Arsenal held to a 1-1 draw by Spurs

Editorial Team 6 years ago

Mauricio Pochettino - former Tottenham Hotspur manager

Unai Emery made five changes to his side that dismantled Bournemouth 5-1 a few days back. The Arsenal fans were left to wonder why star striker Aubameyang and defensive midfielder Torreira were dropped. Twitter exploded with Arsenal fans questioning the Manager’s choice but it all made sense when the game started.

Emery deserted the formation with 3 centre-backs employed versus Bournemouth and Arsenal reverted back to the popular 4-2-3-1 formation. Centre-back Shkodran Mustafi started at the right-back role. Tottenham Hotspurs started with a back three and were outnumbered in the midfield due to Emery’s change in Arsenal’s formation. Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan gave Arsenal the width required with Aaron Ramsey tracking back when needed.

Spurs dominated the possession stat but Arsenal were sharp, organized and composed. Arsenal counter-attacked on every opportunity breaking quick. The tactic suited Mkhitaryan who has put stellar performances in a similar role for Dortmund – one of the best counter attacking sides in recent times. Lacazette released Ramsey who had acres of space in the attacking half and went one on one against Lloris. Ramsey dribbled past the French captain and slotted the ball into the back of the net scoring Arsenal’s first.

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Koscielny and Sokratis were solid in defence and kept Harry Kane quiet throughout the match. Christian Eriksen had a glorious opportunity from close range to equalize and Leno reacted to make a sharp save. The goal-keeper recovered in time to deny Sissoko from the rebound with a sensational save.

On the other end of the pitch, Monreal went past Trippier and found Lacatte who sent the ball flying into the stands missing the target by a huge margin. Mustafi who was playing in an unfamiliar position stayed on the defensive half for most parts of the game and spotted every run Danny Rose made on his flank. Despite a good performance, he conceded a penalty from a set-piece with a totally unnecessary challenge on Harry Kane. Arsenal would feel hard-done by the linesman who failed to raise the flag for offside right before Mustafi’s challenge on Kane. The English striker made no mistake and shot to the bottom right corner making it 1-1.

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Davidson Sanchez didn’t stop Lacazette from launching Ramsey in for the first goal and his evening didn’t seem to get better. He brought down substitute Aubameyang in the penalty box and the referee spotted it. The striker stepped forward and the tame shot from the penalty spot was easily saved by Lloris. Jan Vertonghen denied Iwobi from the rebound and Arsenal missed the chance to go 2-1 up.

Arsenal finished the fierce North London derby with 10 men at Wembley after Torreira was shown a red card for his rash challenge on Danny Rose. Arsenal face Manchester United at the Emirates next with the opportunity to enter the top 4. Third placed Tottenham are now 10 points adrift of league leaders Manchester City.

Editorial Team

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LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.