Sunday morning’s headlines focus on Harry Kane’s heroics after Tottenham Hotspur deservedly beat Arsenal 1-0 in the North London derby on Saturday, with the homegrown hero again the man of the hour.
The Spurs striker put in a stunning shift while leading the line for the hosts, with the difference in quality between the England international and the attackers at the other end of the pitch glaringly obvious.
Mousa Dembele vs. Arsenal:
96.6% pass accuracy
67 touches
59 passes
1 tackleAbsolutely dominated the middle of the park. #BTSportScore pic.twitter.com/Ri0zjFoX9i
— BT Sport Score (@btsportscore) February 10, 2018
Kane was awarded the man of the match award after the game, with the Tottenham striker’s decisive goal his seventh against Arsenal in as many games.
While the all-action centre forward again proved that he is one of the world’s best, to single him out for the MOTM award is a great disservice to one of his Spurs team-mates.
I have always been a fan of Mousa Dembele – his ability on the ball, work-rate, footballing intelligence and commitment have never been in doubt.
There has been ill-founded talk in the press over the last few months that the Tottenham midfielder could well be a fading force and that finding a long-term replacement could be a transfer priority in the near future.
Any hint of that should now be put to bed, as Dembele’s performance in the derby win was absolutely outstanding.
The Belgian barely put a foot wrong throughout the 90 minutes, dominating the midfield battles and dictating the play from deep for Tottenham.
The Arsenal midfield just could not get to grips with Dembele, whose performance even surpassed the incredible showing he put on for the Wembley faithful in the win over Manchester United at the end of last month.
The Tottenham star’s unique abilities make him an integral player for the side – there are few in the world game that boast the same levels of brains, brawn and ability.
Take a bow Mr Dembele – you deserved the MOTM award and achieved something few in the game can or ever will – you outshone Harry Kane in a North London Derby.
Spot on Moussa was awesome, back to his very best. Fantastic display by the whole team. With players coming back from injury and Dele starting to fire again we need a big push for the final part of the season. COYS !!!!!!!!!!!
Best display by a Spurs player for years he just glided through the game.The ease he went through and round players was a pleasure to watch but again part of Superb Tottenham display
I have been defending Dembele for a while now, many people seemed to agree that he was a fading star while completely ignoring that he was coming back from a big injury. I have always said “time and time again the spurs squad point to Dembele as being the best player at the club” if he’s good enough for them, he’s good enough for me.
I would also urge on the side of caution, a couple of great games does not make a great player. For all we know these could be the last few great games he has left in him.. I don’t think so, Dembele seems like the kind of player who could play into his mod 30s with ease but we won’t really know until he gets there- fingers crossed!
Mousa owned that stadium to the extent that they should rename it: Dembley Stadium!
The Moose was SUPERB against the Gooners. The Belgian Pied Piper that no one in red could get anywhere near.
Just because Kane scored does not set him apart on the pitch! It was crystal clear to anyone with a footballing brain that Moussa Dembele was by far and away the best player on the pitch last Saturday, his work rate going forward and defensively was outstanding he was the veritable heart beat of the game and it is a huge injustice not to be named man of the match!