It was the Harry Kane show at White Hart Lane as he fired Tottenham to a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Premier League.
Here’s what we learnt from watching the north London derby…
1. All Arsenal line-ups feel a bit like reserve teams at the moment
(Alastair Grant/AP)
Partly because Alexis Sanchez isn’t in it, and partly because the likes of David Ospina, Francis Coquelin and Hector Bellerin – who you’re more used to seeing on the bench – are, the team feels like it ought to be turning out in the Capital One Cup.
#Arsenal team to play Tottenham Hotspur: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Welbeck, Cazorla, Ozil, Giroud
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) February 7, 2015
2. Michael Owen’s been working on his vocab
"Palpating", says Michael Owen. Impressive. #palpating
— Football Clichés (@FootballCliches) February 7, 2015
3. People love talking about Harry Kane
BT Sport devoted much of their build-up to talking about the young Tottenham striker, and he almost showed why when he brought a fingertip save out of Osipna in the opening moments.
Arsenal, Tottenham or neutral – fans seem to love talking about him
Can we not allow Harry Kane to shoot like that again please?
Thank you. @Arsenal
— Fouad AFC (@FouadAFC) February 7, 2015
Great attempt from Kane. Love seeing him on the ball.
— Spurs In The Blood. (@SpursInTheBlood) February 7, 2015
Kane is so good
— G (@Rambology16) February 7, 2015
KANE! What a player this guy is!
— Noufil. (@SprintLikeAngel) February 7, 2015
I just think it's hilarious Spurs fans think Harry Kane is "one of them" when he was born in Chingford 😂😂😂🙈ðŸ‘
— Emili WHUFC âš’ (@a_mill_ee) February 7, 2015
4. Olivier Giroud’s shots are better passes than his passes
(Alastair Grant/AP)
Mesut Ozil’s opener for Arsenal came from what appeared to be a wayward shot from Olivier Giroud, which turned into a perfect cross.
First question I will ask Olivier Giroud after the game: was it a pass or a shot? Im 99% sure it was a shot…
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) February 7, 2015
Giroud's wayward shot (that lead to Ozil's goal) is the kind you tell your mates later that you always meant as a pass. #TOTARS #ARS
— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) February 7, 2015
5. Defending seems to be optional for full-backs
There were long periods when Danny Rose was Tottenham’s most dangerous player. But he was also one of Arsenal’s most dangerous players. And Bellerin looked a little out of his depth…
Danny Rose culpable in Arsenal's goal, but he's been a huge threat going forward.
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) February 7, 2015
Bellerin REALLY needs to sort his positioning out. Getting caught time after time down his side.
— Highbury Harold (@BlackScarfAFC) February 7, 2015
6. Aaron Lennon is gone but not forgotten
The ghost of aaron Lennon's final ball has found a new home in Danny rose #COYS
— Steve Pritchard (@sfspur) February 7, 2015
A reminder that Aaron Lennon has more Premier League assists than Christian Eriksen this season.
— JDL (@JakLew89) February 7, 2015
7. Moussa Dembele may just be the single most frustrating player in the world
Cut the flicks and shoot Dembele!!!
— Philip Neville (@fizzer18) February 7, 2015
Dembele is really good at things which don't actually help you win a football match.
— Mac (@BillyMacfarlane) February 7, 2015
#THFC 0-1 #AFC
Pleat 'I think Dembele has dreams about not scoring. He never shoots!'
(He hasn't scored since 2013) pic.twitter.com/mGBMWezrZ2
— BBC Radio 5 live (@bbc5live) February 7, 2015
8. The new Arsenal style needs some tweaking
Remember that Manchester City game, when they gave up possession and came out 2-0 winners? It was kind of like that. Not as successful, obviously – partly because Santi Cazorla didn’t run things like he did on that occasion – but similar.
Arsenal have again adopted the same tactics as they did vs City. Sit deep and hit their opponent on the counter. Very unlike Wenger.
— Jonas Giæver (@CheGiaevara) February 7, 2015
Not sure why Arsenal are getting a load of credit, they've just not been good enough. This is nothing like the City game where they were top
— Rojo Show (@ConstantRed) February 7, 2015
9. Ryan Mason is either very good or very bad
(Adam Davy/EMPICS)
The midfielder was absolutely everywhere – particularly in the first half. What he did when he got there sort of depended on your point of view.
Ryan Mason playing every single position
— White As Lily (@WhiteAsLily) February 7, 2015
"Ryan Mason has been making tackles* all over the pitch"
*fouls all over the pitch. Fouls.
— Tim Lewis (@tim_lewis85) February 7, 2015
10. Yeah, Kane? He’s pretty good
(Alastair Grant/AP)
Inevitably it was Kane who got the equaliser, ghosting in at the back post to fire home after a corner.
I think we've found one in @hkane28
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) February 7, 2015
Harry Kane is England's best striker now, needs to get picked and started
— Jake (@Jkay_DF) February 7, 2015
11. But he used to play for Arsenal
If you didn’t know that before today, you certainly do now.
Harry Kane scores against his old club! pic.twitter.com/aAweoHBfnh
— TheSPORTbible (@TSBible) February 7, 2015
12. And he’s not perfect…
Kane is always offside lol
— Ravi (@GoonerForever98) February 7, 2015
does harry kane know the offside rue by any chance?
— Abz' (@abz1097) February 7, 2015
Kane offside again. He's been offside more times in this game than he has goals all season.
Does he know how the offside rule works?
— ByTheMin Arsenal (@ByTheMinArsenal) February 7, 2015
13. Well, okay – he’s almost perfect
GOAL Spurs 2-1 Arsenal (86 mins). Harry Kane completes the turnaround with an outstanding header from Nabil Bentaleb's cross #TOTARS
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 7, 2015
14. Piers Morgan only has himself to blame
Harry Kane wouldn't get on our bench. #afc
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 7, 2015
Are you sure about that, Piers?
Source: SNAPPA