Tottenham has defeated Arsenal 3-0 in the latest instalment of the north London derby. A first-half double from Harry Kane sent Spurs on their way, with Rob Holding shown his marching orders to gift their rivals a win. Son Heung-Min added a third just after halftime to complete the goal tally.
Arsenal could have confirmed a place in the Premier League’s top four with a win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but endured a dismal night to now stand only one point clear of Spurs with two games left.
In a feverish atmosphere, Harry Kane gave Spurs the lead from the spot in the 22nd minute after Cedric Soares fouled Son Heung-min, then added a second before the break with a stooping far-post header after Rodrigo Bentancur flicked on a corner.
In between, Arsenal had been reduced to 10 men when Rob Holding was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Son, while the South Korean finished off any hopes the Gunners had when he fired in from 10 yards two minutes after halftime. Son made sure of the result by lashing home two minutes into the second half for his 21st Premier League goal of the season, putting him one behind Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.
In the battle for a top-four berth, Spurs, on 65 points, are now just a point behind Arsenal in fourth and have a superior goal difference, heading into the final two games of the season. In third on 70 points and with a vastly superior goal difference, Chelsea effectively need just a point from their final two games to be sure of Champions League football next season.
Arsenal will finish with games at Newcastle United on Monday before hosting Everton on the final day. Spurs, meanwhile, will welcome Burnley on Sunday ahead of a final-day matchup at bottom-of-the-table Norwich City.
“We still have two games to go, and we have put the pressure on them. We have to focus on ourselves. We play early on Sunday so we need to get a result and see what happens,” Kane said.
“We can only control our games. We did our job tonight. We won’t get ahead of ourselves. Tonight was special, but our ultimate goal is to get fourth place and we still have work to do.”
Conte has brought the best out of this Spurs side by implementing his trademark fierce tactical discipline while still getting the most from those two outstanding forwards, who have been augmented by impressive January signing Dejan Kulusevski.
As Spurs flourished and Arsenal wilted, it made for a celebratory atmosphere among a record crowd of 62,027 inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs are still the hunters, but they have a real chance of making the top four to round off some fine work by Conte, who took over an out-of-sorts side in eighth place when he succeeded sacked Nuno Espirito Santo in November.
