ARSENAL 4-2 TOTTENHAM: REPORT
- Bobby Vincent
- Dec 2, 2018
- 3 min read
An Alexandre Lacazette-inspired late flurry from Arsenal ensured they have leapfrogged their North London rivals Tottenham in the table, in a six-goal thriller at the Emirates Stadium.
Two goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a Lacazette strike and Lucas Torreira's first goal for the Gunners were too much for Tottenham.
Eric Dier and Harry Kane scored for Spurs in quick succession in the first-half, to provide a thrilling match for the fans.
Jan Vertonghen made his Premier League return for Tottenham in the game, but he didn't last the whole 90 minutes, with the Belgian picking up two yellow cards for Spurs.
Arsenal's win means they move above Tottenham into fourth in the Premier League table.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Arsenal started the game right on the front foot straight from the first whistle. They were playing some excellent, fast-paced and free-flowing football.
A handball by Vertonghen gave them a massive chance to make their impressive start count, when Mike Dean pointed to the spot.
Aubameyang scored for Arsenal from the spot, sending Hugo Lloris the wrong way for his ninth Premier League goal of the season.
Arsenal carried on looking a threat and Alex Iwobi's shot was well saved at the feet of Lloris after some good work from Sead Kolasinac.
Tottenham kept growing into the game and Son Heung-Min was looking a threat for them on the counter-attack, with Arsenal happy for their full-backs to consistently push up pitch.
30 minutes in, Christian Eriksen's near post free-kick was met by the slightest of flicks by Dier's head and Bernd Leno should have done better.
Dier celebrated with his finger on his lips "shhh'ing" the Arsenal crowd and that caused a mass brawl which led to the England midfielder being booked.
Almost immediately after, Son again found himself in a handy position and his dribbling was too much for Rob Holding, whose challenge brought the South Korean forward down.
Kane scored the resulting penalty, sending Leno the wrong way - as calm as ever from the Spurs talisman.
Something had to be changed for the Gunners, who started very well but dipped off loads towards the end of the first-half.
Lacazette was brought on for Alex Iwobi and Aaron Ramsey replaced Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
After the restart, Kane's free-kick was really well saved by a backtracking Leno.
But Aubameyang stole the show 10 minutes into the second-half with a fantastic goal for the Gunners.
A positive run from Ramsey disrupted the Tottenham centre-backs and the ball fell to the Gabon striker who finessed home from 25 yards out; leaving Lloris rooted to the spot.
The belief was back in the Gunners side and so too was the crowd. Holding's nod down from a corner found his central defensive partner, Shkodran Mustafi and the German's shot was cleared off the line by Dele Alli; before Torreira's shot went just wide.
Hector Bellerin's square pass gifted Spurs a chance to regain their lead, as it found Son who tested Leno, but the German 'keeper was equal to the task.
But with just 15 minutes remaining, the Emirates was sent into ecstasy. There were flares lit off, the subs were on celebrating. It was mayhem.
Ramsey, who made a huge impact since he came on as a sub at half-time, dispossessed Juan Foyth on the halfway line before feeding Lacazette, who had loads to do, but his left footed strike on the edge of the box clipped the shin of Dier and beat Lloris.
Immediately after, Torreira, who was outstanding for the Gunners, broke through the Spurs backline and finished excellently to end any sort of doubt. He was booked for his celebrations; taking his top off... but he didn't care one little bit.
With just five minutes to go, Vertonghen (booked earlier for handball) was booked for a second time, after catching Lacazette on the ankle - meaning Spurs would play the remaining stages with a man less than the Gunners.
THE MANAGERS
More to come...
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