Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham Hotspurs: Spoils Shared at the Emirates, Saka Scores Spot-kick for the Gunners, Heung-Min Son Bags Brace for the Lilywhite
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspurs battled to a frenetic 2-2 draw in the 194th installment of the North London derby, which went down at the Emirates stadium on Sunday afternoon.
A fantastic first half of action began in the opening quarter, when Gabriel Jesus latched onto Bukayo Saka’s cross but his shot was tipped away spectacularly by Spurs goalkeeper Vicario.
The Gunners only had to wait for another ten minutes to find the breakthrough as Bukayo Saka’s strike was deflected off Spurs defender Christian Romero and into the back of the net.
A brilliant one-handed save from David Raya in the 39th minute kept out Brennan Johnson’s effort as the visitors sought an equalizer.
The leveller did come three minutes later (42nd minute) when summer signing James Maddison did brilliantly on the left, before picking out Heung-Min Son who finished first time past David Raya as opening period ended all square.
In the second half, Mikel Arteta’s side put their noses in front albeit through fortuitous circumstances. Spurs defender Christian Romero was adjudged by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to have handled in the area which led to a penalty for Arsenal. Bukayo Saka stepped up and converted from twelve yards to give the home side the advantage in the 54th minute.
Arsenal’s lead only endured for 98 seconds as James Maddison combined once again with skipper Heung-Min Son, whose effort found the back of the net to bring Tottenham Hotspurs level. The goal was the South Korean’s 150th strike for the Lilywhites.
Both sides went in search of the winner but eventually had to settle for a share of the spoils, as they both have 14 points from their opening six PL games and are four points behind reigning champions and table-toppers Manchester City.
56′ MIN: James Maddison steals possession, breaks forward before slotting in Heung-Min Son for his second!
GOOOAAALLL!!! Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham Hotspurs (B. Saka)
54′ MIN: Bukayo Saka tucks away the penalty to restore the lead for the hosts.
PENALTY!!! To Arsenal
52′ MIN: The Gunners are awarded a spot-kick after a VAR review.
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY AT THE EMIRATES STADIUM: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspurs
HALF-TIME AT THE EMIRATES STADIUM: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspurs
GOOOAAALLL!!! Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspurs (S. Heung-Min)
40′ MIN: James Maddison does brilliantly on the left, he picks out Heung-Min Son who finishes first time past David Raya.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham Hotspurs (Own Goal – C. Romero)
26′ MIN: Bukayo Saka’s effort deflects off Cristian Romero and past Guglielmo Vicario to put the Gunners ahead.
KICK-OFF AT THE EMIRATES STADIUM: Arsenal 0-0 Tottenham Hotspurs
This blockbuster encounter is the 194th edition of the famous North London derby, with both teams eyeing each other’s scalp as the race to keep up with leaders Manchester City intensifies.
The Gunners come into this clash off the back of a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, which saw them preserve their unbeaten run across all competitions this season. A win over their fierce neighbours would see Mikel Arteta’s side reduce the gap at the summit to just two points.
Tottenham Hotspurs on the other hand, are also unbeaten in the domestic top-flight this campaign. Their absence from European competition this term means that coach Ange Postecoglou has had enough time to work on his team, while his players have gotten a longer recovery time than their opponents.
