Emotions were at boiling point as a rip-roaring north London derby hurtled into its final quarter when Unai Emery – his Arsenal team trailing 2-1 – decided to make a move. It was not universally popular. Off came Alexandre Lacazette, who had been excellent, and on came Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The switch was jeered by sections of the home support.

Emery would be vindicated. The idea was to give Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang a central role and, four minutes later, he had ghosted in behind Jan Vertonghen to touch home Mattéo Guendouzi’s lovely ball. Emery would later say that Lacazette had felt a cramp.

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Arsenal gifted Tottenham two first-half goals and, in defensive terms, this was a performance that their fans watched through their fingers. But Emery’s spirit of adventure held sway. His team poured forward at every opportunity and they deserved the point for what they did in the final third. The manager had started with Lacazette, Aubameyang and Nicolas Pépé as a front three for the first time and there was encouragement from each of them. On this evidence, Arsenal will be a gripping watch this season.

Spurs would probably have settled for the draw beforehand, given the uncertainty that has gripped behind the scenes in recent weeks and the manner of their home defeat to Newcastle last weekend. They would not have done so when Harry Kane put them 2-0 up from the penalty spot, to build on the advantage given to them by Christian Eriksen, who now looks likely to stay at the club after agitating for a move to Spain.

But Spurs could not keep Arsenal out, with Lacazette sparking the fightback with a goal from Pépé’s pass in first-half stoppage time. The timing of it boosted Arsenal and represented a body blow to Spurs. Kane would argue for a penalty at the very end after a challenge from Sokratis but it was the Spurs striker who initiated the contact. Spurs had taken control with their first forward thrust and Sokratis will regret the decision to step up to contest a header with his teammate, Granit Xhaka, and Kane. Arsenal were in trouble from the moment that Kane won the flick.

Sokratis was out of position and, from there, it was too easy for Spurs. Son Heung-min played in Erik Lamela and, although his low shot lacked power, Bernd Leno could only pat it back out. Eriksen arrived to tap home.

Pochettino had shuffled his pack to answer a selection crisis at right-back. Nobody could remember Davinson Sánchez having previously played in the position – he had actually done so for Atlético Nacional – and it meant that Pochettino could recall Vertonghen in the centre of defence. The higher-profile recall was Eriksen and he flitted to good effect. It is an obvious point but Spurs are so much more cohesive with him in the line-up.

Pochettino’s team shimmered with menace on the break, particularly in the first half, playing into the spaces between the lines and with Son’s pace a persistent threat. Arsenal wobbled. Witness David Luiz’s decision to run away from Son to cover the centre on one counter. Son ended up drawing an excellent save out of Leno, who lurched from the ridiculous to the sublime. He got away with spilling a Kane shot on 36 minutes; shortly afterwards, he kept out an Eriksen free-kick at full stretch.

Arsenal made errors, none more obvious than Xhaka’s reckless lunge at Son inside the area in the 39th minute. It was so late that many onlookers had followed the play to the next action. That Kane would convert the stonewall penalty was never in doubt.

Back came Arsenal to give themselves hope. After Pépé had drawn a fine low save out of Hugo Lloris, he fed Lacazette, who tiptoed away from Vertonghen to slam home. The goal surely saved Arsenal from hearing boos at the interval. Pépé had earlier been unlucky to see a header blocked by Danny Rose.

The tempo remained breathless after the interval and further goals felt inevitable. Arsenal were open; they struggled to suppress Son but they concentrated their efforts on flooding forward. Guendouzi forced Lloris into another save and, from the resulting corner, Sead Kolasinac narrowly failed to apply a decisive touch to a Lacazette flick. At the other end, Leno saved well from Son and Kane rattled the far post.

Emery made his changes and Arsenal attacked with zeal. One substitute, Dani Ceballos, extended Lloris from distance before Aubameyang plundered the equaliser. It was the prompt for Arsenal to exert an almost suffocating press and only one team looked like scoring again.

Xhaka worked Lloris from distance and Arsenal thought they had found the winner when Sokratis bundled home only for the crosser, Kolasinac, to have been offside. It was as close as they would come.