Soccer-Lloris the Spurs hero in 'crazy' north London derby

Tottenham Hotspur hero Hugo Lloris shrugged off a couple of costly midweek mistakes to become his side's hero on Saturday as his 90th-minute penalty save earned Tottenham Hotspur a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal in the north London derby.

The Frenchman had allowed Pedro's shot through his legs and was partly culpable in Kieran Trippier's own goal in a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea that heaped pressure on stuttering Tottenham. But at Wembley on Saturday he kept out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's spot-kick to seal a first draw of the season for third-placed Tottenham and keep his side four points ahead of Arsenal in the race for a top-four finish.

"The game was a bit crazy. At the end it could have been 2-1 for either team but it is a good point for us after a bad start in a tough week," France World Cup winner Lloris said. Manager Mauricio Pochettino thanked Lloris for giving him a "massive present" on his 47th birthday but said he had not needed to prove anything.

"Hugo wasn't to blame on Wednesday," Pochettino, who avoided three successive league defeats for the first time since taking over as Tottenham manager in 2014, told reporters. "He is one of the best keepers in the world and doesn't have to prove anything. The finger is always pointed to a big player like Hugo or Harry (Kane) when he doesn't score."

Tottenham were far from their best and were short of inspiration after Aaron Ramsey gave Arsenal a 16th-minute lead. But Kane levelled from the spot in the 72nd minute after being adjudged to have been fouled by Shkodran Mustafi as he tried to meet a Christian Eriksen free kick.

In a frantic finale, Lloris earned his stripes with his save from Aubameyang as Tottenham's 28-game drawless streak, the third longest in Premier League history, ended. Kane said it was vital Tottenham steadied the ship after defeats at Burnley and Chelsea killed their lingering title hopes and opened the door to the sides immediately below them to suck the into the battle for a top-four finish.

"It was another good derby, a passionate one, it had a bit of everything," Kane said. "Towards the end of the game it went a bit crazy. For us it was important to stop the losing streak, at this point it might give us a little boost with a big game in the Champions League and then Southampton.

"Over the last week we have put ourselves under pressure but we have done it in the past and every game is a big game." Tottenham go to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday protecting a 3-0 lead in their Champions League last-16 tie. (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)