Tottenham Hotspur ran out 2-0 winners against rivals Arsenal to keep pace with Chelsea at the top of the league and claim the spoils in the last ever North London derby at White hart Lane.

Match won in the blink of an eye

The game was decided in the space of three second half minutes, as Spurs took control of a tense game.. Mauricio Pochettino's team hit the front 10 minutes into the second half through the PFA Young Player of the Year, Dele Alli.

It was good work originally by Alli to win a 50/50 ball in the Arsenal box before laying it back to Christian Eriksen. The Danish midfielder then created a chance for himself, weaving past two challenges, only to see Petr Cech make a save. However, Alli reacted quickest and prodded the ball into the net from point blank range.

Then just two minutes later with the Gunners still reeling, Spurs struck again as Gabriel Paulista was adjudged to have brought down Harry Kane on the left side of the penalty area. Referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot and Kane then calmly slotted the ball just inside the left post, with Cech not even bothering to dive.

A deserved win for Spurs

On the balance of play, Tottenham were definitley the better team throughout and you couldn't really say they didin't deserve the victory in what was such a big occasion of course for both teams, but mainly the home side.

Spurs certainly had the better of things in the opening half hour and they missed two golden chances. The first came from Alli just after the 20 minute mark, as he somehow headed wide from just a couple of yards out following a deflected Kane shot.

Then just three minutes later, Eriksen missed a similar chance when he clipped the top of the crossbar from close range after a Heung-Min Son shot from the left deflected into his path.

Meanwhile, Arsenal showed very little in the opening 45 minutes, with Aaron Ramsey going closest for them with a shot just outside the box that Hugo Lloris was able to turn away from goal low to his left.

Relaxed second half for Spurs

Once Spurs got the breakthrough, they started to play a bit more freely and really lay siege to Cech's goal, who had to be in fine form to keep the score respectable for Arsene Wenger's team.

As well as the usual suspects, Kane, Alli, Eriksen and Son going close, Cech also had to keep out fine efforts from the two Tottenham centre backs, Jan Vertoghen and Toby Alderweireld from set pieces and open play.

Arsenal were a bit better in the second half, but despite hitting the target a fair bit through Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud, they never really troubled Lloris in the Spurs' goal and this is what will leave their fans most frustrated about today's performance as the top four now looks a long shot.

With Chelsea overcoming Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park earlier in the day, the result was a welcome tonic for Tottenham, as they remain four points behind the leaders with four games to play.

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About the author
Jamie Joslyn
20 year old sports journalism at Sunderland University, huge Sunderland fan