Tottenham 1-0 Arsenal EPL Match Report

Tottenham 1-0 Arsenal  

[ Premier League 2017-18 Match ]

49′ 1 – 0 Harry Kane

Harry Kane scored his seventh career goal against Arsenal as Tottenham Hotspur edged a tight North London derby at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Spurs could have won by more at Wembley had they not squandered a string of chances in the second half, but Kane's seventh goal in eight games against the Gunners was enough for all three points.

Defeat for Arsenal leaves them seven points behind their fiercest rivals as Tottenham boosted their chances of finishing in the top four.

Both teams came into this fixture on the up, with Arsenal buoyed by their blockbuster buys in January and a 5-1 thumping of Everton, while Spurs were unbeaten in 11.

But Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was virtually anonymous and Henrikh Mkhitaryan ineffective, so it was left to Tottenham's star man to come up trumps again.

Kane admitted this week that games against Arsenal give him an extra buzz after the Gunners released him as an eight-year-old, and on another day the 24-year-old could have had a hat trick.

Toby Alderweireld was not included, perhaps left to work on his fitness ahead of Tuesday's Champions League trip to Juventus, while January signing Lucas Moura made the squad for the first time.

For Arsenal, Aaron Ramsey was a surprise omission but Petr Cech was passed fit in goal, with Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan taking their places in a front three alongside Mesut Ozil.

A chaotic opening quarter of an hour had both teams threatening on the counter-attack but it took until the 27th minute for the first real chance to arrive.

Kane should have scored as he drifted beyond Nacho Monreal and Christian Eriksen found him with a clipped cross, but the striker, unmarked, headed over.

Spurs settled quicker but in truth the half deteriorated as it went on. Eric Dier could have turned in a skewed Mousa Dembele shot but he also miskicked and by the whistle both teams looked in need of a reset.

When they re-emerged, however, it was Tottenham who grabbed the ascendancy, getting the ball forward faster and harrying their opponents with the sort of aggression Arsenal were either not ready for or simply could not match.

There was little complicated about Kane's opener. Ben Davies was allowed time to cross from the left and the striker jumped high above Laurent Koscielny, before nodding past Cech.

For the next 30 minutes Arsenal were hanging on as Kane glanced Dier's delivery wide and then leathered a volley straight at Cech after Kieran Trippier had poked the ball through Jack Wilshere's legs.