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Tottenham Hotspur secured a crucial and impressive 3-0 win over arch-rivals Arsenal in the north London derby on Thursday in the Premier League. Antonio Conte's men were head and shoulders above the visitors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they blew the race for Champions League qualification wide open.
The derby got off to a feisty start as both Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min were involved in tussles with Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding, respectively, early on.
Although the visitors were quick to get off the blocks, Tottenham slowly grew in confidence. Spurs were handed a huge opportunity in the 22nd minute when the referee awarded them a penalty. Cedric was adjudged to have nudged Son from behind after Kulusevski whipped a cross towards the far post.
The Arsenal full-back and his teammates pleaded his innocence, but referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot. Harry Kane stepped up to bury the penalty with ease, sending Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way.
Things went from bad to worse for Mikel Arteta in the 33rd minute as Holding picked up his second yellow card after catching Son with his elbow. The defender received marching orders and left his teammates with a mountain to climb.
Tottenham make best use of numerical advantage to pick Arsenal apart
It took Spurs just four minutes from the sending off to double their advantage. Rodrigo Bentancur flicked a corner towards the far post and Kane escaped the attention of Eddie Nketiah to guide the ball into the bottom corner with his head. It was his 13th Premier League goal against Arsenal, the most against the Gunners by any player.
Shortly after the half-time interval, Son extended Spurs' lead to put the result beyond any doubt. The South Korean fired his shot into the far corner after the ball fell kindly to him inside the box following a tackle on Kane in the 47th minute. The home crowd were sent into raptures as Tottenham celebrated.
Spurs threatened to add more goals with strikes from Emerson Royal and Kane, but were denied by Ramsdale in goal for Arsenal. Son also blazed an attempt from close-range over the bar, much to his own disappointment.
Arsenal showed little fight for the majority of the game and deservedly walked away with no points. Despite the loss, the Gunners still occupy fourth-place, the final berth for Champions League qualification next season. However, Tottenham have moved to just within a point of Arsenal after their win.
In the wake of what proved to be a hugely-significant result in terms of finishing inside the Champions League spots, fans on Twitter were quick to react. Here are some of the best tweets about the north London derby:
