Tottenham Hotspur maintained their push for a top-four spot as they clinched a 1-0 triumph over north London rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday. The first-half was rather cagey with both sides keeping it tight in the midfield, but Spurs dominated the second period and could have simply added more goals to their tally. Harry Kane notched his seventh goal versus the Gunners in the 49th minute of the game, and they managed to hold onto their slender lead for the rest of the match despite a scare at the end.
Three Things We Learned:
Harry Kane continues his fine streak versus Arsenal: The 24-year-old was highlighted as the main threat to rattle the Gunners backline, and he rightly did so as he climbed higher than Laurent Koscielny to net the sole game of the game. Kane had a couple of other chances including a dolly of a ball in the first period, but he will surely be delighted with his showing nevertheless. The England international now has seven goals in eight meetings versus Arsenal, and he is just one behind Emmanuel Adebayor, who holds the record for the most strikes in the north London derby.
Mkhitaryan-Aubameyang partnership fails: A lot was said about the new era with the signings of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last month, but their performance was relatively average. Whilst Aubameyang may have not received the service upfront, Mkhitaryan struggled to find his crossing range with a couple of left-footed cross going astray. The Armenia international was criticised for a similar concern during his time at Old Trafford, and the Gunners’ faithful will hope that the 29-year-old does not enter his shell once more.
Arsenal paying the price at the back: The Gunners failed to recruit an experienced defender during the winter transfer window, and it appears to have come and haunt them. Mustafi struggled to track Kane at different stages of the game, whilst Hector Bellerin had a similar struggle at right-back where he saw both Ben Davies and Son Heung-min find space behind him – with the former providing the match-winning assist for Kane. The Gunners went nine straight league games without a clean sheet.
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