Tottenham vs Arsenal - as it happened: Dele Alli and Harry Kane hand Spurs well-deserved victory
Re-live all the action from White Hart Lane
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Your support makes all the difference.Both Tottenham and Arsenal ground out 1-0 victories midweek. Spurs overcame a spirited Crystal Palace side to remain four points behind leaders Chelsea thanks to a superb strike from Christian Eriksen. Arsenal kept up their chase of the top-four with a laboured victory over Leicester after a Robert Huth own goal gifted them the three-points. Nacho Monreal’s speculative effort deflected off the German, leaving Arsenal five points adrift of fourth placed Manchester City with a game in hand.
Tottenham bounced back from the disappointment of a 4-2 FA Cup semi-final defeat to title rivals Chelsea against Palace, and will be determined to claim another home victory against old adversaries Arsenal. Spurs have only dropped four points in the league at home this season and will be glad that remaining fixtures against Arsenal and Manchester United are at fortress White Hart Lane.
Arsenal have been rejuvenated in recent weeks since their 3-0 defeat to Palace, winning three consecutive fixtures, including a dogged victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. They remain firm outsiders to claim the final Champions League spot, but will see this fixture as an ideal opportunity to ramp up the pressure on the Manchester duo while derailing Spurs’ title push. Should Arsène Wenger’s men fail to claim all three points, they will surely be too far adrift, and will have to turn all their attention to winning their third FA Cup in four years.
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What time does it start?
Tottenham vs Arsenal kicks off at 16:30 on Sunday 30th April.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 from 16:15. Highlights will be shown at 23:00 on Sky Sports 1.
It’s a big game for…
Theo Walcott. After another disappointing display as a central striker against Leicester, the 28-year-old, supposedly in the prime of his career, has failed to cement a starting birth. Should he be granted another opportunity, he has no bigger stage to prove his worth.
Best stat…
Wenger has never finished below Tottenham in the Premier League in 20 years in charge. The last time Spurs finished above Arsenal was in 1995.
Remember when…
Tomas Rosicky’s second-minute strike from an acute angle proved to be the decisive goal at White Hart Lane during the 2013/14 campaign. Tottenham lost on three separate occasions to Arsenal that season, including a 2-0 loss in the third round of the FA Cup.
Player to watch…
Christian Eriksen. The Dane produced the assist of the season during Spurs’ FA Cup defeat last Sunday and followed it up with a precious goal from 25 yards against Palace when it looked like the match (and his team’s title aspirations) might fizzle out. Eriksen has produced 12 assists this season and will be a key figure if Tottenham are to overcome Arsenal.
Past three-meetings…
Arsenal 1 Tottenham 1, Premier League, November 2016
Tottenham 2 Arsenal 2, Premier League, March 2016
Arsenal 1 Tottenham 1, Premier League, November 2015
Form guide…
Tottenham: WWWWLW
Arsenal: DWLWWW
Odds…
Tottenham to win: 5/6
Arsenal to win: 31/10
Draw: 29/10
(Odds provided by 888 Sport)
1 min: Strong start from Spurs as Harry Kane barges his way into the box and finds target with a low-driven shot. Cech gets down well to deny the home side an early opener.
4 min: Ben Davies charges down the left flank and zips one in to the centre of the Arsenal box. Koscielny is on hand though and successfully boots the ball clear.
8 min: Tottenham's strong start continues. They've got Arsenal pinned back in their own final third as they attempt to find a way through the wall of red shirts. The visiting defence is holding strong though...for now at least.
11 min: Heart-in-mouth moment for Tottenham fans as Lloris challenges for the ball with Gibbs. Arsenal fans want a penalty but the ref waves on play.
16 min: Tottenham are going about this methodologically as they work the ball from right to left, left to right in search of a breakthrough. Arsenal are continuing to hold their shape well, however, and Wanyama's forward pass into the visitors' box is quickly claimed by the imposing Koscielny.
18 min: More pressure from the home side as Davies brings down a long ball from deep near the left-hand side touchline and plays it inside to Son. The South Korean charges forward before playing it back into the path of the Spurs left-back who, with a quick snap of his left boot, fizzes the ball in the direction of the goal from near the byline. It takes a deflection on its way towards the box and ends up going out for a corner.
22 min: Chance for Tottenham! And what a chance it was. Harry Kane managed to get in behind the Arsenal defence on the right but the visitors were quick to recover. The England international still fancied his luck with a shot on goal that took a deflection to force it across the mouth of the goal. From what must have been two yards out, Alli came barging in to meet Kane's effort but ended up guiding his header inches wide of the left-hand side post. That should have been 1-0.
26 min: Another chance for Tottenham! This time Son loses his man on the left, allowing him to charge forward into the box and let loose with a curled shot along the deck. It takes a deflection and lands favourably for the incoming Eriksen on the right. From five yards out, he simply needed to volley the ball into an open net but sent his effort fizzing into the crowd behind.
29 min: Corner for Spurs. It's fired in but ends up bouncing out for another kick from the corner flag. Tottenham go short on their second attempt but fare no better as Cech asserts himself well to clear the delivery.
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