Monday 3 December 2018 17:16, UK
Christian Eriksen says Sunday's heated north London derby showed "how much was at stake", with both sides caught in scuffles.
Eric Dier's celebrations after drawing Tottenham level at 1-1 at the Emirates sparked a ruckus on the touchline involving both sets of players after Arsenal's substitutes reacted angrily, with stewards having to separate players and Mauricio Pochettino running down the touchline to act as peacemaker.
Unai Emery's side would emerge 4-2 winners and Eriksen told Sky Sports emotion had been at the heart of both sides' play.
"Sometimes it just takes over, sometimes you take your shirt off and get a yellow card but Eric did this," the Dane said. "It's always different and he didn't run to the fans, he just shushed them because they had been a bit against him.
"We were playing at their place so the crowd was against us in general, but afterwards it went a bit overheated in some way, and then you know how much is at stake.
"It felt like more than an intense derby because of how the game evolved and how the game went on the pitch, and the atmosphere.
"You don't want to act up to get into a fight, that's not what anyone wanted, or Eric, but sometimes it happens when you are working with emotions.
"It's a hard balance. It's the same going into a tackle, you don't want to hurt a player - you might do it, but it's not your intention. This was the same. He didn't go in to hurt anyone, but he just wanted to make a statement and afterwards it just turned a bit upside down."
Spurs were 35 minutes away from their first win at the Emirates since 2010 as they led 2-1 in the second half, but three Arsenal goals in 20 minutes put them to the sword and lifted the Gunners above them to fourth in the table.
Eriksen added: "They were better than we were in some aspects, but we should be able to when we are good enough and lucky enough to bounce back and be 2-1 up at half-time, to be professional enough to at least keep them away from goal in the second half, which we couldn't.
"There were a lot of things we can improve, but overall it was not the best day for us."
