Arsenal missed a glorious chance to beat Tottenham on Saturday afternoon, at the same time failing to narrow the gap between the pair to a point in the Premier League table.

It was a north London derby that took a while to get going but didn't fail to provide drama as the Gunners leading scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw a penalty saved as the game entered injury time.

Aaron Ramsey had initially given Arsenal the lead before the visitors had to weather a significant Spurs storm. They failed to do so in the second half with Harry Kane notching yet another derby goal, sending Bernd Leno the wrong way from the penalty spot.

But despite drawing the game 1-1, Unai Emery was proud of his players battling display.

Adapting tactically

Before today's match, Arsenal had started to gather momentum in their quest for a top-four finish. They stuck five goals past Bournemouth in midweek but struggled to create the same sort of chances with as much regularity this afternoon. However, Emery was pleased with the performance despite not winning.

"I am proud of the players, of our work. Above all, we played like a team and together. Our adaptation to the match was good. Our moment in 90 minutes, they were strong. We could win this match," he said.

Adapting is something Emery has asked of his players on numerous occasions this season and the match with Spurs was no different. This time, the Spaniard opted to switch to four at the back, having started with three in midweek, whilst there were also attacking changes.

Shkodran Mustafi started at right back, a decision which didn't pay off after he gave a penalty, whilst Lucas Torreira, who was sent off late in the game, was also left out initially as Ramsey played in the number ten position.

Commenting on the tactical performance and mentality, Emery noted: "Tactically I think we adapted well. The performance to battle them in our moment, also with transition - with some quality action for our player. After 1-1 we tried to get the second goal to win. This is the mentality that we want."

Aubameyang left out

Questions were raised when Aubameyang was left out of the starting XI, as Alexandre Lacazette was instead preferred to the Gabonese striker who started on the bench.

Emery hasn't been afraid to leave his star players out this campaign, with the same treatment being given to Mesut Ozil. However, the Arsenal head coach insisted that any decision he makes is for the good of the team after being questioned about how he can keep Lacazette and Aubameyang happy.

"They need to accept the decision. They are playing a lot of matches. I am very consistent in our work to take the best decision and give their best performance for us - playing alone or playing together. They are doing two situations in the [training] session," Emery added.

Lacazette missed two wonderful chances to score at the beginning of both halves, whilst Aubameyang's late penalty miss will be something the Gunners hope they don't rue at the end of the season.

"It is one action in 90 minutes. For me, it is not one mistake," Emery revealed.

"The most important thing is creating chances. After this, we can score or not. The same with Lacazette - he had two good chances in the match. This work, we are doing before, this mentality - I don't want frustration after one mistake and not scoring," he stated.

VAR debate continues

Both Mauricio Pochettino and Emery were asked about how VAR can impact the Premier League when it's introduced next season. This was as a result of a number of questionable calls from Anthony Taylor and his team.

Kane appeared to be standing in an offside position as the ball came in before he was fouled for a penalty, whilst Jan Vertonghen was also encroaching from Aubameyang's penalty which as a result enabled him to get to the rebound before the striker could find the net.

Speaking about this, Emery mentioned: "Two months ago, I said to everybody I think VAR is coming to help the referees. But the personality is good, the referee's personality today. Mistakes can come because it's very difficult for them to watch in the moment one action like that."

On another day, the result may well have gone the way of the Gunners. Instead, they are left to reflect on a point in what is the start of a huge period with Rennes in Europe and Manchester United next week to follow.