How Spurs Drew: North London Derby

There are half a dozen concrete examples you could pluck from Spurs’ 2-2 draw with north London rivals Arsenal of what exactly went wrong and what exactly went right.

What seemed to be going right for Spurs early in the match was the fact that Arsenal seemed unwilling or unable to stop the home side playing their own game. Spurs dominated possession, held the ball in Arsenal’s half and kept almost the entirety of Arsenal’s starting XI on their toes. By all rights Érik Lamela should have put Spurs up in the 12th minute, though Arsenal keeper David Ospina managed a fine save to keep him out.

It wasn’t quite as clear as that, though. Since last season Arsène Wenger has shown a willingness to break from his own style on special occasions. Their 2-0 win over Manchester City early in the latter half of last term was perhaps the first and arguably finest example of this pragmatism in motion. Arsenal – for once – conceded possession, stayed rigid and relied on their keen passing ability to spring counter-attacks. Considering the fact that this Arsenal side was most certainly not designed for that kind of game, it worked surprisingly well against City and against other big sides.

Aaron Ramsey’s goal in the first half on Saturday – however fortunate it might have been – was this tactics set in action. Going against their natural instinct, Arsenal did not commit half their team forward into Tottenham’s box when Danny Welbeck had the ball at his feet, preferring instead to draw the defense apart while sending in runners from deeper midfield or – in this case – from defense. Héctor Bellerín surged forward into space completely unmarked and set up the ball that Ramsey would pass/shoot into Hugo Lloris’ goal.

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Tottenham still had a reason to be hopeful. Not only had they come back from losing positions before – more than any other team in the Premier League, in fact – but Arsenal didn’t look like they could hold on for long. While their defending was working well and keeping Tottenham’s chances low, both Bellerín and Francis Coquelin picked up yellows through their containment efforts. Going into half-time, it felt as if those cards would somehow be pivotal.

And they were. Coquelin was sent off in the 54th minute and, even a goal down, the advantage seemed to be all Tottenham’s. Ramsey dropped deeper into midfield to make up for the Frenchman’s loss, but nothing seemed sufficient to keep Tottenham from setting up camp right at the edge of Arsenal’s third.

A Harry Kane effort was narrowly ruled not to be a goal just before Toby Alderweireld scored the equalizer from a corner. Barely two minutes later, Kane was again on the ball and this time managed to give Spurs the lead through a wonderful curved effort.

What happened after that should have gone like this: Spurs maintain possession, recycling play forward while Arsenal sends on attacking substitutes in a futile effort to get back into the game. They have a few chances but Spurs – steady in their confidence – see the game out to a crucial win that takes them top of the Premier League.

What happened instead was the north London Derby.

Next: Matchday: Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal

That’s ultimately what this match comes down to. This isn’t just another Premier League fixture. This is already one of the most hard fought derbies in football even without the title implications. In effect, this match took place in an alternate universe, one familiar but still not quite the same as the one we are all used to. There is no such thing as composure or calm here, much less easily predicted scorelines.

Alexis Sánchez’ equalizer doesn’t have to make sense. It is devastating, yes, but it tells us nothing about Spurs or even Arsenal. The final whistle blew a little less than 20 minutes later and normalcy was restored, both teams in identical positions as they were before the match began.