Tottenham 2
Arsenal 1
TOTTENHAM ended Arsenal’s 11-year hex on them at White Hart Lane last night thanks to a 30-yard thunderbolt from Danny Rose and an outstanding performance between the sticks by Heurelho Gomes.
The result reignited Harry Redknapp’s side’s ambitions for the final Champions League place, while there will be the added satisfaction of all but ending their fierce rivals’ faint hopes of winning the Premier League title.
Nineteen-year-old Rose, a surprise selection in midfield, made a huge impact before ten minutes were on the clock, taking Manuel Almunia’s punched clearance on the full and crashing an unstoppable volley over the Spaniard for the lead.
Arsenal, typically, enjoyed the lion’s share of possession but there was very little in the way of chances created.
The game looked beyond them when the Gunners’ makeshift defence – after Mikael Silvestre replaced the injured Thomas Vermaelen – failed to pick up Gareth Bale and he converted Jermain Defoe’s clever through ball.
Robin van Persie was thrown on in a desperate attempt to rekindle Arsenal’s chances of getting something from the game and he shone in his first appearance in eight months for the club.
He laid on Theo Walcott and the England man squared for Nicklas Bendtner to tap in with ten minutes to go but it was to prove too little too late for Arsene Wenger’s men.
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