Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
- Published
Oxlade-Chamberlain scores first goal of the season
Ramsey and Arteta go off injured
Arsenal enjoy 69% possession
Spurs have six shots to Arsenal's 16
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ensured honours were even as Arsenal and Tottenham fought out an entertaining north London derby at Emirates.
Nacer Chadli's fourth goal in five Premier League appearances this season gave Spurs the lead early in the second half, but Oxlade-Chamberlain hit back with 15 minutes to go.
Arsenal, disrupted by first-half injuries to Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, pressed for a winner but Mauricio Pochettino's side stood strong in defence and ultimately a draw was the right result.
The result moves Arsenal into the top four behind predictable pace-setters Chelsea and Manchester City, as well as Southampton, who continue their excellent start to the season.
Spurs boss Pochettino confessed his disappointment at the manner of his side's display in the home defeat to West Bromwich Albion last weekend but there was plenty on show here to satisfy the Argentine.
And Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger, while perhaps wanting more than a draw at home, will also have been pleased at the resilience they showed in the face of the enforced changes that had an impact on their rhythm.
Alexis Sanchez's relegation to the bench was surprising, given his early influence on Arsenal's season, but the Chilean has had a busy schedule following his £32m summer move from Barcelona.
The main feature of the first half was Pochettino's constant technical area exhortations for his players to press Arsenal in possession, a demand that led to very visible rebukes for Christian Eriksen and Emmanuel Adebayor within seconds in the opening half.
Adebayor will have further drawn his manager's disapproval when he dawdled over a clear chance with time and space inside Arsenal's area, while Chadli was also wasteful when in a good position.
Arsenal's were hit by those injuries to Arteta and Ramsey, which necessitated their replacement by Mathieu Flamini and Santi Cazorla before half-time. Jack Wilshere also required lengthy treatment after turning his right ankle.
The main moment of danger to Spurs came when clever footwork from Ramsey to set up Oxlade-Chamberlain, but his shot from the edge of the area was well saved by keeper Hugo Lloris.
Pochettino's message to Eriksen about putting Arsenal under pressure was understood and it played a key role as Spurs went ahead 11 minutes after the interval. The Dane pinched possession from Flamini and played in Chadli to finish cooly.
Arsenal's response was instant and Lloris pulled off a magnificent save low down to keep out Per Mertesacker's header - but Spurs were unable to survive renewed pressure from the Gunners and the equaliser came after 75 minutes.
Sanchez - on for Wilshere - crossed and Danny Welbeck's wild air shot in front of goal wrong-footed the Spurs defence, leaving Oxlade-Chamberlain to lash high past Lloris.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "I am frustrated because we dropped two points and I am frustrated because we didn't make enough of our set-pieces. You want to be rewarded for the work you put in.
When asked if Ramsey and Arteta would be fit for the Champions League game on Wednesday, Wenger said: "No chance. If it is a muscular problem I don' t see how they can be fit in five or six days time."
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I think it is a good result for us. Maybe Arsenal controlled the game and had the ball more than us but we played well and defended well.
"We scored a great goal. This is our philosophy, which is difficult to keep for 90 minutes at the moment, but we are on our way."
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