Man of the Match: Petr Čech

With the bulk of Arsenal's players still seemingly having their heads clouded by the whoppin' in Bavaria, it was down to one man to keep the Gunners in the game before and after the vital equalizer in the second half: Petr Čech.

While Mesut Ozil stole the show with his seven(!) key passes and absurd pinpoint pass to Kieran Gibbs to level the game at 1-1, Čech was the one standing on his head and holding down the fort versus a very competent Tottenham side. Though the defending on the Harry Kane goal was all sorts of wonky, Čech did nearly get a foot to it and he was more successful in a number of other saves including a second half full stretch which essentially would've wonTottenham the three points.

Given that his previous outing was a merciless 5-1 beating at the hands of Bayern Munich, a bounceback game like this in the North London Derby is just what the team needed to get some momentum back. The outfield players decided to take the first 45 minutes off but perhaps that was the case with the knowledge that a competent keeper was minding the net behind them, such confidence afforded thanks to years of outstanding service and even following a blowout loss such as the one midweek.

It's a little concerning when the goalkeeper is arguably MOTM versus a hated rival, but hey, he's part of the team too and has a job to do. Not every game is going to be a defensive masterpiece where the big man has nothing to do in net so on occasions where he's actually called into service it's reassuring to know that, generally, he'll put in showings like the one yesterday.

Well done, Petr.