Match Report: Hurri-Kane Blows Gunners Away at the Lane
“When you have scored the number of goals that he has scored, if England don’t put him in there (the national side), somebody else will give him a passport!” Arsene Wenger joked after he was asked if Harry Kane was good enough to play for the Three Lions. It’s probably the only time the Arsenal boss smiled after taking the lead on the day, after seeing his side outplayed by their North London rivals; arguably a rare occurrence during his Arsenal tenure.
Roy Hodgson was present to cast a keen eye on Tottenham’s highly conspicuous striker, taking the opportunity upon himself to verify whether Kane’s form warranted a place in his national team. It certainly would be surprising if the England manager left with an ounce of doubt after witnessing the 21-year-old become the first Englishman to score a brace for Spurs against Arsenal since Gary Lineker accomplished the feat 24 years ago - with the legendary striker doing so in an FA cup match in 1991.
His brace was enough to leave the Tottenham faithful ecstatic, as they emerged victorious with a 2-1 win following an enthralling encounter, elevating themselves above Arsenal in the table. It was the 8th match in which they have won by that scoreline in the league this season and the 5th in which they secured a winner late on in the match.
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to place all of the praise on Kane's performances as the cause of Spurs' success. Signs have been shown in recent matches that Pochettino is starting to get the right balance in his side, competently playing in a high press system so revered whilst at Southampton.
However it was, indeed, Kane who tested the opposition keeper early on in the match, cutting in onto his right foot and curling an effort towards the far post only to be denied by David Ospina. Despite Tottenham's spell of early dominance, it was Arsenal who took the lead following an incisive counter attack.
Full-backs Danny Rose & Kyle Walker looked to join the attack at any given opportunity, which may have been a dangerous ploy given the speed of fellow England teammate Danny Welbeck. Reinstated in the team following an injury, Welbeck exhibited his blistering pace to exploit the space left behind Rose, before cutting the ball back to Oliver Giroud, whose mis-hit shot fortunately found its way to Mesut Ozil, allowing the German to volley home his 3rd goal in as many matches.
Arsenal have failed to win back-to-back away matches in the league this season though. In fact, they have only managed this feat once since January last year. However, their newfound resilience displayed during their surprising win against Manchester City, seemed set to kick in for a side usually renounced for their gung-ho approach in big matches. Their solidarity at the back paid dividends in the first half, despite having their backs to the wall they limited Tottenham to a couple of half chances from Rose, who stormed forward twice only for Ospina to divert his first shot clear and drag his second wide of the target.
Tottenham didn't have to wait too long after the restart to finally breach Arsenal's defence. Following a corner, Ospina could only palm the ball to the back post as he stretched to deny a headed attempt by Mousa Dembélé, only to find the feet of Kane, who guided the ball home from a tight angle to level the match.
Notably, the performances of Tottenham's midfield two Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason were a standout, dictating play and stifling Arsenal's pending attacks. The duo managed 8 tackles and 3 key passes between them, with Bentaleb earning his highest WhoScored rating (8.31) of the season thus far.
It was the highly impressive Algeria youngster who whipped in a cross from the left late on and it was of course the man of the hour, Kane, who rose the highest, towering above the flat-footed Laurent Koscienly to guide a looping header into the fair post to send the home fans into ruptures.
Mauricio Pochettino spoke about the energy around the ground prior to the match and the reason as to their confidence playing in front of the home crowd. "In the last few months, the energy and atmosphere has been great," said Pochettino. "It is a big change for us. It is more comfortable to play now at White Hart Lane."
Tottenham, looking increasingly like a side who are starting to stake a real claim for a top four spot, travel to Merseyside to face a vital encounter with Liverpool on Tuesday. Pochettino will be hoping that Kane might be able to provide a crucial contribution in front of goal again. Speaking in delight after the match about his in form striker he said, “Harry today showed that he is a great player but my idea is that he can still improve and we need to push him as his potential is massive”.
Who will come out on top between Spurs and Arsenal come the end of the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
