Tottenham 2 Arsenal 0: Watch highlights as Spurs crush top-four dreams for limp Gunners with second-half blitz in north London derby battle
Dele Alli took advantage of some useless Arsenal defending on 55 minutes and Harry Kane crashed home a penalty three minutes later
By Mark Irwin
By Mark Irwin
TOTTENHAM crushed Arsenal in their final north London derby at White Hart Lane with two second-half goals inside three minutes that look to have ended the Gunners’ top-four dreams.
Dele Alli fired the home side ahead on 55 minutes after the Arsenal defence did a terrible job clearing an initial attack and gifted him the chance to open the scoring.
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Harry Kane and Dele Alli sank Arsenal with a goal each in the north London derbyCredit: Reuters
And, moments after the restart, Gabriel lunged out a lazy leg and tripped Harry Kane to hand Spurs a penalty.
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Kane bounced up off the floor and rifled the ball past Petr Cech, low to the keeper’s right, the former Chelsea man stood hopelessly in the middle of his goal expecting a shot down the centre.
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Kane got off the floor after Gabriel's foul in the box and smashed the penalty homeCredit: Getty Images
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Alli grabbed the opener after some weak Arsenal defendingCredit: Getty Images
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The Arsenal defence fell about in three miserable minutesCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
FACTS, STATS, GOALS AND LOLS
ALEXIS SANCHEZ had recovered from the horrendous mouth injury suffered while being hit on the shoulder by the ball in midweek to lead the Arsenal attack. What a warrior.
KIERAN TRIPPIER once again got the nod over Kyle Walker in Spurs’ starting line-up. It seems that all is not well with the England right-back.
ARSENAL might be down in their lowest League position under Wenger yet they can still accumulate more points than they managed last season when they finished as runners-up to Leicester.
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Tottenaham fans want trophy-shy Arsene Wenger to stay as Arsenal managerCredit: Reuters
THE White Hart Lane stewards separating the two sets of supporters had raided the fancy dress box for the luminous orange hard hats which they first sported during the FA Cup tie against Millwall.
THE Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fan club would have you believe that their man is going to be the greatest wing-back in the history of football. He isn’t.
IF Arsenal are going to persist with a 3-4-3 formation, there is no way Mesut Ozil should be playing wide on the right. Even by his own half-hearted standards, the German contributed bugger all. He couldn’t even be bothered to take some corners and free-kicks.
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There was a heavy police presence around the Tottenham stadiumCredit: Reuters
HARRY KANE AND Dele Alli had struggled to break free of Arsenal’s defensive shackles until they both scored within two minutes of each other to send White Hart Lane into a frenzy.
THIS was Tottenham’s 13th successive Premier League victory at White Hart Lane and the first time they have secured 50 home points in a season.
THE Spurs fans inevitably serenaded their visitors with chants of ‘Arsene Wenger, we want you to stay’. This is the first time the Arsenal manager has ever finished below the North London neighbours.
ARSENAL’S defeat would have been even more painful but for a couple of brilliant saves by Peter Cech from Victor Wanyama and Jan Vertonghen. Spurs should also have had a penalty for handball by Sanchez.
Crsitian Eriksen missed an early sitter on the volley but it did not matter in the endCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
WHAT THEY SAID
Harry Kane told Sky Sports: “That was incredible. We obviously wanted to finish the last north London derby here on a high note and we did that.
“We worked hard, we created the better chances, what a day. A great weekend for us.
"It was a penalty for me. I was clipped, it was a foul. I went down the middle earlier in the season against Arsenal which is probably why Petr Cech stayed there this time.
“We're only thinking about the title race - the fans having bragging rights is just an added bonus."
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Tottenham fans are now desperate for failing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to stayCredit: Getty Images
Jan Vertonghen said: “It was a massive game in so many different ways.
“We showed from the start we wanted to win more than them, and that we want to stay in the title race. It was a great performance throughout the team, from Hugo to Harry."
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech told Sky Sports: “I am very disappointed. This is not the game to lose.
“It was a huge game for both teams and they managed to win. At half-time we were in the game and wanted to improve.”
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Tottenham fans were enjoying their chance to brag and mock their neighboursCredit: Rex Features
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Mauricio Pochettino got one over Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and celebratedCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
On the opening goal, he said: “When I saved the ball from Eriksen I saw the ball going away and I thought we were safe but then it ended in the back of the net. I haven't seen the replay yet.
“We need to win the remaining games and hope that some of the others slip up. It is clear for us now.”
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
Tottenham: Lloris 7, Trippier 7, Alderweireld 7, Vertonghen 7, Davies 7, Dier 7, Wanyama 8, Eriksen 7, Dele 7, Kane 7.
