IT’S MOUR OF THE SAME
Gunners still cannot get better of Jose
JOSE MOURINHO proved Tottenham are still top dogs in North London to send Arsenal packing.
Leading through an Alexandre Lacazette screamer, the Gunners fell apart in familiar fashion as a below-par Spurs side still managed to expose all their flaws.
Heung-min Son scored the equaliser after Arsenal gave the ball away and Toby Alderweireld got the winner from a poorly defended corner.
It all meant Mourinho still has yet to lose a home game against the Gunners in his career.
It also meant Spurs are unbeaten in their last six home league games against them and have won three league games in a row in their new ground for the first time.
But most of all it meant Tottenham climbed above their local rivals into eighth, six points behind fifth-placed
Manchester United. And you fear for Arsenal next season if they have to rely on Shkodran Mustafi, David Luiz and Sead Kolasinac too much.
With Champions League football looking a long way off for either team, local pride was the biggest thing at stake.
Spurs lined up in a revamped 4-42 formation and it almost brought an early opener when Emi Martinez denied Harry Kane one-on-one from a Lucas Moura pass.
If that was wasteful then so was Pierre-emerick Aubameyang’s miss at the other end when Hector Bellerin beat his man to deliver a
great low cross only for the striker to mis-hit his effort badly.
There was nothing wasteful about the opener though. Lacazette had the entire Arsenal bench and coaching staff out of their seats when he smashed it home.
Granit Xhaka won the ball from Serge Aurier and Lacazette pounced, taking a touch before launching a rocket into the top corner.
The lead lasted 137 seconds. Arsenal’s back three had already given the ball away several times when Kolasinac did it in style, playing a hospital pass to Luiz.
Son took full advantage to beat Martinez with a chipped finish which had Mourinho on the pitch.
Ben Davies, who is not exactly known for his long-range shooting, then tried his luck from 30 yards and forced Martinez into a spectacular fingertip save.
But in the second half Arsenal slowly took control as Aubameyang smacked a shot off the crossbar after Lacazette robbed Alderweireld.
And Mourinho did not get a grip on things until the second drinks break, straight after which his team almost went in front.
Kane skinned Mustafi before squaring for Son but Martinez just got there before the South Korean to smother the danger.
Moura got in next after beating Mustafi too easily again but when he pulled back a wonderful cross there was no-one there in a white shirt to get on the end of it. Hugo Lloris, for once not warring with any of his team-mates, did well to push a firsttime shot from Aubameyang around his post at the other end.
Martinez then matched his opposite number with an equally good stop from Kane after Moura beat the offside trap with a brilliant throughball.
But from the resulting corner from Son, Alderweireld beat Kieran Tierney to the ball to head his side in front – a lead which they would not surrender.
With Arsenal wobbling, Kane had another effort saved before it was over. Back to the drawing board for Arteta who faces big decisions at the end of the season.