The return of Jurgen Juergen Klinsmann to White Hart Lane yesterday did not quite turn out in practice what it had offered in prospect, but at least Tottenham Hotspur survived. Given the pressure to which their suspect defence was subjected once Arsenal had drawn level this was no small feat.
In the short term, being held to 1-1 at home two days after losing badly 4-1 at Aston Villa has done nothing to improve Tottenham's plight in the Premiership's bottom three; in fact with Everton winning they have dropped from 18th to 19th. Yet there was little doubt about the uplifting effect of Klinsmann's reappearance, even if the 33-year-old German striker did not achieve one shot at goal all afternoon.
Not only did Tottenham play with added commitment in the early part of the match, they managed to look the stronger side in the closing minutes after Arsenal had dominated much of the final hour. Klinsmann's presence had something to do with that, even if he spent much of the game vainly searching for glimpses of goal past Arsenal centre backs Steve Bould and Martin Keown.
But will the goals come soon enough? Probably not, if Tottenham persist in plying him with the sort of long high balls which made life for Bould and Keown that much simpler yesterday.
With both Darren Anderton and Les Ferdinand out through injury, for much of the first half David Ginola was again the Tottenham player most likely to surprise the opposition with a sudden piece of individual skill, not to mention the fiercely-hooked shot saved by David Seaman after eight minutes.
But as both Tottenham manager Christian Gross and Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, pointed out later, some of Tottenham's most threatening moments stemmed from the regularity with which they regained possession after the high balls had been cleared.
Paradoxically, the promise of this approach denied Klinsmann the sort of passes to feet on which he thrives. On a couple of occasions he spun past defenders in the familiar manner but for much of the time he was forced to hang around in the hope of something bouncing his way.
For Arsenal, Dennis Bergkamp merely hung around. The Dutchman played with a viral infection which must surely have found its way to Sol Campbell, so closely did the Tottenham defender cling to his man until Bergkamp gave way to Steve Hughes 12 minutes from the end.
With neither Bergkamp nor Nicolas Anelka - playing up front because Ian Wright was starting a two-match suspension - able to dominate Campbell and Ramon Vega, another admirably industrious performance from Ray Parlour for Arsenal largely went to waste. Patrick Vieira's attacking ambitions, meanwhile, were often curbed by Allan Nielsen.
The Dane put Tottenham ahead, and gave the game the goal it so desperately needed, after 28 minutes. Nielsen began a move which saw Klinsmann's downward nod gathered by Ginola, who then released Ruel Fox on the right.
Surprised by the suddenness of the attack, Arsenal were thrown off balance. Bould left his post to challenge Fox, whose cross was true, and while Klinsmann was in the middle waiting, it was Nielsen whose low shot beat David Seaman.
Arsenal did not really spring to life as an attacking force until the 33rd minute, when Emmanual Petit collected Bergkamp's sharp backheel before sending Anelka clear with an oblique pass. Anelka's shot beat Walker but cannoned back off the far post.
Two minutes past the hour another, more fortuitous, ricochet saw Arsenal draw level. Ian Walker looked to have Parlour's 25-yard drive covered but the shot took a generous deflection off Vega's right instep and the Spurs goalkeeper ended up going the wrong way.
Tottenham: Walker, Calderwood, Fox (Domingues 60), Neilsen, Carr, Ginola (Iversen 66), Vega, Wilson, Campbell, Clemence, Klinsmann. Subs Not Used: Baardsen, Mabbutt, Scales. Booked: Campbell, Wilson. Goals: Neilsen 28.
Arsenal: Seaman, Dixon (Grimandi 27), Winterburn, Vieira, Bould, Anelka (Rankin 86), Bergkamp (Hughes 79), Overmars, Keown, Parlour, Petit. Subs Not Used: Manninger, Upson. Booked: Bould, Keown. Goals: Parlour 62. Att: 29,610.
Referee: M A Riley (Leeds).
