Aaron Ramsey and Harry Kane score in derby draw at Wembley
Saturday 2 March 2019 19:47, UK
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw a last-gasp penalty saved as Arsenal drew 1-1 against Tottenham to leave Spurs four points ahead of their north London rivals in the top-four race.
Aaron Ramsey, playing in his final north London derby before leaving to join Juventus in the summer, finished on the counter-attack after 16 minutes to put the Gunners ahead.
Spurs levelled from the penalty spot in the 74th minute through Harry Kane after he had been barged over by Shkodran Mustafi.
Arsenal might have been aggrieved as Kane was offside before he was fouled, but they spurned the chance to snatch victory when Lloris saved Aubameyang's penalty in the 89th minute and Jan Vertonghen blocked the follow-up shot on the line.
Lucas Torreira was then shown a straight red card in injury-time for a foul on Danny Rose.
The result maintains Tottenham's four-point advantage over Arsenal in the Premier League, but Manchester United moved above Arsenal into fourth with victory over Southampton, while Chelsea face Fulham on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
Spurs, though, should feel they escaped with a point after they looked to be heading for a third straight defeat following a largely flat display.
While there was surprise at Arsenal's team selection, the visitors started better and Alexandre Lacazette spurned a glorious chance inside the opening two minutes when he scuffed a volley wide after the ball deflected to him kindly in the box.
But Arsenal did take the lead in the 16th minute after catching Tottenham on the break. Lacazette collected the ball on halfway and played through for Ramsey, who was all alone in the Spurs half and coolly finished by taking the ball around Hugo Lloris and then tapping into the empty net.
Spurs struggled for a response against a compact Arsenal defence.
Harry Kane had a goal disallowed for offside but otherwise the hosts enjoyed plenty of possession without seriously threatening until late in the half when Bernd Leno made a stunning double save to deny Christian Eriksen at point-blank range and then tip over the follow-up shot from Moussa Sissoko.
Spurs still looked subdued at the start of the second half and could have fallen further behind as Lacazette sliced wide from 12 yards out.
Toby Alderweireld volleyed into the side-netting from a free-kick but, just as Spurs' hopes looked to be fading, they won a penalty when Mustafi barged Kane in the back.
Kane, who was offside when the free-kick was curled into the box, converted from the spot.
There was more drama to follow as Davinson Sanchez fouled Aubameyang in the box in the 89th minute and the referee pointed to the spot.
Aubameyang saw his penalty saved and Vertonghen blocked his follow-up attempt on the line, before Torreira was sent off in injury-time for catching Rose late.
Mauricio Pochettino: "It was a fantastic game, exciting game with great atmosphere with two teams that wanted to play and win the game. If we assess the game I think we were better than Arsenal in all the aspects. Our performance was not great, but it was really good to draw and maybe deserve to win."
Unai Emery: "I am proud of the players and their work. You can win, lose or draw, like we did, but above all this we played like a team and fought together. The adaption to the match was good and our moments in 90 minutes were strong, we could have won this match."
The Arsenal centre-back produced an assured display and kept Harry Kane quiet for most of the match. He made a key intervention in the first half to prevent Kane finishing from close range and played an important role in keeping Spurs at bay.
Tottenham face Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, leading 3-0 from the first leg at Wembley. Spurs travel to Southampton in the Premier League next Saturday.
Arsenal travel to Rennes for the first leg of their Europa League last-16 clash on Thursday before hosting Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
