Tottenham won the last North London derby at White Hart Lane and with it did everything within their power to keep the pressure on league leaders Chelsea.
Goals from Dele Alli and Harry Kane scored in quick succession won the game for Spurs 2-0.
The result saw Tottenham reduce the gap to Chelsea back to four points after Antonio Conte’s side beat Everton 3-0 earlier in the day.
Arsenal’s hopes of finishing in the top four however took a serious blow. They now trail Liverpool and Man City who occupy third and fourth by six points with one game in hand.
The first half lacked quality but was certainly lively. Both teams had chances but the better of them fell to Tottenham.
Alli missed a header, sending it wide when it looked easier to score.
Good play by Son Heung-min, who duped Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who again was playing as a wingback in a 3-4-3 Arsenal formation, led to a fine chance for Christian Eriksen. The Spurs playmaker saw his volley come off the top of the bar.
Good saves from Hugo Lloris and Petr Cech were also needed to deny Aaron Ramsey and Jan Vertonghen respectively.
Both sides looked capable of scoring in the early exchanges of the second half but it was Tottenham who found the breakthrough – not once but twice.
Alli struck first with the PFA Young Player of the Year scoring from close range after Cech could only parry Eriksen’s shot.
Just a couple of minutes later a terribly timed tackle by Gabriel on Kane saw referee Michael Oliver correctly point to the spot. The fouled striker took the spot-kick himself, drilling it into the bottom corner with Cech not even moving for it.
While Chelsea might be out of reach whatever Tottenham do, the result does at least means it is now mathematically impossible for the Gunners to catch Mauricio Pochettino’s side. Considering Spurs haven’t finished above their rivals for two decades that’s at least one huge positive they’ll be able to take from this season.
So who starred for Tottenham? And who was to blame in the Arsenal side for defeat?
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