Son, Kane combine to sink Arsenal

London: Tottenham are back leading the Premier League after a thoroughly efficient performance which saw their bitter rivals Arsenal go down 2-0 in defeat.

Both goals came from the combined efforts of Son Heung-Min and Harry Kane who have now combined for 31 goals, the second most of any duo in the league.

Their manager, Jose Mourinho said: “They are world-class. They work together brilliantly for each other and also for the team. We controlled the game by being defensively solid. And Sonny and Harry, their finishing was amazing.” He added: “They work like animals, with all the respect to animals. I love animals, don’t get me wrong, but they were working amazingly hard when they didn’t have the ball. This isn’t just about scoring goals and being world- class — they are great guys and great pros who give everything for the team.”

Arsenal did in fact make a good start and were not outplayed. They kept pushing forward and yet that was their undoing as they committed too many players and were caught short in defence. Spurs took advantage with counter attacking in which they were so effective. The first goal came in the 13th minute when Kane picked up a ball out from defence and sent a beautiful pass to Son who beat his man cutting inside to hit a superb curling shot from 25 yards into the far corner of the net.

Spurs defence remained solid giving little chance to the opposition. Striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, terribly out of form this season, did have a chance but put his header over the bar and Alex Lacazette too missed later but such chances were few and far between. On the other hand, Spurs added to their lead on the stroke of half-time just as Arsenal’s Thomas Partey, with a thigh injury, was coming off the field.

The build-up began with Giovani Lo Celso making good ground with the ball from deep defence and passing to Son on the left. The understanding between Son and Kane is such that the South Korean knew where Kane would be and slipped a pass wide on the left for him to powerfully drive the ball in after hitting the underside of the bar. It was Kane’s 11th goal against Arsenal, most by any player in the north London derby. It was also his 100th home goal for Spurs and 250th of his career for clubs and country.

While Spurs took their chances to score, Arsenal, despite having two-thirds of the possession failed to penetrate Spur’s defence. Mourinho’s strategy of solid defence and counter attacking keeps bringing favourable results.

Andy Jalil -