Captain Son Heung-Min’s brace saw Spurs hold Arsenal to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League as the visitors twice came from behind in the north London derby on Sunday.
Cristian Romero’s own goal in the 26th minute gave Arsenal the lead, but Son equalized just before half-time as the visitors began to take control of the game.
At the start of the second half, Arsenal was able to regain the lead over Spurs through a goal scored by Bukayo Saka from the penalty spot.
But Tottenham immediately hit back, when Son took advantage of Arsenal substitute Jorginho’s mistake.
Both teams had chances to take maximum points with Son almost scoring a hat-trick for Tottenham, while Saka had a shot saved.
Both teams are still unbeaten in the league this season with 14 points from six matches, although both are down in the standings.
Tottenham are in fourth place, ahead of Arsenal who are in fifth position due to superior goal difference.
Leaders Manchester City have 18 points, while Liverpool have 16 points and Brighton and Hove Albion have 15 points.
Tottenham’s new coach, Ange Postecoglou, has turned the club around after an eighth-place finish last season left them below Arsenal for the first time since 2016.
But Sunday’s game against their fierce rivals is seen as the final test for Tottenham who, for the first time since 2014, were unable to call on Harry Kane for the north London league derby.
Kane, who joined Bayern Munich earlier this season, is the derby’s all-time top scorer (14 goals).
But in Son, Tottenham have another deadly striker, and his two finishes ensured the 194th edition of the London rivalry ended in a draw.
Arsenal, who previously cruised to a 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven on their return to the Champions League, dominated from the start with Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario twice forced to make brilliant saves, once to deny Gabriel Jesus and the other to deny Eddie Nketiah after mistake made by Destiny Udogie.
However, he was helpless in the 26th minute, when Saka fired a shot that hit Romero and went into the goal.
Tottenham were lucky not to concede again when James Maddison lost the ball in a dangerous area, but Jesus’ shot went over the crossbar.
Spurs were able to equalize before the break when Son fired a shot which David Raya failed to block using James Maddison’s pass.
Romero’s woes continued when Ben White’s shot hit his arm, and referee Robert Jones awarded a penalty after a VAR check.
Saka, who was appointed as executioner, succeeded in doing his job well, but Arsenal’s lead only lasted one minute when Son was able to score his second goal after receiving Maddison’s pass which took advantage of Jorginho’s control error.
The score 2-2 lasted until the referee blew the long whistle to signal the end of the North London Derby match.
