EPL: Arsenal, Spurs share spoils at Emirates

Harry Kane netted from the spot on his return to action to help Tottenham Hotspur to a 1-1 draw against North London rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Englishman’s return to the starting lineup from a seven-week absence came somewhat as a surprise, with his second-half penalty proving enough to see Spurs earn a fourth draw in succession in the Premier League.
An unfortunate own goal from Kevin Wimmer had earlier opened the scoring in a derby clash containing minimal clear-cut chances, but neither side truly did enough to claim bragging rights.
With 30 minutes on the clock Arsenal finally started to click into gear, as Mesut Ozil blasted wide when picked out in space and Alex Iwobi tested Hugo Lloris when being slipped through on goal.
Theo Walcott, who has five career goals against the Lilywhites, hit the post soon after and then the key breakthrough goal finally arrived for the hosts.
A free kick from Ozil into the box was nodded into his own net by Wimmer, who marked his first Premier League appearance of the season by putting his side a goal down.
Spurs had reason to be unhappy as a couple of players appeared to be offside when the initial ball was played into the box, but the decision was not given and they went into the break a goal behind.
It did not take long for the Lilywhites to respond in the second half, though, with Laurent Koscielny bringing down Mousa Dembele inside the box, paving the way for Kane to blast a penalty down the middle for his fifth goal in this fixture in the same number of outings.
Spurs had the momentum on their side for the next 10 minutes or so, testing Petr Cech through a Christian Eriksen drive which the Czech did well to keep out.
Spurs almost snatched the win late on when Eriksen’s curled free kick went right the way through and hit the post, but the final chance fell the way of substitute Olivier Giroud who headed an Alexis Sanchez cross into Lloris’s hands.