Final score: Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Arsenal
1. Coquelin was rash
There is no doubt that the turning point in this game was the red card received by Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin just before the hour mark.
Arsenal were leading 1-0 at the time thanks to a clever back-heel goal from Aaron Ramsey, but the momentum shifted in Tottenham’s favour when Coquelin was shown a second yellow card.
The Frenchman picked up his first booking for handball, before he was sent for an early bath by the referee after a heavy tackle on Harry Kane.
The 24-year old was sent off in the 55th minute and by the 62nd minute it was 2-1 to Spurs. On that note, I think he will have some apologies to make to his teammates and his manager.
2. Two points dropped for Spurs
After giving themselves a 2-1 lead against 10 men, Mauricio Pochettino’s men would have thought they could see the game out for a huge win.
Not only would they have had bragging rights over their local rivals, but they would have temporarily gone to the top of Premier League on goal difference – putting pressure on Leicester City going into their late kick-off at Watford.
Despite Kane’s screamer giving Tottenham the lead at White Hart Lane, they couldn’t hold on as Arsenal battled back to earn a point.
3. Arsenal rallied well
Arsenal are often criticised for conceding soft goals and losing games they probably shouldn’t do by turning in poor performances.
However, when their backs were against the wall today they showed some real bottle to claw their way back into the match.
Alexis Sanchez’s equaliser showed that they are made of stern stuff when they really want to be, they just don’t do it on a regular basis.
The way this Premier League season has gone it could be a very good point in the grand scheme of things for the Gunners, who knows?
4. Ospina did well
The recent news that Petr Cech would be out for four weeks was the last things Arsenal fans wanted to hear given their current run of poor form.
But David Ospina stepped in today for his fellow goalkeeper and did well in a white hot derby atmosphere.
This is the Colombian’s chance to prove himself for Arsenal, especially when he has a shot-stopper of Cech’s quality to compete with.
He needs to give Arsene Wenger a headache in terms of who will start between the sticks when Cech is fit again. Today’s performance wasn’t a bad start, even if he did concede two goals.
5. Leicester are the big winners
Leicester moved five points clear at the top of the pile after a 1-0 win at Watford thanks to a Riyad Mahrez strike.
But it was this result between Tottenham and Arsenal that helped them significantly, a draw was perfect for the Foxes.
Manchester City reignited their hopes with a 4-0 victory at home to rock-bottom Aston Villa, but you would think the gap between City and Claudio Ranieri’s men is just too big to close.
The fairytale story goes on.
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