Kane gives Spurs lift-off in North London derby
Harry Kane proved Arsenal’s nemesis again as his bullet header earned Tottenham a deserved victory in the north London derby.
Spurs could have won by more at Wembley had they not squandered countless chances in the second half, but Kane’s seventh goal in eight versions of this fixture was enough to seal all three points.
Defeat for Arsenal leaves them seven points behind their fiercest rivals, as Tottenham boosted their chances of finishing in the Premier League’s top four, and Arsene Wenger was in despondent mood afterwards.
“It’s a game we couldn’t afford to lose, of course,” said the Gunners boss. “That makes it much more difficult now, but we have to fight for as long as we have a chance.
“There was more at stake than just the derby. That’s why it’s so disappointing to lose the game in the way we lost it.
“I think the game should have been finished at half-time for me. We missed opportunities on counter-attacks that are not missable at our level.
“In the second half, we should have lost the game by more than one goal at the start of the second half. We were de-stabilised by the goal they scored and they had two or three more opportunities that they could have scored.”
Pierre-emerick Aubameyang was virtually anonymous and Henrikh Mkhitaryan ineffective, so it was left to Tottenham’s own star man to come up trumps again.
Kane admitted this week games against Arsenal give him an extra buzz after they released him as an eight-year-old. On another day the 24-year-old could have had a hattrick. Toby Alderweireld was not included, perhaps left to work on his fitness ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Juventus, while January signing Lucas Moura made the squad for the first time.
For Arsenal, Aaron Ramsey was a surprise omission, but Petr Cech was passed fit in goal, with Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan taking their places in a front three alongside Mesut Ozil.
A chaotic opening quarter of an hour had both teams threatening on the counterattack, but it took until the 27th minute for the first real chance to arrive.
Kane should have scored as he drifted beyond Nacho Monreal and Christian Eriksen found him with a clipped cross, but the striker, unmarked, headed over from seven yards.
Spurs settled quicker but in truth the half deteriorated as it went on. Eric Dier could have turned in a skewed Mousa Dembele shot, but he also miskicked and by the whistle both teams looked in need of a reset.
When they re-emerged, however, it was Tottenham who grabbed the ascendancy, punching the ball forward faster and harrying their opponents with the sort of aggression Arsenal were either not ready for or simply unable to match.
There was little complicated about Kane’s opener. Ben Davies was allowed time to cross from the left and he jumped high above Laurent Koscielny, before nodding past Cech.
For the next 30 minutes, Arsenal were hanging on as Kane glanced Dier’s delivery wide and then leathered a volley straight at Cech, after Kieran Trippier had poked the ball through Jack Wilshere’s legs.
Cech, in the spotlight after recent errors, came to the rescue again soon after, with Eriksen’s dipping free-kick heading for the top corner before the keeper tipped it over.
It was just a case of how costly Spurs’ wastefulness would prove as Dele Alli had a glorious chance one against one, but prodded a dribbling finish wide, before Cech denied both Trippier and substitute Erik Lamela.
The home side knew they should have been out of sight and the mood grew nervy in the final minutes. Sub Alexandre Lacazette twice should have made them pay, volleying one chance over and then skewing an even better one wide. Tottenham held on.
The win meant Spurs have now taken seven points from their last three Premier League games – a run which saw them play Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.
Mauricio Pochettino believes taking positive results from a string of such highprofile matches can only be good for his players’ confidence as they look to secure a top-four finish of their own.
“I think it is important for the belief of the team,” the Spurs boss said.
“You know very well that football is about trust, confidence and belief. I think a clean sheet against United, clean sheet against Arsenal and I think we deserved more against Liverpool, but only took a draw.
“The performance of the team is fantastic, I’m so pleased because that was a key period where you need to fight for the top four and with these three points we are in the battle.”