Kieran Gibbs came off the bench to cancel out Harry Kane’s opener as Sunday’s high tempo north London derby ended in a 1-1 draw.

A beautifully observed moment of silence on Remembrance Sunday set the scene as it was instantly contrasted by the intense start to the north London derby.

Arsenal had much of the ball early on but it was Spurs, charged by their intense playing style, who looked more dangerous. By the time Harry Kane scored in the 32nd minute, the visitors had managed five shots to Arsenal’s zero.

The goal itself came from a long ball forward. The defensive line wasn’t bad, but Laurent Kosicleny came up late and left Kane onside. The Tottenham striker raced away and lifted the ball into the far corner as Petr Čech went down.

A first half riddled with Arsenal errors, many of which were forced by Spurs, had to be improved upon after the break. Arsène Wenger decided to bring Mathieu Flamini on for Santi Cazorla at the break.

Arsenal instantly troubled Hugo Lloris more than they had in the entire first half, with Joel Campbell’s ambitious effort forcing the Frenchman into a strong save low to his right. A more eventful half ensued: Christian Eriksen was next to go close after Mathieu Flamini deflected his effort just wide.

Olivier Giroud found the bar with a header before Čech gave 60,000 people a mini heart attack, almost tackled by Erik Lamela outside his box. By the hour mark, Giroud had another huge chance to equalise but watched his header go wide.

Swinging like a pendulum, Spurs had the upper hand with Čech saving from Eriksen and Alderweireld; Arsenal were looking shaky at the back once more. With 20 minutes to go, the Gunners were still under pressure and a goal down.

But not for long. Kieran Gibbs, subbed on for Joel Campbell, reached the end of a Mesut Özil cross to send the home fans delirious with his fourth touch of the game. Momentum, out of nowhere, was with Arsenal again.

Giroud struck a volley over from a corner and had yet another header saved, the crowd reacted by getting behind the side for the closing stages.

Waves of pressure led to very few chances, and a 1-1 draw was ultimately fair. Manchester City slipped up earlier in the day but Arsenal couldn’t capitalise to go top of the Premier League before the international break.