Arsenal missed the opportunity to go top of the Premier League but Kieran Gibbs came off the bench to at least rescue a point for the Gunners in a 1-1 draw against bitter rivals Tottenham.
The left-back hasn't enjoyed as much game time as he would've liked in recent seasons, but he looked really lively after coming off the bench and took just three minutes to make his mark on the game.
Although the equaliser seemed to awaken Arsenal in the closing stages of the game it could be argued that the Gunners had a lucky escape, with Petr Cech having made a string of key saves during a tight encounter at the Emirates.
Cech and his opposite number Hugo Lloris both made vital saves but both side's attacks will feel they should've done better, with only four shots on target apiece.
Mousa Dembele and Erik Dier wasted chances for Spurs in the first half before the visitors eventually took the lead after 32 minutes. Harry Kane latched onto Danny Rose's through ball before beating Cech with a composed finish.
Arsenal started the second half brightly and came close to levelling through Joel Campbell, but the Costa Rican's effort was superbly parried by Hugo Lloris.
The Gunners wasted another chance to draw level when Olivier Giroud's header hit the crossbar before the striker and his fellow Frenchman Laurent Koscielny both missed with further headers later in the second half. Those misses almost proved costly for the hosts but Cech denied Christian Eriksen before producing an instinctive top class save to palm away Toby Alderweireld's close-range header.
Arsenal finally levelled matters 13 minutes from time when Gibbs latched onto Mesut Ozil's floating cross and got just enough on it to prod the ball beyond Lloris. Ozil's cross for the goal saw him become the first player to assist 10 goals in his opening 11 games of a Premier League season. The German international also became the first ever player to contribute an assist in six consecutive Premier League games in the same season. This is a hugely impressive statistic but with the amount of chances he is creating we really should be putting more of them away.
Ozil nearly assisted a dramatic late winner for Arsenal after Giroud latched onto his corner, but the French striker's header was well kept out by Lloris to ensure the derby ended level.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Tottenham fan Anthony Rayment was delighted with his side's performance and paid particular tribute to the defence.
"People keep saying it was a mature Tottenham performance and I would have to agree," said Rayment. "A Spurs side a year ago would have lost that game after Arsenal made it 1-1.
"Tottenham's young players are on form and and as long as they can keep it up they will continue that unbeaten run. Most importantly though they are strong in defence, something that has not been said for a very long time.
"Arsenal had moments, but seem to fail in the same areas, most notably in defence. Ozil was great and they did have a lot of injures.
"Neither will win the league but both should hopefully make the top four. Gibbs goal was lucky to beat Lloris but Giroud should have had two."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
So was it a missed opportunity or a decent derby point? With Manchester City being forced to settle for a goalless draw at Aston Villa, Arsene Wenger's men had the chance to take over at the top of the table if they could beat Spurs. Drawing the game was clearly two points dropped by the Gunners in their race for the league title. But, considering the impressive form Spurs are in, maybe a point isn't so bad after all and we are only behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference.
We should've been looking to get nothing other than a win from this game to prove our title credentials. We will find out in the coming months whether this will be a valuable point or a costly two points dropped but one thing is for sure - for once I am actually glad it is time for the international break. I am not the biggest fan of international breaks during the league season but, with the likes of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain currently out injured, it will give players more time to recover and get fit for the next league game at West Brom.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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