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Tottenham vs Arsenal a few quick thoughts

  • Title race is still on – check
  • Finishing above Arsenal this season – check
  • Perfect last ever North London Derby – check
  • But the focus should not be celebrating finishing above what has been a below par Arsenal it’s about keeping Chelsea honest in the race for this season’s title
  • Everton failed to do their bit at Goodison Park as they capitulated in the second half and that could have very well deflated Tottenham
  • Credit to Mauricio Pochettino’s men as they did the task in hand and certainly did not let the occasion get the better of them in the end.
  • There were perhaps signs of that creeping in during the first half as Tottenham spurned two golden chances
  • Firstly Dele Alli somehow managed to head wide from a yard or two out
  • Admittedly he was put under pressure by Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain but so many times this season he has buried chances like that
  • That was the first real opening of the game for either side as proceedings started to warm up after the initial sparring
  • And Tottenham would be presented with a second golden opportunity moments later
  • This time with Petr Cech parrying the ball only as far as Christian Eriksen with the Dane being about seven or eight yards out
  • After the sublime on Wednesday it was almost the ridiculous as Eriksen somehow conspired to clip the top of the crossbar with the goal at his mercy
  • You began to wonder if it was perhaps not going to be their day
  • At the same time Arsenal offered little going forward and Hugo Lloris’ palms were only tested by Aaron Ramsey just before the break
  • At half time you would have felt that Arsenal would have been the happier of the two sides
  • This was a Tottenham team without Mousa Dembele at times it showed as the home side just lacked the drive that he usually brings
  • There was nothing wrong with the midfield pairing of Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama but at times it was a bit safe
  • Heung min- Son was bought in for Dembele who was suffering from the ankle injury sustained against Crystal Palace on Wednesday while the other change was at Right Back
  • Kyle Walker did not have a particularly good game against Palace and Kieran Trippier was bought into start yesterday
  • Whether that fuels the fire for Walker and a potential move to Manchester City in the Summer remains to be seen
  • But with the second half underway Tottenham were once gain the livelier and they would finally get their deserved breakthrough
  • Dele Alli atoned for his earlier miss as he broke the deadlock. Not only did he score though he played a huge part in the making of the goal
  • It was his desire to firstly make the run and pass which fed Eriksen
  • From there Eriksen showed neat footwork which in turn allowed him to get a shot away
  • That once again could only be parried by Cech, this time though Alli was not to be denied and his hunger to get to the ball first and turn it home allowed Tottenham to go ahead
  • Oxlade- Chamberlain should have done better though as he wildly swung and missed at the ball
  • Then the game would turn on it’s head
  • Less than 2 minutes after going ahead, Tottenham would be awarded a penalty
  • Harry Kane who had been slightly quiet up until this point, drove into the box
  • Gabriel Jesus made a clumsy and lazy tackle which saw him clip Kane’s ankle
  • Admittedly Kane made a bit more of it but the contact had been made and from then on it was an easy decision for Michael Oliver to make
  • Penalty to Tottenham…..
  • Goal to Tottenham
  • Kane stepped himself to plant the ball just inside the left hand post. Tottenham’s advantage and the game all but over
  • Tottenham should have had another penalty soon after when Alexis Sanchez handled in the box
  • Referee Oliver was perhaps unsighted or perhaps it was the mindset that he has only just given a penalty and did not want to give another one so soon
  • In laymans terms he bottled it
  • Danny Welbeck would come on for Arsenal and he at least stretched Tottenham
  • But were it not for Petr Cech it would easily have been 4 or 5-0 yesterday
  • He made good saves from Kane and Toby Alderweireld as they continued to turn the screw
  • To be fair the game as a contest fizzled out at this point as Tottenham saw the game out with a clean sheet
  • There was to be no consolation for Arsenal to set up a nervy finish
  • It was a professional job as you are going to get in a derby game
  • Tottenham can now cut the gap to 1 point should they win on Friday night
  • With Chelsea playing on Monday that could be a very nervy weekend for them
  • While for Arsenal, their encounter with Manchester United on Sunday is a big one
  • They best hope they find Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez before then as they went missing yesterday

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