Harry Kane scored his seventh career goal against Arsenal as Tottenham Hotspur edged a tight North London derby at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The England forward struck just after half-time in the 50th minute with a pinpoint low header as Spurs notched a huge victory over the Gunners.
Early promise for Spurs
The hosts enjoyed the better chances of the opening exchanges as both sides got off to positive starts at Wembley. Harry Kane was hunting as Spurs broke but Shkodran Mustafi did well to cut out Heung-Min Son’s cross before it reached the striker. Eric Dier then found space from a corner but could only lift his header just wide.
Christian Eriksen did well to ghost away from the Arsenal defence but his deft, headed effort looped over the bar. Kane then followed suit as he connected strongly but the ball was powered over Petr Čech’s crossbar.
Arsenal build before the break
With half-time approaching, Arsene Wenger’s men eventually managed to create chances of their own. Mesut Özil picked out Nacho Monreal with an excellent ball but the Spanish defender only just failed to cross to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the box. Héctor Bellerín also found space on the edge of the area but his thunderous drive failed to trouble Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal.
Neither side was able to find the breakthrough in the first-half however and they went into the break at a stalemate.
Kane strikes against the Gunners again
It did not take much longer for Mauricio Pochettino’s men to seize the advantage after the restart. Ben Davies found plenty of space on the left side and whipped in an excellent cross. Kane leapt highest and nodded low past Čech to send the majority of Wembley Stadium into raptures.
The England forward could have notched his second only a matter of minutes later as he connected with another cross, this time from Eric Dier. His header though fell just wide. The 24-year-old was unlucky to see his thunderous volley stopped as he connected with Eriksen’s cross. The resulting deflection just evaded Son as Spurs began to dominate their North London rivals.
Čech was also called into action as Eriksen looked to bend a free-kick into the top corner but the stopper saved well.
Wenger reacts to Spurs’ opener
Arsenal boss Wenger attempted to stem the tide of Spurs’ attacks by introducing Alexandre Lacazatte and Alex Iwobi to the fray. The changes also paid immediate dividends but Jack Wilshere’s shit from range was well-collected by Lloris.
The hosts continued to be threat however and Dele Alli was unlucky to nudge his shot just marginally wide when running through one-on-one. Substitute Erik Lamela was also thwarted by the Arsenal goalkeeper before Kieran Trippier unleashed a thunderous effort at the back post and found the 35-year-old stopper a formidable opponent yet again.
Lamela sprinted free in the closing minuts but could put his low shot wide. Alexandre Lacazette did have late chances as he found space in the penalty area but blazed his volley high over the bar. Then, his low finish rolled agonisingly wide of the far post with only 90 seconds left on the clock.
As a result, Tottenham secured a excellent victory over their historic rivals.
Final Thoughts
Despite all of Tottenham’s chances it was a relatively tight affair at Wembley Stadium before Harry Kane struck his winning header. The hosts were by far the better side after the break as Arsenal struggled to create any real chances of note. As a matter of fact, Pochettino’s men may have felt a little unfortunate that they did not get on the scoresheet again.
The Arsenal performance would have disappointed and they did not look capable of earning a foothold back into the match. They remain in sixth in the Premier League table, five points behind reigning champions Chelsea. Their attention now turns to the Europa League clash with Ostersunds on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Spurs move up to third ahead of their match with Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.
Match Report
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris (7); Trippier (7), Sánchez (8), Vertonghen (7), Davies (7); Dier (7), Dembele (8); Son (6) (Lamela (6), 70′), Alli (7) (Wanyama (N/A), 85′), Eriksen (7); Kane (8).
Arsenal: Čech (5); Bellerín (6), Mustafi (6), Koscielny (6), Monreal (7); Xhaka (6) (Welbek (N/A), 86′), Elneny (6) (Iwobi (5), 65′), Wilshere (7); Mkhitaryan (5) (Lacazette (5), 65′), Aubameyang (6), Özil (6).
Goals: Kane (50′)
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Yellow Cards: Mustafi (73′), Lamela (79′)
Red Cards: N/A
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