Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur score, takeaways: North London derby ends in controversial draw

The North London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal finished in a 1-1 draw on Saturday  as controversial calls by Premier League officials took center stage. The Gunners were awarded a penalty kick in the dying minutes of the match that Hugo Lloris managed to save in order to secure the draw. Tottenham managed to maintain a four-point lead over Arsenal for third place thanks to a penalty-kick goal from Harry Kane that should never have been awarded. It’s the first time this Premier League season that Spurs have drawn against an opponent. Here are three takeaways from the match:

You can watch more Premier League action this weekend on fuboTV (Try for free).  

Ramsey scores in last North London derby

The Gunners started the match perfectly, scoring just 16 minutes in. Capitalizing on an error by Spurs, Alexandre Lacazette was able to feed Aaron Ramsey through at the midway line, with the midfielder taking care of the rest. Ramsey, playing in his last North London derby ahead of a move to Juventus this summer, put a move on Lloris in the box before finding the back of the net and giving Arsenal the early lead:

It was a massive moment that helped Arsenal continue to control the match, and a costly error from the hosts that may have just knocked them out of any potential title race. 

Leno was a star in second half

Gunners goalkeeper Berd Leno was huge in this one. The German shot-stopper was fantastic on crosses, but no moment was bigger than in the second half with his outrageous double save on Christian Eriksen and Moussa Sissoko. His first was from point-blank range, and to quickly recover and save the second? World class.

He wasn’t forced to make a lot of saves as Tottenham’s accuracy was a bit off, but when he had to in the run of play, he was there to shut the door. 

No VAR, big problem for Premier League refs 

This match will be remembered for controversial moments that could have been avoided if not for video assistant referees, which won’t be introduced in the Premier League until next season. The Spurs were awarded a penalty kick with under 20 minutes to go, and there was no reversing the call. Shkodran Mustafi bulldozed over Harry Kane in the box, and it was clearly a foul … had Kane not been offside. The striker started his run off the set piece early yet it wasn’t called. Had there been VAR, it is likely it would have been overturned. Take a look:

But that wasn’t the only time where VAR could have been helpful. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went down in the box in the 89th minute following a challenge from Davinson Sanchez, but it was hardly a penalty. Their legs didn’t even get twisted, yet the striker went down and the penalty was given. Looking back at the replays, there was little contact that would have justified a penalty, and Aubameyang went on to have his shot saved by Lloris. Take a look:

So in the end, Arsenal may have deserved more considering Kane’s goal should have never happened. But human error by officials is a part of the game, with or without VAR. A point for both isn’t bad in the end despite each wanting more, with the lone winner here being the pro-VAR crowd after two big calls that were made, with one changing the outcome.