By Emmanuel Ebimoh
The last time Tottenham Hotspurs won a match against their north London rivals, Arsenal at the Emirates was in 2010, eight years ago. The fierce rivalry between these two north London teams has resulted in producing some of the best entertaining football in English history whenever they play against each other.
Seventeen days after losing 4-2 in an intriguing Premier League clash, in-form Tottenham returned to the Emirates yesterday to face Arsenal in a quarter final EFL Cup match. It was an opportunity for a revenge and Mauricio Pochettino’s side were able to do just that as they gained their first away victory over Arsenal in eight years.
Heung-min Son and Dele Alli registered their names on the scoresheet in each half to seal a memorable 2-0 victory. Son opened the scoring against the run of play with a stylish 24th-minute effort after a cool pass from Dele Alli. The Arsenal defense was caught unawares as Son ran through to finish home.
In the 57th minute, substitute, Harry Kane had too much space just within his own half and he found Alli with a mesmerizing pass. With composure and tactfulness, Alli superbly lofted the ball above Petr Cech to double the advantage for Tottenham. The victory saw them progress to the last four of the competition where they’ll face Chelsea in another crunch north London derby.
Arsenal, however, were left to regret several wasted opportunities with Henrikh Mkhitaryan guilty in the first half, while Tottenham’s goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga, made a few important saves to keep a clean sheet for the away team. One could say that luck wasn’t on the side of the hosts as they struck the woodwork of Tottenham’s goal post on a couple of occasions.
In the other game of the night, Eden Hazard came off the bench to give Chelsea a desperate 1-0 win over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. In the semi-final parings, Tottenham face Chelsea, while League one side, Burton Albion will have a tough task on their hands as they face defending champions, Manchester City.
