EPL | Tottenham beats Arsenal 3-0 to tighten race for Champions League spot
The Hindu
Goals by Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Son Heung-min demolish Arsenal as the battle for fourth place in the Premier League hots up
Tottenham revived its hopes of beating Arsenal to the final Champions League qualification position by overwhelming its fierce north London rival in a 3-0 win in the Premier League.
Harry Kane scored twice for Tottenham—including one from the penalty spot—and Son Heung-min added the other just after halftime on May 12 to move Tottenham one point behind fourth-place Arsenal. The Gunners had center-back Rob Holding sent off in the 33rd minute when the score was 1-0.
There are two games remaining for each team and fifth-place Tottenham's finish to the season looks easier than Arsenal's. While Tottenham face two of the bottom four in Burnley and already-relegated Norwich, Arsenal must travel to Newcastle before a home game against a resurgent Everton.
"This type of game is not easy—when it's a game you must win, it's not easy," Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said.
"We knew tonight, there had to be only one result. We had concentration and had the right calm and positive pressure." Arsenal was responsible for its own downfall in a way, with full-back Cedric Soares barging into Son Heung-min at the back post for the penalty that Kane rolled into the corner in the 22nd minute.
Holding, already booked for pulling back Son Heung-min, then opted to stick out an elbow to block off the South Korea forward rather than track his run following Eric Dier's ball over the top of the Arsenal defense.
Rob Holding connected with the face of Son Heung-min, who slumped to the ground, and was shown a second yellow card in the 33rd.