Left-field approach fails to steal derby success for Arsenal

A tight encounter against their neighbours saw honours even in the north London derby in an encounter that was evenly balanced

Arsenal missed the chance to keep pace with Chelsea and Liverpool at the summit of the Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 tie by draw-specialists Tottenham.

Arsene Wenger’s side were aiming to win their first north London derby in five attempts, yet they were powerless to stop Mauricio Pochettino becoming the first Spurs boss ever to avoid defeat in his first five league matches against his side’s great rivals.

There was little to pick between the two sides in terms of the key statistics. Tottenham enjoyed a marginal amount of possession more than their opponents with 54 per cent and subsequently achieved more passes, but in contrast they actually won fewer corners than their hosts.

Indeed, Spurs were less efficient in their attacking play than Arsenal. Their greater portion of the ball failed even to translate into better scoring opportunities as the Gunners outshot them 12 to 10. 

Neither team, though, was particularly accurate with their efforts on goal. From a combined tally of 22 efforts, only six found the target, with the two sides splitting these evenly.

With this in mind, it was perhaps fitting that the Arsenal goal was scored by a Tottenham player as Kevin Wimmer put through his own net. Equally, when Spurs drew level early in the second half, it took a penalty to allow Harry Kane to register on his return to action following a spell on the sidelines.

If the two sides were evenly matched in terms of the numbers, they set up very differently. Tottenham played in a 3-4-3 system and split their attacks roughly evenly between the left and right flanks, with a minority of their forays forward coming from the centre of the pitch.

That came in contrast to their hosts, who offered a strong bias to going down Alex Iwobi’s left flank. A total of 45% of their attacks originated on that side, with Wenger seeking to exploit Walker’s apparently lack of physical fitness. 

The ploy of the Gunners boss failed to pay off in the end, as though his side enjoyed more efforts on goal, they were unable to break the shackles of their opponents.

While it was not the outcome from the derby that the Frenchman would have hoped for, he would have appreciated that the challenge thrown down by undefeated Spurs was not to be underestimated. And so it proved in a tight affair that deserved to end all square.