(Football news) The fierce North London derby ended in Spurs’ favour as the hosts defeated Arsenal 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a brace by Harry Kane and a goal by Heung-Min Son sealing invaluable three points for Antonio Conte’s team. The Gunners were reduced to 10 men when Rob Holding was given a red card for fouling Son in the 33rd minute and the hosts doubled their advantage four minutes later when Harry Kane scored a header.

Arsenal’s hopes of mounting a comeback were all but extinguished when Son scored Tottenham’s third goal and his 21st of the season just 70 seconds into the second half. The result means that fifth place Spurs are now just one point behind Arsenal with two games left to play. Despite the fact that the Gunners continue to have their fate in their own hands, fixtures against in-form Newcastle United and relegation threatened Everton could prove to be tricky while Tottenham face Burnley and Norwich.

Speaking after the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said “If I say what I think I am suspended for six months. I don't know how to lie so I prefer not to say what I think. I cannot say what I think. I am not unhappy with my players. I am proud of my players. I want the referees to come in front of the camera and explain his decisions. It's a shame because such a beautiful game was destroyed today. The decision was made. We can't change it. The referee has to make a decision in football. 

“Our focus is Newcastle. This game is history. This is gone. It went out of our hands and we have to accept it. Now we need to be the team that you saw from the beginning. When you lose a football match in those conditions, we lost to them. It's painful. But we have a huge match on Monday so we will try to beat them. We have two games to play each. It's in our hands and now we have to do our jobs. We showed from the beginning in this game." 

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte said “When there are games that are must-win, winning it is not easy. We could have only one result. To see players with this focus, this calm, and this positive pressure. We tried to be stable. This is the first step to becoming an important team. The atmosphere was amazing. For this reason we have to give thanks to our fans. They were incredible from the start until the end. They pushed us a lot. I think we repaid their faith with a good win in an important derby, especially because we are now very close to them. 

“It is only one point. There are two games to go. For sure, we need to recover very well because we are going to play on Sunday in an important game against a team that have beaten us. For this reason, I was very clear with my players – to enjoy, to celebrate, but we have to win on Sunday because this win in the derby will only be important if we win on Sunday." 

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