Arsenal Fight Back to Earn 2-2 Draw vs. Tottenham in North London Derby

The first north London derby of the season ended in a 2-2 draw on Sunday after hosts Arsenal fought back from two goals down to share the spoils at the Emirates Stadium.  

Christian Eriksen put the visitors ahead after scoring his 50th Tottenham goal at the Emirates Stadium, and Harry Kane converted from the penalty spot to compound their misery before half-time. 

Alexandre Lacazette responded to halve the deficit before the break, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was well-placed to equalise with 20 minutes remaining.

Arsenal were the team who looked more likely to snatch a late winner following their disastrous start, with Spurs ultimately glad to leave the Emirates with a point. 

Arsenal manager Unai Emery started record signing Nicolas Pepe in a front three alongside Lacazette and Aubameyang for the first time since he joined from Lille in August.

Pepe gave Spurs left-back Danny Rose trouble down his flank and looked like one who would generate some of Arsenal's threat early on, though it was Tottenham who got off the mark first.

Arsenal lost 2-0 at home to Spurs in the Carabao Cup in December, but the Gunners were undefeated in their last eight league games against Tottenham at the Emirates.

Eriksen—who had never before scored in a north London derby—was in the right place to hoover up Bernd Leno's woefully palmed save from an Erik Lamela shot, via Sky Sports and NBC (UK and U.S. viewers only):

Pochettino recently suggested to reporters that Eriksen—who has a contract at Spurs until June 2020—could still leave the club before Monday's European transfer deadline.

His goal at the Emirates reiterated his importance in north London and his elite status in England as both a finisher and creator, per OptaJoe:

Heung-Min Son played a key role in Tottenham's second, although Arsenal anchor Granit Xhaka was the major culprit for giving away a penalty five minutes before half-time.

Xhaka was nowhere near the ball when Son touched it away from his sliding challenge inside the Arsenal box, colliding with his opponent's shins to give Spurs their chance to double.

Kane is a growing force from the penalty spot and dispatched his spot-kick into the bottom left with ferocious pace while Leno dove in the opposite direction, per Sky Sports Statto:

A comeback would have been all the more difficult were it not for Lacazette's fanciful footwork on the verge of half-time.

Pepe cut the ball inside to his French team-mate in first-half injury time, but there was still much for Lacazette to do as he juggled before unleashing a hellacious finish (UK and U.S. only):

Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris almost replicated Leno's earlier mishap by handing Arsenal their dream start to the second half, nearly gifting the ball to Aubameyang on his own doorstep. 

Chances began to raise alarms at both ends. Sead Kolasinac glanced wide at the back post for Arsenal and looked to take a great chance off Aubameyang's toe before Kane blasted an attempt off the post shortly after.

Tottenham fans will have been pleased to see Dele Alli come on for his first minutes of the season on the hour mark. Emery also made changes and brought Dani Ceballos and Henrikh Mkhitaryan on in midfield, while Lacazette was substituted off because of injury.

But it was deep-lying Matteo Guendouzi who stepped up to craft their equaliser, with his chipped ball into the Tottenham box finding the feet of Aubameyang (U.S. only):

Match of the Day's Gary Lineker hailed the ingenuity of Guendouzi, who isn't primarily known for his creative ability:

Sokratis Papastathopoulos thought he's clinched the winner before assistant Sead Kolasinac was called back for a correct offside call, though the hosts were firmly in the ascendancy.

Emery's side will kick themselves for starting so slowly as they settled for one point, though the beginning of a partnership between Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe is posing bright omens already.

What's Next?

Tottenham will look forward to their home return against Crystal Palace following the international break (Saturday, Sept. 14), while Arsenal travel to Watford when the Premier League resumes (Sunday, Sept. 15).