North London bragging rights: Arsenal caught in the eye of the Harry Kane

The 21-year-old scores a second-half double in Tottenham’s 2-1 win.

LONDON: Harry Kane scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur claimed North London bragging rights by storming from behind to sink Arsenal 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.

Kane’s 86th-minute headed winner took Spurs above their arch-rivals in the race for Champions League football as Arsenal paid the price for failing to build on Mesut Ozil’s early opener.

Kane rewarded the home side’s persistence when he equalised early in the second half and the darling of White Hart Lane continued the fine form of his breakthrough season by repeating the feat late on.

The 21-year-old’s match-winning brace, which came after he scored twice in a 5-3 rout of Chelsea, left Spurs a point above Arsenal in the table with 14 matches of the season remaining.

Before the match, Kane had said he would not mind staying at the club throughout his career and after his recent stellar performance, Tottenham would do well to keep their man in the summer as bigger teams are sure to come knocking. “Tottenham are a great club on the rise,” Kane had said. “If I’m still here in 10 years, I’d be over the moon.”

Man United seek rhythm at West Ham

With 15 games of the Premier League season remaining ahead of Sunday’s trip to West Ham United, Manchester United know that the time for experimentation is at an end.

United went into the weekend in third, but their rivals for Champions League qualification all appear to be finding form and Louis van Gaal’s side continue to impress only in fits and starts.

After a run of only one win in five league games, culminating in a 1-0 loss at home to Southampton, United have got back on track, winning their last two games and scoring six goals in the process.

“I said before the game against Leicester City that this is an important week and we have to win all three matches,” said van Gaal. “After we beat Leicester, we were third in the league. After that, we beat Cambridge and we are in the next round of the FA Cup. Now, we have to continue and all of the players know that it’s true, but it’s not so easy because we have to play away in London against West Ham and it was a tough game in Manchester.”

West Ham, meanwhile, have their own demons to contend with in the sshape of injuries. Record signing Andy Carroll is a doubt after injuring his ankle during the 2-0 loss at his former club Liverpool last weekend. “I’ve had to bring a list of the injuries with me,” said West Ham manager Sam Allardyce in his pre-match press conference. “James Collins, Winston Reid, Guy Demel, Diego Poyet, Doneil Henry and Andy Carroll lie in our medical room at the moment.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2015.

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