Tottenham scored 'too early' against Arsenal, claims Christian Eriksen

Christian Eriksen believes Tottenham scored too soon after Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin was sent off in Saturday's north London derby.

The Gunners took the lead at White Hart Lane, courtesy of Aaron Ramsey's deft backheel, but the hosts were given a gift-wrapped opportunity to get back into the game when Coquelin received his marching orders.

Spurs took control immediately after the Frenchman's dismissal and were in front within 10 minutes thanks to efforts from Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane.

But Tottenham failed to add a third goal to their tally and Alexis Sanchez's accomplished finish rescued a point for Arsene Wenger's team in the closing stages.

Eriksen is adamant the red card turned the game but fears he and his teammates made their numerical advantage count too quickly as it gave Arsenal time to respond.

“The sending-off flipped a switch, everything turned around after that,” Eriksen told the club's official website.

“We knew then that we needed to go forward, they would stay back a bit more, give us a bit more space and that’s what they did.

“We might even have scored too early - of course they came back afterwards but we created chances to score so it’s a bit unlucky and I’m very disappointed that we didn’t hold it for the rest of the game."

"I think we deserved more and we should have got more,” the midfielder insisted.

Spurs still boast a three-point advantage over their rivals but remain five points adrift of leaders Leicester, who beat Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road.

The north Londoners' next league game is against Aston Villa on Sunday but they also face Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday night.