Harry Kane proved Arsenal’s nemesis again as his bullet header earned Tottenham a deserved 1-0 victory in the north London derby.

Spurs could have won by more at Wembley had they not squandered countless chances in the second half but Kane’s seventh goal in eight versions of this fixture was enough to seal all three points.

Defeat for Arsenal leaves them seven points behind their fiercest rivals as Tottenham boosted their chances of finishing in the Premier League’s top four.

Tweet of the Match

Star man – Harry Kane

Harry Kane heads in the game's only goal
Harry Kane heads in the game’s only goal (John Walton/PA)

It was not a classic afternoon for the Spurs hot-shot as he missed a fair few chances by his high standards. But his leaping header was enough to give Tottenham a vital three points in their task to finish in the top four, and also condemned Arsenal to a damaging defeat.

Moment of the match

Arsenal substitute Alexandre Lacazette was introduced to try and get more attackers on the pitch but the France international spurned a superb chance to equalise in stoppage time. Having already fired high and wide moments before, he collected a through-ball inside the box but could only angle his effort wide of Hugo Lloris’ goal as the afternoon ended in defeat for the visitors.

Data point

Harry Kane has now scored seven goals in Premier League north London derbies – only Emmanuel Adebayor, who had spells with both clubs, has scored more with eight.

Ratings

Dele Alli (centre) had a much better afternoon than Henrikh Mkhitaryan (right)
Dele Alli (centre) had a much better afternoon than Henrikh Mkhitaryan (right) (John Walton/PA)

Tottenham: Hugo Lloris 6 (out of 10), Kieran Trippier 7, Davinson Sanchez 7, Jan Vertonghen 7, Ben Davies 7, Eric Dier 7, Mousa Dembele 7, Son Heung-min 6, Christian Eriksen 7, Dele Alli 7, Harry Kane 8. Subs: Erik Lamela (for Son, 70) 6, Victor Wanyama (for Alli, 85) 5.

Arsenal: Petr Cech 7, Hector Bellerin 5, Laurent Koscielny 5, Shkodran Mustafi 6, Nacho Monreal 6, Mohamed Elneny 6, Granit Xhaka 5, Jack Wilshere 6, Mesut Ozil 5, Henrikh Mkhitaryan 4, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 5. Subs: Alexandre Lacazette (for Mkhitaryan, 65) 5, Alex Iwobi (for Elneny, 65) 5, Danny Welbeck (for Xhaka, 86) 5.

Who’s up next?

Juventus v Tottenham (Champions League, Februay 13)
Ostersunds v Arsenal (Europa League, February 15)