The North London derby on Saturday was a closely contested affair with both sides failing to take several great chances. Arsenal took the lead through midfielder Aaron Ramsey who was playing his last North London derby.
Tottenham then fashioned some great openings in the first half but failed to beat Bernd Leno. Spurs eventually equalized in the second half through a Harry Kane penalty but Arsenal could have won the game late after they were awarded a penalty of their own.
Aubemeyang, however, saw his spot-kick saved by Lloris and his effort off the rebound blocked by Vertonghen.
Former Tottenham midfielder Danny Murphy has said that Pochettino and Tottenham were lucky that Aubemayang failed to convert his spot-kick as three defeats on the bounce would have been hard to bounce back from and would have proved a shot in the arm for Arsenal in their quest to chase down Spurs.
In his column for the Daily Mail Murphy wrote, “Tottenham got away with one on Saturday and Mauricio Pochettino probably feels a change in luck was exactly what his side needed. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s late, missed penalty could have massive repercussions on this season.
“If Spurs had lost a third consecutive game and had their advantage over Arsenal cut to one point, the anxiety would really have dug in. As it is, a 1-1 draw means they are still four points ahead and that should be enough to secure a Champions League spot.”
The former midfielder also dismissed suggestions that Kane’s return from injury has broken the side’s momentum and said that Spurs weren’t putting in great displays even without their star striker and that it was only a matter of time before their performances caught up to them.
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He added, “There may be a few who put two and two together and point out Spurs haven’t won since Harry Kane came back into the side after injury.
“I’m not sure that’s been a factor. I know Spurs went on an unbeaten run when Kane was out of the side but it wasn’t as if they were playing great, free-flowing football. They had to dig out results against Newcastle and Fulham.
“Kane has scored twice in his three games, I think he’s justified going straight into the starting XI. He has a good scoring record against Arsenal and I’m sure Pochettino was glad it was Kane and not someone else running up to score Tottenham’s penalty.”
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