Arsene Wenger believes the way Arsenal's depleted squad battled back to secure a 1-1 draw in the North London derby showed they have the character needed to mount a sustained Premier League challenge this season.
Arsenal, thumped 5-1 away to Bayern Munich in their midweek Champions League match, missed a chance to capitalise on Manchester City’s goalless draw at Aston Villa earlier on Sunday and head into the international break at the top of the table.
Tottenham Hotspur had the better of the first half at the Emirates Stadium as England forward Harry Kane continued his resurgence with a neat finish after punishing a high defensive line.
With Arsenal missing Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hector Bellerin, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck to injury, they struggled before eventually levelling when substitute Kieran Gibbs, the full-back sent on as a makeshift winger, bundled in a first league goal since March 2012 on 77 minutes to set up a nervous finale.
Wenger’s side could not conjure a winner, so remain level on points with City, the Arsenal manager is in no doubt of what the impact of such a performance can be over the coming months.
“We have shown character because we were a bit on the ropes and we responded,” said Wenger, who revealed midfielder Santi Cazorla had been suffering from dizziness during the first half and had to be substituted during the interval.
“When you look at Sunday’s results again you see Villa against City is 0-0, Liverpool lost, we played a 1-1 draw; it just shows you that the championship will be extremely difficult for everybody.
“The mental qualities can have a big influence in the future and I think we need these qualities.”
Wenger added: “This was a very intense game with complete commitment from both sides. The team have shown great mental resources. We refused to give up.
“When you are 1-0 down, it is a mixture of relief and regret because if we were really clinical we would have won it in the last 15 minutes.”
Olivier Giroud missed several good chances to score, but Wenger said, “if I try to be fair I must say the point is maybe a fair result.”
Despite the frustration of not taking maximum points, Arsenal remain in solid Premier League form with five victories and a draw.
“Overall, I am disappointed that we haven’t won the game, but if you look at the recent period as a block it can happen that in six games you can drop points,” Wenger said.
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