Harry Kane proved to be the difference in the north London derby again as Tottenham recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Arsenal at Wembley on Saturday.
A header from the England striker early in the second half was enough to earn Spurs all three points and move into third place in the Premier League with Liverpool and Chelsea playing on Sunday.
Here, we rate the performance of the Tottenham players.
TOTTENHAM (4-2-3-1)
Hugo Lloris – Munching popcorn before he plucked out a venomous Jack Wilshere effort from the air. That’s the type of attention span you want from a goalkeeper in a dominant side. 7
Kieran Trippier – Not as eye-catching on the right flank as Davies but was stout defensively, though he was helped by the fact that Mkhitaryan was speaking a different language to his team-mates. Gobbledigook. 7
Jan Vertonghen – Much like Rio Ferdinand, Vertonghen is the type of player that on his day operates with such control that nary a hair on his head is out of place come the final whistle. It was one of those days. 9
Davinson Sanchez – Not quite as composed as his partner – a little more blood and thunder with his tackling and you’re never entirely comfortable watching him dally on the ball. Nearly soured Spurs’ day after letting Lacazette through in injury-time. 6
Ben Davies – Had new Wales boss Ryan Giggs been in the stands he’d have a genuine rival for best left foot within the confines of Wembley – a beauty of a cross to set up Kane. Was a little lax defensively in the first half, as Arsenal’s best moments came down his side. 8
Eric Dier – Let the entertainers juggle while he mopped up the loose balls. Let Wilshere bypass on a couple of occasions but past the 20-minute mark, there was only one winner in that particular battle. 7
Moussa Dembele – Wouldn’t melt under pressure if you stuck him in a microwave. Danced around Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny for fun in the middle of the park. 8
Christian Eriksen – Whipped in a delicious cross off his right peg – to match Davies – that Kane should have gobbled up in the first half. Did not wane a bit in influence in the second half as he flayed Arsenal’s centre-backs with vexing throughballs. 8
Dele Alli – Produced some exquisite touches and tricks but, relative to the work being produced both ahead of him and around him, was not the star artist on show. 6
Son Heung-Min – His parting shot was one of the worst you’ll ever see – at least 30 feet over Cech’s crossbar – but Arsenal paid special attention to him as there were three men around him nearly every time he touched the ball. He thoroughly deserves that attention. 7
Harry Kane – Missed a sitter with his head in the first half and was given a second chance. Then proceeded to miss two other gilt-edged opportunities. But he deserves a high mark purely for some surgical link-up play, the best of which found Erik Lamela. Sitter-misser turned sitter-provider. 8
SUBSTITUTES:
Erik Lamela – Had an eventful 20 minutes on the pitch – fluffing his lines and receiving a yellow card. However, he dovetailed effortlessly into a dangerous attack as Tottenham kept the pace up until the end. 6
Eric Wanyama – In the last five shored up a Tottenham side that really should have been out of sight. N/A
