Mikel Arteta praises ‘really good’ Tottenham man after North London derby stalemate

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised Tottenham Hotspur coach Ange Postecoglou after their 2-2 draw at the Emirates.

Arteta was speaking to the press, via Football London, after an intense battle this afternoon.

Both sides will be wondering if they could have done more to win the game today and keep the pressure up on Manchester City.

Bukayo Saka’s deflected effort gave Arsenal a deserved lead at the time but inspired Spurs into action.

A fantastic save from David Raya to deny Brennan Johnson was followed up by a piece of indecision when trying to deal with a looping cross.

The ball eventually fell to James Maddison who perfectly picked out Son Heung-min to equalise before half-time.

Saka converted from the spot in the second half as Arsenal retook the lead before the South Korean immediately pegged the hosts back after a mistake from Jorginho.

On the balance of play, Mikel Arteta and Ange Postecoglou will probably reflect that it was a fair point for Arsenal and Tottenham.

After the match, the Spanish coach was quick to give his colleague plenty of credit after a very positive start to life in North London.

Arteta praises Tottenham manager Postecoglou

Arteta was asked what he thought Tottenham might be fighting for this season and said: “I think they are a really good side.

“They’ve got a really good coach. You can see the spirit in the team and the energy around them, but six games is too early.”

Mikel Arteta was forced to make the first change of the match with Declan Rice forced off and Fabio Vieira replaced.

The changes did seem to take the wind out of Arsenal’s sails although Postecoglou had to bring off some of his key players as well.

Johnson, Maddison and Son were all withdrawn before full-time with both sides starting to flag by the 100^th minute.

Given how poor Tottenham were before appointing Postecoglou, it’s unsurprising that Arteta has praised the Australian this afternoon.

It was one of the more respectful North London derbies considering the history between the history between the two clubs.

That didn’t stop a few big challenges being put in, but fans of both sides will see positives and negatives from today’s derby.