ARSENAL missed the chance to close the gap on their local rivals Tottenham thanks to Hugo Lloris’s injury-time penalty save to deny the visitors all three points.

It was a game marked by controversy with both sides being awarded questionable penalties as well as Lucas Torreira being shown a straight red card in a separate incident.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery said afterwards that he welcomed the introduction of Video Assistant Referee into the Premier League next season: “I think the TV is best to watch the individual actions and make the best decision,” he said. “VAR is coming next year and it’s coming to help the referees make the fairest decision.”

It will be seen as a massive opportunity squandered by the Gunners who could have made a massive leap forward in the race for top four. But Emery insisted their objective remains the same and that this was a good result.

“If we won today we’d be closer to Tottenham,” he rued. “If we lost we’d be further. With this draw we’re still just four points off. But now we’re just thinking about the next game against Man United and making the best performance to give us three points.”
 
There are bound to be many misgivings from both sides about this north London Derby given the amount of controversy. Arsenal led at half-time thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s opener when the Welshman ran unhindered from the half-way line and rounded Hugo Lloris before slotting it in.
 
Spurs hit back soon after and had the ball in Arsenal’s net when Harry Kane rose highest to meet Christian Eriksen’s wide free-kick but it was correctly ruled offside.
 
The hosts continued to press for the equaliser and would have done so but for the rapid reflexes of Bernd Leno who made a world-class double save to deny Eriksen and then Moussa Sissoko.
 
The second half was largely incident free up until the 75th minute when Kane was bundled over in the box by Shkodran Mustafi and Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot. 

Replays showed that the striker was fractionally offside when Eriksen sent in the cross but the penalty stood and Kane sent Leno the wrong way to draw Spurs level.
 
In the 89th minute, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang won a penalty when he was adjudged to have been fouled by Davinson Sanchez but replays showed very limited contact. 

Lloris guessed the right way before Alex Iwobi sent the rebound back across goal but Jan Vertonghen was hot on his toes to block Aubameyang’s follow-up. Had VAR been in use, it would have shown that the Belgian defender was encroaching well into the box before the spot-kick was taken.
 
With 95 minutes played the game was full-blooded and intense but there was still time for more drama. Substitute Torreira was shown a straight red card for his challenge on Danny Rose.
 
On balance, a draw was a fair result but for Arsenal to have missed such a glaring opportunity will be a huge blow to their confidence.