We saw some excellent piece of football being played between Tottenham and Arsenal in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup, where the men in white and blue emerged as victorious.
The Lilywhites consequently progressed into the semifinals after registering a 2-0 win over the gunners as they also avenged for the defeat they took at the hands of the same team at the same venue earlier this month when they met during a Premier League clash.
Today’s North London derby was different from the previous one as Tottenham were the superior side in most of the game. Arsenal started the game by their usual attacking football and nearly scored through Aubameyang who missed the chance by striking the ball right at the hands of Spurs shot-stopper Paulo Gazzaniga. Then as the game progressed Spurs took the attacking baton from the hands of Arsenal and made some threatening counter-attacks. Meanwhile, the trio of Mkhitaryan, Guendouzi and Ramsey were constantly trying to produce something for their team.
However, the Gunners defence proved to be leaky in the 20th minute when Son Heung-Min made a penetrating run through Arsenal’s defensive line after taking a clever pass from Dele Alli and then smashed the ball into the back of the net. Spurs clearly dominated the game until the 40th minute when the Reds again rekindled their aggression and kept attacking till the end of the first half.
Arsenal came as an improved side in the second half, though both the teams kept pressing and fighting for the ball. The turning point of the game arrived when both, Pochettino and Emery decided to land their star strikers in the form of Kane and Lacazette, respectively, on the pitch. And as the two strikers made it to the field, the excitement level of fans from both the ends went up higher. But it was Tottenham’s followers whose happiness got multiplied after Kane who was touching the ball for the very first time in the match, took the ball and made a pin-pointed perfect pass for a sprinting Dele Alli who then very calmly handled the one on one situation with Peter Cech and produced a magnificent finish to double the lead for his team. The home side couldn’t get up from the heavy knock they have received through Alli’s goal and the match ended with Tottenham claiming a well-deserved victory.
The Gunners had their moments of excellence in between the game and played their usual ‘beautiful’ football but they clearly couldn’t stand against Pochettino’s men.
It was befitting reply on the face of the home side’s players who celebrated a bit over-enthusiastically after winning in the last encounter between both the teams.
A young Arsenal fan threw a plastic bottle over Alli in frustration that struck him on his head. The brave midfielder responded with a burning gesture that reflected the two-nil scoreline.
Let’s have a look upon the player’s ratings.
Tottenham Hotspur: Gazzaniga (6), Rose (8), Alderweireld (7), Davies (7), Trippier (7), Sissoko (7), Alli (9), Winks (7), Moura (6), Eriksen (7) and Son (8).
Subs: Kane (7) and Lamela (6)
Arsenal: Cech (5), Maitland-Niles (7), Sokratis (6), Xhaka (5), Monreal (6), Guendouzi (7), Torreira (6), Mkhitaryan (6), Ramsey (7), Iwobi (5) and Aubameyang (5).
Subs: Lacazette (6), Nketiah (6) and Koscielny (6).
Man of the Match: Dele Alli
WHAT’S NEXT
Tottenham joins Chelsea, Burton and Manchester City in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup. They’ll face Chelsea in the semis which would be a two-legged clash and is scheduled for 8th and 22nd of January 2019.
For now, the Lilywhites will be visiting the Goodison Park for a Premier League game against Everton on Sunday. Tottenham are at the third position, just six and five points behind Liverpool and Manchester City, respectively. A win will keep them in the top three and put pressure on the above two sides.
Whereas Arsenal have a slightly easier game against Burnley at home.
Let’s read some exciting comments coming from the players.
Danny Rose: “Our only motivation was remembering the nonsense that Arsenal posted after the game a few weeks ago. That was our motivation. Players that have only played ten games for Arsenal were getting ahead of themselves. We used that in a positive way. It’s karma. They fully deserve what they got.
“They celebrated like they had won the league. We’ve put that result right, we’ll see where they come to at the end of the season and we’ll see where we are.”
Dele Alli: Well he posted on his Instagram account this.
