The Win That Mattered Most

Spurs claim all three points in a match that was a must-win in more ways than one | Previewing Burnley on the penultimate matchday

Talk to a random Spurs fan about their experience of watching the North London Derby, and most will mention the word "relief" at some point. This match is always a fraught, contentious fixture, but it was made even more so this season thanks to the state of the top 4 race. We weren't just playing for bragging rights and dignity, we were playing to keep alive the chance of Champions League football next season. Plus, the reverse fixture at the Emirates stadium (a 3-1 loss) left a terrible taste in everyone's mouth. It was time for revenge.

And revenge we got!

Tottenham 3 - 0 Arsenal

There were harder-fought victories this season, undoubtedly (the two Manchester City wins come to mind), but this one could very well prove to be the most important in the end. It's funny how relatively stress-free the match was, considering how lifeless the performance was in the reverse fixture--which happened under the reign of Nuno, of course. For the majority of the second half, it felt like there was zero threat of an Arsenal comeback. The game took on the feel of a training exercise, which is a bizarre thing to say about a match with your team's bitterest rival. But Arsenal had played themselves out of the game long before Son's early second-half goal clinched the win for Spurs.

Let's take a look back at how it got to that point, starting with the notable lineup decisions. For our opponents, their defense was hampered by Ben White only being fit enough for the bench (and arguably not even that), as well as the absence of Kieran Tierney. They were also without Thomas Partey in the midfield. I was expecting the exact same lineup for Spurs as we had against Liverpool, but unfortunately, Romero has picked up a hip injury and has been ruled out for the last few matches. He joins Reguilón, Tanganga, and Skipp on the list of players who won't feature again until next season. This required Sánchez to step up and start the match--and step up he did! You wouldn't know he had been severely lacking for playing time recently with the performance he put in, a performance worthy of a derby.

It was a fairly even game for the first twenty minutes or so, although Arsenal showed early signs of lacking a cutting edge. We had a brief moment of concern when Davies picked up an early yellow card in the 17th minute. Sessegnon was doing a great job containing Saka, which helped Davies keep out of trouble. Then Spurs were awarded a penalty after Cedric stupidly shoved Son in the air to divert him from heading in a cross. I genuinely don't understand why so many Arsenal fans and pundits (there is a lot of overlap between those two groups) have been calling the penalty "soft." There was nothing soft about it! Cedric made zero attempt at the ball and denied Son a decent chance at scoring. It was definitely a penalty. You'd think Arsenal would know by now that they need to be hyper-vigilant about not conceding penalties to Spurs because we have the best penalty kick taker in the world (and I'm not just saying that because I'm a little upset at Robert Lewandowski right now--it's Kane, period). Harry put away the penalty with ease past his England teammate Aaron Ramsdale.

Kane wasn't done scoring yet, but first Arsenal had to shoot themselves in the foot again. Rob Holding, despite being one of the older players in the Arsenal XI at age 26, showed a complete lack of maturity when it comes to game management and picked up two yellow cards in less than ten minutes, both for fouls against Son. He had already been warned twice before his first yellow card, so lord knows why he thought he could get away with a blatant shove of the arm to Son's face in the 33rd minute. That could have easily been a straight red, and he's lucky that referee Paul Tierney opted for the second yellow card instead, because now he will only miss one of Arsenal's last two matches. It didn't take us long to capitalize on the man advantage, with Kane completing his brace four minutes later on a diving header, assisted by Bentancur (his second assist since joining in January) off of a Son corner kick. Being a man down is the only possible explanation for why Arsenal seemingly didn't bother to mark Kane on the corner play.

Hugo had to make one quality save last in the first half off an Eddie Nketiah shot, but we entered halftime with a 2-0 lead and high spirits. It took less than two minutes after play resumed to truly put the game to bed. As Kane attempted to maneuver himself into having an open shot in the box, Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhães poked the ball away--and right into Son's path. Sonny chipped the ball perfectly into the net to score his 21st goal of the season. He is now one goal behind Salah in the Golden Boot standings, for those of you following along at home.

He was left on the pitch for another twenty-five minutes to try to grab another goal, but then was (wisely) subbed off by Conte to rest up for the Burnley match on Sunday. He didn't look too happy about it (he's hungry for that Golden Boot, y'all!) but admitted after the match that it's the manager's decision which he has to respect. No hard feelings. Kulusevski was also subbed off at the same time. Bergwijn and Moura taunted the Arsenal defense but were unable to contribute a goal of their own--thankfully, our goal difference is already in a really good spot if it comes down to that tie-breaker on the final matchday. For the final Spurs sub, we got a rare sighting of Joe Rodon, coming in to replace his yellow-carded countryman, Davies. Arsenal picked up three more yellow cards, but otherwise, there wasn't any more drama in the game. It was done and dusted before Smith-Rowe, Lacazette, and Tavares had any real chance to impact the match in their substitute appearances.

It's impossible to pick anyone out as having had a bad performance in this match, but I want to give a special shoutout to Højbjerg, who had one of his best games of the season. He was constantly winning balls in the midfield with progressive tackles, and he really helped to set the pace of the match after the penalty goal. Along with Dier and Davies, he undoubtedly played a big part in leading the team by example in playing with a cool head and patience--a stark contrast to the so-called leaders on Arsenal. I already mentioned Davinson before, but he seriously deserves so much credit for coming into a massive game on short notice and delivering a strong performance. He had some excellent through passes all game, to the point where we barely missed Romero in our build-up play. I think he's made an excellent argument to remain with the team next season, even if he continues to be the second choice to Romero once Cuti is fit again. We need depth in the squad! And as a longtime Spurs player, he understood the importance of winning the NLD, not just for the sake of table standings but for the sake of pride.

A Word on the Beautiful Game

I have to get something off my chest. I am sick and tired of other managers in the league implying that Spurs are somehow ruining football. Whether it's Klopp saying he could never bear to make his team play the way Tottenham does, or Arteta claiming "a beautiful game was destroyed," I have zero time for their nonsense. For one thing, they're being needlessly dramatic to deflect from their own teams dropping points. We can all see what's happening there. And for another, these comments are completely divorced from reality. You would think Spurs were Atlético Madrid the way Klopp was talking, purely playing a low block strategy and hoping to score a desperate goal on the counterattack, despite the fact that our one goal in the draw with Liverpool was a superb team goal that started with our keeper. Arteta's main complaint was about the refereeing, but the suggestion was that Spurs played in such a way that influenced and took advantage of naive old Paul Tierney.

It's just ridiculous and honestly smacks of fear. They can see what Conte has accomplished with significant squad limitations, and they're worried about what he can do next season after a transfer window and a full pre-season. I would be scared too if I was them! But they should be more focused on improving their own teams instead of attributing the death of football to Tottenham. When we play our best football, it is thrilling to watch. I'm certainly not bored or despairing of the direction the team is going. On the contrary, I'm feeling rather positive!

Kudos to Conte for not taking it silently and firing back at Arteta--and for reiterating that this match could and should have been played back in January, if not for Arsenal's gamesmanship of the COVID postponement criteria. They have no one to blame but themselves that they had to face a Spurs team that was, if not full strength, then decidedly more competitive than the lineup we would have been able to field back then.

Early kickoff against stubborn Burnley

It's a good thing the mood is so positive at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the NLD because the team is going to need another strong showing of home support on Sunday. The early kickoff time is less than ideal, as is playing a team that legitimately does tend to play a low block, Burnley. Top 4 is still out of our hands for now until the Arsenal result on Monday, but we can at least continue to put pressure on them by securing three more points. And maybe our old friend Kieran Trippier can do Spurs a solid by helping Newcastle defeat Arsenal!

It's not going to be an easy match for us since Burnley are literally fighting for survival. They are just outside the relegation zone, thanks to a goal difference advantage over Leeds. Their new management (which I think is just a caretaker situation, but don't quote me) seems to be getting a little more out of them than Dyche was towards the end of his tenure, but they're still Burnley. Limited in attack, stingy on defense, and absolutely no fun to play against. It's going to be a grind.

On the positive side, our wingbacks have been playing better in the last few games, so we should be able to count on at least a few quality crosses into the box for Son or Kane to finish. We've also been producing more from set pieces of late. And of course, Sonny always loves a goal against Burnley--and he's never been more motivated to score than he is right now. I have no doubt we'll find a way to score at least one goal and win all three points. Conte will definitely be wanting revenge after the gutting 1-0 away loss at Turf Moor in February.

COYS