Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal. Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur StadiumAttendance62,027.
Free highlights and report as Harry Kane's double and Heung-Min Son's 21st of the season see Tottenham inflict damaging north London derby defeat on 10-man Arsenal; Rob Holding typifies abject Gunners display with mindless dismissal as Spurs cut Arsenal's lead to a point with two to play
Friday 13 May 2022 09:11, UK
Tottenham overwhelmed 10-man Arsenal to reignite their Champions League qualification hopes with an emphatic 3-0 victory in a breathless 191st north London derby.
Arsenal wilted and then imploded on a night of high drama and tension at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Cedric Soares' push on Heung-Min Son presenting Harry Kane with the 22nd-minute penalty he converted to give Spurs the lead.
The Gunners, overawed by the atmosphere and occasion, were reduced to 10 men when Rob Holding was given his marching orders for a mindless barge on Son (33), and Spurs needed just four minutes to hammer home their advantage when Kane stooped to head in his second.
Any prospect of an Arsenal comeback was extinguished when Son fired in a third, and his 21st of the season, 70 seconds into the second half, as fifth-placed Spurs saw out a comprehensive victory to cut fourth-placed Arsenal's advantage in the race for a top-four finish to a point with two games to play.
Champions League qualification is still in Arsenal's hands but the damaging nature of this north London derby collapse and a less than favourable run-in will give Tottenham renewed belief of finishing ahead of the Gunners in the top four.
May 15 - Burnley (h)
May 22 - Norwich (a)
May 16 - Newcastle (a), live on Sky Sports
May 22 - Everton (h)
The north London derby was a powder keg waiting to be ignited and, after an encouraging Arsenal start, the spark came for Spurs midway through the half. Cedric's nudge prevented Son from reaching Dejan Kulusevski's deep cross and left referee Paul Tierney with no option but to point to the spot, from where Kane slotted home for the 13th time in this fixture.
Cedric's clumsy conceding of the penalty was upstaged in farcical circumstances when Holding recklessly collided with Son off the ball and picked up his second yellow of the game to leave Arsenal with almost an hour to overturn the one-goal deficit with 10 men.
Tottenham took full advantage of the man advantage, with Kane evading Takehiro Tomiyasu to head in his second within four minutes of Holding's dismissal, and Spurs ensured they retained a tight grip on the contest through to the interval when Hugo Lloris tipped Eddie Nketiah's curling effort over the bar.
Two swiftly become three when the ball broke for Son in the Arsenal area after Gabriel's sliding challenge on Kane, and the South Korean dispatched Spurs' third in the second minute of the second half.
Arsenal were indebted to Aaron Ramsdale for preventing further embarrassment with fine saves to keep out Emerson Royal's header and Kane's swerving, long-range drive, but that was scant consolation for the Gunners who must pick themselves up fast to avoid their north London rivals adding the most-coveted of prizes - Champions League qualification - to this derby triumph before the season is up.
Rob Holding has revelled in his role as Arsenal's finisher at times this season, coming off the bench to help secure wins over Wolves, Watford, Aston Villa and Manchester United. He started victories over West Ham and Leeds this month. But this was a wretched night.
The central defender had fouled Heung-Min Son twice already before he even went into the book. Smiling at the Spurs man, one might have thought he was relishing the battle, but instead he became caught up in it. Gary Neville called it ego and that is how it seemed.
"What is he doing? Oh my goodness," said Neville, on-co-commentary for Sky Sports. "I am watching the run and I think he has a jab with his elbow. He is saying it is a shoulder but it is madness from Holding. He has been erratic, he has been rash, and he is off."
Holding is 26 with half a dozen seasons of Premier League experience, but this was the behaviour of a player lost in the moment, displaying immaturity when cool heads were required. "Son played Holding like a little boy," said Neville. It was difficult to disagree.
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"It is a really difficult one. Arsenal know what they need to do. If they go to Newcastle and win and then beat Everton they get Champions League. Spurs on the other hand, of course they have much better fixtures, you would rather play Burnley at home and then Norwich away, Norwich are already down. Of course, you would rather have Spurs fixtures, but I would not mind being in Arsenal's shoes because you know what you have got to do.
"But the other problem that Arsenal have got, and it is a really difficult one, is injuries. It looks like Gabriel has got an injury. They obviously haven't got Rob Holding. Kieran Tierney is out injured. The back four has been pretty much dismantled. It is all to play for and Newcastle will be a really tough game for Arsenal. They somehow have to pick themselves up and I did not like how they played tonight. They were petulant. It was like the occasion got to them."
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta to Sky Sports: "If I say what I think I am suspended for six months. I don't know how to lie so I prefer not to say what I think. I cannot say what I think.
"I am not unhappy with my players. I am proud of my players. I want the referees to come in front of the camera and explain his decisions. It's a shame because such a beautiful game was destroyed today. The decision was made. We can't change it. The referee has to make a decision in football.
"Our focus is Newcastle. This game is history. This is gone. It went out of our hands and we have to accept it. Now we need to be the team that you saw from the beginning.
"When you lose a football match in the conditions, we lost them it's painful. But we have a huge match on Monday so we will try to beat them. We have two games to play each. It's in our hands and now we have to do our jobs. We showed from the beginning in this game."
Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte to Sky Sports: "When there are games that are must-win, winning it is not easy. We could have only one result.
"To see players with this focus, this calm, and this positive pressure. We tried to be stable. This is the first step to becoming an important team.
"The atmosphere was amazing. For this reason we have to give thanks to our fans. They were incredible from the start until the end. They pushed us a lot. I think we repaid their faith with a good win in an important derby, especially because we are now very close to them.
"It is only one point. There are two games to go. For sure, we need to recover very well because we are going to play on Sunday in an important game against a team that have beaten us.
"For this reason, I was very clear with my players - to enjoy, to celebrate, but we have to win on Sunday because this win in the derby will only be important if we win on Sunday."
"Harry Kane tonight had one touch in the first 15 or 20 minutes of the match," said Gary Neville, speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast.
"I think the eager, immature centre-forward does what the opposition want him to do and starts to drift wide or drop deep. I remember Sir Alex always used to say to be patient. Hold your position between the two centre-halves. Stay there. Eventually the moment will come.
"Harry really did show some patience in that first 20 minutes. He could have got eager. He could have started moving in, going wide to get the ball and involve himself in the game, but he didn't do. He held that central position. Elneny was blocking him off brilliantly, it was good from Arteta. But eventually the game started to come to him.
"He is playing at this really high level. Earlier in the season, there was this feeling that his time was up, he wasn't happy, his form had gone, what has happened to Harry Kane?
"Sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing when you think back to the conversations you were having about the same player six months ago. But I have always said this is gold, Harry Kane. This is the most reliable thing you can invest in.
"I had him for four years as an assistant coach to Roy Hodgson. He is unbreakable. He is Alan Shearer-like. He is the only person I have ever seen who is like Shearer. He has emotion, of course. But he is completely sober in every part of his life, in his preparation, the repetition of the strike into the far corner, Shearer was exactly the same.
"Tonight, what we have seen, I thought his performance last week at Anfield was special. It is difficult to play well against Van Dijk's back four, that pressing midfield, that aggressive small pitch, that Anfield atmosphere, what was on the game. For him to do what he did last week at Anfield was really special, it was a top performance from a centre-forward, and he has done it again here tonight."
