIERLEAGUE

ARSENAL 2 (Romero og 26, Saka pen 54)  

SPURS 2 (Son 42, 55)

ARSENAL and Spurs shared the spoils in a scrappy north London derby that had more bookings than meaningful chances.

The Gunners by recent high standards looked dis-organised and leggy from Wednesday’s Champions League clash with PSV.

Fans will be remembering how all those big European nights often sapped the squad’s energy for the following fixture.

Manager Arteta was forced to make changes with Leandro Trossard joining Gabriel Martinelli on the injury list – while Declan Rice was taken off at half time with a bad back.

Arteta said the reason for the disappointing draw were “obvious”, bemoaning “simple giveaways” and a “lack of composure”.

He added: “I’m very disappointed. We pushed, we pushed, we pushed – but lacked the quality in the final passing.”

“I think we finished the game very strong. But there were moments when we we played super hype. And you can’t do that.”

There was tense atmosphere for most of the second half with both sets of fans not wanting to take a draw but also desperate to avoid defeat.

Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz both blazed shots over-the-bar, while opposing keepers David Raya and Guglielmo Vicario each made spectacular saves.

Eddie Nketiah was kept upfront for 100 minutes despite offering very little of a threat.

With first and second choice wingers injured, he was played down the middle with Jesus pushed out to the left side.

The Arsenal number 14 cut a frustrated figure, as he so often does, strolling around with his shoulders sagged and looking like he doesn’t believe he is going to score.

He at times seems more interested in conserving energy than busting a gut to get into space.

Defenders must love playing against him because he is so easily bounced off the ball.

Not particularly fast of skillful or blessed with a deadly shot, it is hard to see why manager Mikel Arteta – so brutal when it comes to other players, like Ozil or Aubameyang, and most recently Aaron Ramsdale – shows such faith in him.

A popular alternative would have been Emile Smith Rowe on the wing and Jesus, who is more of a presence, kept in the middle.

But Arsenal’s number 10 was brought on with two minutes of injury time remaining.

Fabio Vieira also failed to impress after being given the nod over Havertz. He was replaced by the summer signing at half time.

The game started well for the Gunners with Christian Romero kneeing a shot from Bukayo Saka into his own net.

Saka ran over to the corner flag and aped a James Maddison’s on-the-oche-style darts celebration.

But the Tottenham midfielder got his own back soon-after, breezing around his England team mate and cutting it back from the byline to Son, who reacted faster than the three defenders around him and clipped-in to the far corner.

The equaliser had come after a brief spell of pressure at the end of the first half and following a flurry of saves from David Raya, once again preferred to Aaron Ramsdale.

A penalty was awarded after Romero’s outstretched hand stopped a goal bound shot.

Saka chipped it down the middle, but the celebrations had barely finished when Son equalised again.

Jorginho, on the injured Rice at half time, made a terrible mistake while dilly-dallying on the ball just after the restart.

He was pounced on and Son was put through with time to slot past Raya.

When asked about Jorginho’s bungle, Arteta said: “I love him and we love him. They are allowed to make errors.”

With all the talk about Raya and Ramsdale, Vicario looks like a strong signing for Spurs.

He made a superb save from a Jesus in the first half and looked solid faced with tricky situations.

Raya had the save of the match though, dramatically clawing-away what looked like a certain goal from Brendan Johnson.

Tottenham were causing trouble for themselves trying to pass it out from the back.

But they also looked dangerous gong forward, particularly when the ball fell to Kulusevski – who has a similar calm composure of Saja.

The Gunners turned up the pressure in the 10 minutes of injury time. But they were lacking a cutting edge today and will have to regroup quickly with an injury crisis growing.

Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Rice (Jorginho 45), Vieira (Havertz), Odegaard, Saka (Rowe 94), Jesus (Nelson 80), Nketiah
Subs not used: Ramsdale, Kiwior, Soares, Tomiyasu, Elneny,

Spurs: Vicario, Son (Richarlison 78), Bissouma, Maddison (Holjberg 78), Romero, Kulusevski, Johnson (Solomon 62) Porro, Sarr, Ven, Udogie
Subs not used: Forster, Skipp, Royal, Dier, Davies, Velitz

Attendance 60156