Arsenal missed out on a big opportunity to cement their place in the top four following their North London Derby (NLD) draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
The main target for the Gunners is to qualify for the Champions League next season and they can only achieve this in two ways.
Firstly, Champions League qualification is certain if they can win the Europa League with the Gunners facing a last 16 tie with French club Rennes in the next one week.
The final route to Champions League qualification is via a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Arsenal started the weekend in the top four and four points behind Saturday’s opponents Tottenham Hotspur in third spot.
The Gunners were looking to do the double over their North London rivals for the first time in five years having won their first league meeting of the season.
Arsenal came from behind to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 in their first league meeting at the Emirates Stadium in December.
An away win over Tottenham would have moved the Gunners to within the one point of their hosts but they were uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey gave his team a slender 1-0 advantage at the halftime interval via his 16th minute strike.
Alexandre Lacazette provided the assist for the goal scored by Ramsey and the Frenchman could have added a second goal just after the halftime interval.
Arsenal kept their hosts at bay until defender Shkrodan Mustafi pushed Harry Kane in the box.
The England captain stepped up to level the scores for his side with a quarter of an hour left on the clock.
Arsenal had the chance to win the game after substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was brought down my Tottenham Hotspur defender Davidson Sanchez.
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was the hero for the home side as he saved the 89th minute spotkick from Aubameyang.
Arsenal finished the game with 10 men after substitute Lucas Torreira was sent off for a high challenge on Danny Rose.
Aubameyang and Arsenal missed out on a big opportunity for an away win over Tottenham and they have dropped out of the top four with Manchester United replacing them following their 3-2 win over Southampton.
Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are vying for just two Champions League spots but it remains to be seen whether the Gunners will get one of those spots despite the fact that they have the easiest run of games from now till the end of the season.
The game against Tottenham showed that the Gunners lacked the necessary ruthlessness to secure a berth in the Premier League top four.
