Kane is able as Arsenal pay penalty in dramatic derby draw with Tottenham
Harry Kane continued his love affair with scoring against Arsenal while Hugo Lloris saved a 90th-minute penalty as Tottenham forced a 1-1 draw in a pulsating north London derby at Wembley.
After Kane had rattled in a 74th-minute spot-kick to cancel out Aaron Ramsey’s first-half opener, Lloris then kept out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 12-yard effort out to ensure a first Premier League draw for Spurs in 33 games.
It was Kane’s ninth goal in nine Premier League games against the Gunners, but Lloris’ stop was even more important as it ensured Spurs avoided three successive defeats, which would have left Tottenham’s chances of sealing a place in the top four in serious jeopardy.
Big moment. Big save. #COYS ⚪️ #NorthLondonDerbypic.twitter.com/6wvRyd0QfV— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 2, 2019
Both penalty decisions were soft, with Kane appearing offside, while Unai Emery’s side finished with 10 men after Lucas Torreira was sent off in stoppage time for a foul on Danny Rose.
Mauricio Pochettino, celebrating his 47th birthday, was happy with the gifts Kane and Lloris provided as his side’s lead over Arsenal looked like being cut to one point, having been 10 before last weekend.
It remains at four points, but the race for the Champions League places, which also involves Manchester United and Chelsea, hots up.
For a long time it looked like Ramsey was going to say farewell from the north London derby, ahead of his summer move to Juventus, in style as he put the Gunners ahead in the 16th minute.
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ISSA VIBE— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 2, 2019
Leaving top scorer Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil on the bench did not seem to have too much of an adverse effect as they sliced Spurs open.
Davinson Sanchez fatally misjudged his header in the centre circle, which allowed Alexandre Lacazette to set Ramsey clear and the departing Welshman coolly rounded Lloris and slotted home.
Spurs had to muster some sort of response and they momentarily thought they had levelled eight minutes later but Kane was ruled offside when he headed home Kieran Trippier’s free-kick.
Arsenal came close to doubling their lead when they again caught Spurs on the break and Lloris was forced into a smart stop from Alex Iwobi’s curling effort.
🙌🙌🙌 AMAZING DOUBLE SAVE FROM BERND LENO! 🙌🙌🙌— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) March 2, 2019
But it was a double save at the other end that ensured the visitors took their lead into the half-time interval as Leno produced two top-drawer stops.
First he kept out Christian Eriksen’s first-time effort from eight yards with his feet and, with everyone waiting for the net to ripple as the rebound fell to Moussa Sissoko, the keeper then pulled off an instinctive reflex save with his left hand.
Spurs huffed and puffed in their attempts to get back into the game and it could have been all over midway through the second half had Lacazette not sliced his effort from close range wide.
That miss led to 16 dramatic final minutes.
"It was a big second half for us. Of course we wanted the three points, but the fight and passion we showed, the crowd can relate to that. We got the goal and it could be a very important one."— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 2, 2019
The hosts were handed a way back into the game when referee Anthony Taylor adjudged Shkodran Mustafi to have fouled Kane, though it looked soft and Kane was shown to be offside, but there was little doubt the England captain was going to convert from the spot.
Spurs would have fancied going on to win it, but in the end they were happy to get the draw thanks to their skipper.
After Sanchez stupidly fouled Aubameyang, Lloris got down to keep out a poor spot-kick from the Arsenal striker, with an even better tackle from Jan Vertonghen in the follow-up allowing a visiting player an easy tap-in.
Spaniard Torreira then saw red at the death as he caught Rose high up, with an enthralling derby ending as a stalemate.
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