The north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham boiled over in an absorbing first half as players squared to each other amid rising tensions at the Emirates.
The spark was Eric Dier‘s celebration, after he had cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s early penalty with a near-post header from a free-kick, which saw the Spurs midfielder run towards the Arsenal fans with a finger pressed against his lips.
That annoyed Arsenal’s Stephan Lichtsteiner, warming up on the touchline, who tried to confront Dier over the incendiary gesture, and sparked a mass rabble which even brought Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino rushing down the touchline to intervene. Dele Alli and Aaron Ramsey were in the thick of the melee as referee Mike Dean struggled to retain control of the situation.
After the game restarted and Dier was booked, moments later there was more confrontation between the two sets of players as Spurs won a penalty via Rob Holding’s challenge on Son Heung-min. Arsenal players were incensed by the decision, but after a small fracas Harry Kane stepped up to put Tottenham in front over their fierce rivals, putting Spurs 2-1 in front at the break.
