The 10-man Gunners rescued a 2-2 draw in the north London thanks to Alexis Sanchez's late strike - but their title chances have still been damaged
A show of character at last from Arsenal, probably too little and too late to save their title chances, but at least it might be enough to prevent the Premier League trophy going to their bitter north London rivals.
Neither side will be happy with a 2-2 draw that was as much ‘typical Arsenal’ as it was ‘Spursy’. Leicester and Manchester City are the beneficiaries from a pulsating north London derby on Saturday that both sides will feel they should have won.
The regret for Arsenal will be the red card shown to Francis Coquelin in the 55th minute, a moment of madness as he slid in on Harry Kane when already booked. The Frenchman had his head in his hands before he even got to his feet to see the red card in the referee’s hand.
He knew what he had done, at a point in the match when the Gunners were 1-0 ahead thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s goal and in control of the game.
“He knows that he made a big mistake,” said Arsene Wenger. “We warned him at half-time. He wanted to do well and mistimed his tackle.
“He has to learn quickly from that. The top level is full commitment but in a controlled way.”
Arsenal had played for 55 minutes with discipline, focus and commitment that had been missing in recent weeks after they arrived at White Hart Lane on the back of three consecutive defeats. Coquelin’s crazy challenge meant they ended that unwanted run with a draw rather than a victory.
Within seven minutes of Coquelin’s dismissal, the Gunners had fallen 2-1 behind and it looked like Tottenham were about to end their season in style as the hosts swarmed all over Arsene Wenger’s men.
That is when they dug deep to live for another day. Having faced so much criticism for their weak mentality, Arsenal dragged themselves back into the game to show, after all, that they might have the character and fight needed to become champions after all.
They certainly deserve credit for this result. Supporters would have been forgiven for giving up once Harry Kane curled Tottenham 2-1 ahead with a stunner in the 62nd minute, but Arsenal stayed disciplined at the back, kept themselves in the match, and took their chance at the other end.
In the 76th minute, Alexis Sanchez, who had produced his best performance since returning from injury in January, latched on to a pass from Hector Bellerin and fired Arsenal level. The Chilean has spoken out this week about the poor mentality at the club and if everyone played with his spirit, Arsenal would be in a better position.
Even with 10 men, Arsenal looked dangerous on the counter-attack in the closing stages and Aaron Ramsey was only denied when through on goal by a tremendous challenge from Kevin Wimmer.
“Personally, I never questioned the character of this team, when you don’t win the games and you lose you have to accept that,” Wenger said.
“You have to respond on the pitch, that’s all you can do, and I think we did that today in a very convincing way.”
It may not be enough to save Arsenal’s season, not when they could end the day eight points behind Leicester if the league leaders beat Watford on Saturday.
In the context of the club’s attempts to win a first title since 2004, this is two dropped points that mean their chances are slipping further away.
The silver lining is that is puts a dent in Tottenham’s own hopes, given Mauricio Pochettino’s side were heading for top spot until Alexis swept home the equaliser.
Alexis stormed down the tunnel at full-time, furious with a point that leaves Arsenal fighting such an uphill battle to become champions and most of all, you would imagine, with Coquelin’s stupidity.
Arsenal had shown the fighting spirit that their fans had been demanded – but because of Coquelin it wasn’t enough.
- Goal