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A win away from securing Champions League football for next season, Arsenal traveled to Tottenham Hotspur for a high-stakes north London derby on Thursday night (12 May).
Having won their last four games in the Premier League, the fourth-placed Gunners fancied themselves to get a positive result against fifth-placed Spurs.
Unluckily for them, nothing went according to plan, as they found themselves outplayed and outmanned against Spurs, ultimately succumbing to a 3-0 defeat. Harry Kane scored twice in the first half (22 and 37 minutes) and Heung-min Son added another in the 47th minute to secure a comfortable win over the Gunners. The victory saw Tottenham move to within a point of their local rivals, with two games left to play.
Arsenal started the game brightly and made inroads into the Tottenham Hotspur box, but they did not have the sharpness to make their chances count. Roughly 20 minutes into the match, Cedric Soares fouled Son inside the penalty area, prompting the referee to point to the spot. Kane stepped up and emphatically put his effort past Aaron Ramsdale.
Eleven minutes after Kane’s opener, Rob Holding picked up his second yellow card of the match for a needless foul on Son. Mikel Arteta’s men were a man down with over an hour of football still left to play. Playing against a 10-man Arsenal, Spurs had more freedom to roam and inevitably doubled their lead through an inch-perfect header by Kane.
Despite being 2-0 up, Spurs didn’t take their foot off the pedal and got their third inside a couple of minutes into the second half. This time, Son scored the goal, applying a first-time finish from inside the box. The Lilywhites pushed for more goals in the second half, but Ramsdale managed to keep the scoreline respectable.
Here are five Arsenal players who failed to perform in the all-important north London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday night.
#5 Bukayo Saka
Bukayo Saka has been Arsenal’s standout performer this season, recording 11 goals and six assists in the Premier League alone. He had the opportunity to taste his first victory at Tottenham last night, but sadly, things did not quite go his way.
The England international put in a tremendous physical shift, but it was not enough to dampen the hosts’ spirits. Ryan Sessegnon was on Saka’s case all night long and did superbly to stop him from getting a clear sight of goal.
Against Arsenal’s arch-rivals, Saka did not have a single shot on target and misplaced all three of his attempted crosses.
Additionally, he lost four ground duels, ceded possession 14 times, and committed two fouls.
#4 Martin Odegaard
Wearing the captain’s armband, Martin Odegaard started just behind Edward Nketiah in Thursday’s high-octane north London derby at Tottenham.
The Norwegian, who has produced quite a few memorable performances this season, struggled to keep up with the tempo and failed to influence the game’s outcome.
He had quite a few decent shooting opportunities but failed to capitalize on any of them. All three of his on-target attempts were tame and did not cause Hugo Lloris any trouble.
The former Real Madrid man also struggled to pass between Tottenham’s lines, registering only one key pass.
Additionally, he lost all six of his ground duels, ceded possession six times, and committed a foul on Lucas Moura, for which he was booked.
#3 Edward Nketiah
Having scored four goals in his last four Premier League games, Edward Nketiah was expected to put in another strong performance on Thursday. He made some good runs and tried to slide behind the Tottenham defense, but did not have any end product.
The 22-year-old was often careless in possession, weak in the duels, and lost Harry Kane completely for his second goal of the night.
The would-be free agent played only eight accurate passes, lost possession seven times, came up second-best in seven of the nine duels, and committed a foul.
He only had one shot in the match (43rd minute), but an acrobatic Hugo Lloris was equal to his effort.
Nketiah ultimately made way for Alexandre Lacazette in the 72nd minute.
#2 Cedric Soares
Mikel Arteta did not trust Nuno Tavares enough to give him a shot against the Lilywhites in the north London derby on Thursday. As a result, Takehiro Tomiyasu started as a left-back, making room for Cedric Soares to start on the right.
The Portuguese defender was completely outplayed by Heung-min Son, who kept teasing him with his acceleration and clever movement.
In the 21st minute, Cedric barged into Son inside the penalty box, who was on his way to head a Dejan Kulusevski floater. The referee promptly pointed to the spot and the VAR obliged. Harry Kane stepped up to take the resultant spot-kick and made no mistake turning it in.
In the north London derby, Soares only had one clearance, lost five of six duels, ceded possession 10 times, and misplaced all three attempted crosses.
#1 Rob Holding
With Ben White failing to recover from a hamstring problem, Rob Holding kept his place in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal XI at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Considering his recent displays, he was expected to exude calmness at the back, something the Gunners direly needed in such a high-stakes derby. Unfortunately, Holding completely lost his bearings against Tottenham and was sent off just past the half-hour mark.
The defender was having a hard time dealing with Heung-min Son’s electric pace. He clumsily brought him down in the 26th minute and was deservedly booked for it. Seven minutes later, he needlessly pushed over the South Korean trying to dispossess him, picking up his second yellow in the process. Had he not lost his head, Arteta’s side would not have had to play with a man down for a long hour.
Against Spurs, Holding lost four duels, lost possession thrice, and committed four fouls, capping off an embarrassing display.
