Monday cover: Arsenal and Spurs even adversaries

The National's Sport cover for the Monday, November 9 issue, featuring Arsenal as they drew with Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 at home in the Premier League.

In what proved a tight and tense affair, Arsenal levelled in the second half on Kieran Gibbs’s goal after Harry Kane put Spurs ahead in the first half.

Greg Lea writes the match provided a worthy outcome:

“This felt like both a missed opportunity and a positive result for the in-form teams from the English capital.

“It is often said that collecting points having not played well is a sign of champions, so Arsenal deserve praise for digging in and forcing a draw after a display that was considerably below the level they are capable of.

“While substitute Kieran Gibbs was the man to force the ball home at the back post, it was Mesut Ozil who created the equaliser with a stunning pass in behind the visitors’ backline.

“The Germany international now has 10 top-flight assists this season, a superb return that evidences his importance to Arsenal and their championship ambitions.

“Tottenham, too, are due plenty of credit for the way they imposed themselves against an excellent team away from home.

“It is now 11 Premier League matches unbeaten for Pochettino’s side, who have become an extremely difficult side to play against.

“There is a great deal of steel to the current Tottenham team, something not always associated with the club in the past.”

Meanwhile, Richard Jolly agrees Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham are showing something new:

“One of Alex Ferguson’s most effective team talks consisted of three words. ‘Lads, it’s Tottenham.’ That, Roy Keane recounted in his autobiography, was enough. It was a disparaging dismissal of a side that, whatever its talent, lacked Manchester United’s winning mentality. They were Tottenham Hotspur. They were a soft touch. They were an opportunity to pick up three points. United invariably did.

“‘Lads, it’s Tottenham.’ It has acquired a rather different meaning now. It used to be an invitation. Now it is a warning.

“It is Tottenham, the team with the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League.

“It is Tottenham, the team who invariably outrun all others.

“It is Tottenham, who never give opponents a minute’s rest. It is bad news for the old, the slow, the lazy or those who simply prefer to dawdle in possession.”

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