EPL 2016-17: Arsenal 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur - Five Talking Points

Tottenham Hotspur had Harry Kane to thank as they managed to earn a point against North London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates. The Gunners looked the better of the two teams over the 90 minutes but only had a point to show for it at the end.

After a nervy start, Arsenal got into their rhythm started to open up the Spurs defence quite frequently. The goal finally came right before half time through an own goal by Kevin Wimmer after a great delivery from Ozil.

But Arsenal’s chief tormentor, Harry Kane came to the rescue once again after Koscielny tripped Dembele in the box. The Englishman stepped up and scored the penalty as the spoils were shared.

Here are 5 talking points from the game:

1) The North London derby is still fierce and furious.

In the last few years, both Arsenal and Spurs have had an increase in the number of foreign players. The Premier League in general, has seen an influx of players from other countries and currently has the highest percentage of foreign talent when compared to the Top 5 leagues.

Some believe the traditional rivalry is no more the same with the fierceness of the game having dissipated. But today there was so much evidence that the hot blood and intensity of the rivalry is still there.

There were one or two little feuds in the pitch with Theo and Vertongen locking horns towards the end of the game. There were several challenges flying in as well and players were not afraid to hit the deck and try to make the most out of a foul or a similar situation.

Even the intensity of the game was very high, with no player getting too much time on the ball. This was a derby that was full off zest and energy in the first half but it did die down in the second half because of Spurs’ defensive display.

2) Arsenal’s central defence still needs work

Tottenham bore the brunt of most of the attacks today from Arsenal, but it was the Gunners’ defence that looked the shakier. Mustafi and Koscielny did look solid in the first half but it looked like a completely different pairing once the goal went in.

It was Koscielny’s mistake that led to the penalty being conceded in the first place. Arsenal found it very difficult to deal with Dembele’s strength as he held off the defender on the edge of the box but in the end, Koscielny stuck a leg out and brought him down.

After that every time the ball came into the box the pair looked uncertain. Mustafi had a couple of nervous touches, one of which led to Eriksen having a shot at goal that Cech saved brilliantly.

There has been a lot of praise for Arsenal’s defence in recent weeks but today Kostafi showed they are not yet the finished article as a pairing.

3) Spurs still unbeaten but are they title challengers

Tottenham Hotspur will probably be happier with a point that Arsenal will be. They were under the cosh for most of the game but did have a few good chances themselves. It was a very dogged display from Pochettino’s side considering they were short on certain key members of the squad.

Pochettino’s Spurs side have come to be known for being difficult to beat. but this was their 6^th draw in 11 matches. They currently sit 3 points behind Arsenal and a win would have drawn them level on points with their rivals.

Spurs still haven’t managed a goal in open play in several games so far and will be happy that they have Harry Kane back in the squad. It’s very clear they have been struggling for goals.

But are Spurs still title contenders considering how well their rivals are doing so far. When they defeated Manchester City quite convincingly, but since then have failed to win any of their matches in all competitions.

Some of those were games that Spurs should have won and it might prove costly come end of the season.

4) Harry Kane Arsenal’s tormentor once again

Even in his first game back Harry Kane managed to continue his incredible scoring form against the Gunners. He has now scored Spurs’ last 5 goals of 6 against the Gunners and has made a habit of it.

The irony is Kane was let go by Arsenal as a youngster and joined Spurs. In the last few seasons, Arsenal have lacked a proper centre-forward who can get you 20+ goals every season and had they not let Kane go maybe they might have had one by now.

Vincent Janssen and Son were the two players alternating for Spurs up front when the Englishman was out but he showed their scoring record was very poor when he was out injured for those 7 weeks or so.

Kane did not look his sharpest today which is understandable but slowly he will get back to his best and Spurs will need him back at this best as soon as possible if they are to once again start their climb up the table.

5) Chamberlain had a shocking 20 minutes

With 20 minutes to go Arsene Wenger, was desperate to change the game around and threw on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud to try and get that winning goal. Chamberlain came on for Alex Iwobi who had played well until being subbed off.

But the winger caused more harm than good to Arsenal's chances of winning the game. His first contribution was fouling Danny Rose. He followed it up three more fouls and stopped Arsenal’s momentum going forward.

When he did get the ball he was very wasteful with a poor shot on goal. His teammates decided that they would give him the ball as less as possible given how poorly he was playing.

His career is currently in a state of limbo after no being able to nail down a regular starting place in the team in the last 2 or 3 years. If this inconsistency continues he could find himself out of the club very soon.