Aaron Lennon netted Spurs' second in this afternoon's north London derby

Published: 3 March, 2013
By DAN CARRIER at White Hart Lane

Premier League
SPURS 2, ARSENAL 1

TOTTENHAM'S wonder wingers Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon saw off their rivals Arsenal today (Sunday) in a pulsating match that means Spurs close the gap on second-place Manchester City to just two points.

The pair hit two first-half goals in their side’s 2-1 victory in what turned out to be a solid home win.

But Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas, with a croaky voice that betrayed the excitement under his cool exterior, said that with 30 points left to play for, there was no time to celebrate.

“It's not finished yet,” he warned. “We still have to fight hard and we have to keep doing our jobs.”

He reminded fans of last year’s 13-point lead over Arsenal and how the season went horribly wrong as the Gunners dragged them back and, with Chelsea winning the Champions League, Spurs were denied a tilt at Europe's elite competition.

“Last season, Arsenal was at one point seven points behind us and we know what happened,” he said.

“However, this time we do feel the motivation is different. We are very confident and they will be low right now, and may find it hard to jump back.”

Spurs went into the game in a fine vein of form, having not lost since early December's last-minute defeat at Everton. But the reds seemed determined to out-battle Spurs. While the home side tried hard to settle, Arsenal's sheer enthusiasm gave them some nervous moments at the start.

It meant the opener on 37 minutes came against the run of play.

Arsenal had seen plenty of the ball but not really troubled Spurs, finding the Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen combination a barrier that was tough to breach. Then Gylfi Sigurdsson stepped forward on the left and spotted Gareth Bale making a run down the centre. His wonderfully weighted pass bisected the two Arsenal centre-backs and the man of the moment walked on to it with time to spare. With an impudent flick of the outside of his left boot, the ball was in the net. Three minutes later, his fellow winger Aaron Lennon did exactly the same. This time Scott Parker sprung the trap with a super slide-rule pass and Lennon gleefully raced on to it and tapped home.

Arsenal, chasing the game, came out fighting after the break and a Per Mertesacker header on 50 minutes brought them back into it. His near-post flick from a corner narrowly missed Bale and Adebayor before squirming in.

But while Arsenal huffed and puffed forward, they found a well-drilled Spurs side could deal with all thrown at them – and offer threats themselves.

On 69, Sigurdsson wriggled round a static Arsenal defence and with just the keeper to beat inexplicably squared it for a non-existent team-mate when it was easier to shoot. A moment later Defoe, on for Adebayor, fired a shot narrowly wide. Spurs were then happy to soak up the pressure and hit on the counter.

Despite lots of aerial attacks, Arsenal never troubled keeper Hugo Lloris and Spurs had a vital three points to put them seven ahead of their north London rivals in fifth. And however cute AVB tries to play it, this feels like a big step towards Europe next season. As skipper Michael Dawson said after the game: “The whole place is buzzing. We've given our fans bragging rights at work tomorrow.”

SPURS COMMENT by Dan Carrier

FOR a good few seasons, Aaron Lennon has been an enigma. A player with bags of pace but not a goalscoring threat. A winger who can trick his way into delicious positions but without a final ball. While always nice to watch, the fans would often sigh at the end of a move he'd instigated but had come to nought.

Under AVB, he has improved.

He feels a senior first-teamer at last, a player who can score great goals and lay them on for team-mates. But perhaps the most satisfying part of his game is sheer effort: at one point in this derby Lennon chased and chased and chased to such an extent that he basically pinned Arsenal down on his own and saw off a few more valuable minutes by doing so. This was as injury time approached and his all-round effort was extraordinary. An unsung hero in a season where headline makers have looked at the opposite flank.

Attendance: 36,150