Ozil silences critics, Kane flops as Arsenal beat Spurs in North London Derby

TWO GOOD

MESUT OZIL

Arsenal’s perennial scapegoat turned North London Derby outstanding performer. Mesut Ozil may be a World Cup winner and five time German Player of the Year, but the standing ovation he received at the Emirates Stadium after his Man of the Match display against Spurs could well count among his proudest moments.

He was simply brilliant on Saturday, creating chance after chance and evading white shirts in the final third with ease. His delivery into the box for Shkodran Mustafi broke the deadlock while his four key passes was indicative of his creative display.

Sanchez had a fine game as well and bagged the second goal, threatening the Spurs goal throughout but it was Ozil’s more subtle influence that helped Arsenal carve open their cross-town rivals by gaining the upper hand in vital areas of the pitch.

SHKODRAN MUSTAFI

Playing at the heart of the three-man Arsenal back-line, Shkodran Mustafi had his hands full with the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen swarming about.

He was up to the task though, intervening to keep Spurs at bay time and again. His block to deny Kane early in the second half particularly stands out as the Englishman pulled the trigger inside the penalty box.

Defensively, he was usually the last man with Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny on either side of him stepping up. He did excellently though, making a whopping 14 clearances and two interceptions.

Of course, a first goal since April to open the scoring was his most telling contribution. He rose highest to connect with Mesut Ozil’s free-kick with a tremendous header that looped into the far corner well beyond Hugo Lloris’ reach.

TWO BAD

HARRY KANE

After a nice rest over the international break, Harry Kane was expected to fire as he normally does in the derby but once again in the league this season, he wasn’t at the races and was hauled off in the 74th minute with his side 2-0 down.

He did manage five shots but only two were on target and neither really troubled Petr Cech. He did hold the ball up well but tried to do too much in his own. His attempts at beating a man were rather lazy and unimaginative, usually resulting in losing possession.

The striker’s best chance came in the 57th minute when he was found inside the box but took too long to pull the trigger and Mustafi was able to make the block.

DELE ALLI

There’s not much to say about Dele Alli’s performance because there’s not much he was really involved in. Having been absent for England duty, like Kane, he couldn’t take advantage of his freshness and was largely crowded out by Arsenal’s midfield and defence.

While Christian Eriksen still managed to get on the ball, Alli was completely anonymous. His best moment came in the 15th minute when Sissoko cut the ball back to him and his cross-cum-shot was cleared before Kane could get on the end of it.

Alli made just 28 passes in the game, that’s the least among all Spurs outfield players who started. That’s also just seven more than Lloris and only one more than Cech.