draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the first north London derby of
the Premier League season on Saturday.
Having gone ahead through Nacer Chadli in the 56th minute, Tottenham
were disappointed not to have recorded only their third Premier League
victory at the home of their neighbours.
But though Arsenal were relieved to have avoided that fate, the point
came at a cost.
Injuries to Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, both of whom were replaced
in the first half, means manager Arsene Wenger may have to rethink his
tactics for the visit of Galatasaray in the Champions League on
Wednesday.
Wenger raised a few eyebrows before the game by leaving Alexis
Sanchez, the big-money close-season signing from Barcelona, on the
bench, with Danny Welbeck starting up front.
Tottenham had been keen on signing England striker Welbeck from
Manchester United on transfer deadline day, but he became an Arsenal
player instead in a £16 million ($26.6 million, 20.2 million euros)
deal.
The one surprise in the Tottenham starting line-up was the inclusion
of Ryan Mason in midfield.
The 23-year-old was a scoring substitute in Wednesday night's 3-1
League Cup victory over Nottingham Forest, but this was his first
taste of Premier League action.
The first 45 minutes were goalless, but not short of incident, as
referee Michael Oliver booked Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere as
well as Tottenham's Erik Lamela in the opening half hour.
Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham goalkeeper, was busy, making saves from
Wilshere, Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey, but the man at the
other end, Wojchiech Szczesny, was also required to make significant
stops.
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