Tottenham Hotspur Vs. Arsenal: 3-3 Full Time After Enthralling Match

What a stunner of a match that was. Three early goals set the tone before Arsenal eventually ran out to a 3-1 lead, but they couldn't hold it and eventually let Tottenham Hotspur back into the match thanks to a second half penalty. Although the second half didn't quite live up to the frenetic pace of the first, one couldn't help but feel one of the teams would be able to win it in the four minutes of injury time. However, it wasn't to be, and Arsenal had to depart with just one point, falling behind Chelsea into third place on goal differential.

The match started with a bang, Theo Walcott sprinting through onto Cesc Febregas' delightful through pass to fire Arsenal into the lead, but that goal stood for maybe eighty seconds before Spurs right back Vedran Corluka found Rafael van der Vaart in the Arsenal area, who promptly dispatched a first time shot past Wojciech Szczesny at his near post. Then within five minutes the visitors were ahead ahead after Samir Nasri played a one-two with Abou Diaby before smashing a long-range shot between Michael Dawson's legs, surprising Heurelhio Gomes to make it 2-1.

The two sides exchanged goals before halftime, with Robin van Persie taking advantage (eventually) of some terrible defending by Michael Dawson following a cross by Bacary Sagna. Tom Huddlestone replied with a gorgeous half-volley after a Spurs corner was only half-cleared, and the first half ended at 3-2, one of the more impressive 45 minutes of football you're likely to encounter. The only negative, as far as entertainment was concerned, was an injury to Gareth Bale which would eventually force the PFA Player of the Year to be substituted at the interval.

The second half was always going to disappoint compared to the first, but it was actually fairly good on its own merits. It was a lot less open and there was just the one goal, but there was a decent amount of chances for both teams and the final minutes were incredibly tense. Tottenham equalised on a penalty earned by Lennon after the substitute was upended by Szczesny, van der Vaart smashing home to make it 3-3. That's how it would stay, despite a series of chances from both sides with the game level, and despite the excellent match both sides are going to be disappointed by the result. Tottenham are now two points behind Manchester City in fifth place, while Arsenal fall behind Chelsea on goal difference in second place.