9 magnificent stats from Arsenal’s exhilarating 2-2 North London derby draw with Tottenham

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Tottenham's Son Heung-min, left, scores his side's second goal past Arsenal's goalkeeper David Raya during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates stadium in London, England

Arsenal vs Tottenham is a game that rarely flatters to deceive, but the two sides put on one of the very best editions of the North London derby in a box office 2-2 draw at the Emirates.

Neither Mikel Arteta’s nor Ange Postecoglu’s men pulled any punches throughout the contest, which felt like 90 minutes plus injury time of fireworks after fireworks.

Spurs have been notoriously poor when playing away on their rivals’ home turf in recent times and are still yet to win there in the Premier League since 2010, but the Australian manager’s arrival and their unbeaten start to the season served as inspiration to get a positive result against the Gunners.

A rampant Emirates erupted as Bukayo Saka’s shot deflected in off Cristian Romero for 1-0 in the 26th minute, but were silenced when Son Heung-min levelled the game moments before half-time in an end-to-end encounter. Arsenal, who emerged after the break without Declan Rice who had been forced off with an injury, pulled back ahead after 54 minutes when Saka slotted home from the penalty spot, following a handball against Romero after a rather dramatic VAR check.

The Gunners erupted with joy, as did the stadium, but that was very quickly quashed once again as James Maddison capitalised on a mistake down the other end just a minute later to slip through Son for his brace.

After four goals inside an hour, the game only continued to pick up. Tottenham smelled blood and found another gear, while Arsenal – fuelled by an ever-energetic Arteta on the touchline – threatened to regain the lead on multiple occasions.

North London derbies are quite possibly the best fixture in the Premier League, and this one was up there with some of the very best. From stolen celebrations to goals, VAR calls and tensions boiling over, it had the lot. And between all that needle were two incredible footballing sides striving to get to the top of the mountain.

“I think they are a really good side. They’ve got a really good coach,” Arteta told reporters after the game, adding: “You can see the spirit in the team and the energy around them”.

Spurs boss Postecoglu was pleased to see his side go ‘toe to toe with a top team’ and heaped praise onto Son following his brace: “He’s been outstanding as a leader and as a player. I’ve put him in that nine position now and he just works so hard.”

Ange-ball met Arteta-ball and we couldn’t be more grateful for it. The entire footballing world now needs a moment to decompress after strapping in for such a blockbuster, but to convey just how excellent a game of football it was, we’ve compiled nine of the best stats to come from it over the course of the afternoon.

– Ange Postecoglou is the fourth manager in Premier League history to see his side score at least twice in each of his first six games in the competition, along with Carlo Ancelotti (Chelsea), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) and Craig Shakespeare (Leicester City)  – via @OptaJoe.

– Son Heung-min is now the first Spurs player to score a brace away at Arsenal since John Hendry in a Premier League match in May 1993. He’s the first Spurs player to score a Premier League brace at the Emirates.

– Cristian Romero became the fourth Tottenham player to score an own goal against rivals Arsenal in the Premier League after Chris Armstrong, Kevin Wimmer, and Hugo Lloris – all four of these own goals put the Gunners 1-0 ahead.

– Ange Postecoglu is now the first Tottenham manager to avoid defeat at the hands of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal away at the Emirates.

– Arsenal are now unbeaten in 13 home Premier League games against Spurs, who haven’t won the fixture since November 2010.

– Son has now scored more North London derby goals (6) than Gareth Bale, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie (5).

– After failing to score or assist in any of his first nine Premier League NLD appearances, Son has now weighed in with six goals and two assists in his last eight games against Arsenal.

– Both Arsenal and Tottenham have gone unbeaten at least six games into a top-flight campaign for only the second time in the Premier League, having done so in 2004-05.

– Spurs fighting back twice for a draw means Arsenal failed in their pursuit of winning three consecutive league games against their rivals for the first time since 1989, when they put together a run of five straight victories.

READ NEXT: 12 incredible North London derby moments: Gazza, Bentley, Henry…

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