Arsenal miss chance to go top as derby is drawn

“I haven’t spoken to Kane about it. I don’t know who you could compare him with but I think he can be a top player”.

Cazorla is usually the guide in our game and he didn’t get the ball.

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, right, competes for the ball with Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Arsenal would have gone top of the Premier League with a victory after Manchester City were held to a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa, but remain second on goal difference.

“We are struggling with a lot of injuries at the moment so we don’t have a lot of options”, Gibbs said.

“I believe we created a high number of chances but we had not our usual defensive performance, especially on the first two goals”.

“We have shown character today because we were a bit on the ropes and we responded”.

Wenger sent on Gibbs, replacing Campbell, and the defender – pushed onto the left flank – pulled Arsenal level on 77 minutes. The anger came from Olivier Giroud, who missed three presentable second-half headers, while the dizziness belonged to Santi Cazorla, who was not himself because of an illness that Wenger could not explain.

Wenger hopes Cazorla will show no ill effects from his dizzy spell, saying: “I was sitting there thinking ‘do I take him off or not?’ You never know, maybe it will get better”. It just shows you that the championship will be extremely hard for everybody.

Wenger’s side fell behind in the 32nd minute when in-form Tottenham striker Harry Kane raced clear to score and the visitors could have added further goals but for a few vital saves by Petr Cech. “I had a little look and I wasn’t offside”.

“This is the best chance Arsenal have had to win the title since 2004, up there with 2007-08 when they crumbled at Birmingham and William Gallas sulked on the pitch”.

“It was a key game because had we not won we would have to do more work in the next games”.

The run means Spurs start Sunday’s game five points behind their rivals in the table and Kane is expecting Arsenal have extra motivation after Wednesday’s heavy defeat. In the end, it is a fair point for both sides.

Spurs then came within inches of doubling their lead when Eriksen darted into the right side of the Arsenal penalty area and his angled shot was deflected off Flamini and drifted across the face of goal, dropping just past the far post.