Premier League 2018/19: 3 games that cost Arsenal a top 4 spot

#3 vs. Tottenham – 03/02/2019

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's missed penalty against Spurs prevented the Gunners from leapfrogging their rivals

Unai Emery’s side were on a three-match winning streak going into their March meeting with bitter rivals Tottenham at Wembley, and with Spurs wobbling following back-to-back losses to Burnley and Chelsea, it seemed like Arsenal were catching them at just the right time; win, and the Gunners would close the gap between the two sides to just 1 point, and move into the top 4 in the process.

Sure enough, the Gunners got off to the best possible start when Aaron Ramsey finished a quick break that began with a Tottenham attack, rounding keeper Hugo Lloris to slot home before proclaiming Wembley to be “his” ground.

But despite largely dominating proceedings in the first half, Arsenal couldn’t double their lead – and Tottenham almost equalised, with only keeper Bernd Leno preventing it with a ludicrous double save from Christian Eriksen and then Moussa Sissoko.

Tottenham pushed back hard in the second half, but still seemed somewhat toothless. Lacazette then missed another gilt-edged chance to extend Arsenal’s lead, before things got controversial.

Tottenham sent a free-kick into the box, and in a huge error, Shkodran Mustafi decided to bundle Harry Kane over, forcing the referee to award a penalty – despite the fact that from some angles, Kane appeared to have been offside when the foul was made.

The England captain duly dispatched the spot-kick, but the drama wasn’t over. With just added time remaining, another controversial penalty was awarded – this time when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang went down softly under a challenge from Davinson Sanchez.

The Gabonese striker stepped up himself to take the kick – but fired tamely at Hugo Lloris, who palmed it away.

Minutes later Lucas Torreira was sent off for a filthy challenge on Danny Rose, and the game eventually petered out to a 1-1 draw. It was perhaps a fair result, but due to the missed penalty it was definitely a blown chance for Arsenal, who never came quite as close to leapfrogging Tottenham for the rest of the season.

If anything, Gunners fans could well look back and come to the conclusion that it was Aubameyang’s missed penalty that cost them a top four spot.