Tottenham thrashes Arsenal to keep its top-4 hopes alive

LONDON: Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur kept its Premier League top-four hopes alive with a 3-0 demolition of Arsenal in a north London derby on Thursday.

Arsenal would have secured its first top-four finish since 2016 with a victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but endured a tough night. Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute before Arsenal had centre-back Rob Holding sent off for a second yellow card 11 minutes later.

Kane’s diving header, which made it 2-0 in the 37th minute, sent Tottenham fans into delirium. The volume went up a notch immediately after the break as Son Heung-min (47’) fired a shot past Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale for his 21st League goal of the season.

Tottenham (65 points from 36 matches) remains fifth on the table despite the win while Arsenal (66 points from 36 matches) is in the driver’s seat in the fourth-place battle. With so much riding on the derby, the opening exchanges were unsurprisingly frenetic as neither side was able to settle into any sort of rhythm. But, it changed when Dejan Kulusevski directed a cross towards Son and the South Korean fell under a challenge from Cedric Soares. The referee awarded a penalty kick, which Kane converted with ease.

Meanwhile, Holding, who had already been booked for a foul on Son, cynically blocked off the Tottenham attacker to be shown the marching orders. Things got worse for the visitor as Son’s corner was met by Rodrigo Bentancur, whose header was diverted home by a diving Kane.

The second half had barely begun when Kane tried to wriggle through and the ball broke for Son, who calmly finished.