Tottenham came from behind twice to secure a hard-earned point in the north London derby against Arsenal in a thriller at Emirates Stadium.
After 26 minutes of a ferocious match, Arsenal took the lead when Spurs defender Cristian Romero deflected Bukayo Saka’s shot into his own goal.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had made the big decision by keeping David Raya in goal ahead of Aaron Ramsdale, and he justified that faith with two fine saves from Brennan Johson as Spurs went in pursuit of an equalizer.
Raya should have done better, however, when Spurs levelled three minutes before alftime. He could only claw away a cross, allowing an attack to continue, ending with James Maddison crossing for Son Heung-min to equalize with a deft finish.
Arsenal restored their lead after 54 minutes when Romero was penalized for handball following the intervention of the video assistant referee, Saka, who scored from the spot.
Spurs, illustrating their new positive approach under manager Ange Postecoglou in his first north London derby, were back on terms almost instantly when Jorginho, as a half-time substitute for the injured Declan Rice, lost possession to Maddison, who played in Son for another cool finish.
The headline news before kick-off was Mikel Arteta’s decision to stay with Raya in goal, a move that surely ends the debate about who is Arsenal’s number one keeper, with the Spaniard getting the nod ahead of England’s Ramsdale.
It was a mixed afternoon for Raya, who made two important interventions but was also culpable for Spurs’ first equalizer when he should have held a cross, allowing Spurs to maintain pressure and score.
For Arsenal, there will be real frustration in being held to a point, and one of the key moments came when they were leading 1-0 and Gabriel Jesus caught James Maddison in possession, only to shoot wildly over the top with just Spurs keeper Guglielmo Vicario to beat.
Due to Declan Rice’s injury at halftime, Arsenal were never at their best, and they paid the price when Maddison robbed Jorginho for Spurs’ second goal.
The Gunners staged a late show to beat Manchester United, but there was no repeat here, even in 10 minutes of added time, and Arteta’s side had to settle for a point against their great rivals.
