Kane's towering header topples Arsenal in north London derby
Tottenham Hotspur dominated the majority of the second half, but had to cordon off a late Arsenal surge to complete a 1-0 victory in Saturday's north London derby.
Harry Kane's 49th-minute header was enough for the three points. The goal deficit would've been much larger if it wasn't for some heroic goalkeeping from Petr Cech and wastefulness from Mauricio Pochettino's ranks.
Arsenal's defeat ends the club's run of nine straight wins at Wembley. The Gunners almost salvaged a draw in the closing stages of the affair, but substitute Alexandre Lacazette somehow sent his effort wide.
What a chance. Arsene Wenger turns away with his head in hands. That was the one surely.
— Phil McNulty (@philmcnulty) February 10, 2018
As one-nils go, it was pretty comprehensive. Kane should've etched his name on the scoresheet more than once, and Heung-Min Son highlighted a host of other Spurs players who should've bulged Cech's onion bag.
Arsenal fans will be disappointed with a rather flaccid showing going forward until the final minutes, especially after last weekend's morale-boosting 5-1 bashing of Everton. Henrikh Mkhitaryan was anonymous prior to his withdrawal for Lacazette after 65 minutes, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang didn't shoot throughout the whole 90 minutes.
xG map for the North London Derby. Tottenham utterly dominated the second half, then escaped in stoppage time after some poor finishing. pic.twitter.com/s0whMf54P4
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) February 10, 2018
The result extends a concerning record for Arsenal. The Gunners haven't won any of their last 16 away matches against the current top six, losing seven of the last eight. Next up is a two-legged Europa League tussle with Swedish minnow Ostersunds FK before Arsenal faces back-to-back meetings with Manchester City in the Premier League and League Cup final, respectively.
Tottenham is nearing the end of its own difficult run of games, but can take confidence into Tuesday's Champions League tilt with Juventus following 12 games without defeat. In their last three league matches against Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal, Spurs have taken seven points.
"We dominated the game and second half we countered really well, created lots of chances. It's disappointing that we struggled in the last five minutes as the game should have been settled," Eric Dier told the BBC's Match of the Day post-match.
"This team has created the mentality where we can dig in if we have to. They had chances at the end but it could have been a much bigger win."