Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal: Kane Double Earns Spurs Dramatic Comeback Victory
Tottenham striker Harry Kane’s stunning second half double handed his side all three points in Saturday lunchtime’s North London derby with Arsenal.
Kane struck the winner with a sublime header in the final five minutes to shift Spurs above their rivals in the Premier League, with his earlier tap-in cancelling out Mesut Ozil’s first half opener.
Spurs bossed possession for a large chunk of the match, but found their first chance after a swift counter attack. Good work from Moussa Dembele in midfield led to Kane picking up the ball on the left side of the box, and the red-hot striker’s curling shot was tipped wide by David Ospina.
The visitors looked determined to stick to a similar defensive plan to the one that earned victory at Manchester City, but it was a foray forward from Danny Welbeck that contributed to the opener. The returning forward outpaced Danny Rose and cut the ball square to Olivier Giroud, who sliced his shot into Ozil’s quick thinking volley.
Rose brought out another stop from Ospina in the moments following and went close again with a cross-shot that went agonisingly wide of Arsenal’s far post.
Once taking the lead the Gunners were happy to sit back and soak up pressure, so Spurs found themselves continuing to control possession. Arsenal though did an excellent job of restricting space in the final third. Ryan Mason attempted to make something happen from range with another stinging shot for Ospina, but Erik Lamela blazed a chance in the box over the bar within minutes.
The pattern of the match would continue through the break, though Rose and Welbeck would clash either side of the half time whistle – with the Arsenal man perhaps lucky to stay on the pitch after a number of clashes between the two.
Hugo Lloris was the first goalkeeper called into action after the break, denying a strike from the somewhat quiet Santi Cazorla. The Frenchman was forced to deny Danny Welbeck’s curling effort ten minutes later, but sandwiched inbetween came Tottenham’s equaliser.
A header from a pacey corner delivery forced the sharp Ospina into another save, but he could do nothing to deny Kane a rebound from close range. The forward reacted quickest after the ball flashed across goal for 1-1. Spurs had their tails up, and nearly went in front shortly afterwards, but for Ospina’s good stop to deny Nabil Bentaleb – his reactions were again incredible as he clawed away a rebound chance from Kane – even if the attempt didn’t count because of the youngster being offside.
Ryan Mason was amongst the most impressive performers on the pitch throughout and continued to chase down the ball and get Tottenham moving forward, even into the latter stages. His efforts though were looking unlikely to garner any further reward as both sides sparred for the advantage late on – but both were struggling to create clear cut chances.
Though right on cue – when they needed him most – Kane would pop up to hand the home side the lead. Nabil Bentaleb crossed the ball towards his side’s top scorer who was tracked backwards to control a ball landing behind him – but Kane managed to dig out an unbelievable header into the far corner to leave Ospina hapless.
Arsenal pressed for an equaliser in the late stages, but Kane’s heroics handed Spurs a thoroughly deserved win.
SPURS (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Walker, Dier, Vertonghen, Rose; Mason, Bentaleb; Lamela, Dembele, Eriksen; Kane.
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Ospina; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Coquelin, Ramsey; Welbeck, Cazorla, Ozil; Giroud.
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