Harry Kane struck twice as Tottenham thrashed 10-man Arsenal 3-0 following Rob Holding’s red card to boost their hopes of a top four finish.
Antonio Conte’s side have now closed the gap on the Gunners in the Premier League to just a point with two games remaining.
Cedric Soares’ clumsy challenge on Son Heung-min handed Spurs an early gift in the shape of a penalty, with Kane calmly dispatching it into the bottom right corner.
And Holding’s elbow to Son earned him a second yellow and an early bath, with Rodrigo Bentancur’s flick-on at a corner moments later allowing Kane to crouch low and head in a second.
Kane turned provider after the restart, dragging Gabriel Magalhaes inside the box with Son stabbing home the loose ball to pull within one of Mohamed Salah in the race for the golden boot.
Spurs could have added a couple more goals when Emerson Royal missed a header from close range and Kane stung Aaron Ramsdale’s fingertips from distance. But they settled for three to provide renewed hope they can leapfrog their rivals and snatch that coveted fourth spot and Champions League football next season.
Here are the player ratings from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium:
Tottenham
Lloris 6: Little unsecure in the air with pressure from Odegaard, held well from the Norwegian’s firm strike with 10 minutes to go to hold on for his clean sheet.
Sanchez 5: Nervous playing out from back early on, but stepped in fine for Christian Romero, which was a major concern for Spurs before kick-off.
Dier 6: Given time to distribute well, forced Holding into second yellow card challenge with Son set to get in behind.
Davies 6: Poor control early on and forced into a crude challenge to stop Saka, but composed there after.
Emerson 6: Some neat passes swept down the wing to send Spurs away on counter-attacks. Should have headed home a fourth from close range.
Hojbjerg 7: Smart use of the ball, mixed his range up nicely hitting four accurate long balls from seven attemps. Three tackles, an interception and three clearances. Gorgeous throughball to Sessegnon to open up Arsenal at 3-0 too.
Bentancur 7: Neat and tidy in possession, dovetailing nicely with Hojbjerg and Dier, when he stepped out, nice flick-on for Kane’s second.
Sessegnon 7: Tracked back well against Saka, quality delivery into the box and should have had an assist when squaring to Son.
Kulusevski 7: Delicious cross to cause havoc among Arsenal defenders and Cedric foul on Son for penalty. Strong carrying the ball, going to be a real star next season.
Kane 9: Buried penalty with ease and tucked away the header at the back post from the corner. Controlled the game at times, perfect blend of playmaking and a traditional No 9, awarded the assist for Son too.
Son 8: Ran riot down the left and gave Holding nightmares spinning in behind. Smart finish through crowded area to make it 3-0, should have had a second from close range. Looks likely to beat out Salah for golden boot.
Arsenal
Ramsdale 6: Excellent save to deny Emerson from point-blank range and keep it 3-0 and an easier one from a powerful Kane strike from range.
Tomiyasu 6: Superb block on Kane to keep it at 1-0.
Holding 1: Erratic. No composure. Turned easily by Son throughout the first half and then sent off for an elbow on the same player, dreadful lack of discipline to leave his team no hope.
Gabriel 5: Isolated by the mess around him, but he was pinned too easily by Kane early in second half for the third goal. Went off injured to hand Mikel Arteta a big concern.
Cedric 3: Clumsy challenge at back post on Son to concede penalty, poor distribution for the most part, although he made an excellent recovery to deny Kane a goal in first half.
Xhaka 4: Allowed the game to pass him by. Lost Emerson inside the box for a free header that should have made it 4-0.
Elneny 3: Man-marked Kane to little effect, couldn’t stop the supply to Kane for third goal.
Saka 5: Spurned a glorious chance to pull one back at 3-0.
Odegaard 5: Tried to get Arsenal going from deep in difficult circumstances, a poor effort when in space on edge of area on stroke of half-time.
Martinelli 6: Sharp and a threat carrying the ball in from the left, Arsenal’s only bright player.
Nketiah 5: Appeared to dive in the first minute, carved out an opening before the break and forced Lloris into a smart stop. Kept working hard despite being isolated.
