Arsenal and Tottenham will feel like the North London derby between the two rivals was a missed opportunity to put pressure on the Foxes.
Tottenham were the team in form, even though they had lost their last outing, while Arsenal had not won in four games and were beaten 2-1 at home by Swansea in their last fixture. Both teams knew a win would be the best result as they looked to bounce back from losses in midweek.
It was an exciting game between both the sides and Arsenal took the lead through Aaron Ramsey who scored with a smart finish in the first half. It was more or less all Arsenal until Francis Coquelin was sent off and rightly so for a second bookable offense.
This kick-started the Tottenham revival and it was Toby Alderweireld who lashed home the equaliser in the 60th minute. It was the good old one-two as Harry Kane scored a brilliant second to give Tottenham the lead, something they should have kept against the 10-men of Arsenal.
The Gunners though were not going to give up and Alexis Sanchez somehow managed to beat Hugo Lloris with a low drive across the French goalkeeper in the 76th minute. The game ended 2-2, neither team took a huge step to the title but they aren’t out of it either.
The managers were disappointed with the result as they failed to take advantage of the situation, we look back at an incredible game and highlight the three things we learned.
Both teams lack the bottle to hold on
It was a topsy-turvy game as the advantage for each team came and went in a matter of minutes. Arsenal should have won the game but imploded spectacularly after Coquelin’s sending off and then Tottenham should have won the game keeping it 2-1 but lost out the lead.
The London clubs might have the better players but their mental toughness was missing in this game. Maybe it was nerves or maybe it was the fact that they were playing their great rivals, either way both teams have to be stronger mentally in the coming games.
Arsenal almost turned things around
Apart from the sending off, Arsenal were good value for the lead and it was almost the perfect answer to their disappointing form in recent games. The Gunners were quick in attack and really made life tough for Tottenham.
Even when they were trailing at 2-1 they tried to get back into the game. The old Arsenal would have conceded 3 or 4 but they fought back and got the goal to give them a crucial point in such an important game. Arsenal didn’t get the win but they certainly showed that they won’t be chucked out of the title race.
Tottenham still are in pole position for the title
If someone would have told Mauricio Pochettino that they would be second in the table with nine games to go, he would have probably told everyone to stop dreaming. Tottenham didn’t win the game but this was certainly a result which should act as a wake-up call for Spurs.
Tottenham only performed after Coquelin was sent-off and the need to avoid such a dire performance at the start of games will cost Spurs big time in the remaining few games. They have the better set of players than Leicester, they just need to keep their heads and take games one at a time to cut down the lead and then hopefully take the lead in the race.
