Tottenham Hotspur secured a brilliant 3-0 win over city rivals Arsenal in their clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. With UEFA Champions League football potentially on the line, Spurs emerged unscathed from the match.
Arsenal came into the game on the back of four consecutive Premier League wins and only needed a win to confirm their place in next season’s UEFA Champions League. The Gunners were yet to secure a foothold in the game when they shot themselves in the foot.
Former Southampton defender Cedric Soares sent Heung-Min Son to the ground in the box as the Tottenham forward attacked a cross, causing referee Paul Tierney to point to the spot. Harry Kane stepped up and drilled home the resulting penalty to give the home side a lead in the 22nd minute.
The Gunners dug themselves further into a hole as Rob Holding received two bookings in six minutes, both for needless fouls on Son, resulting in a sending-off for the defender in the 33rd minute of the clash.
Minutes after Holding left the game, Tottenham doubled their advantage through Kane once more. The striker expertly evaded the attention of Eddie Nketiah and stooped to head the ball into the back of the net after a corner-kick from Son had been helped on towards the back post by Rodrigo Bentancur.
Immediately the second half commenced, Tottenham added a third and put the game beyond Arsenal. Persistent play by Kane saw the ball break to Son in the box, and the Korean forward struck the ball with a deft touch to find the corner of the net in the 46th minute. It was his 21st goal of the season, putting him just one goal behind the league’s leading scorer Mohamed Salah.
Tottenham Hotspur continued to create chances and controlled the game as ten-man Arsenal fell to a third successive away North London Derby defeat for the first time in the Premier League era. Antonio Conte’s men have now closed the gap to fourth-place Arsenal to just one point with two games left to play in the season.
