The latest edition of the North London Derby ended in a hard-fought draw thanks to a Kevin Wimmer own goal and a Harry Kane penalty kick.
It could have been a much higher scoring affair due to the amount of chances created, but last-ditch tackles and strong saves from both ‘keepers kept it at one goal apiece.
game that went end-to-end for the full 90 minutes, the Derby was full of suspense, thrills, and certainly disappointments.
After a goalless draw against Middlesborough last weekend and a comeback win in the Champions League away to Ludogorets midweek, Arsenal needed a strong showing to get the three points on Sunday against Tottenham, but they were not totally convincing, and the scoreline proves that. It is evident the Gunners missed Santi Cazorla’s creativity in midfield just like Spurs missed Dele Alli’s athleticism and energy in theirs.
So, let’s take a look at the three stars of Sunday’s North London Derby:
Third Star: Son Hueng-min
Tottenham’s South Korean winger proved a threat on many occasions against the Arsenal defence. Whenever he got the ball on the counter-attack, chaos always ensued and a chance seemed to always be created when possessions started or ended with Son.
He was quite influential on the match for Spurs, as his pace on the left side combined with the freedom he had to get inside were a great combination and seemed to always threaten the Arsenal back line.
Second Star: Laurent Koscielny
Despite the fact that he was called for a soft foul in the box that led to a questionable penalty and equalizing goal for Harry Kane and Spurs, the French defender was great. He cleaned up every mess, made some extraordinarily timed tackles, and led by example the way a captain should.
He never got the benefit of the doubt from referee Mark Clattenburg, but even with some bad decisions that went against him, Koscielny had a stellar match.
First Star: Mesut Özil
The catalyst behind Arsenal’s only goal of the day, Özil was a brilliant as ever against the club’s bitter rivals. He got in great positions all throughout the 90 minutes, and he switched seamlessly between the number 10 role and the wings. He certainly could have used the strength and size of Olivier Giroud for the entire match as he is a great target for crosses, but the German still created chances for himself and others without the French forward.
In order to cause the Kevin Wimmer own goal, the star midfielder lofted a beautiful ball into perfect position for a header off a free kick near the corner of the box, which Wimmer headed right past his ‘keeper Hugo Lloris to give the hosts the lead.
Recap
It was far from the ideal match for Arsenal, but there are quite a few positives to take from the 1-1 draw. Good performances from Hector Bellerin, Francis Coquelin, and Nacho Monreal are encouraging for the supporters, but better performances are required from Alex Iwobi, Granit Xhaka, and Shkodran Mustafi in order to the club to get back to its winning ways. It is just a minor stumbling block, but there is a lot to learn from a match like this. We shall see if they learn from their mistakes after the international break.