Harry Kane rescues point for gritty Tottenham against Arsenal
The England striker scored a second half penalty after Arsenal had threatened to take control following a Kevin Wimmer own goal shortly before half-time.
A draw was probably a fair result to a largely uninspiring north London derby, which left visiting supporters celebrating and Arsenal fans and their manager Arsene Wenger bemused by the dramatic drop off in their team’s level.
Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino made three changes from the team humiliated at home in midweek Champions League action, including the enforced absence of injured midfielder Dele Alli, who sustained a knee strain in training.
But the key switch was the return of fit again Kane. Tottenham had scored just 13 times in the 903 minutes of action since he was injured against Sunderland on 18 September and five of those were in an EFL tie against Gillingham.
Arsenal struggled to cope with his strength in the air throughout, let alone his precision from the penalty spot after as he made it five goals in his last five games against his club’s arch rivals.
No wonder the Tottenham fans love him so.
Kane said afterwards: “It’s been a long time, it feels great to be out there with the team and a great opportunity to get back scoring goals. I played 75 minutes.
“I have trained all week, I am ready to step up for England, I am feeling good, the ankle is fine. This is a tough place to come and we got a draw.”
Kane’s goal deprived Arsenal the honour of topping the early season Premier League table while maintaining their own title aspirations.
Both teams were lacking in invention after demanding Euro action, something the two teams topping the table today, Liverpool and Chelsea, do not have to cope with this season.
Tottenham have six draws from their 11 matches, more than any other team, and Arsenal were there for the taking after Kane’s equaliser.
Pochettino’s lack of attacking options to go for the jugular were apparent when he needed to replace Kane and Dutch striker Vincent Jansen was the best he could summon for the last 20 minutes.
The Argentine manager insisted: “We played well. It is difficult to say which team deserved it more.
“It was a very good game. We are happy with our performance and after 11 games unbeaten in the Premier League we have done well.
“It was not a gamble to play Harry. We are not amateur, we are professionals.
“He is assessed every day and we are professionals and we know when it is right when we decide to play him. He is important to have back.
“He missed ten games and is our main striker.”
A more dejected Wenger was able to throw on Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in his pursuit of a win, not that any of them contributed positively after coming on.
Wenger, who felt Tottenham should have had Victor Wanyama sent off for an elbow on Theo Walcott, said: “I see that as two points dropped. Our level dropped in the second half and I felt we were too stretched compared to the first half when we pressurised very high.
“I thought the penalty was a bit harsh, but ultimately we looked a bit flat when we were trying to win the game.”
Walcott, also returning from injury, rattled the Tottenham cross bar with a 20 yard shot shortly before Wimmer headed a 42nd minute Mesut Ozil free-kick into his own net as Arsenal dominated. Tottenham responded strongly after the break and were the better team for a spell before they decided to play for a draw.
The unusual noon kick-off made for a more subdued atmosphere than most derby matches, but the floodlights came on before 12.30pm as the gloom descended early.
Back on the pitch, Ozil and Alexis combined superbly to set up a counter attack chance for a below par Alex Iwobi.
A Kane header aside, it was the closest either team had come to scoring until Walcott’s woodwork effort and the Arsenal opener which came at the end of a sustained spell of pressure.
History says these matches are rarely settled by a single goal so it was no surprise when Tottenham started the second half on top.
Arsenal looked ruffled and referee Mark Clattenburg awarded a penalty when Dembele went down from a 50th minute challenge by Laurent Koscielny.
Kane, of course, scored in front of his adoring fans behind the Arsenal goal to continue his remarkable run of scoring against Wenger’s side with five goals in five games now.
Cech 6; Bellerin 7, Mustafi 5, Koscielny 6, Monreal 7; Coquelin 7 (Ramsey 65, 6), Xhaka 6; Walcott 6 (Giroud 1, 5), Ozil 6, Iwobi 5 (Oxlade-Chamberlain 71, 5); Alexis 6.
Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Elneny.
Lloris 7; Vertonghen 6, Wimmer 5, Dier 5; Walker 7 (Trippier 80, 5), Wanyama 6, Dembele 7, Rose 8; Eriksen 6; Son 6 (Winks 89), Kane 7. Subs: Vorm, Carter-Vickers, Onomah, Nkoudou.
Mark Clattenburg 6/10
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