Arsene Wenger blasts 'very soft' penalty and says Arsenal tried to play 'too much' against Tottenham

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger blasted the "very soft" penalty awarded to Tottenham by Mark Clattenburg during the 1-1 draw at the Emirates.

A Kevin Wimmer own goal gave Arsenal the lead before Laurent Koscielny was adjudged to have fouled Mousa Dembele in the box. Harry Kane tucked away the subsequent spot-kick but for Wenger it shouldn't have been awarded.

"For me it was a soft penalty, a very soft one," said Wenger, who also lamented his side's lack of fluency.

"We had some good spells in the game and I don't question the spirit of our team," he added.

"But we usually have more fluency and it looked like we just tried to play too much."

Tottenham defender Kevin Wimmer under pressure from (R) Laurent Koscielny scores an own goal
Tottenham defender Kevin Wimmer gives Arsenal the lead with an own goal
Arsenal players celebrate going ahead in the north London derby

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, was delighted with his side's "big character".

"I'm very happy with the performance," he told BT Sport.

"I think we played well at a very difficult place. Arsenal are on a very good run and have momentum.

"Our players deserve full credit today - they were fantastic. We showed big, big character to get back into the game."

Tottenham
Harry Kane equalises from the penalty spot
Kane celebrates scoring
Tottenham's Harry Kane celebrates scoring their first goal from the penalty spot