Arsenal above Tottenham after 90minutes

27 September 2014 Updated 19:26 GMT
By Phil McNulty - Chief football writer
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's
strike kept Arsenal above
Tottenham in the table
Oxlade-Chamberlain scores first goal of the
season
Ramsey and Arteta go off injured
Arsenal enjoy 69% possession
Spurs have six shots to Arsenal's 16
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ensured honours were
even as Arsenal and Tottenham fought out an
entertaining north London derby at Emirates.
Nacer Chadli's fourth goal in fivea Premier League
appearances this season gave Spurs the lead early
in the second half, but Oxlade-Chamberlain hit
back with 15 minutes to go.
Arsenal, disrupted by first-half injuries to Mikel
Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, pressed for a winner but
Mauricio Pochettino's side stood strong in defence
and ultimately a draw was the right result.
The result moves Arsenal into the top four behind
predictable pace-setters Chelsea and Manchester
City, as well as Southampton, who continue their
excellent start to the season.
Spurs boss Pochettino confessed his
disappointment at the manner of his side's display
in the home defeat to West Bromwich Albion last
weekend but there was plenty on show here to
satisfy the Argentine.
And Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger, while
perhaps wanting more than a draw at home, will
also have been pleased at the resilience they
showed in the face of the enforced changes that
had an impact on their rhythm.
Alexis Sanchez's relegation to the bench was
surprising, given his early influence on Arsenal's
season, but the Chilean has had a busy schedule
following his £32m summer move from Barcelona.
Nacer Chadli scored his
fourth goal in five Premier
League appearances this
season for Spurs
The main feature of the first half was Pochettino's
constant technical area exhortations for his players
to press Arsenal in possession, a demand that led
to very visible rebukes for Christian Eriksen and
Emmanuel Adebayor within seconds in the opening
half.
Adebayor will have further drawn his manager's
disapproval when he dawdled over a clear chance
with time and space inside Arsenal's area, while
Chadli was also wasteful when in a good position.
Arsenal's were hit by those injuries to Arteta and
Ramsey, which necessitated their replacement by
Mathieu Flamini and Santi Cazorla before half-
time. Jack Wilshere also required lengthy treatment
after turning his right ankle.
Aaron Ramsey had to be
substituted due to a
hamstring problem just
before the break
The main moment of danger to Spurs came when
clever footwork from Ramsey to set up Oxlade-
Chamberlain, but his shot from the edge of the
area was well saved by keeper Hugo Lloris.
Pochettino's message to Eriksen about putting
Arsenal under pressure was understood and it
played a key role as Spurs went ahead 11 minutes
after the interval. The Dane pinched possession
from Flamini and played in Chadli to finish cooly.
Arsenal's response was instant and Lloris pulled
off a magnificent save low down to keep out Per
Mertesacker's header - but Spurs were unable to
survive renewed pressure from the Gunners and
the equaliser came after 75 minutes.
Sanchez - on for Wilshere - crossed and Danny
Welbeck's wild air shot in front of goal wrong-
footed the Spurs defence, leaving Oxlade-
Chamberlain to lash high past Lloris.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "I am frustrated
because we dropped two points and I am frustrated
because we didn't make enough of our set-pieces.
You want to be rewarded for the work you put in.
When asked if Ramsey and Arteta would be fit for
the Champions League game on Wednesday,
Wenger said: "No chance. If it is a muscular
problem I don' t see how they can be fit in five or
six days time."
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I think it
is a good result for us. Maybe Arsenal controlled
the game and had the ball more than us but we
played well and defended well.
"We scored a great goal. This is our philosophy,
which is difficult to keep for 90 minutes at the
moment, but we are on our way."
There was plenty of action
but little quality in the first
half at the Emirates
Tottenham scored the
opening goal but had only
four shots on target during
the match
Younes Kaboul was
excellent at the heart of
Tottenham's busy defence
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
earned Arsenal a point with
his first goal of the season